I am Calm

10/12/2025

02/12/2025

You know when you suddenly realise you feel tired, but you can’t point to any one big thing that caused it? I’ve been noticing how much of what drains us isn’t the dramatic stuff at all. It’s the small, quiet responsibilities that sit on our shoulders all week.

Most of us carry far more than we realise.
Keeping the household running, remembering appointments, thinking ahead all the time, managing everyone’s moods and needs, juggling work tasks, sorting out food, supporting family, keeping an eye on messages and emails even when we say we’re “off”, holding space for the people we care about. None of it feels huge on its own, but it all adds up.

The body feels this long before the mind does.
Your breath gets a bit tighter, you start waking in the night, your attention scatters, and you feel a bit wired one moment and flat the next. That’s the nervous system trying to keep pace with everything you are quietly holding.

There is nothing wrong with you.
This is just the reality of modern life, especially if you’re the one who holds a lot for others.

What I’ve been reminding myself is that awareness really does soften things. When you name what you’re carrying, even just to yourself, something loosens. You breathe a little easier. Your system settles a touch.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to keep talking about this hidden load. How it creeps in, how it shows up in the body, and small ways to support yourself so you don’t feel like you’re carrying everything alone.

If any of this feels familiar, honestly, you’re not on your own. Most of us are holding more than we ever admit.

01/12/2025

Winter has a way of showing us what our nervous system has been trying to say for months.
Everything in nature slows down, pulls inward, rests. Yet we keep trying to move at the same pace we did in September.

Most people don’t realise that the nervous system doesn’t follow the calendar on the wall. It follows light, temperature, energy, and demand. When we continue pushing through winter with the same intensity as summer, our bodies quietly absorb the cost.

You might notice you feel a bit more tired. A bit more emotional. A bit slower to bounce back. The breath sits higher in the chest. Sleep feels lighter. Thinking feels a little foggier. This isn’t failure. This is your body asking for something different.

Winter invites us to soften the pace. Shorter days, more nourishment, more space around the edges of things. It doesn’t mean doing nothing. It just means doing things with more care.

Over the next few months I’ll be sharing small ways to support yourself through winter. Breath, movement, rest, and gentle practices that help you feel steady inside a season that’s naturally quieter.

If you’ve been feeling a little worn at the edges, you’re not alone. Your body is simply paying attention to what’s happening around you. Winter isn’t a problem to solve. It’s a rhythm to lean into.

01/12/2025

Hi everyone. I’m moving my weekly Stretch & Breathe class online, and the next two sessions are completely free, so people can try it with no pressure at all.

If you feel stiff, tired, stressed or just a bit “on the go” all the time, this class is a very gentle way to unwind. You don’t have to be flexible, and you don’t have to know anything about yoga. Most people who join just want an hour to slow down, breathe and feel calmer.

The class blends simple movement, deep supported stretching and relaxed breathing. People often describe it as the first time their mind has gone quiet all week. Others say their body feels lighter, their sleep improves, or they finally feel like they’ve taken a proper pause.

There is no risk in trying it because the next two sessions are free.

Free sessions
• Weds 3rd December
• Weds 10th December

Classes are online on Zoom. You can have your camera on or off.

Book your free place here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/stretch-breathe-online-weekly-class-for-rest-and-relaxation-tickets-1080401964359?aff=oddtdtcreator

All you need is a mat or soft floor, a couple of cushions and a blanket. Everything is slow, supported and easy to follow.

You would be very welcome.

Sue x

An hour of calm to help you soften your body, quiet your mind and reset your nervous system. Suitable for all levels. Free sessions in Dec!

28/11/2025

I’ve just been recording the next Calm Conversations episode and something came up that I keep seeing with clients.

So many people think they need a big lifestyle overhaul to feel calmer, when actually it’s the small, repeatable practices that change everything.

Softening your breath before sleep.
Slowing the exhale after a stressful moment.
Taking two quiet minutes before a meeting.

It’s often the simplest things that make the biggest difference.

