Wild Woman Holistics

14/11/2025

Practical Recovery – Week 3

This week in Solid Ground, we looked at how many of us grew up feeling uneasy around anger or criticism, and how that still shows up in adulthood.

It’s not about avoiding conflict; it’s about learning that safety doesn’t depend on silence.

If you’ve ever felt your body tighten when someone raises their voice, this one might speak to you.

Practical Recovery Series – Week 3

Trait:
We often feel uneasy or fearful around anger or criticism.

Reality:
If anger was unpredictable or unsafe in the past, even a raised voice or a disappointed tone can send the body into defence mode. Your mind might know you’re not in danger, but your body remembers what it felt like to be small, unheard, or blamed for things that weren’t your fault.

You might find yourself trying to fix situations quickly, staying quiet to avoid conflict, or replaying conversations long after they’re over. That’s not weakness, it’s a nervous system that learned to survive by keeping the peace.

Gentle ways to begin shifting this:

When you feel that old fear rise, pause and breathe before reacting.

Remind yourself: “I’m safe now. I don’t have to earn calm or approval.”

Try to listen for the message, not the tone, when feedback comes your way.

Healing doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly enjoy confrontation. It means you’ll know you can stay steady and safe, even when emotions get loud.

12/11/2025

Facing the Truth

Shadow work starts with being honest with yourself. Not in a harsh way, just real.

We all have parts we try to hide, things we’ve pushed down or made smaller because they were too hard to face. But the truth doesn’t go away just because we ignore it.

When you finally stop running from it, it stops shouting for your attention.

Healing begins when you can say, “I see this, and I’m ready to work with it.”

💭 What truth are you ready to face instead of avoid?

10/11/2025

Wild Woman’s Apothecary: Renewal Blend

This simple, uplifting herbal blend supports renewal, lightness, and gentle energy for the weeks ahead.

✨ You’ll need:

1 tsp dried peppermint (or 1 teabag)

1 tsp lemon verbena (or 1 teabag)

1 tbsp freshly chopped lemongrass

Honey to taste (optional)

Pour boiling water over the herbs, cover, and let steep for 10–15 minutes. Strain and sip slowly.

Peppermint clears the mind and refreshes the senses.

Lemon verbena soothes the nerves and supports digestion.

Lemongrass brings brightness and calm to both body and spirit.

Perfect for mornings when you need focus, or evenings when you crave clarity after a long day.

07/11/2025

This week in our Practical Recovery series, we’re exploring what happens when survival taught us to please others at the cost of ourselves — and how gentle self-trust can help us begin to come home again.

Practical Recovery Series – Week 2

Trait:
We spent so long trying to please everyone else that we lost touch with our own needs.

Reality:
Your need for approval came from survival. When love or safety depended on keeping others happy, you learned to read every mood, anticipate every reaction, and shrink yourself to stay safe. People-pleasing wasn’t weakness, it was protection.

Over time, though, it can leave you feeling disconnected from who you are and what you truly want.

Gentle ways to begin shifting this:

Notice when you say “yes” but mean “no.” Pause before responding and ask, “What do I actually need right now?”

Practice small acts of self-trust, choosing your own preference, even in simple things like food, music, or how you spend your time.

Remember: setting boundaries doesn’t make you selfish; it makes you whole.

You don’t need to earn approval to deserve peace. 💛

05/11/2025

There are moments when ceremony feels less like an event and more like a remembering. Last week’s Cacao Ceremony was one of those, a return to the deep, ancient knowing held within every woman’s body.

03/11/2025

Wild Woman’s Apothecary: Autumn Wellness Blend

The air has changed. The mornings feel crisp, the evenings draw in earlier, and the first whispers of cold and flu season are in the air. This is the time of year when I turn back to the kitchen shelves, jars of herbs, roots, and spices waiting to lend their warmth and medicine.

🌿 About the Blend

This simple herbal mix is full of immune-supportive herbs and spices that help the body adapt to seasonal change. It soothes the throat, warms the circulation, and comforts the spirit when the days grow short and the nights stretch long.

Ingredients & Their Uses

Ginger – warms the body, supports digestion, and helps fight off chills.
Cinnamon – stimulates circulation, balances blood sugar, and brings a sense of comfort.
Elderberry – rich in antioxidants and vitamin C; traditionally used to support the immune system.
Lemon Balm – calms the nerves and eases tension while offering gentle antiviral properties.
Rosehips – packed with vitamin C; brightens the mood and strengthens the immune response.
Honey (optional) – soothes sore throats and adds sweetness to balance the spice.

🍵 How to Make

Add:

1 tsp dried elderberries
½ tsp dried rosehips (or 1 rosehip teabag)
¼ tsp dried ginger root (or a small slice of fresh)
A pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp lemon balm (or 1 lemon balm teabag)

Pour over 250ml boiling water, cover, and steep for 10–15 minutes. Strain and add honey to taste.

Drink once or twice a day when you need warmth, comfort, or a little extra care.

Reflection

Autumn reminds us to slow down, to tend our inner fire as the world cools. Let every cup be a small act of care, a reminder that rest and nourishment are part of healing too.

31/10/2025

I wanted to share this reflection from Solid Ground, a reminder of how our earliest survival traits often shape the way we move through the world and how healing begins when we start to understand them.

Solid Ground | Practical Recovery Series – Week 1

Trait 1: We became isolated and afraid of people and authority figures.

When home never felt safe, isolation became our way of staying in control. We learned that people could be unpredictable, and authority often meant criticism or rejection. Keeping to ourselves felt safer than being hurt again.

