I’m delighted to be joined by the lovely Alyssa Brade in this episode. 

We talk about the pressures mums put on themselves as parents and how important it is to take time for our selves. So often we get caught up in what society expects of us as mums we forget that we are all different and as different as we all are, our children are different and the context of bringing our children up is different - so wy do we all judge each other’s parenting so much and why do we find it so hard to be honest about how challenging it can be?

Alyssa Brade is a passionate advocate for maternal mental health. She is dedicated to discussing the authentic parenting struggles many of us experience. Drawing from personal experience, degrees in anthropology, linguistics, and communication, and years of multidisciplinary research, Alyssa brings her discoveries and firsthand knowledge in support of modern motherhood. Her recently published book, “Mommy Needs A Minute: From Burnout to Empowerment” is available on Amazon. It’s full of practical tips that all mums will find useful. 

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. 

Keep shining your light!

#parenting #selfcare #mumguilt #momguilt #burnout

It’s back to the Shine Your Light cards today. I randomly selected a card before I pressed record. It’s card 18 - Bring conscious awareness to self-sabotaging behaviours.

I love this card and it is in fact at the centre of all that I love to do. 

We are all unique and have strengths that we were born with to contribute to this incredible world. We rely on these strengths to keep us safe when were are in situations that cause us to feel stress or anxiety. As we grow up these behaviours become unconscious and automatic. And when we overuse or abuse these strengths they cause us stress and anxiety which in turn impacts how we show up in the world. Our performance, our wellbeing and our relationships suffer as a consequence. 

So would you like to know what your strengths or super powers are? And would you like to know how these strengths are holding you back in your life - either personal or professional? 

If so I am offering a FREE Discovery Session to anyone interested. Please click here to book your slot: https://go.oncehub.com/RMB_Discovery_Session

I look forward to talking to you soon. 

Until then, keep shining and reaching your best. 

#shineyourlight #reachingmybest #selfsabotage #superpowers #strengths 

All change for this week. I was delighted to be joined by Dr Gracie. This was the first time we had met, but I knew that we would have lots to talk about… so you are in for a treat. 

We chat about the expectations that society puts on women and how we take on so much. We cover how this impacts our mental health and why it is so important to do something about it. 

We both share our experience on how “digging” into the way we show up in the world has lasting positive impact on the way we lead our lives and build strong relationships with those that mean the most to us - this includes some of the challenges of parenting.

This is a great conversation and a MUST listen.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed having the conversation.

Here is some more info on Dr Gracie for you:

Dr. Gracie is a highly qualified Doctor in Clinical Psychology and founder of Brain Body Wealth and The Female Mental Health Collective. She is a women’s mental health advocate and specialises in supporting women with their mental health across the lifespan. She offers 1:1 therapy and a 12 week ‘Prioritise You’ Program for mothers who are juggling the multiple demands placed on them which often leads to overwhelm and resentment. You can also be a part of her community The Female Mental Health Collective by joining the waitlist now!

Instagram: @brain.body.wealth

Instagram: @femalementalhealthcollective

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drgraciemclaven/

Website: www.brainbodywealth.co.uk

Prioritise You Program: https://drgraciemclaven.lpages.co/prioritise-you-program/

The Female Mental Health Collective Waitlist: https://fmhcollective.com/

I’m back from holiday fully recharged. We all need that all-important time to recharge. It’s a great opportunity to refocus and make small changes in our lives. 

My journey of self-rediscovery and self-development has been in full swing for a number of years now. What makes the real difference is embedding new behaviours, with awareness until the new neural pathways are stronger than the old ones. 

In this episode, I reshare why I think the Shine Your Light coaching cards are such a valuable tool. Same goes for the Shine Your Light journal. 

I’d love for you to like, comment and share this podcast and the cards / journal with anyone that you know would benefit from them. 

Have a wonderful week. Keep shining bright and keep reaching for your best. 

#shineyourlight #coachingcards #journaling #selfrediscovery #selfdevelopment 

At the half way point in the year, it’s important to acknowledge how far we have come, what we have learnt, what we want to let go of moving forward and what we hope to achieve in the second half of the year. 

The summer months also see the start of people heading off on holidays. My own comes at the end of this week (so there won’t be episodes until the end of the month now!)

Holidays are a time to take a break. Make sure that you put everything you need to take a proper break in place before you go away. This can be really hard for a business owner. Use out of office. Divert important emails to a colleague. 

Use the time away to connect with nature. To reconnect with family. Enjoy being in the moment. 

When you give yourself this break you will come back fully charged and with new creative ideas that will boost your business in the second half of the year. 

Enjoy your summer break. Enjoy the moment!

Until next time!

Keep on shining and reaching for your best!

