allwoman Blog
Grab yourself your favourite beverage, find a quiet spot to rest a while and delve into my blogs and articles covering a range of categories: my Musings, Menstrual and Women’s Health, Seasonal and Cyclical Wisdom, Yoga, Somatic Movement, Fertility and Pregnancy and Birth.
Lara’s Musings
The Devaluation of the Divine Feminine: A Reckoning in Art and Life
This article first appeared in Issue 1 of the Tea, Art and Anarchy Zine which was compiled by my friend Jo Kemp. You can see this edition of Jo's zine here You can subscribe to future editions hereFor too long, we have lived in a world that fails to honour and respect...
Embracing September: A Time for Reflection, Integration, and New Beginnings
As the warmth of summer begins to fade and we step into September, I’m reminded of the beauty of transition – a theme that has been central to my work since I first began teaching yoga in 2004/ 2005. Back then, my business was named FluidYoga, inspired by the Lao Tzu...
The key ingredient in community is soul
I've been reflecting a lot recently on what community really means. What are the essential ingredients for community to truly thrive and foster meaningful connection? As a facilitator of circles and community spaces, my mission is to foster a culture that embraces...
Embrace the Unravelling – A Year of Becoming
A few weeks ago, while doing my 2023 reflections (I know I move slowly!) I found myself realizing that I had forgotten my word of the year - the guiding star that usually shapes my journey. Initially, this discovery left me feeling somewhat unmoored. Having a word has...
What is it to be initiated?
My birthday is fast approaching and I’ve been thinking about initiations, and what it is to be initiated. The dictionary states that: Initiation: the act of beginning somethingInitiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It...
What does it mean for you to be fully nourished?
The question I am with currently and that I return to over and over again in my life is . . . "What does it mean for me to be fully nourished? To be and feel like a fully nourished woman?" in ALL aspects of my life. Nourishment can look like many different things. How...
Why don’t we finish the year soft?
Instead of finishing the year strong, why don't we finish the year soft? I read these words today and my whole belly softened and took a big sigh of relief. Yes please! As the weather is growing ever colder outside and Autumn starts to edge towards Winter, the desire...
When did we stop playing?
As a recovering perfectionist, I've been struck lately with this idea of play. I play a lot in my movement practice, I love exploring new and different ways to move. Although I'm far less focused on any end goal or result, for me the joy is to be found in the...
Celebrating yourself
OK, serious question . . . How often do you celebrate yourself?I was away recently on a solo retreat and on arrival I planned to put one post on social media and then go offline. In my post I’d been planning to share about the solo retreat and why I’d organised it:...
What happens when you fall off the wagon?
It’s been a little while I know…. I fell off the writing wagon, in fact I’ve fallen off a few wagons these last few months and have been refocusing my energy on getting through the day to day. It finally hit me, the fall out from the past two years and how hard it is...
How are you showing up for you?
I've been in a bit of a big contraction phase for the past few months. And unsurprisingly so, having, during the pandemic, uprooted my family and moved to France without even being able to fluently speak the language! It dawned on me a few months ago that it was quite...
New year but no need for a new you
The last decade 2010-2020 - the allwoman journey I know I am late with this… I always am; finally, at 45 I am truly honouring my own pace, pottering, that is what I like to do, moving slow. I have tried to push against this for so long but really this is me. I am very...
A new kind of S&M
Earlier this year my sister, a single mum of three, was diagnosed with Hughes syndrome. Everyone in my family had to get tested to check we didn’t have it too, as it can be hereditary. It is a serious disease that can in some cases cause regular recurring attacks that...
It’s OK Not to Love Christmas
I hate Christmas – there I’ve said it! And I have done for many years, but more so since I went to India. I was working in the corporate world in a high powered job as a project manager when I decided to step away, take a six month sabbatical and immerse myself fully...
Can You Be An Elite Athlete?
Watching Wimbledon on the television got me thinking. What does it take to be an elite athlete? What do they have that most of us don’t? Or, in fact, could any of us be elite athletes if we wanted to be? I think it’s probably a mix of nature and nurture. There must be...
