Madelyne is a yoga teacher, holistic nutritionist, and artist. She writes the newsletter, The Kitchen Table.
Not long after reaching out to invite her on, I realized we had spoken before — nearly 10 years ago, when I was a teen blogger and she was an artist I wanted to profile (in a way, that blog was Health Gossip 1.0…more on that another time). Many lifetimes later, here we are.
Below, you’ll hear more about Madelyne’s yogic path, her devoted To Be Magnetic practice, and all of the things she’s doing to prepare for conception… This one’s quite cozy, enjoy 🍂
Health Gossip #74: Madelyne Beckles
Leo/Taurus/Leo
Port Perry, Ontario, Canada
What does health, or being healthy, mean to you?
Health to me is a form of self expression. Building a life is inherently creative! Our choices, habits, experiences, relationships, and environments make up our unique existence and inform how we are able to show up each day. The practices and rituals that we establish to get through life are a reflection of our values, priorities, history and beliefs about ourselves, both conscious and unconscious. Health is the art of living in alignment with who we truly are.
How would you describe your current lifestyle?
Right now, I’m completely devoted to living cyclically. Aligning with nature’s cycles taps me into a primal intelligence that guides me and grounds me. Attuning myself to the rhythms of the seasons, the planets, and my menstrual cycle really helps me to organize my time as a solo entrepreneur who is early in this stage of my career. Keeping this connection has helped me to understand and optimize my energy, creativity, and productivity (hate that word, but you get it!), as well as rest and reflection.
How do you start and end your days?
I start my day around 7 am by putting my kettle on and doing my oral hygiene routine while the water boils. I make a big mug of hot water with lemon and sea salt and take my TCM herbs (I’m currently cycle syncing two different formulas) and vitamin D.
Then I head to my altar in the living room, light my candle for meditation and sit on my sheepskin in virasana for mediation. I’ve been practicing kundalini yoga for 5 years and that’s my preferred entry point for dropping in. Right now, I’m working with a 120 practice of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya, which the kundi kids call “taking out the trash.” It’s really effective at clearing the subconscious to release old patterns or fears stuck in the body, and it gives you wild dreams.
After that I’ll make breakfast, something warm with an adequate amount of protein like overnight oats with collagen, flax, and chia brought to room temperature and topped with stewed fruit, or eggs with sautéed greens, or leftovers if deemed appropriate — I love chicken soup for breakfast. While I eat, I’ll write 1-3 morning pages, and read a passage from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Some days I teach yoga in the mornings, but if that’s not happening my husband and I have been hitting the trails with Bitsy (our Boston Terrier) before starting work. From there it’s client sessions, emails, writing, planning, dreaming, creating — all of the things!
I like to wrap up my work day around 4 and go for a short walk if it’s nice out or I’ll do a quick movement practice. Once we head into the darker days and colder months I like to eat my dinner early between 5:30 and 6:30. My toxic trait is that it’s almost impossible for me to repeat meals for dinner, it’s where I like to experiment and build skill so what we eat really depends on my mood, the season, and what we have in the fridge and pantry.
“Utilizing natural cycles as a map for living reminds me that I’m part of something greater. That relationship brings purpose and sustenance to my life.”
After dinner, I run a hot bath with epsom salts, while I make my overnight infusion for the next day. My current blend is: red clover, nettle, red raspberry leaf, and chamomile to support my current pre-conception protocol. I close out the day by dry brushing, doing a little abhyanga massage and getting into the tub to soak and listen to a To Be Magnetic DI before bed.
Can you recall a moment when you became more aware of your health, or your relationship to it changed?
Whether I’ve felt connected to it or not, my body has always been the portal through which I’ve gained insight into life and its complexities. I’ve navigated addiction, depression, PCOS, and the process of making sense of my identity as a mixed-race woman. I’ve also always expressed myself formally through the body, singing and dancing throughout my childhood into early adulthood, and developing an art practice that is heavily based in performance.
But the first moment I became more conscious of my health was during my university years in Montreal. After a long winter, and months of insomnia, depression, disregulation, and disembodiment, I walked into my first yoga class. I was hooked, and that single act began to reconnect me to myself, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Yoga gave me structure, energy, and confidence, and it was the first time I truly experienced what embodiment meant. I would say that marked the beginning of my very non-linear, and extremely winding path to where I am today, 14 years later.
Do you have a spiritual practice?