But over time, that safety can turn into loneliness, and the walls we built to protect ourselves start to keep healing out, too.

Gentle ways to begin shifting this:

Notice when you withdraw. Instead of judging it, ask yourself what fear or memory might be behind it.

Try one small act of safe connection this week; a message, a short chat, or showing up to a group even if you stay quiet.

Remind yourself: it’s okay to take up space. You don’t need to be fearless, just willing to stay present a little longer each time.

Healing doesn’t ask you to rush. It only asks you to stay open to the possibility that not everyone is a threat.

29/10/2025

There’s a shift in the air. That moment between seasons when Autumn seems only to have arrived, yet Winter starts whispering at the edges. I wrote this piece a few years ago, but its rhythm still feels true today.

🍂 The Lady of Autumn 🍂

It seems that the Lady of Autumn is slipping away and the Winter King moves in closer and closer. Although the trees are still changing colours and the leaves continue to fall there is a bite in the wind, the air smells of cold and the earth starts to turn barren of Summer's beauty.

The Lady of Autumn only swept in to our lives on Mabon, how quickly Mother Nature can send her children to change everything around us.

The animals are busy get ready for the long, dark nights. As do we, afternoon naps seem to come easily as does snuggling in in the evenings with comforts of hot tea and warm blankets while we read and relax and the dark wraps his cloak of night around the world earlier and earlier in anticipation of the coming of his brother, the Winter King.

The change is in the air already, the Winter King approaches.....

~Wild Woman Holistics~

27/10/2025

Chapter Nine: The Leap to the Riverbank

When I first saw the house that would become Riverbank Retreat, Linda hadn’t even bought it yet. She sent me the details from the estate agent, asking what I thought, and before I knew it, she had put in an offer. It all happened so fast. I could see the potential, but I could also see the work ahead. It was big, full of character, surrounded by land and possibility, but it needed care to become what it is today.

Before Riverbank, Linda and I had already worked together. We had even registered a CIC with another partner, but before any funding could be applied for, that person pulled out. The idea stalled, and for a while, it felt like it had come to nothing.

Then Riverbank appeared. We decided to take the vision we had built before and bring it here instead. At first, we imagined it as a simple therapy space, somewhere calm to see clients and maybe run a few small workshops. But it quickly grew into something far greater than either of us planned.

Riverbank Retreat became alive with energy. It became a home, a therapy space, a retreat venue, and a place of community. In its first year, we hosted more than sixty events, from Women’s Circles and Sound Baths to community wellbeing nights and peer support gatherings.

From the beginning, our values were simple. We wanted to make it accessible, safe, and guided by trauma-informed awareness. It sounds straightforward, but it took time, patience, and intention to bring that into everything we did.

The early days were difficult. People didn’t know where we were, and there were nights when only two or three people showed up. But we believed in what we were creating, and we kept going. The very first event we ran together was an Introduction to Holistic Wellbeing course, a twelve-week journey through the basics of breathing, meditation, and the energy body. We explored the meridians, chakras, and aura, helping people reconnect to themselves in gentle, practical ways.

The space felt alive right from the beginning, but it took time for Linda and I to find our rhythm inside it. Now, more than a year and a half later, that rhythm has settled. The circles are full, the community is growing, and Riverbank has become something steady and deeply rooted.

For me, Riverbank was a leap of faith. It meant stepping back from Wild Woman Holistics as a local practice and putting my heart into something bigger and further from home. It was a risk, but also a calling. I wanted to take everything I had learned over twenty years and create something that could grow beyond me, something that belonged to everyone who came through the door.

Wild Woman Holistics will always be where the spark began. But Riverbank Retreat is where that spark took root, grew, and became a flame that continues to spread light.

24/10/2025

At Solid Ground this week, we’ve been talking about what safety really means, not just calm spaces or kind faces, but the slow work of teaching the body it’s finally safe.

22/10/2025

This week at Riverbank, Linda and I have been diving into our Integrated Energy Therapy training with Annah Elizabeth. It’s always such a gift to keep learning, expanding, and finding new ways to support the people who come through our doors.

🌟 Behind the Scenes at Riverbank Retreat 🌟

It’s a busy and exciting week here at Riverbank as Linda and I prepare to begin our Integrated Energy Therapy (IET) training with Annah Elizabeth.

We’re always learning, always expanding, and always looking for new ways to support the wellbeing of those who visit Riverbank. This weekend’s training is another beautiful step forward in the work we love.

We can’t wait to share more about IET and what it will bring to our offerings very soon.

20/10/2025

Chapter Eight: Standing in My Power

Around four or five years ago, something began to shift in the rhythm of my work. The groups grew bigger, the circles fuller, and facilitation became a natural extension of everything I had learned.

It was not an emotional awakening or a grand realisation. It was balance. I was still seeing clients in therapy between events, still keeping my hands busy in the steady rhythm of one-to-one work. But the gatherings were growing, and with them, something inside me began to settle.

The Gathering in the Garden became my most defining event. Maybe it was because people were emerging from lockdown, seeking connection again, craving something real and grounding. We would have twenty, sometimes twenty-five people turn up, and the energy of those days was unlike anything else.

The chakra meditation days were the same. They filled quickly, often selling out within days, and so many of the women who came would return time and again. There was something about that blend of energy and stillness that seemed to be what people needed so badly.

Even then, I was doing most of it alone. There was no team behind me, no community of facilitators to share the work with. But it was empowering, standing in my own power, knowing that I was good at what I did. Not everyone connects with the same approach, and that is how it should be. There is room for every voice in this kind of work. But I knew that mine had finally found its place.