The benefits of learning online – dispelling the myths
Online learning, distance learning, e-learning – whatever you'd like to call it – is a great option for many people to enhance their professional knowledge and progress their career, but it's often overlooked as it's often thought to be the easy option that's for lazy...
Awesome women I admire
Angela Farmer Angela Farmer is my amazing yoga teacher and wise woman. She set me on the path to discovering a more free style of yoga that's less about form and more about feeling. She helped me to rediscover parts of myself that I'd lost and she embodies femininity...
My Yoga Companion – How I wrote the content for a published yoga journal
This is a story I’ve been keen to share for a while as I’m very proud of what I helped co-create along with a fab team of designers. Recently, I was invited to write the content for a Yoga journal ‘My Yoga Companion‘,as it’s now called, which is on sale exclusively in...
Why go on retreat?
As a Yoga teacher, I'm usually the one doing the teaching, offering classes, workshops and one to ones. And I've been lucky enough to have taught women from all over the world at some wonderful retreats too, both day retreats in the UK and longer retreats in Portugal,...
Menstrual and Women’s Health
What kind of rest is best?
Imbolc has arrived and with that the promise of Spring. You may have discovered a few snowdrops and caught some glimpses of sun re-emerging and perhaps you can feel a little more inner fire and energy rising within you too. And so what happens when you feel that? I...
Endometriosis Awareness Month – Seven yoga poses to relieve painful symptoms
As part of Endometriosis Awareness Month, a journalist from The Telegraph recently interviewed me to discuss how yoga can help to relieve the painful symptoms of endometriosis. I said so much more than what has been included in the final article, which I'll share in...
Relieving the Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) Naturally
WHAT IS PMS? Simply put, PMS is no fun, taking its toll on our emotions and bodies for about a week before our period, so during the latter part of the autumn pre-menstrual phase of our menstrual cycle when oestrogen and progesterone levels start to fall in the lead...
Mizan Abdominal Therapy – What is it and how can it help me?
“There is no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ they would brag about it. So should we.”– Ina May Gaskin At allwoman, Mizan Abdominal Therapy is a massage technique I use on a daily basis with my clients to complement the range of Yoga...
Journaling: Your view into the inner you
Keeping a diary isn’t just for angst ridden teenagers, recording all their troubles, loves and losses under the duvet in a cheap secret diary with a padlock and a tiny key. Nor is it just for politicians, pop idols or movie stars waiting for the right moment to give...
Self care – It’s more than just taking care of yourself
“There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by my self.” – Brian Andreas Do you look after yourself? Yes, of course you do, but what about self care? Is it the same thing or something else...
How to Look After Yourself – Start with Self Care
“Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose...
Celebration Day for Girls – From Child To Young Woman
It’s difficult being an adolescent girl these days. There are so many pressures to grow up quickly, follow the crowd, keep up to date with the latest trends and then there are the changes of puberty and menarche (first period), the mixed messages about body image,...
To Love Your Self, You Need to Know Your Self
Who are you? A wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother, entrepreneur, manager, colleague…? But who are you really, as a woman? Do you know, or have you got lost along the way? Where is home? "Be yourself; everyone is already taken."- Oscar Wilde Right from...
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – Combatting the Winter Blues
Many people, me included, like to follow the seasonal rhythms and shifts in energy of the Earth and slow down at this time of year, becoming more inward focused and reflective. However, when the nights get longer and the days get shorter around 3% of the UK population...
Creative visualisations and positive affirmations to succeed, boost wellbeing and manage difficult situations
Every now and again, we need to stop, take a moment and reflect on our lives - what has gone before and what we want to happen. What's important? What's not important? What do you want to let go of? What do you want to change? Key to our own wellbeing is being able to...
Cores and pelvic floors
I'm learning all the time – I recently attended a fab workshop with my good friend and fellow Yoga teacher Louisa Thomas all about core and pelvic floor health and the range of tools that can be used for supporting women with core and pelvic floor dysfunction in a...
