Nature Based Therapy

14/01/2026

12/01/2026

Motherhood Is a Neurological Transformation — Not a Personal Failing

For generations, motherhood has been described as instinctual. Emotional. Something women are simply meant to “cope with.”

When mothers struggle, the story has often been individualised:
You’re tired.
You’re overwhelmed.
You’re not doing it right.

But neuroscience now tells a very different story.

Motherhood does not just change your life — it changes your brain.

The Maternal Brain Is Remodeling Itself

Neuroscience research, including the work of Dr Pilyoung Kim and other maternal brain researchers, shows that pregnancy and early motherhood trigger measurable changes in the adult brain. MRI studies demonstrate structural and functional reorganisation in areas responsible for:
• Emotional regulation
• Empathy and attunement
• Threat detection and vigilance
• Motivation and reward
• Social cognition

This isn’t brain “decline” — despite the cultural narrative of “mom brain.”

It’s specialisation.

Just as the adolescent brain rewires for independence, the maternal brain rewires for caregiving. It becomes more sensitive, more alert, more responsive to social and emotional cues. This reorganisation is metabolically expensive and neurologically demanding.

A brain under construction is not broken.

It’s busy.

Why Early Motherhood Feels So Intense

Early motherhood often coincides with:
• Sleep deprivation
• Hormonal shifts
• Identity changes
• Increased responsibility for another human’s survival

At the same time, the brain is actively reorganising itself.

This helps explain why many mothers feel:
• Foggy yet hyper-alert
• Emotionally porous
• Intensely responsible
• More vulnerable and more powerful at once

This is not weakness.
This is neuroplasticity under pressure.

Why Maternal Stress Matters for Babies

Here’s where this becomes especially important.

Babies are not born with fully developed nervous systems. They rely on co-regulation — their nervous system calibrates itself through the nervous system of their caregiver.

When a mother is chronically overwhelmed, unsupported, or in survival mode, her stress response can become the baby’s baseline.

This is not about blame.
It’s about biology.

Prolonged exposure to dysregulated caregiving environments can contribute to:
• Heightened stress reactivity
• Difficulty self-soothing
• Sensory sensitivity
• Foundations for developmental trauma

This does not mean stress must be eliminated — that’s impossible.
It means stress must be buffered.

And that buffering was never meant to be done alone.

Self-Care Is Not a Luxury — It’s Preventative Care

In early motherhood, self-care is often framed as indulgent:
A bath.
A coffee.
A moment alone.

But true self-care at this stage is nervous system care.

It includes:
• Adequate rest and sleep support
• Being held emotionally, not just holding others
• Having practical help without needing to ask
• Feeling safe enough to soften

When a mother’s nervous system is supported, a baby’s nervous system benefits too.

This is not selfish.
This is intergenerational health.

The Missing Piece: The Village

For most of human history, mothers were surrounded.

Grandmothers.
Aunts.
Other mothers.
Community.

Babies were passed from arms to arms.
Mothers were fed, watched, relieved, witnessed.

Our Western lifestyle has largely erased this village.

We now ask one nervous system — often exhausted, isolated, and under pressure — to do the work of many.

This is not how humans evolved.
And it’s not sustainable.

When we talk about maternal mental health, we must stop asking:
“What’s wrong with the mother?”

And start asking:
“Where is the village?”

Reframing Motherhood

When we understand the maternal brain, something shifts.
• Exhaustion becomes evidence of deep neurological work
• Sensitivity becomes skill, not fragility
• Overwhelm becomes a signal for support, not shame

Motherhood is not a loss of self.
It is an expansion.

An expansion that deserves:
• Time
• Care
• Community
• Respect

If we want resilient children, we must care for the nervous systems that shape them.

And that begins by recognising that mothers were never meant to do this alone.

11/01/2026

Rest. Reconnect. Rejuvenate.

Step away from the noise and return to what truly matters — stillness, breath, and connection.
Join me for a restorative two-night retreat at Rocklyn Yoga Ashram, where yoga, mindfulness, and nature-based therapy blend into one nurturing experience.

When: February 20–22, 2026
Where: Rocklyn Yoga Ashram, VIC
Who: Small group of 8 participants

Over this weekend, you’ll experience:
🌾 Nature-based mindfulness & journaling
🧘 Yoga nidra & meditation
🌳 Guided nature walks
💫 Reflective group sharing
🌺 Holistic wellbeing & renewal

A space to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with nature, stillness, and yourself.

Early bird now open — limited to 8 places. Learn more & reserve your spot:
https://www.naturebasedtherapyacademy.com.au/nature-based-retreat

10/01/2026

Reflections on Fire, Responsibility & Care for Country

Twenty-one years ago, I volunteered with the CFA. Not long after, I fell pregnant with my firstborn, and my time on the truck came to an end. But what has never left me is the deep respect for what this work truly involves. The training. The constant readiness. The emotional toll. The time away from family. This is not a “hobby” — it is real, skilled, life-saving work. 🚒

As I reflect on the current fires here in Victoria, I am honestly shocked. Not only by the scale and intensity of the fires, but by the lack of resources available to our firefighters — many of whom are volunteers. They are giving up precious time with their families over school holidays, putting their bodies and lives on the line, and doing so without pay. Meanwhile, homes, wildlife, entire ecosystems and human lives are at risk. Protecting people, country and biodiversity is not the job of volunteers alone — it is the responsibility of government. Full stop.

