Who?  Lesley Pace-Gormley – 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher and Mindfulness Coach and Chaz Pace-Gormley – Certified Sound and Meditation Instructor

Where?  SO’s first sighting of this attractive couple was at a Sagicor-hosted event catered by the award-winning Stush in the Bush team of Lisa and Chris Binns. Our most recent sighting was at Mystic Thai. We had to get the back story!

Firstly... We were both born in the United States; Chaz is from Washington, DC and I’m from Aurora, Colorado.

What attracted them to Jamaica… Since our first visit five years ago Jamaica has always felt like home, where we belong. The warmth and energy of the people, the controlled chaos of driving all over the island (Chaz loves it!) and the vastness of the culture. We love to eat and Jamaica has nutritious food in abundance! Jamaica is special and we feel deeply connected to the island, whether that’s the active pace of Kingston or the calm flow of country life in Portland or St Ann.

The buzz is centred on… Flow ‘N Frequency (FNF), birthed from our love of the tradition of yoga and our personal mindfulness practices. We met at a yoga class that Lesley was teaching in 2016. I had never heard a sound-bowl before and that was how [he] Chaz introduced himself, asking if he could play his sound-bowl at the end of class — we’re just realising we’ve been co-teaching since we first met (WOW!) FNF is a way for us to show up in community and provide a restorative place of rest and reflection for those in need.

And the response… When we’re conducting workshops or facilitating retreat spaces for corporate environments and individuals, more often than not we are engaging people dealing with or operating in high-stress roles. When they learn a technique such as box breathing or EFT tapping, we begin to have immediate discussions around how impactful and useful it can be in their daily lives. After experiencing a sound-bath for the first time and the immense tranquility and calmness that accompanies the experience, even the most sceptical CEOs are awestruck by how powerful something that appears to be so simple can be. Prioritising wellness is very rarely at the top of the list for members of the C-Suite; however, after 30-minutes of yoga and a 30-minute sound-bath we end up with individuals wondering, “How can I experience this every day?”

Box Breath Exercise: Inhale for four seconds. Hold the breath for four seconds. Exhale for four seconds, Hold the exhale for four seconds. Repeat.

On wellness… We view wellness in a holistic sense which is the interconnectedness of our physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being. While we may highlight the physicality of a certain yoga pose, or the mental exercises of meditation, for example, it’s equally important to consider one’s current emotional state or the impact of interactions within the community. Everything in and around us contributes to our overall wellness, which is not a new idea here in Jamaica — the Rastafari community has been speaking about wellness in this manner for decades.

Embracing wellness… Some people start their day with prayer, and may not consider how that positively impacts their wellness — but it does. Most of us have already embraced wellness; however, we don’t categorise what we do as a “wellness practice”. When someone is panicked or stressed, what might we say to one another? “Slow down, breathe”. The focus on breathing in that moment is a breathwork practice, or pranayama, as we say in yoga. Maybe going to a fitness class isn’t your path,

the beauty of creating your wellness practice is that you’re free to incorporate exactly what you need to have a positive impact on your overall well-being. As we begin to think about embracing wellness, consider activities and actions that impact those five categories for starters: Physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being.

The more… We’ve had the opportunity to teach internationally in six countries: Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Italy, Iceland and of course, Jamaica, in some instances as pop-up classes and others as retreats or private bookings. People have detailed how unique and all-encompassing our Flow ‘N Frequency offerings are, and love the multi-sensory richness that we provide. In our practices we include movement (asana), breathwork (pranayama), sound and meditation which are typically experienced as isolated techniques. We’ve found that incorporating all of these modalities lends towards a deeper engagement with self, which results in a more powerful practice of self-care.

At present we are excited to connect with the local community on the island and learn about the organisations and practitioners that have crafted the wellness ecosystem over the years, in Jamaica and the Caribbean. We are also looking forward to hosting more classes, workshops, and retreats locally across the island as we work to build out our physical space in St Ann.

On their personal style... We would describe our style as afro-boho chic. We love maximalism, adornment, and incorporating pieces from black designers into our home and our wardrobe that add to the diasporic narrative of global connection. Some of our favourite new pieces have come from Tribe Nine Studios, Locale, RepJA, Yolvinta, and Rhea Imani. Rich textures, vibrant tones, and funky aesthetics are the foundation for our style expression.

On finding solace… We love being up in the hills and taking in the views of the Blue Mountains from the home of friends in Port Antonio. Over the years we have had the pleasure of staying with Richard and Birgit at their lovely bed and breakfast and it is the best place to disconnect and reflect. Birgit also makes delicious breakfast that cannot be missed.

Their most memorable experience... Our most memorable moment was being able to teach our first class on the island at Stush in the Bush for their wellness brunch series, and having our family in attendance. They were able to see how magical of a place Stush is and why we love it and Christoper and Lisa so much. They were also able to see our new home for the first time, walking the land and seeing our vision for the future, which was an extremely touching experience.