My Well Woman Course Success Story
We spoke to a student who attended the last Well Woman Course to find out what she thought… “Booking onto the Well Woman Course , I was quite apprehensive, firstly it was a commitment each Saturday when I was usually out and about, busy with jobs and meeting friends...
Energy, seasons, your menstrual cycle and you
As women, we’re expected to be the same every day – look after our families, go to work, be productive, race around, get things done… but we’re not the same every day. Some days we’re full of energy, others we’re not. Some days we want to be sociable and surround...
Women’s Wellness in Winter
Winter's here – the leaves have fallen from the trees, it's much colder, the days are shorter and the nights are longer and all around us nature has withdrawn, is hibernating, slumbering, dormant, resting and renewing before reawakening in Spring. There's a stillness...
Moving into Perimenopause – the Autumn Phase of our Lives
In previous blog posts, we've likened the phases of your monthly menstrual cycle to the seasons of the year. And in the same way the phases of a woman's life also roughly correspond to the seasons, with autumn being perimenopause. I’m deep in this dance, sometimes...
Women’s wellness in autumn
Outside, the nights are drawing in, there's a nip in the air, it's getting windier and the trees are turning the glorious colours of Autumn. And you've probably started to look forward to film nights in, wrapped in your favourite blanket with a warm milky drink. But...
It’s Not The Curse When You Embrace It
In some societies, even our own, menstruation is thought of as a taboo subject. Often called 'The Curse', it's considered unclean and something that must be hidden and not talked about. In some cultures, women are not even allowed in the house when they are having...
Lights, Camera, Action…The Truth About The Menopause
allwoman made its TV debut on the ITV Tonight programme at 7.30pm on Thursday 25 November when Julia Etchingham investigated the truth about the menopause. Missed it? Watch now on the ITV Hub Back in August I got a call from ITV. ITV calling me? Really? I was just...
How to keep your cool in times of change
What exactly is transition? The dictionary states: movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change. What is it to transform? The dictionary states: The act or process of transforming....
Seasonal and Cyclical Wisdom
Embrace the Sacred Mysteries of Samhain
Rituals for Ancestral Wisdom and Transformation 🌕 Samhain is really a time to drop our awareness deep into our bones and reconnect with the ancestral wisdom embedded within us at this symbolic time of decay and regeneration. It signifies the end of the harvest season...
Autumn’s Invitation
🦋 Autumn Insights: Transform at the Equinox Threshold 🍂 The shift into Autumn, both in nature and within ourselves, mirrors the transition from Summer (ovulation time) in our menstrual cycle to the Autumn phase (pre-bleed). It's a time of turning inwards, slowing...
Self care for busy people
Ways to hibernate and resist the “rush” and push of the season
It’s been a hard couple of years and I know that collectively our nervous systems are feeling the strain. Many of you know if you’ve been hanging out with me for a while that I’m not really one for celebrating Christmas, and this year I am feeling even less invested...
The Real Cycle
Time for a sacred pause?
It's Autumn Equinox for all of us in the northern hemisphere. These seasonal transition spaces can be hard to navigate, and with the year that we have just had this year feels even harder. So, I'd like to share some practice ideas, tools and reflections that could...
Spring Revival
Spring Equinox arrived on the 20th March and at this time of year the power of the sun is increasing, the days are lengthening and the nights are shortening. “Spring Equinox is celebrated as the first day of Spring, when day and night are equal in both hemispheres....
Unearth the Wild Within – A Review
Each year we offer a bursary place for Unearth the Wild Within, our year long programme in which you journey deep into yourself through Yoga, Somatic movement and ancient wisdom, aligning with the natural rhythms and cycles of the seasons, the moon and yourself,...
Journaling: Your view into the inner you
Keeping a diary isn’t just for angst ridden teenagers, recording all their troubles, loves and losses under the duvet in a cheap secret diary with a padlock and a tiny key. Nor is it just for politicians, pop idols or movie stars waiting for the right moment to give...
