In light of International Women’s Day, we’ve had a #realtalk with three female powerhouses in the name of unpacking the multi-faceted identity of being a woman, the origins of their stories and how each individual takes on self-care.
Kathy Gabriel, Co-Founder of Soma Haus
With over 10 years of experience in the field of wellness, Kathy Gabriel is the Co-Founder, Craniosacral Therapist & Educator of Soma Haus – a ‘splenic’ that takes on the sweet spot between a spa and a clinic.
Jaime Lee, Co-Founder of The Paper Bunny
Known for a myriad of things, notably the widely adored Puffer Swing Bags, Jaime Lee is no stranger to us– The Co-Founder and Creative Director of The Paper Bunny, and a mother of two.
Tiffany Yow, Founder of The Flow Studio
Investment banker turned Yogi, Tiffany Yow is the Founder and Chief Everything Officer of The Flow Studio, and a mother to the cutest 6 month old, Hugo. If there’s one thing that Tiffany is known for, it’s her knack for balancing between work and home.
Navigating through womanhood can be invigorating, but it can also be a lonely uphill journey. This International Women’s Day, we want to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements that we have accomplished as women. Turning to three highly influential women with immense tenacity to share their journeys in balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood, amid taking care of their mental states and health.
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For some, the journey in finding a greater sense of purpose in life seems desolate, and others a pivotal encounter that takes by storm. How did you first find your footing in your entrepreneurial journey?
K: My journey started when I was 14, when my mum passed. There was a lot of internal reflection to find ways to understand grief and the arbitrariness of life. Going into meditation and Buddhism at that time was a very powerful experience for me in terms of finding solace. The history of traditional medicine very much runs in my family, and alternative complementary healthcare has always been our path. Growing up in Sri Lanka, there’s no access to healthcare in the same way that you do in Singapore. My uncles were traditional Chinese doctors and my mum’s medicinal methods were very much grounded in TCM care. My healing journey started there and that’s when I started to believe that ‘If you allow your body to do what it is good at, support and create the right environment, your body can do a lot of wonderful things.’
J: My journey started as a passion project, a desire to create pieces that looked great and at the same time had the functions that would be relevant for my life. I never expected it to turn into a career or anything bigger than a side little endeavour, but it took on a life of its own and became a ride of a lifetime. It was not an easy journey for sure, but I'm grateful for everything I have learnt so far.
T: I remember my breaking point. It was 8pm and I was alone in the office, working on a financial model that was adding no value to the world, but the pockets of the client. Work is important, don’t get me wrong. But I figured if I was going to pour my soul into something, I wanted to do something meaningful and make a difference in people’s lives. It was crazy quitting a 7 year career in Melbourne and moving back to KL for what my parents thought was ‘just another yoga studio’. Looking back, I’m not sure what I was thinking either. But would I do it all over again? Absolutely.
Shop Tiffany’s look: The Strappy Bra & Classic Legging with Pockets in Tarzan.
"Soma’ comes from the word somatic, relating to the body and ‘Haus’ represents home. The body is the first home we live in, and Soma Haus operates on the idea of home being the place we want to nourish and keep taking care of consistently. Just like how you will clean your house everyday, you can have the same rituals in taking care of yourself."
– Kathy Gabriel
To live mindfully is a conscious decision and effort. We tap into what living intentionally means to these ladies.
K: People need to understand that mindfulness does not have to mean going to a 60-minute yoga class or meditating daily. You can live a mindful life by creating different rituals and reframing certain mindsets to help create a sense of ease in your day-to-day life. Mindfulness can be practised through actions, words, connection or just being.
J: Starting and running TPB has been 10 years of entrepreneurial exhilaration, with major lows and incredible highs, and it taught me that there’s so many ways a person could choose to live his or her life, run a business, and treat people– as an entrepreneur, you do have some flexibility in deciding for yourself whether and when you want to choose work over rest, whether you want to prioritise people over profits, and how far you want to pursue your career at the expense of family.
An intentional everyday life to me is one where you live your life choosing the decisions you make, crafting the life you want, rather than living on autopilot. Living on autopilot is draining, living intentionally is empowering.
