Daily Alchemy

Daily Alchemy Holistic Therapy, Clinical Somatics &
Open Floor Embodied Movement
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Over the years I’ve noticed something about the way many women move through the world.They are thoughtful. Self-aware. O...
10/03/2026

Over the years I’ve noticed something about the way many women move through the world.

They are thoughtful. Self-aware. Often deeply reflective about their inner lives.

Many of them have spent years learning about themselves... understanding their patterns, exploring their histories, and developing language for the experiences that have shaped them.

And yet, when we begin to slow down enough to listen to the body, there is often a quiet moment of surprise.

A realisation that the body has been holding far more than the mind has noticed.

Many of us were taught, often without realising it, to override the first signals the body offers.

The subtle tightening in the chest that says something isn’t quite right.
The heaviness that asks for rest.
The instinctive no that arises before the mind has had time to explain why.

Instead of listening, we learn to keep going.

To be accommodating.
To be capable.
To be the one who can hold everything together.

Over time this becomes second nature.

We push through tiredness.
We reinterpret discomfort.
We convince ourselves that what the body is communicating is something to manage, rather than something to be curious about.

The mind becomes very skilled at explaining our experience.

Meanwhile the body quietly carries the sensations that were never fully felt.

None of this is a personal failing.

These habits are often shaped by the environments we grow up in and the roles many women are asked to carry. Learning to override sensation can become a way of maintaining connection, keeping the peace, or simply getting through what life asks of us.

But there often comes a moment when the body begins asking for something different.

A slower pace.
A deeper kind of listening.
A willingness to notice the signals that were once easy to ignore.

This is often where the real work of reconnection begins.

Spaces like Mythical Body exist to support that return.

Through movement, reflection, myth and ritual, we begin to explore what the body has been holding — and what it might be ready to release or transform.

Not through force or fixing.

But through curiosity, presence, and learning how to listen again.

If you’re curious about the retreat or wondering whether it might be a good fit for you, feel free to send me a message and I’m happy to share more details.

India has a way of reflecting you back to yourself.I first came here 13 years ago to complete my yoga teacher training. ...
04/03/2026

India has a way of reflecting you back to yourself.

I first came here 13 years ago to complete my yoga teacher training. At the time I was deeply devoted to the practice. I was committed, disciplined, and genuinely in love with what yoga was opening in me.

And yet, looking back now, I can see that much of what I was learning, and eventually passing on, centred around refining shapes, deepening poses, holding stillness, and building tolerance.

From the outside it often looked like wholesome self-care.
And in many ways, it genuinely was.

But sometimes it was also overpowering what the body was trying to communicate.

Over the last two decades of practice, and especially through the past 13 years studying the nervous system and the impact trauma can have on the body, my understanding has slowly shifted.

I’ve come to recognise how many of us were taught, often without realising it, to override sensation, to push through discomfort, and to interpret certain bodily responses in ways that perhaps were not quite what they seemed.

This can be especially easy to miss when those patterns show up inside practices we consider self-care.

What I once thought of as surrender might, at times, have been collapse.

What looked like calm might occasionally have been numbness.

When I first trained, I didn’t yet have the language for any of this.

Over time, through trauma-sensitive study, somatic therapy, attachment work, polyvagal theory, and years of working alongside women navigating their own nervous systems, that language slowly began to form.

And what I keep coming back to, again and again, is something that feels almost deceptively simple.

Safety changes things.

When a body genuinely feels safe, it often doesn’t need to perform flexibility or prove tolerance. When the nervous system is resourced, stillness can begin to feel supportive rather than threatening. When choice is present, growth tends to unfold in its own time.

I think this is why my facilitation has softened over the years.

Less emphasis on pushing or achieving, and more curiosity about what the body might be communicating beneath the surface.

These days I’m less interested in asking a body to override its signals, and more interested in creating conditions where listening becomes possible.

Coming back to India this time didn’t feel like learning something entirely new.

If anything, it felt more like sensing the arc of that evolution in my own body, noticing how my relationship with practice, with rest, and with the nervous system has quietly changed.

The work I offer now, whether in therapy, retreats, or group spaces, feels rooted in that shift.

Not so much performance or perfection, but a gradual building of capacity.

And in subtle ways, that seems to change the way we move, the way we rest, and perhaps even the way we begin to heal.