The Moon – She’s more than just a light in the sky
The moon has guided us for millennia. All human beings are affected by the moon. The moon is the Triple Goddess representing the female archetypes of Maiden, Mother and Crone – birth, nurturing, death and rebirth – as she moves through her phases from Waxing to Full...
Why I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions (and what I do instead)
New Year, new chapter, clean slate, new you! Most people's view, but not mine. New Year's resolutions are not for me and they haven't been for a long time now. To me they represent feelings of disappointment, failure and guilt. And do you know why? Because they don't...
Are You Setting Yourself up to Fail by Setting Your Goals in January?
Spring is a time for seeding change, so there is still time to set your goals. In fact, it’s better to set your goals now, just as our ancestors did. If you made resolutions or intentions for change in January that haven’t quite got off the ground yet, I hope you’re...
Winter Solstice – The Start of Winter and Longer Days
“Nature looks dead in winter because her life is gathered into her heart. She withers the plant down to the root that she may grow it up again fairer and stronger. She calls her family together within her inmost home to prepare them for being scattered abroad upon the...
Stay Sane During the Holiday Period
Christmas and the festive season is a crazy, crazy time, and I’d argue that it’s unnecessarily crazy. But, that’s the way it seems to be these days, so it’s doubly important that you make it as stress free as possible and take some time out just for you. Here are my...
There’s Samhain happening here!
In the words of my heroine, Anne of Green Gables… “I am so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers.” I love Autumn and October in particular because it is the month I qualified as a Yoga teacher eleven year ago! I did do some teaching before I was officially...
Ready to fully embrace autumn?
We are now only five weeks away from Autumn Equinox and already I am starting to feel the shift coming, as the nights are beginning to grow darker so too my energy is beginning to shift as well. Can you feel it? At the Autumn Equinox there is a shift of emphasis from...
Slow Down and Embrace Autumn
This year the Autumn Equinox is on Wednesday 22 September. Marking the mid-point between the Summer Solstice when the days are longest and the Winter Solstice when the nights are longest, both day and night are equal in length. It’s a point of balance between light...
The female archetype – Who is she?
She’s you. She’s me. She’s a pattern of energy. She’s feminine behaviour, a model of womanhood. And she’s associated with the stages of your life, the phases of your menstrual cycle, the seasons of the year, the moon. “Female archetypes teach us how to tune into our...
Why Spring is Special
In the past, the fertile Earth goddess Eostre was honoured in the Spring, which was celebrated as a time of new life and gestation. The emerging active energy of the Earth was celebrated with Dragon processions and eggs were used to symbolise new life and rebirth....
Spring Cleaning, Springing into Action and the Spring Equinox
Finally, after the recent intense cold weather and heavy snow, it feels like Spring is on its way. The birds seem to be singing louder and I've spotted the odd one choosing useful twigs to start nesting, the daffodils are starting to flower and there's more light. I...
Imbolc: The Reawakening of the Earth
Imbolc, also known as Candlemas or Saint Brigid's Day, is an ancient Celtic festival that's celebrated on 1st or 2nd February each year at the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It marks the awakening of the Earth as she moves towards Spring....
Energy, seasons, your menstrual cycle and you
As women, we’re expected to be the same every day – look after our families, go to work, be productive, race around, get things done… but we’re not the same every day. Some days we’re full of energy, others we’re not. Some days we want to be sociable and surround...
Women’s Wellness in Winter
Winter's here – the leaves have fallen from the trees, it's much colder, the days are shorter and the nights are longer and all around us nature has withdrawn, is hibernating, slumbering, dormant, resting and renewing before reawakening in Spring. There's a stillness...
Embrace Hygge: Reconnect from the disconnection
On the whole, we’re a disconnected society – disconnected from ourselves, other people around us and our environment. Not long ago, when I was younger, you’d see teenagers gathered in bus shelters or on park benches chatting, laughing, maybe enjoying the odd can of...
