We’ve only been here a couple of months but The Yard has definitely become our favourite Alderley Edge hangout! To mark our January collaboration with this inspiring and delicious healthy food spot we caught up with The Yard’s very own amazing Sadie Pickering to find out more about her thoughts on health and wellness.
Why did you decide to open The Yard?
It was my mum’s initial vision. It started with a dream of a space where people could gather and nourish the body, mind and soul. She stumbled upon the old car garage on south street and typical mum saw all the potential that was there, she has such a talent for creating beautiful spaces with her own unique style stamp. The idea spun from that seed and turned into something with all these branches coming off like the lifestyle/health shop, the conscious kitchen, the music nights, the other cultural events, the solstice evenings celebrating the energy and history that we are standing on in Alderley Edge. Mum and I also have a love for food and juices – we’ve been making green smoothies for years and she’s always had her head in recipe books. A big reason into why I developed the juicing side of the business is because of a need for it myself – there was nowhere around I could get my juices and all my green powders /superfoods especially after being so used to getting it anywhere when I was living in London. The Yard has gone beyond the reasons why we initially opened and opened up the doors to a whole community of interesting, like-minded and lovely people.
How do you feel the Health and Wellbeing scene in Cheshire and Manchester is developing?
Since opening I’ve seen a huge change. People seem hungry to learn about what’s good for them. We believe it’s so important to be mindful with these things, we hear about ‘weight loss’ programme’s and ways to look your best but it has to always start at the grass roots level… if you don’t give your body what it genuinely needs then your just tricking yourself and no matter how hard you try you’ll be back a square one: a reboot has got to have strong foundations. A perfect example of how it’s developing is the new barrecore studio arriving!
How do you like to keep healthy through exercise and nutrition?
I’ve always been pretty healthy and had an interest in nutrition. However in my late teen years I suffered from a hormonal imbalance that caused me to have horrendous acne which was difficult with my acting career. I went on an even deeper search into nutrition and worked with some really interesting people. I discovered so much and put new things in place. I’ve managed to sort my skin out through my diet. I love my daily green juices, shots of e3live (a pond algae from Canada that has amazing properties, wheatgrass – basically all the alkaline things) I also practice yoga and meditation. I’m so excited about barrecore – I grew up doing ballet so it’s perfect to get back into it now. I also love love love to dance!
What’s next for The Yard?
We are now open as a restaurant some evenings as well as running our regular evening pop up events. We have an even healthier new cafe menu. and we are thrilled to be starting ‘yoga brunches’ and day retreats in Cheshire, Manchester and beyond with a 5 day residential retreat in Deia, Majorca later in the year. Our cleanse menu has a lot more on offer giving you different cleanse options to suit your lifestyle and cleanse needs.
* During January we will be teaming up with The Yard and offering Alderley Edge clients the chance to pre – order healthy juices for after class.