26/11/2025

Tonight was the final in-person stretch class. It has been a lovely class to teach and I am grateful for everyone who came along regularly. It has supported a lot of people over the years.

I realised recently that the class has naturally been following the same rhythm as my core method. Breathe. Move. Rest. A gentle breath to settle, slow movement to release tension and deep rest to finish.

So the class is not ending, it is simply changing shape.
I will be running a calm, nourishing online version where we can continue that same rhythm together. I will share details soon once everything is ready.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of the in-person chapter. 🌿

26/11/2025

If you get a minute this afternoon, try one soft nasal breath in and a longer breath out. Nothing dramatic. Just a gentle lengthening. It’s one of the quickest ways to bring your system back to steady.

26/11/2025

Sometimes it isn’t “stress” that knocks us off balance.

It’s the ongoing fullness of life.

Jobs, families, responsibilities, decisions, caring for others, and that quiet pressure we carry even when we’re happy.

I’ve been reflecting on this a lot recently and noticing where it shows up in my own body. A slight tightness in my breath, the busy evenings, the sense of always having something to do.

If you’ve been feeling like this too, I’m going to spend the next few weeks sharing gentle ways to soften things and help your nervous system settle again.

No big routines.

Just small, steady practices that make life feel a little easier.

24/11/2025

Life feels quite full at the moment. Not in a dramatic way, just that sense of always having something to think about, something to organise, something to hold for other people. I’ve noticed that when life gets busy, I start rushing without meaning to. My breath gets a little shallow and my shoulders creep up without me realising.

Last week was crazy busy with a weekend away, my birthday, my step-mother moving into a home and my son's 18th. A mix of lovely and not-so-lovely, but very, very busy.

So this morning I just stopped for one minute, pulled my wellies off and let go of everything. One slow breath out and the whole day felt different.

If life feels full for you too, you’re definitely not on your own.

23/11/2025

The light was so gentle this morning. I stopped under the tree for a moment and just watched the sun coming up over the field. It felt calm in a way that doesn’t ask for anything, just a quiet reminder to slow down a little and settle myself before the week begins.

I think Sundays are good for that. Even a few minutes of stillness can make such a difference. If today feels busy or a bit heavy, see if you can find one small pause somewhere. Let the breath soften a touch, feel your feet on the ground, and let everything else drift to the edges for a moment.

Sometimes that’s all we need to feel a bit more steady.

22/11/2025

One thing that comes up a lot in the work I do is how quickly the breath reacts to stress. Most people think of stress as something happening in the mind, but the breath is usually where the first changes appear. It shifts long before we consciously realise that life has started to feel a bit full.

A busy week or a run of long days often pulls the breath high into the chest. It’s the body preparing you to stay alert and keep moving. Nothing dramatic, just a steady holding pattern. The difficulty is when the breath stays like that for days or even weeks. Your system doesn’t really get a chance to settle. You can feel wired and exhausted at the same time, or a bit foggy, or more reactive than usual without knowing why.

A simple place to start is with the out-breath. Not in a technical way. Just noticing it. The exhale is the part that encourages the body to soften a little. Even a few natural breaths with your attention on the out-breath can make you feel more grounded.

If your week has been a bit full or you’ve found yourself running on autopilot, try paying attention to your exhale today. It’s a small thing, but it can make a real difference.

21/11/2025

I was thinking today about how easy it is to slip into a kind of automatic pilot without meaning to. You wake up tired, you get on with things, and before you know it the whole week has passed and you can’t quite remember where your energy went.

When I was out in the frost this morning, it struck me how quickly the body settles when you give it the smallest bit of breathing room. Nothing dramatic. Just a fuller breath or a minute of cold air. It reminded me how often we miss these quieter moments because there’s always something else to do, or somewhere to be.

Most people I work with tell me the same thing. They feel stretched, a bit foggy, a bit pulled around, but they keep going because that’s what life seems to demand. When you slow down even slightly, you start to notice how your body has been trying to get your attention.

There’s no big message here. Just a reminder that you don’t need huge changes for things to feel different. A gentler breath, a few steps outside or a moment to arrive in your day can make more of a difference than people realise.