We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Turiya and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Ashley, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
My work life balance has changed becoming a mom and the stages of my son’s first five years. Each stage has had different demands and wonderful moments. However, I have maintained a common thread of operating on my values and making choices based on my value of natural medicine and being in the mountains in peaceful places. I never stopped backpacking for my birthday every year. I found a way to carry him and my husband carry him as he grew and we adjusted our backpacks to accommodate the increasing weight we were carrying. I teach my son about the plants in the mountains and I am also practicing for my plant walks and continuing to learn myself. We have several plant books and we take them on our hikes every day. I have also taught him how to harvest ethically and we harvest together and make fun herbal products just for our family and friends. I make my sold products by myself and find time to do this when my husband is off usually weekends and I teach my plant walks on Saturdays to have one weekend day to hike explore and just be in nature.
I have found a written calendar to be so helpful to write down my schedule for the week and to have specific work times for products and for classes and general networking and communication. I have this calendar online as well so if I do not have my written one with me I can see quickly on my phone the schedule I have for the day.
I think about balance as a leaning to one direction when needed and then pivoting back to an equilibrium that has created a sense of harmony. I think about this when I have an order one week and I am budgeting more time to that than other things but I always keep my run in the morning, morning tea and time with my family even if it is a smaller amount of time it is there and quality time. Then there is a week that has more spaciousness and things balance out. I adjust depending on what I have setup and what I am asked or hired or have created for that week. I keep my core values though that create peace and harmony for my life.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business has evolved from thinking I would create chocolates with herbal teas infused to now mainly offering plant walks, natural organic sunscreen, mists, body butters, salves and offering herbal and nutrition consults.
I have learned to try something and then decide if it is sustainable based on the trials and errors and the ability to overcome those or not. For example, the chocolate had wonderful reviews while in school and my husband was a part of that process. He is a professionally trained cook. I made the recipes and he made the chocolate. I tried the farmers markets and it was so hot to keep the chocolate I needed a cooler with ice otherwise my product was melting!
Then my husband got a salary job and no longer had the time to help make chocolate. I tried to make it but it is not my strength and I realized the cost and the time was not creating enough profit to continue. I learned to pivot. I learned that my strength was creating teas, the natural sunscreen and teaching plant walks. I put my focus there and teach a plant walk each month in the warmer months and I would like to start offering walks in the mountains year round. I love having a group come together and see the excitement of being in a beautiful place and learning about the plants!
I would like community to know I am working towards offering more walks, adventures eventually such as longer guided hikes and retreats packaged with my organic products and teas!
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would go to the botanical gardens in Denver!
eat at nurture cafe in Denver
I would go to Mount Sanitas Valley in Boulder and eat at Wonder cafe in Boulder!
I would go to La Verne State Park in Lyons and eat at Moxie cafe or Magnolia!
I would go to Brainard Lakes in Ward and eat at Crosscut in Nederland!
Music and dinner at Gold Hill Inn in Gold Hill!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shakti Wood at Shoshoni
Anne Heart of Mother Mountain
Sarah Hart ND Stillwater Healing Arts
Instagram: @aspenandsagebotanicals
Image Credits
Whitney Devoto of Devoto Photo