T: To me, living intentionally is to do things with a sense of purpose. To channel our energy into the people and initiatives that bring us joy and peace. To make conscious decisions that create long term positive impacts, rather than chasing temporary highs in life.
One hot take on being a yoga instructor.
Instagram: 12 hours in activewear, Reality: 1 hour in class
One hot take on being an entrepreneur.
It is a never ending exhilarating rollercoaster of constantly being out of your depth and learning as you go, but it’s exciting and crazy all at once.
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Do you have any rituals that help you to stay grounded in times of adversity?
Could you share with our readers what helps you to restore peace?
K: I do this thing called morning pages. Every morning I’ll sit down for 15 minutes and do a mind dump, even if I have nothing to write. It allows you to start your day on a blank slate. Pottery is also a saving grace of mine. It gets me into a very mindful state, because when you’re hand building and when you’re on the wheel, you can’t do anything but concentrate on that. It’s a form of creative expression for me so I find that useful.
J: Journaling for sure. I don’t do it that regularly, but I find that taking time to recalibrate and sit with my thoughts gives me a better understanding of what matters to me in the season I am in. It helps me to reprioritise and make better decisions. I personally find blocking out time in my calendar to work out my feelings useful, and find a lot of clarity and peace at the end of it– definitely something I recommend to all the busy multi-hyphenates. If possible, with a good cup of coffee in hand.
T: The birth of my baby Hugo has taught me the importance of looking after myself even more. It’s almost too easy to lose yourself in the whirlwind of motherhood– learning how to look after a newborn and endless breastfeeding. I realised early on that I can’t pour from an empty cup and as much as I adore my son, I couldn’t lose myself and my body in him. I worked hard to feel like myself again, both physically and mentally. I started pilates as soon as I could after birth, prioritised date nights with my husband and got back to work with my team. Which helped me to restore peace and a happy and healthy version of myself.
Essential pieces from cheak.
The Piper Bra and Curve Legging are my wardrobe staples!
As a woman, so often we find ourselves struggling to take or ask for help, in comparison to what we give out.
J: No one can do it all alone - but you can do a lot with a great village, both at work and at home. I’m very blessed to have a great co-founder, amazing team, and a supportive family. Juggling is still something I’m learning to do better constantly, and there are definitely days I miss the mark. A wise friend once told me that it’s only natural to drop the ball sometimes, but you need to know which are the glass balls you should never drop. I am still in my own journey of learning how to show up and be present more effectively in all my roles.
T: I try my best to be as transparent as possible with everyone in my life so they know what's going on. More often than not, you'll find that people come from a place of understanding. Recently, Hugo fell sick and the first thing I did was to tell my team about it, so that they could expect my responses to be slower that day. However, I’ve also made it clear that I would respond to everything overnight. That of course resulted in longer hours and a compromise of no home cooked meals for my husband, but I am so blessed with support! Similarly with exercise, I block it in my calendar and time it during Hugo's naps. I always book in for class so there's no excuse not to show up!
“Big things are accomplished one little step at a time.”
– Jaime’s Favourite Quote
Shop Jaime’s look: The Off Duty Bra & Elevate Biker Short in Heat.
In light of International Women’s Day, what does being a woman mean to you?
K: Embodying a woman is being nurturing and knowing when to tap out and what your limits are. I find that in itself is brave and empowering. And in knowing that, is being able to see a whole other world happening outside of our worlds.
J: Being a woman is to be a balancer– Balancing all the hats we wear, balancing all the expectations on us versus what we want to achieve for ourselves, between trying not to care so much yet inevitably caring too much, balancing our time between self and others, what our gut tells us versus the things we fear, between our greatest strengths and deepest weaknesses. That messy, complicated combination is what makes us human, makes us a woman, special and real.
T: Being a mother, a wife, a friend, a colleague and a business owner is a job that no one is born ready for. But the beauty of being a woman is that we somehow learn to be strong– to be everything, everywhere, all at once. To flow into and between each of our roles with grace, ease and elegance.
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