We cannot keep relying on goodwill, sacrifice and community burnout to manage a crisis that is now predictable, recurring and worsening with climate change. Effective fire management must include:
• Proper funding and payment for firefighters
• Increased staffing and resources year-round, not just during emergencies
• Mental health and recovery support for responders and families
• Long-term planning rather than reactive crisis management

We also need to listen — deeply — to Indigenous knowledges. For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for this land through cultural burning, seasonal awareness and respectful land management. Cool burns, back-burning, and working with the rhythms of Country prevent the build-up of fuel that leads to these catastrophic fires. Fire, when used wisely, is a tool for regeneration — not destruction. 🌱🔥

Caring for Country is not just environmental work — it is social, cultural and intergenerational responsibility. If we want safer communities, protected wildlife, and a future that our children can live in, we must invest, listen, and act differently. Volunteers should be honoured — not relied upon to carry the weight of systemic failure.

Let’s do better. For our firefighters. For our families. For Country. ❤️🌏

08/01/2026

🔥 Catastrophic Fire Danger Today in Victoria 🔥

If you’re in Victoria, you may have seen the Catastrophic fire danger rating across the news, VicEmergency alerts, and social media today.

🚨 These warnings matter.
Listening saves lives.
Preparation is essential.

And… there’s something else many of us are feeling too.

🌍 Climate Anxiety

Our nervous systems weren’t designed to absorb constant threat messaging. Words like catastrophic can trigger fear responses in the body — racing thoughts, tight chests, doom scrolling, shutdown.

This doesn’t mean you’re overreacting.
It means your body is doing its job.

🧠 Awareness Without Trauma
We can stay informed without overwhelming ourselves.

✔️ Check reliable sources (VicEmergency, CFA)
✔️ Make your plan, pack essentials, check on loved ones
✔️ Limit repeated exposure to distressing content
✔️ Step away once you’ve done what’s needed

Reading the same alert over and over doesn’t make you safer — it often just keeps the nervous system in alarm.

👶 For Children
Kids absorb our emotional state more than the details.

They need:
🤍 Calm explanations
🤍 Reassurance that adults are paying attention
🤍 A sense of safety and routine

Simple is powerful:

“Today is a high fire danger day. Grown-ups are watching closely and we have a plan. Right now, we’re safe.”

🌿 Grounding on High-Risk Days
Grounding isn’t avoidance — it’s regulation.

Try:
🌬 Slower breathing
👣 Feeling your feet on the floor
📵 Limiting news to set times
🌳 Stepping outside briefly if safe
🤝 Connecting with others, not scrolling alone

✨ Prepared, not panicked.
✨ Aware, not overwhelmed.
✨ Connected, not alone.

Climate anxiety is not weakness — it’s a collective nervous system response to a changing world.

Take warnings seriously.
Care for your mental health.
Protect the next generation from unnecessary fear.

💛 If today feels heavy, you’re not alone.

08/01/2026

Community connection matters 💚

I'm honoured to share that Nature Based Therapy has been recognised as a Very Neighbourly Organisation through Relationships Australia’s Neighbours Every Day campaign.

This recognition celebrates organisations that support connection, belonging, and respectful relationships in community. It reflects a shared belief that wellbeing is strengthened through relationships with ourselves, one another, and the places we live.

I'm grateful to be part of a national movement focused on building more connected, inclusive, and resilient communities.

07/01/2026

The beginning of a year doesn’t need to be rushed.

Nature doesn’t set resolutions.
She moves in seasons — arriving fully where she is.

Summer invites us to slow down, to notice what’s already alive and growing, and to gently ask:
What wants my care this season?

There’s time.
There’s space.
And there’s wisdom in letting clarity emerge rather than forcing it.

✨

06/01/2026

🌿We are shaped by our environment — just like nature.

A seed doesn’t choose its soil.
It doesn’t choose the weather, the storms, or the sunlight it receives in its early days.
Yet all of these things shape how it grows.

🫆Humans are no different.

In our earliest years, our nervous systems are formed by what surrounds us — safety or stress, connection or absence, consistency or chaos. These experiences don’t just influence behaviour; they shape how we relate, regulate, and respond to the world.

When we see people struggling, bending, or growing in unexpected ways, it’s worth remembering: growth is always relational. Context matters.

🌿Like trees shaped by wind and terrain, we carry the imprint of where we began. And like nature, healing happens when the environment changes — when care, safety, and connection become available.

Because growth is not about blame.
It’s about nurture. 🌿

05/01/2026

A New Year is not always about fresh starts.
Sometimes it’s about standing in the middle of a transition, holding what’s ending in one hand and what’s still forming in the other.

Nature doesn’t rush her beginnings.
She moves through cycles of release, rest, and renewal, trusting that each season arrives in its own time.

As we step into this new year, you may find yourself in an in-between space.
Not who you were, not yet who you’re becoming. And that’s okay.

This reflection explores what nature teaches us about life transitions, grief, and the quiet wisdom of change.

04/01/2026

Humming.

We hear it in nature.
We feel it in our chest.
We carry it in our bones.

Across species and cultures, humming appears again and again—not as noise, but as regulation, communication, and medicine.

03/01/2026

A lovely morning out on the kayak!

I love kayaking because the water asks nothing of me except presence.
No performance. No fixing. Just rhythm, breath, and flow.

When I kayak, my nervous system softens. The steady paddle becomes a moving meditation — each stroke an exhale, each glide a return to myself.

There’s something deeper too. Kayaking connects me to my ancestors, who travelled in canoes on their own waters long before modern boats existed. Though not these waters, the movement feels familiar in my body — a remembering of rhythm, relationship, and respect for nature passed down through generations.

The quiet, the birds, the light on the water — it feels like being held by nature rather than standing against it. I’m reminded to move with what is, not against it. To adjust gently when conditions change. To rest when needed.

Kayaking teaches me strength without force, stillness in motion, and trust in natural rhythms.

It isn’t just exercise.
It’s regulation, reconnection, and remembering.