This is a super personal one today, it’s a personal essay but also a part of my continued postpartum story. If you’re new here, for context, you may wish to read about my postpartum experience here.

A lot of this essay is about my physical recovery and about exercise. There is a lot of ‘stuff’ online about taking it slow and not bouncing back postnatally and I have had lots of well meaning people, over the last few years, suggest that I just stick to low impact movement, like yoga. I do explain more in the main essay but I want to state here, too, that it is not a safe or practical thing for me to just do low impact exercise. In order for me to be well and to be regulated, I really do need to move my body in more intense ways. This is very personal to me and is in no way an opinion on what others should do to recover post-birth.

Sending love ❤️

This is your monthly catch-up email showcasing everything that is coming up for Postpartum Matters CIC and The Women’s Health Hub in the month ahead. If you are passionate about our work, or if you want to keep up to date with events, do consider subscribing below.

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Welcome,

Hello my loves,

How are you all doing?

Welcome to your next installment of Mindful Bookbinding. You can find all of the previous letters at this link here, as well as your tutorial showing you how to get started. As a reminder, so far, we have been gathering our tools and making signatures to journal into - I’d love to hear how you’ve got on?

Leave a comment

This turn of the wheel, we will connect with and celebrate Ostara, the Spring Equinox and the workbook has lots of seasonal prompts and activities for you to explore and enjoy. In this seasons video tutorial, I am also sharing my creative journaling process - my favourite tools and ways of building up my pages - as well as encouraging you to explore what works best for you.

I am going a little off-piste today, inspired by to begin seeing Substack as my own, personal mini-press, and by my time learning from on their ‘Writing the Personal’ course, I wanted to share a personal essay with you today. I hope it serves you, but please do tread carefully.

I need to consciously grow the income of my non-profit this year and so, if you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber here. Your support helps fund my writing on Substack but also all of the free-to-access support we provide weekly at The Women’s Health Hub.

Our Mindful Bookbinding course begins on February 1st for paid subscribers too - you can read more about it here, it’s a beautiful course designed to support you in your mental wellbeing whilst showing you how to hand sew your own 2024 journal.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund our writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide weekly at The Women’s Health Hub.

As a paid subscriber you also gain access to our Mindful Bookbinding course - the next installment is being released this month, with the first installment being ready to access now. Come join us & learn how to hand-sew a beautiful journal whilst connecting to yourself and the seasons.

I am so hugely grateful to you for being here.

Subscribe now

This is your monthly catch-up email showcasing everything that is coming up for Postpartum Matters CIC and The Women’s Health Hub in the month ahead. If you are passionate about our work, or if you want to keep up to date with events, do consider subscribing below.

Subscribe now

Welcome, how are you?

Before we begin, I’d love to invite you to our next Community Connection Circle

We’re meeting on Sunday, March 3rd - 6pm GMT | 10am PST | 1pm EST

You can head here to read more about it and find the Zoom link but, if you’ve been looking for more connection, for an invitation to pause and connect with yourself and others, then this space is for you!

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund my writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide daily at The Women’s Health Hub.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

I am so hugely grateful to you for being here.

Subscribe now

Hi my loves!

Surprise Sunday post for you here - I just wanted to remind you that our next Community Connection Circle is this coming Sunday March 3rd - 6pm GMT| 10am PST| 1pm EST. Scroll to the bottom for the Zoom link!

You can read more about what to expect here. But, in short, I offer up some suggested activities and we all choose our own adventure. There is poetry, grounding exercises, journaling and space to share with the circle - should you wish it! Some folks come along and keep their screen and mic off and just enjoy the invitations in their own space, some come along half way through bedtime with the kids and listen and join in when they can, others have candles and warm drinks and all the coloured pens for the journaling. It is all so welcome ❤️.

Our last one was all the way back in October but it was so beautiful. Here is what one of the attendees said about it ~

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund my writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide daily at The Women’s Health Hub.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

I am so hugely grateful to you for being here.

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund my writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide daily at The Women’s Health Hub.

Our Mindful Bookbinding course began on February 1st for paid subscribers too - you can read more about it here, it’s a beautiful course designed to support you in your mental wellbeing whilst showing you how to hand sew your own 2024 journal.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

I am so hugely grateful to you for being here.

Welcome to your mindful bookbinding course!

If you missed the post introducing this you can find it here. This is the first of eight seasonal workbooks & tutorials which will be released according to the Celtic wheel of the year. We’re here to begin the year-long process of making and creating journal pages and learning how to hand sew them into a keepsake book.

Your 2024 beautifully wrapped up in cotton to remember always.

This process is specially created as a thank you to my paid subscribers. Each of the posts will include a workbook, filled with journal prompts and activities and also a video tutorial to guide you through making your own book. You can manage your subscription and support my writing here, as well as all of the free-to-access support we provide at The Women’s Health Hub via this button:

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund my writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide daily at The Women’s Health Hub.

Our Mindful Bookbinding course begins on February 1st for paid subscribers too - you can read more about it here, it’s a beautiful course designed to support you in your mental wellbeing whilst showing you how to hand sew your own 2024 journal.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

I am so hugely grateful to you for being here.

I am SO excited to bring this offering to Substack, as an extra magical gift to my paid subscribers1. Your paid subscription is an important income stream for the non-profit and supports all of the amazing work we do here and at our community space, The Women’s Health Hub and I am so grateful. This year-long experience of Mindful Bookbinding is my way of saying a huge thank you (whilst hopefully encouraging more of you to join us over the pay wall?).

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I firstly want to stress that this is not a professional bookbinding course and I am not a professional bookbinder. I have learnt most of what I know from the wonderful who teaches bookbinding through her amazing online courses & membership which you can find here. No, I am not coming at this to specifically teach you how to make the perfect book, rather I am using the bookbinding process as an invitation to slow down, to take stock of the day to day, to ground ourselves in gratitude and to connect to one another in the process.

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund my writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide daily at The Women’s Health Hub.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

I am so hugely grateful to you for being here.

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund my writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide daily at The Women’s Health Hub.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

I am so hugely grateful to you for being here.

This is your monthly catch-up email showcasing everything that is coming up for Postpartum Matters CIC and The Women’s Health Hub in the month ahead. If you are passionate about our work, or if you want to keep up to date with events, do consider subscribing below.

Subscribe now

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund my writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide daily at The Women’s Health Hub.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund our writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide weekly at The Women’s Health Hub.

We are so hugely grateful to you for being here.

Subscribe now

This is a reader supported newsletter. If you are able, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps fund my writing here but also all of the free-to-access support we provide daily at The Women’s Health Hub.

You can also make a one off payment of support here.

I am so hugely grateful to you for being here.

Subscribe now