Yoga is at the heart of my spiritual practice. It’s a framework for self-inquiry, embodiment, and devotion that has felt the most sustainable to me. I also see my connection to nature as inherently spiritual. Utilizing natural cycles as a map for living reminds me that I’m part of something greater. That relationship brings purpose and sustenance to my life.
What’s your relationship to self-healing?
Our bodies have an innate ability to heal when given the right support. I think there’s a fine line between feeling empowered in your health — recognizing that the body is a self-healing vessel — and taking on too much responsibility or trying to heal in isolation. We aren’t meant to do this work alone. We are the experts on our bodies and our loves, and I believe that my purpose as a holistic practitioner is to help people tap into that wisdom. Good practitioners should act like mirrors, reflecting back what you already know about yourself but may not be able to see, or need to view from a different angle, or simply be reminded of. Community and dialogue are essential when it comes to health; they remind us that healing is a shared, relational process.
Do you work with any practitioners, texts, or modalities on a regular basis?
I live for this stuff so naturally yes!
In terms of practitioners: I’ve been seeing my therapist monthly for 7 years. I’m working closely with a new naturopath right now who specializes in skin, to support ongoing symptoms I’ve been experiencing and to prepare for conception next year — we touch base every few months; I work with an acupuncturist and TCM practitioner here in my small town for monthly treatments consisting of facial and body acupuncture, fire cupping, scalp massage, and herbal formulas (I look forward to the day when I can afford to do this weekly!). I also see a massage therapist whenever time and budget allow.
“Good practitioners should act like mirrors, reflecting back what you already know about yourself but may not be able to see.”
As I mentioned, I teach yoga and am a devoted practitioner. Kundalini techniques make up my meditation and breathwork practice, and right now I’m deeply obsessed with, and working towards, my certification in Katonah Yoga. In layman’s terms, Katonah combines hatha yoga with sacred geometry and Taoist philosophy for an experience that is as intellectually engaging as it is physical. The practice blends traditional yoga postures with alignment through measure, breathwork, and imagination to help people understand their bodies as well organized structures. We use a lot of props, metaphor, and repetition to build stability and insight, which helps to reveal patterns and reorient the body and mind towards function.
Lastly, I’ve been a dedicated To Be Magnetic (TBM) practitioner for the past three years, and I find it incredibly transformative self development work. It draws you in through the idea of manifestation, but what you actually uncover is deeper authenticity, self-knowledge, and self-worth.
When do you feel the most nourished?
It’s a toss-up between:
post-bath in my soft clothes, making a cozy dinner, and listening to music while my husband draws at the kitchen table.
and
first day of my period, lying on my couch with my dog, my heating pad strapped on, a warm cacao in hand, and [The Real] Housewives on the idiot box.
How do you reset?
Taking a bath, going for a walk with no headphones, lighting incense, drinking herbal tea, and/or practicing yoga.
Do you have a favorite meal?
Torture to have to pick, but my go-to meal when I am in need of equal parts healing and comfort is dal. I could, and sometimes do eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Super grounding, easy, affordable, and freezes well.
In my fridge you can always find: lemons and limes, apples, carrots, dark leafy greens, fresh herbs, some kind of cruciferous vegetable (broccoli, cauliflower, or cabbage), a homemade ferment, grass-fed butter, parmesan cheese, anchovies, capers, mustard, hot sauce, homemade mayonnaise, cashew milk, and all of my go-to seeds: hemp, chia, flax, and pumpkin.
Pantry staples include: grains like rice (brown, basmati, jasmine), oats, quinoa, millet, and farro; coconut milk, dried and canned legumes ; pasta and noodles of all kinds (whole grain, legume-based, semolina, etc.); walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts; dates, dried apricots, and prunes; a variety of flours, both gluten and non; tahini; and dark chocolate.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Stop giving a shit about what other people are doing or what they think. You’re fab.
To the person reading this?
Trust that you already have everything you need within you. You don’t have to have it all figured out to be on the right path. Slow down, listen to your body, stay curious, and let life unfold.
What would you like to see or create more of in the world?
I want to see more mess, more process, more people sharing the in-between instead of the polished final product. The truth is, nothing is ever really finished; we’re all works in progress, always evolving, always becoming until we move on from this earthly plane.
Thank you for reading this edition of Health Gossip! I hope you’re having a lovely Sunday.
This week, I’ll be preparing for a trip out west (
and I are throwing a spa meetup in LA on 11/17, come!) and working on some new writing for you. This Manly P. Hall lecture almost completely reset me (“Discipline is to put oneself under the control of a pattern”). I was also on ’s STARGIRL podcast a few weeks ago — listen here.
