Page 15 - Beauty Prime Magazine

Not being taken seriously or just being looked
at as a pretty face. It’s unfortunate but I’ve pretty
much had to always “prove” myself through my
actions; showing them, ‘Hey, I can do that, too.’
That’s something that at the end of the day can’t
be denied. It has worked and I am respected in
the space so I’m very proud and happy about that.
Dreka’s vision
Wellness doesn’t mean perfection, it’s about
finding balance in all things.
“My goal is to make wellness accessible for
everyone.”
– Dreka Gates
How do you integrate your role as a certified
doula and love coach into your mission of
holistic healing?
Those pieces are still coming together for me.
At the end of the day wellness and holistic hea-
ling for me is about treating the body as a whole.
No parts are separate. Birthing is the beginning
of all creation and so is love. Love is the energy,
the vibration, the frequency that we must be in to
manifest, create, and bring our dreams to life. So
for me, all of this goes hand in hand. It all works
together.
What are your long-term goals for the Gates
Family Farm, and how do you see it impacting
your community?
My long-term goals for Gates Family Farm is
to eventually host my wellness retreats there once
I have the infrastructure. That’s when I want to
provide educational programs to kids and adults
about gardening, animal husbandry, communing
with the land and how it’s a vital part of being a
balanced human and living a self-sustainable life.
The knowledge is much needed. I feel like the
era we are moving into is more of a community/
tribe-based world like it was back in the day.
You and your family may grow certain things
and provide certain services while your neigh-
bors and/or other family members may grow &
provide other services; you all can actively form
a community and all provide for each other. I feel
like we’ve gotten so far away from that but being
on the farm really brought me back to that way
of being and I feel like it’s something that’s much
needed right now and in the near future.
What advice would you give to someone
looking to embrace a more holistic and natu-
re-centered lifestyle?
Start small you know. You don’t have to dive
all in and go out and buy a farm. You can start
by growing herbs that you typically cook with
(rosemary, thyme, oregano). Those are fairly
easy. Maybe even some tomatoes. And just start
getting out in nature. Go for 20-minute walks
daily without any technology. And when you’re
comfortable enough, take your shoes off. Walk
around for 20 minutes without any shoes on; sit
in the grass or just sit outside for a while; lay in
the grass; go for a swim in the ocean. Eventually,
your body will start craving that and you will do
more and more. Eventually, you will find your
groove and what works for you. This may sound
crazy but after doing this for a while, the plants
and nature will start communicating/talking to
you. It’s like a form of meditation
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