I wanted to distill and share the three big lessons I’m taking away from my miscarriages last year. 1. Intense emotional experiences don’t have to be all-consuming   As a highly emotional being, I used to be someone that would be absolutely floored when bad things happen in my life. I wouldn’t be able to function, I’d be […]

Is there anything better than losing yourself in an amazing book?! In this three-part series I’m counting down my all-time favourite books. This was SO hard to narrow down!  Here we go – in no particular order – my favourite page-turning novels to lose yourself in …  Still Life – Sarah Winman* Pachinko – Min Jin […]

Books are my sanctuary. To me there’s not much that beats a comfy armchair, a cup of tea and an enthralling book. An infinitely more pleasurable and healthy alternative to doom-scrolling! One thing I notice though is that if I don’t have a good book on the go, I’m more tempted by social media and other distractions that don’t feed my heart and […]

I’ve been a longtime reader of self-help books since I picked up my first in my early twenties: You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. (Was this anyone else’s first? For many of my friends, this became theirs because I was so evangelical about it for awhile there!!) Since picking up that book and having the mind-blowing realisation […]

Learning how to observe your unhealthy or unwanted behaviours without shaming or blaming yourself is a game-changer. It allows you to be honest with yourself that your busy role is costing you precious family time, Or to observe yourself making compulsive and unhealthy food choices, Or to notice your short temper with your kids or […]

I am a devoted mother, partner and homemaker first. A coach and business owner a distant second. And my schedule and weekly rhythms clearly reflect that. I LOVE my job. As in, pinch-me-I-cannot-believe-I-get-to-do-this love it. And I am beyond clear that my career will always play second fiddle to my most precious relationships and homemaking […]

Say it with me: I am willing to be misunderstood, judged and rejected. For it is only in my willingness to risk this, that I am truly free. Now don’t get me wrong, it is still my strong preference to be liked and approved of (I’m a Libran for god’s sake!) But this is a […]

Every single habitual pattern Every single fear Every single “self-sabotaging” way of behaving All of your worrying, people-pleasing, self-criticism, perfectionism, snapping, defensiveness, emotional eating, jealousy, over-working, over-giving etc etc … These habits always, ALWAYS make perfect sense in the context of your life experiences and stories. In the ways you once learnt to stay safe […]

If you’re someone who has a regular, consistent meditation practice that brings powerful benefits for you, I salute you! Go forth and enjoy! But if you’re like the majority of my clients, for whom meditation is a “should” but who have struggled to create a consistent practice around it … I’m here to let you […]

If someone peeked into your life and the only measure they had to go by was how you spend your time, would they know? Would they know that your loved ones are your world? Would they know how much you value your health and well-being and that of your family, that to you nothing else […]

For someone who prides herself on being warm, loving and open, I sure did have a big ol’ bag of tricks when it comes to trying to control my loved ones. With Stu’s blessing (thanks Met), I thought I’d out myself on some of the ways I tried to control him before I knew better: Repeatedly telling him how he should be speaking to/comforting/responding to/disciplining Orla Purchasing a changing careers book which I lied was for […]

“I know it’s not a big deal.” “I know it’s silly to worry about this.” “I know she’s not going to change.” Do you find yourself using these types of phrases when talking about or reflecting on things that have really stressed or hurt you? We say it to convince ourselves that we really do […]

Finding the right coach, therapist or counsellor really matters! As someone who has made significant investments in coaching and therapy over the last 16+ years, I’ve had my fair share of incredible support and some significant mismatches too. As I look back I see that the mismatches came about when I effectively outsourced my decision […]

Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and endless knowing. Her name is Wild Woman, and she is an endangered species. -Clarissa Pinkola Estes Our inner wild woman is always beckoning to us. Inviting us to come home: home to our instincts, our […]

“Who does she think she is?” She spent a great deal of energy (consciously and subconsciously) contorting and curating herself so that people would never ask that question about her. Of course, some did anyway. What we do our best to avoid always shows up eventually. And what a gift that turned out to be. […]

If we only have five minutes together, here’s what I want you to know. Your body is wise and can be trusted We can trust our bodies (our hungers, desires and feelings) and they hold so much wisdom. Most of us have been taught to over-attach to our minds and disconnect from our bodies and […]

You’ve probably seen this photo making the rounds on social media … Nike has debuted a plus-sized mannequin in its flagship London store and its decision has been both celebrated and slammed. In every body positive corner of the internet it’s been incredibly heart-warming to read stories about what it’s meant for people to see […]

I had A LOT of time to myself recently as I shuffled the streets training for the London marathon.  Unfortunately my poor brain, seriously depleted of oxygen, seemed unable to produce much beyond a few phrases and cliches on rotation for hours. Luckily they were on point and applicable, in marathon training and in life. […]

Many years ago I was driving Foxy* through the Toowong roundabouts in Brisbane. It was pouring rain and as I entered the roundabout the back wheels started spinning and I was suddenly fishtailing my way across two lanes of traffic totally out of control. Luckily Dad’s endless intonations from when we were learning to drive […]

Until a few years ago I used to be really scared about losing my sense of happiness and fulfilment. Having fought long and hard to recover from eating disorders and depression, the last thing I wanted to do was fall back into the blackness. And so I invested hundreds of hours (and pounds!) into making […]

When we say: ‘I couldn’t say no.’ What we really mean is: ‘I was afraid if I said no that X would think less of me so I said yes.’ Or maybe ‘It’s really important to me that I take care of this person so I said yes.’ Or ‘To disappoint X would be excruciating […]

Body dissatisfaction is so ingrained in our culture that it can feel impossible to know where to begin in unravelling some of these beliefs. At the heart of body acceptance is body connection. Strengthening our connection to our body inevitably shifts us from a surface-level focus on what our body looks like, to a deep, […]

One of my favourite words in the English language is Denouement. Denouement means that final part of a narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved; where things are made clear. I love it because it reminds me that so often in our lives, we have […]

It’s easy to put our focus on those people over there who are ruining our world. And yet the world changes when we look in our own mirrors. It changes when we change. It’s up to all of us to take action grounded in love, when it can be easy to fall into the grip […]

  The night before my very first coaching business website went live, I went and sat under my favourite tree in Hyde Park and was completely overcome with emotion. I wept for the 13 year old who cried herself to sleep most nights worrying that her best friends secretly hated her. For the 14 year […]

40,000 hours. 5,000 days. That’s a conservative estimate of how much time an average 40 year old has left of their working life.   Do you love what you do? Not in a it’s-fine-I-don’t-hate-it kind of way. I mean do you derive joy and fulfilment from it? And if not, are you taking steps every […]

I recently had the incredible privilege of co-leading a full-day career coaching workshop for women affected by domestic violence. I was blown away by the awesome energy that is created when we humans come together in all our realness. When we mix our courage and vulnerability, inner strength and fears, sanguinity and deep sadness. When […]