Heartwood Healing Center
WHOLifE Interview with Paulette Millis

"I have refurbished six of the original large old hanging lights, and this was a time consuming, complicated, but fun procedure, and the result is stunning."

WHOLifE: I’m happy to see you have finally realized another dream of yours. I remember when you started writing for this journal, back in the late ’90s, and how that morphed into publishing five books on healing the body, two national bestsellers! Tell me about the Heartwood Healing Center.

Paulette: December 1, 2017, I purchased the Borden Mennonite Church building in the RM of Great Bend, and began renovations to make it into a healing retreat. I had been co-owner previously, and decided it was time to turn it into a centre to promote healing. It was an experience of a lifetime, as I am not very knowledgeable about renos, but, let me tell you, I had to learn fast! With the help of many skilled workers, we added four more new windows, in addition to the replaced original church windows, added a complete second ceiling, and refinished the original white oak floors. Many challenges were presented, one being turning the small men’s entry into a kitchen suitable for teaching and cooking demonstrations. Originally the church had a men’s and a women’s entry, and the women’s entry became a wonderful large foyer. I have refurbished six of the original large old hanging lights, and this was a time consuming, complicated, but fun procedure, and the result is stunning. We have built a Health Retreat suite in the loft area, as well as a lounge.

WHOLifE: What were some of your dreams and goals for this space?

Paulette: Well, for starters, I love to live in the country, surrounded by fields and animals. This location is a peaceful farming community. I am 21 kilometres from the nearest shopping in Borden. There is a lot of room to build gardens, not only as a passion of mine, but also to support my career as a nutritional consultant. I have so far built 14 raised garden beds, no small feat, as the churchyard was a gravel parking lot. I used the Lasagna garden bed building theory, and I love the ease of gardening in the raised beds. Lots of trees have been planted, and I am currently working on a courtyard between the church and the garage.

I believe experiencing nutritional guidance in a rural setting, and enjoying the peace and solitude of the country is a wonderful way to bring your body back to health.

The size of the building has allowed me to have a quilting studio, another love of mine. I also wanted to include the community in some way in the use of the building, and quilting with friends and neighbours just happens to work.

I have been a practicing Holistic Nutritional Consultant for some time, and this place is perfect for sharing my knowledge through workshops, overnight retreats, events, and garden produce. This past year I have hosted Cookin’ in the Country workshops, for example: Breakfasts to Balance Hormones; Christmas Goodies; Carbs: The Real Story; Condiments, Dressings, and Dips; Pretty Natural; and Fermenting and Dehydrating. I am very grateful to have loyal followers, and they often carpool from outlying areas. I hosted an event for Weight Loss Naturally, and plan to do more workshops on topics of interest such as Managing Depression, Healing Diabetes Naturally, and more.

I also continue to have a client base, and do nutritional assessments, and will consult in person here, or in the city of Saskatoon, or through phone consultations.

I am planning on doing events such as House Concerts, and possibly some dance-related potlucks, and am open to ideas. I held an Open House on October 28, 2019, to allow the past church members, community, clients, and interested people to view the venue. It was well attended, and we had live music courtesy of Colleen Carr. It was wonderful to hear from the past church members of their appreciation for the renovations and use of their beloved building.

Testimonial: “Heartwood Healing Center is a great experience. It is peaceful, serene, refreshing, and calm. I had the most amazing sleep and felt the stress melting away. The food is delicious, nutritious, exquisite, unique. The mentorship of what to buy, where to buy, how to prepare and store the selective foods for healing was so useful. This place is a little treasure. Less expensive than going to some place foreign, and healthier and easier than flying to get there. One day at this retreat will change your life.” Retreat Guest, 2017.

Paulette Millis, owner of Millis Nutritional Healing, inspires and educates people to become aware of the body’s innate ability to heal itself when given what it needs. She offers retreats, workshops, presentations, assessments, counselling, and personally published books at her newly renovated Heartwood Healing Center.  Books and quilts are available on her website. To contact her, call 306-244-8890, email paulette.millis@gmail.com, and/or visit healingwithnutrition.ca to sign up for her blog, and follow on Facebook.