welcome!
Welcome to the Nurtured Soul Sanctuary, my name is Ellen and I am the owner and founder. We are based in West Paradise, in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. We moved from the Sunshine Coast, in BC in June 2025, after running a successful equine facilitated learning program in Roberts Creek on our little property.
I am a certified ACC Life Coach under the International Coaching Federation, a certified Equine Life Coach through Equine Alchemy and I am also certifying under Equine Facilitated Wellness Canada. I work with my team of five horses, who are my colleagues and mentors. I am also a reiki master practitioner and certified sound healer. All of these modalities compliment one another through my offerings.
I have had horses in my life since the age of seven years old. Always feeling more at home, on the ground, working on the relationship with the horse, rather than riding and dominating the horse, Equine Therapy matches my personality. Each of my team of equines has come with their own stories, trauma, trust issues. This work enables the horses not only to help heal humans, but for the humans to help heal the horse. Tedx Talk.
I had a hiatus from horses and in that time raised my family and worked in Business and Finance, owning a successful Bookkeeping Company, which I sold in order to work in Equine Therapy full time. I sat on various non profit and charitable boards as treasurer, sharing my knowledge with others. Continuing my education throughout my life, I have dedicated the last eight years in completing my Diploma in Equine Studies with the University of Guelph, certifying with Equine Facilitated Wellness, who are a leader in Equine Therapy in Canada and completing studies with Equine Alchemy as a life coach. I am also certified as an ACC Life Coach with ICF which is the governing body of life coaches on an international level. I live on the property with my long suffering, non horsey husband. Our girls have flown the coup, our younger daughter choosing to stay in BC, and our older daughter living in Montreal with her boyfriend. We live here on the property with our Mountain Bernese dog, Agatha and our three cats, Fluff, Ted and Bea. I have worked with my herd for years, carefully choosing the herd members, ensuring they have good boundaries with time off, and the horses being well cared for.
Our Property
Our farmhouse was built in 1872 (with the original part dating back nearly 200 years), for me, it was love at first sight. Originally a cattle and arable farm, it has been used as a summer home for the last 50 years. When I came to view the property, stepping onto the land, I could see what this beautiful farmhouse could offer to others, it was all unfolding in front of my eyes. The farmhouse, even though had not been lived in full time since the 1980’s was so beautifully looked after, with lots of rooms which I could see as spaces for others to rest, restore and recuperate. I want to offer a place for others to come back to themselves. The sunroom, I can imagine women curled up on the sofa reading a book in the warm sunlight. Us enjoying meals in the kitchen around the table in the nook, or long evening meals to be enjoyed at leisure around the dining room table or outside on the patio. Rooms, that are private, but comfy and a safe haven to relax. The land, oh the land, untouched for half a century. We are on 30 acres of farmland, arable and hay fields. Being able to just look out to the North Mountain and know the ocean is just the other side. We are backed onto 900 feet of the Annapolis tidal river. I could imagine wandering down to the river and sitting on a dock listening to the flowing water and reading a book. We have nearly 50 fruit trees in our orchard, all heritage apples, pear, cherry, plum, quince. Oh, the barn, I could see the barn turn into the home for my horses, a safe haven for them and a place for me to work with clients through Equine Therapy. We have workshops, a potential Airbnb? The workshop attached to the farmhouse is calling out to be a healing studio. Upstairs a studio for sound healing, adding windows to the roof so you can watch the stars as the sound of the crystal bowls lull you to sleep. The separate treatment room coming off the studio for reiki. Downstairs a huge open space, that could be used for community events, offering classes with a long table and comfy chairs and a wood burning stove. Please know, not all of this has happened, but it was a like movie watching it come to life in front of my eyes. It will take time, but the barn, the orchard, the horses are here. The river, the workshops, they will come. I will be writing blog posts on the journey of our beautiful farmhouse and giving more history and the little treasures I have found as we have worked on the property. Thank you for joining us.