Samhain – What does it mean
Samhain (pronounced sow-en) is the ancient Celtic Fire Festival, one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals along with Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh. It's a celebration of the end of harvest and the start of the colder winter months. Celebrated from sunset on 31...
Women’s wellness in autumn
Outside, the nights are drawing in, there's a nip in the air, it's getting windier and the trees are turning the glorious colours of Autumn. And you've probably started to look forward to film nights in, wrapped in your favourite blanket with a warm milky drink. But...
Moving from Summer to Autumn, from being overstretched to slowing down
With the children going back to school or university soon and Summer coming to an end, the harvest is being gathered in, the energy is shifting around us and we're slowly moving towards Autumn and a quieter time of year. During the Summer, the energy is very Yang –...
Summer, The Mother Of High Energy
“Queen of everything, I am a multi-tasking Superwoman.” It's Summer. And we've just had the longest day – the Summer Solstice – the peak of the year, the time of the highest energy. You can feel this energy all around you, the sky is blue, the weather is warm and...
Focus on the Seasons: Moving from Spring Towards Summer
BEAUTIFUL BELTANE So now we’re in May. At the beginning of this month we celebrated the Celtic fire festival of Beltane, which honours the abundance and potency of the Earth and the forces of nature, fertility and union. This celebration often features a...
Focus on the Seasons – Moving from Winter to Spring
As the yoga I teach is very closely linked to what is going on with the seasons and the cycles of the Earth, I want to talk to you about what this means for us as women and the qualities and gifts these seasonal shifts bring to us, both in the natural world around us...
Winter Solstice Pause and Reflect – Moving into Stillness
As we head towards the Winter Solstice we do start to remember that we will soon be returning to the light, however December is still a month of cold and darkness and the internal shift of emphasis that accompanies this, one of inner reflection (Yin qualities) and...
Helpful Yoga practices to ease us into Autumn
From a yoga perspective, practices that can help improve circulation, work into the belly and colon and help bring balance to the body are great for Autumn time. Vata energy is high in Autumn – this is the energy of ether, air and space. Yoga practices that help...
Autumn: The gateway to new beginnings
As the leaves develop golden and brown hues, the nights draw in and the air begins to bite, we all know instinctively it is time to begin our retreat and enjoy the fruits of our labours – autumn has begun and it’s now we start to harvest our crops before our...
Lammas time festival of gratitude and abundance
Lammas, also called Lughnasadh (pronouced loo-nassa), falls at the beginning of August. It is one of the Pagan festivals of Celtic origin, which split the year into four. Historically it was celebrated as a harvest festival at the time of corn harvest, when Pagans...
5 Energising Vitality boosters to awaken you to Spring
If you want to get things moving now and really start to reawaken to the new Spring energy around us then these simple practices might help give you a much needed boost. You could add some of them into your daily or weekly routine to add a bit more pop and fizz to...
Yoga
Restorative Yoga
Restorative Yoga“How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards.” – Spanish Proverb allwoman Restorative Yoga classes offer you much needed time and space to relax and rest, restoring vitality to both body and mind. In today’s world, we are subjected to...
Yoga for Birth
There is a secret in our culture and it is not that childbirth is painful. It’s that women are strong.” – Laura Stavoe Harm allwoman Yoga for Birth sessions have been carefully designed to meet the needs of the birthing woman/couple and are a wonderful support to the...
Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga practice offers us the chance to focus inside our bodies and into our breath. Moving with a slow flow rhythm and taking the time to explore each pose, encourages intuitive movement, which allows the body to ground and release. This opens up space in the...
Restorative Yoga – Probably the best Yoga in the World?
Surely lying around on bolsters is easy right? You are not exactly feeling the burn? But it doesn’t really look like you are “doing” anything! So my journey with Restorative Yoga started back in 2013 when I decided as a frazzled and overtired mum of an active 15 month...