An invitation, if you like for a small moment of reflection…

Where in your life might you be overriding what your body is trying to communicate?

Where might you be pushing through self-care, instead of listening for what feels most nourishing?

27/02/2026

I hesitated to share this.

Not because it doesn’t feel true… but because every time I see people suddenly talking about the Chinese New Year, I feel that little internal “ick.”

Like it’s trendy. Like it’s surface. Like it’s something we dip into without really understanding.

And I never want to speak about something just because everyone else is.

But this year… I genuinely feel it.
The shift into the Year of the Fire Horse.

The movement into a numerological Year One.

The beginning of a new nine year cycle.

Not in a performative way.
Not in a “new year, new me” way.
In a quiet, grounded way.

I started this year in India. In retreat. In detox. In prayer. In devotion. And what came through wasn’t excitement or urgency.

It was responsibility.

If this is a beginning year… what am I choosing to build?

What stories am I unconsciously repeating?

What identities have I outgrown?
What myth am I living without even realising it?

That is the deeper layer for me.

And that is where Mythical Body was born.

Not from trend.
Not from hype.

But from the understanding that our bodies carry narrative.

Posture holds story.
Bracing holds story.
Silence holds story.

And if Fire Horse energy is bold, forward moving, catalytic… then we need containers that help us move consciously, not reactively.

Mythical Body is that container.

A space to slow down inside the fire.

To feel what you are carrying.

To gently question the myth you are living.

And to choose the next chapter with intention.

If you’ve felt the acceleration already this year… this might be why.

And if something in you is stirring, even subtly… you’ll know.

This invitation is for you 😉

Mythical Body
3-Day Womens Retreat
29 May - 1 June (👑bday wknd)

🤍

I’ve been feeling increasingly annoyed at what trauma work has become. 😕Not the work itself.But the way it’s often been ...
14/01/2026

I’ve been feeling increasingly annoyed at what trauma work has become. 😕

Not the work itself.
But the way it’s often been packaged, cleaned up, and controlled.

Somewhere along the way, healing stopped being relational and started becoming about managing ourselves instead of meeting ourselves.

I notice it in how fluently we speak now.

About nervous systems.
About attachment.
About boundaries and regulation.

We’ve learned the language faster than we’ve learned what it’s teaching us.🙃
The nuance of our body’s wisdom.

So much of what gets called “regulation” ends up being control.

Control of feeling.
Control of expression.
Control of discomfort. Ours and everyone else’s.

And my body responds to this immediately.

I feel clenching in my jaw, tightening between my shoulder blades, when calm is treated as morally superior.

When activation is framed as a problem.

When discomfort gets labelled as “dysregulation” instead of information.

That doesn’t feel like healing to me.
It feels like obedience.

I also want to name this honestly. I’m not immune.

I often use the language of the nervous system as a buffer.

Explaining and rationalising instead of feeling.

“Regulating” myself as a way of avoiding something that wanted my attention.

What I’m longing for is a return to relationship.

Relationship with sensation.
Relationship with emotion.
Relationship with the parts of us that aren’t tidy or easy.

For me, healing can be activating, unsettling, and sometimes feel like too much.

And the work isn’t to justify or manage that away.

It’s to tend to what’s moving and notice the patterns we’re being invited to rewrite.

⚠️Trauma work doesn’t need more language.⚠️

It needs more honesty.
More relationship.
More willingness to feel without managing everything away.

Im looking forward to unpacking this more with you over my next few posts... and i am curious what this brings up for you.

You’re welcome to share here or come sit with me in DM 💛

06/01/2026

to plan ahead ✨

Payment plans are available, making it easier to say yes slowly and with care.

Mythical Body is an invitation to carve out real space... to step away from the noise, drop into your body, and journey inward alongside a soul-tribe of beautiful wahine Te Moata

Bookings are open.
I’d love to welcome you there.
💛

05/01/2026

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how ritual quietly weaves its way into my therapeutic work... with clients and in groups.

I lived with the understanding that healing should be linear. Progress forward. Symptoms resolved. Emotions managed. But my own body kept telling a different story... one shaped by cycles, tides, and natural ebb and flow.

Returning to cyclic wisdom changed everything.
As I began to listen more closely, I noticed how my emotions moved like the moon... swelling, receding, intensifying, softening. My nervous system wasn’t broken or inconsistent; it was responding to rhythms older than language. Some days called for action and clarity. Others asked for rest, grief, or turning inward.

