HAYLEY MENZIES
Hayley Menzies’ career took a winding path—from London’s wild rave scene to running a nightlife business, with a detour into yoga training in Thailand. It was during these nomadic, rock 'n' roll years that her distinctive aesthetic began to take shape. In 2011, Hayley launched a stall in Portobello Market, selling a small collection of standout pieces crafted in collaboration with artisans she met while travelling through Asia. Guided by intuition, passion, and a loyal following, she built her eponymous label: a luxury ready-to-wear womenswear brand created for life’s refined rebels. With the natural world as her muse, the brand continues to grow under her creative direction, evolving each season with an ever-stronger commitment to conscious craftsmanship.
Follow Hayley:
Instagram: @haylesonearth
Website: www.hayleymenzies.com
My first introduction to Ayurveda was via Jasmine, who is an old friend of mine. She helped me learn to cook my first soup when I became more interested in a holistic way of living. I have visited many retreats in my life but only recently had my first truly immersive Ayurvedic experience. Last year was as bad as it gets for me, a man I had loved passed away, I was experiencing some health issues, was entering peri menopause all at the same time as encountering some serious business challenges. I limped over the finishing line of 2024 glad to have made it but in desperate need of a reset.
Sensing my need for a reset, a friend recommended an Ayurvedic retreat called Ulpotha, in Sri Lanka. I was so frazzled at the time that I confess to not researching it, relying solely on my friend's recommendation. Very trusting of me, you might say… but in all honesty I was simply too busy with work and life to check. I had a very vague idea as to what Ayurveda was, but as I quickly discovered on arrival I had a lot more to learn.
I somewhat freaked out when I arrived and was told that there weren’t any plug sockets in our rooms and was shown to my mud hut with just a mosquito net around a mattress. Now, I’ve done rustic, cold water bucket showers and insects etc.., but I haven’t visited anywhere with no WiFi phones or electricity. I took this as a sign to surrender and melted into the experience.
We practiced Iyengar Yoga daily, ate 5 meals a day with food freshly prepared on fire stoves. It was delicious with lots of curried vegetables, lentils and rice, curds made from the milk of the free roaming buffalo and fresh sun ripened fruits plucked from the trees.
Each night I drifted to sleep listening to the sounds of insects, the stream outside my hut, birds and goodness knows what rustling in the thatched roof (!). It was surprisingly soothing and after a few days, my shoulders began to drop, the pains in my neck and lower back subsided, my sugar bloat dissipated and my breathing filled out and slowed down. The pace of life was beautiful. I swam in a huge lake with pelicans and other species of birds. I walked barefoot everywhere and showered open air in the jungle with the monkeys looking down at me…
WHAT DOES AYURVEDA MEAN TO YOU?
My understanding of Ayurveda is that it’s a lifestyle. It's clean, organic and free from all the nasties we in western culture are so reliant on and addicted to – our phones, sugar, more more more of everything now now now… An Ayurvedic lifestyle is the total opposite.
HAS IT HELPED YOU WITH ANYTHING MAJOR?
By the end of 2024, I was emotionally and physically broken. I’m a Yogi, with a regular practice for the last 15 years, I eat well apart from the annoying sugar snacking, go to weekly sound baths and chanting and yet I was still in pieces. What the Ayurvedic retreat taught me was that taking real time off in nature, without my phone, not being available 24/7, and eating clean without any sugar at all should not be seen as a treat or a luxury but a necessity that every single person would benefit from. Now that I’m home, some of my habits are sneaking back in but I’m able to catch myself before the habit returns in full force and that’s thanks to my daily meditation practice. Since the retreat, I’ve made some progress with my quest to cut out sugar. It tastes alarmingly toxic if you haven’t had it for a while!
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 AYURVEDIC TIPS THAT HAVE WORKED FOR YOU?
There are 3 things I’d encourage everyone to try for a happier life:
Reduce your screentime
Spend time in nature daily
Practice daily meditation
All 3 are accessible to us all, please just try, don’t make excuses.
WHAT IS YOUR AYURVEDIC RECIPE OR GO-TO INGREDIENT?
My favourite Ayurvedic dish is a butternut squash curry washed down with freshly made passionfruit juice with a pinch of salt…