Summer Yoga – Get charged up and ready to go this Summer
It was Summer Solstice on 21st June. Summer Solstice is a doorway to the second half of the year… it’s a good time to reflect on our journey since Winter Solstice and to also think about what we might want to draw in and nurture in the build up to Winter Solstice....
Are you ready to commit to your yoga practice today?
“The biggest commitment you must keep is your commitment to yourself.” Neale Donald Walsch Do you have commitment issues? Are you half in and half out? The term 'commitment issues' usually refers to a reluctance to get further involved in a romantic relationship - to...
Gentle is the new advanced
@NaomiAbsalom recently posted a video on Instagram about 'gentle' yoga and how patronising the term is. 'Gentle' is often used to describe the more subtle body practices of yoga; the practices I'm a huge fan of for both my own practice and in what I teach. In fact,...
Yoga is for Everybody and Every Body is a Yoga Body
What does a Yoga practitioner look like? How flexible must you be before you even think about trying Yoga? Do you fit the stereotype? Not many of us do. I'd like to dispel the Instagram myth. You don't have to be flexible to do Yoga. You don't have to be young to do...
Boundaries and Ethics in Yoga
Yoga is more than a series of physical poses. It’s also a system for living your life off the mat. The Eight Limbs of Yoga, the Yoga Sutras, were the ancient ‘rules’ to living a better life as taught by the Indian teacher Patanajali, a very long time ago in around the...
Grounding: Bringing yourself down to earth
Do you ever arrive home and realise you've got absolutely no idea how you got there? Yes? Well, that's what it often feels like when we are feeling ungrounded. We're engrossed in our thoughts, dreams and fantasies, disconnected from our bodies and our environment. In...
Burrito Savasana
Ironically, during Wintertime the cycle of the seasons, short days and long nights draw us inwards, society and our culture draws us outwards. Christmas is probably one of the busiest times of the year with the parties, food, decorations, entertaining family, jolly...
Just Here For The Savasana
Just Here For The Savasana We've been talking a lot lately in my blog posts about self care and stepping back from the fast pace of life to reconnect with ourselves (and others), create space and heal. So, to coin a phrase from the world we live in, what can you do if...
Moving into Stillness
"In an age of constant acceleration, nothing can be more exhilarating than going slow. In an age of constant distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention. In an age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still." - Pico Iyer Have you ever...
Is yoga becoming a carnival?
It's Leeds West Indian Carnival this weekend – a whirling twirling celebration of the colours, costumes, flavours, sounds and energy of Caribbean culture. I'm looking forward to watching the parade through Chapeltown with my son G, dancing to the rhythm of the steel...
When Is It Best To Practice Yoga – Morning or Evening?
So, I'm going to be honest. I'm not really a morning Yoga person. Well, not since my son came along 5 years ago. He was not a good sleeper for the first 4 years of his life, and the long, broken nights took their toll on my body. He's now awake at 6am, sometimes 7am,...
5 Reasons Why Pregnancy Yoga Is So Good
Yoga is a fabulous exercise for mums to be As part of your pregnancy wellbeing plan, Pregnancy Yoga can help you to prepare and support your body and mind for the many physical and emotional changes that you can expect through pregnancy, labour and beyond into...
12 Days of Calm – Simple Yoga and Movement practices to help you reconnect to you
On the 5th of December I started a #12DaysOfCalm offering on social media. In the busy build up to Christmas I wanted to offer out a little something special to everyone to keep us collectively cool, calm and connected in the run up to Christmas. I have added the...
Balancing effort with ease in your yoga practice
We’re constantly subjected to artificial lights, digital overload and timetables that don’t take account of seasonal changes or monthly cycles, but impact upon our natural biorhythms resulting in massive sleep debt and depletion of energy. When we take the time to...
When is Yoga not Yoga
I was asked by The Telegraph recently what I think about the 'new fangled' forms of Yoga: “When you feel a really big stretch down your legs, you’re taking the body into fight or flight and releasing adrenaline. This isn’t what yoga is meant to do to the body (taking...