Historically, this was understood. The word lunacy once named the way the full moon amplified feeling, behaviour, and collective energy. Rather than pathologising this intensity, communities built rituals around it... spaces to release, to gather, to mark transitions, to be held when things felt too much.

In my own healing journey, ritual became a bridge.
A way to honour what was moving through me without needing to fix it.

A way to regulate my nervous system through meaning, rhythm, and repetition.

A way to soften into my inner world rather than brace against it.

Now, ritual lives gently alongside my therapeutic work.

Not as something performative or prescribed... but as an invitation.

A candle lit with intention.
A moment of pause at a threshold.
A shared circle that says: this phase matters too.

When we integrate ritual, we give the body permission to move at its own pace.

We acknowledge that healing has seasons.
We remember that regulation doesn’t always come from control... sometimes it comes from being witnessed in the fullness of our cycles.

This is the remembering I keep returning to.
And the remembering I love to share.
✨️

02/01/2026

Intentions aren’t about becoming more. They’re about meeting what’s already true.

And if you’d like to explore this more deeply, you’re welcome to join me on retreat this year where we’ll dive into your mythical story together. Discovering what's beneath and awakening your hidden power 😉
DM me for deets

🙏💛




Something I’m learning about rest in my own body right now.I’m in India, partway through a panchakarma retreat, and slow...
30/12/2025

Something I’m learning about rest in my own body right now.

I’m in India, partway through a panchakarma retreat, and slowing down to this pace has been far harder than I expected. After a long stretch of a very full schedule, my nervous system doesn’t simply switch into rest because I ask it to. It fidgets. It looks for something to do. It wants structure, stimulation, momentum.

What I’m feeling is not a failure to rest. It’s a body that has learned to stay alert.

This is something I see again and again with clients, and it’s something many of us experience when the holidays arrive. We reach time off carrying months or years of urgency, responsibility, and constant movement. When that structure drops, the body doesn’t immediately relax. Often, tiredness surfaces. Emotions rise. Rest can feel uncomfortable, even unsafe.

Culturally, we are encouraged to make the most of our time off. So we stay busy. Plans, travel, late nights, full days. It looks like rest, but from a nervous system perspective, it often keeps us in a state of alertness.

Here, being asked to slow down so deeply, I can feel how much my system has been shaped by doing. Stillness brings sensation. Quiet brings awareness. There is a tenderness in learning how to let that be okay.

Learning to rest is a re-culturing. It happens slowly, imperfectly, and often in relationship. Sometimes it looks like changing one plan, choosing an early night, or inviting someone to share in rest rather than pushing through alone.

If rest feels awkward for you this season, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re practising something unfamiliar.

I’m letting this time be an invitation to rest and digest the year that’s been. To allow the body to complete its own cycles. And to step into 2026 with a little more ease, rather than more effort.

I hope you might be finding ways to gift yourself the same.
🧡

17/12/2025

There’s a quiet pressure at this time of year to make everything make sense.
To tidy the story.
To land the lessons.
To arrive somewhere clear.

But many of us are ending this year in the middle of things — holding more than one truth, standing in uncertainty, feeling both grateful and undone.

This is your reminder that you don’t need resolution to honour the passage of time.
Presence is enough.
Honesty is enough.
Meeting yourself where you actually are is enough.

In my next post, I’ll be sharing a gentle mini ritual you’re welcome to join me in around solstice — a way of marking the ending of the year without forcing closure.

If this speaks to you, stay close 🤍

BOOKINGS NOW OPENThere’s a place inside each of us that remembers how to move, feel, and express without apology. A plac...
02/12/2025

BOOKINGS NOW OPEN
There’s a place inside each of us that remembers how to move, feel, and express without apology. A place of instinct, imagination, and deep inner knowing.

Mythical Body is an invitation to return to that place.

This retreat weaves the stories we hold in our bodies, the characters that shape our choices, the shadows we avoid, and the wild wisdom waiting beneath our everyday selves.

Across three days we soften into movement, enquiry, mythmaking, and ritual.
We work gently with the body... following sensation, breath, rhythm, and intuition.

This is a trauma-informed, somatic, deeply grounded space.
Everything is invitational.