#summerholiday #bepresent #lettinggo #outofoffice 

These words, Slowing Down to Speed Up, have come into my awareness again over the past couple of days. Figuring that there is a reason for that I decided to make it the topic for this episode - which - and this is A FIRST - I recorded from my garden while sitting in the sun. Completely fun and enjoyable.

As time passes I see how far I have come with the concept of slowing down. What is the rush? Do I really NEED to DO all the things that I think I SHOULD do? No! 

Am I lazy if I give myself some time “off” to be present and enjoy the beauty of the moment? No! I am looking after myself and appreciating what IS.

So if you struggle to STOP or have any sort of negative sensations around slowing down then this is the episode for you!

Keep shining and reaching your best!

#slowdown #speedup #slowingdowntospeedup #thismoment #powerofnow 

Do you say “Yes” to too much? How does it make you feel when you are over-stretched, putting everyone first and it feels like no-one does anything for you in return?

This is not a good place to be. I know I have been there. And there are times when I still find myself wanting to say Yes to keep others happy, but I am starting to find it easier to say no. 

In this episode I explore the reasons why we people please. Underneath people pleasing are the incredible attributes of empathy and kindness. That is not to be forgotten. Yet, pleasing too much can have a huge impact on our wellbeing and our relationships with those that mean a lot to us. 

How honest are you being with yourself and your friends if you say what they want to hear? What does that do to the trust in your relationship?

If you want to know if you are a people pleaser then take the FREE Saboteur Assessment here. Then I’d love you to book a call to discuss the results with me. You can do that here: https://go.oncehub.com/SaboteurDiscoverySession 

I will be back in two weeks time. 

Until then, keep shining your light and reaching for your best!

#peoplepleaser #selfsabotage #owningyourno

I’ve mentioned before that I have been “living” my own Surrender Experiment and following opportunities that come my way each moment. I call these life’s breadcrumbs. 

When it comes down to it we are small cogs in a huge, complex world - I choose to play The Game Life and enjoy every moment. 

So in today’s episode, I draw one of the Shine Your Light self-rediscovery coaching cards at random - in fact my eyes are drawn to a particular flower (I really “should” learn their names!) - Card 17. It’s all about becoming more aware of the sensations in our bodies. I go onto explain the importance and benefits of the Body Scan meditation and some of the resistance I have experienced when practicing it. 

I hope you find this inspirational and that it motivates you to give it a try as well. 

#thesurrenderexperiment #thegameoflife #shineyourlight #coaching #awarenessofbody #bodyscanmeditation 

The journey of transformation is unpredictable. It happens when you are ready for it. When you are open to hear the insight that you are given. 

The journey of transformation is also incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. There is nothing like knowing at a deep level that you have let go of something that was previously holding you back. 

When I started my transformation journey I didn’t even know I wanted to go on one. I was just unhappy, stressed and unfulfilled. I started reading and listening to content that inspired me. My curiosity grew. I couldn’t get enough of it. But there is a difference between intellectually understanding something and being able to implement it in your life. That latter part takes time. It happens at its own pace. 

I designed the Shine Your Light cards because I wanted people to be able to start transforming without having to read endless books. I wanted to give people a powerful, practical journey. 

All that said transformation is hard without a coach. A coach helps you see things you couldn’t see about yourself. They ask questions that others might shy away from - and importantly they ask them from a place of non-judgment - or at least they are supposed to. A coach holds you accountable and keeps you on the path of transformation, however many squiggles there are in the road. 

So join me in the episode to hear me share some of my journey and how it is still moving me forward and transforming me. 

Know that you have a light to shine and you deserve to shine it!

#shineyourlight #transformation #coachingcards #coaching #lifejourney

In today’s episode, I am talking all about journaling. This is card 10 in the Shine Your Light self-rediscovery coaching cards. 

Journaling can have physical and psychological benefits for us. I have been journaling for 4 years now and it’s become an integral part of my daily habits. 

It took me a long time to let go of what I believed I “should” write in my journal. I started with writing very little and it has now evolved into tracking my doing, being, sleep, food, menstrual and lunar cycle. Capturing this data provides us with invaluable information that gives us the power to make choices for ourselves. e.g. with perimenopausal symptoms. 

Capturing our observations and reflections from the day gives us space to write from the heart and let go before we go to sleep. And finally noticing 3 things that we are grateful for keeps us in a positive mindset as we head into our slumber. 

I’m excited to share that I am launching a Shine Your Light journal that can be used in conjunction with, or independently from the Shine Your Light cards. It’s beautiful and is designed to capture all the things I mention here. 

There is a limited amount available at the moment and it’s not quite on the website yet - so if you are interested then drop me an email ( [email protected]) or DM me. 

I’d love to get your thoughts and reflections on journaling. 

In the meantime, keep on shining brightly!

#shineyourlight #perimenopause #journaling #selfrediscovery