Helpful Yoga practices to ease us into Autumn
From a yoga perspective, practices that can help improve circulation, work into the belly and colon and help bring balance to the body are great for Autumn time. Vata energy is high in Autumn – this is the energy of ether, air and space. Yoga practices that help...
Restorative Yoga for Stressful Times
I wanted to write a little bit abound Supported Bound Angle pose, or Hiranya Garbha- Golden Cosmic Womb Restorative pose – as it is also known. It is a real favourite of mine, a very versatile pose that suits many different people with many different needs. Great for...
SSSSh! So you want to know a Secret
-So on 23rd April we held our very first Secret Shakti at the amazing Priory Cottages in Wetherby and it is safe to say that it was a resounding success. My intention for this year was to have more joy in my life and I decided early on that I would love to share that...
5 Energising Vitality boosters to awaken you to Spring
If you want to get things moving now and really start to reawaken to the new Spring energy around us then these simple practices might help give you a much needed boost. You could add some of them into your daily or weekly routine to add a bit more pop and fizz to...
My Yoga Journey by Rachel Geddes
I first began to practice yoga in 2011. I was a medical student and during my summer break I went to stay with my aunt and uncle who live in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. My aunt persuaded me to go with her to her local studio and I couldn’t believe how fit and healthy...
Somatic Movement
Movement Matters
How somatic movement stirs imagination and helps us to trust our own intuitionOne of the first things that happens as we move into the new year is we start to get bombarded by emails and images about ways we can improve and live our best lives, lose weight, get...
Free Movement – Breakdown tensions and barriers and release your creativity
We start to move in the womb before we’re even born. No one teaches us – it’s an innate ability we all have. We just know how to wiggle our fingers and toes and when the time comes, how to walk, how to run, how to play, how to move whichever way we want to. In fact,...
Fertility
Natural Ways To Boost Your Fertility And Improve Your Chance of Getting Pregnant
1. Nourishment – through food and self-care Developing a healthy, balanced approach to eating where you're kind to yourself and eat good food that's right for you will help you develop a good relationship with food and improve your overall digestive fire. By...
Pregnancy and Birth
What needs Support?
Birth Stories
So, I've been thinking about birth stories. Often, it's said that the way that we birth is trying to teach us something, whether you have birthed a child or whether you are birthing and creating projects in life. I've been thinking about this more and more. And,...
Yoga for Birth
There is a secret in our culture and it is not that childbirth is painful. It’s that women are strong.” – Laura Stavoe Harm allwoman Yoga for Birth sessions have been carefully designed to meet the needs of the birthing woman/couple and are a wonderful support to the...
Liz’s birth story
I’m Liz. I’m 42 and Mum to J, who has just turned 3 and is the absolute light of my life, and wife of C who I first met over ten lovely years ago. He’s a creative soul and a wonderful dad and partner. We live in Leeds. Finding a doula to support my pregnancy and birth...
Everything is your choice – Choices in birth
I'm a great supporter of the Positive Birth Movement, co-facilitating the Leeds Positive Birth Group which meets every third Sunday of the month with fellow doula Claire. At our January meeting we discussed the choices we have in birth and the many questions we need...
5 Reasons Why Pregnancy Yoga Is So Good
Yoga is a fabulous exercise for mums to be As part of your pregnancy wellbeing plan, Pregnancy Yoga can help you to prepare and support your body and mind for the many physical and emotional changes that you can expect through pregnancy, labour and beyond into...
Orla’s Birth Story
The contractions (sensations) started in the afternoon, but felt very slow and mild, like period pains. I knew that something was shifting by a sudden big shift in energy levels, as I suddenly felt exhausted and all I wanted to do was rest and eat. Like I was...
Kim’s Birth Story
My unintentional free birth birth story. I just didn't think I was in labour. I had experienced a very long, painful labour with my little boy last time and this was all very different. Having one to one yoga sessions and mizan abdominal massage helped me physically...