There is movement, slowness, creativity, reflection, and room to be exactly as you are.
It’s a weekend of returning... to your body, your voice, your story, and the parts of you that have waited patiently to be acknowledged.

If you’re feeling the pull, this is your sign.

Bookings for Mythical Body are NOW OPEN.

Private cabins and self-contained cottages are limited and will fill fast. Reserve your space early if you desire privacy, quiet, or your own sanctuary to integrate between sessions.

29 May – 1 June 2026
Te Moata Retreat Centre, Coromandel

DM me or visit the link in bio to book now.

02/12/2025

Sunday Dance Update — No Dance This Weekend

Kia ora, Dancers 😍

I wanted to share a little personal update alongside the news that Sunday Dance is cancelled this weekend.

The second half of 2025 has been unusually full... rich, demanding, and at times overwhelming. With so many moving pieces, I’ve found myself unable to offer the consistency and steadiness that this practice deserves. I’ve noticed how often dates have shifted or changed, and I know that hasn’t always been easy for those who try to plan their Sundays around dance. I want to acknowledge that openly.

Although I feel a tenderness in naming it, the truth is that I haven’t had the capacity to prioritise Sunday Dance in the way I wish I could. And yet, dancing with you all continues to be one of the highlights of my year... a place of joy, upliftment, and genuine connection.

With this in mind, I have made the decision that as we move into 2026, I will be stepping back from facilitating Sunday Dance with Hester. This is not a departure from movement or community, but a recognition of my own limits and the need to honour the integrity of the space we share.

Hester has held this community for over two decades with enormous heart, consistency, and devotion. I want to acknowledge her mahi deeply, and the way she has nurtured a safe, grounded, and vibrant environment for us all to gather and move.

As I settle into a new rhythm next year, my hope is that I may return later in 2026 to offer a different style of program... something that aligns with my own way of teaching and allows me to create the kind of container I feel most resourced to hold. I don’t yet know the shape of it, but it feels exciting and true.

For now, I want to thank you for the richness of this community and for all the ways you bring life to the dance floor. I look forward to dancing with you in 2026.

With warmth, gratitude and dancing spirit,

28/11/2025

The first retreat of 2026 calls us into the realm where body and myth meet.

Mythical Body is an immersive 3-day journey into the feminine as shapeshifter, storyteller, and weaver of her own becoming.

Across movement, story, and ritual, we explore the ancient threads that live beneath our everyday identities... the parts that surface in dreams, intuition, desire, and those quiet moments of knowing.

This retreat is an invitation to remember the body as an oracle… a wild archive… a place where shadow and light both belong.

We’ll move, write, unravel, and remake ourselves through archetypal stories that mirror our own transformations: the descent, the shedding, the re-emergence, the return.

Expect depth, play, softness, mystery, and the kind of renewal that only happens when women gather in circle and give themselves permission to shift shape.

Te Moata, Coromandel — 28 May to 1 June

A powerful whenua to anchor this work.
Quiet bush, forest tracks, misty mornings, and space to hear your inner world again.

Tickets go on sale next week.
Private cabins are open to pre-book now.

If your body is stirring, pulling, whispering... trust that.
This one is meant to be felt.

Address

Nelson
7010

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A woman's soul is like a magical container which is bigger and more spacious inside than we could ever imagine from the outside. It holds treasure and wonders, terrors and monsters, desires and passions. Many of us never look inside because we fear what we may find and how it will make us feel, but deep down we are curious. The revelation comes, for those of us daring enough to peer within, that our journey as women only begins when we turn inward.

Hi I’m Jade. Daily Alchemy is the heart of my well-being journey, it is founded on my own healing work and research into the nature of Self, ancient wisdom practices and the transformative journey of opening to the Sacred Feminine.

For as long as I can remember I have been insatiably curious about what it means to be well. Why do some people struggle while others find a way to thrive, often despite the most challenging circumstances? The depths of this enquiry has propelled a journey of awakening that has opened me to knowledge and practices that have helped me to move beyond the constraints of conditioning, limited beliefs and ancestral patterning; into a deep unshakable sense of knowing who I am and how I’m most authentically called to express myself in this life.

My work, and my passion is helping women, like you, become familiar with your inner dance to awaken to the precious gifts of power, delight, creativity and that most rare jewel - your authentic self. I am wholeheartedly dedicated to facilitating and holding space for your inner transformation, and my own.