Take A Breath
Download on the App Store

Take A Breath episodes

  • Thursday Thoughts - Self Doubt

    On this week's Thursday Thoughts, Lucy and I are talking about something every single one of us experiences at some point…self-doubt.

    We discuss why it’s so common and why it stops us speaking up, going for things, or trusting ourselves fully.

    We also share some of the things that have genuinely helped us quiet our inner critic and build more self-trust over time.

    Because life is far too short to spend it constantly second-guessing yourself, shrinking yourself, or waiting until you feel “ready.”

    We hope you find something useful in here.

    Love Polly & Lucy x

    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    32 min
  • Healing, Grief & Trusting Yourself: Carly’s Story

    In this episode of Take a Breath, I’m joined by my lovely friend Carly for a deeply honest conversation about her journey through breast cancer and everything that came with it.  

    Nearly three years ago, Carly was diagnosed with breast cancer and advised to undergo a mastectomy and radiotherapy. Instead, she chose a very different path,  one that focused on radically changing her lifestyle.

    And of course, it wasn’t easy.

    We talk openly about the reality of what that looked like day-to-day, cutting out sugar, preparing everything from scratch, trying to reduce toxins, learning to slow down, and turning inward through meditation.

    During this time, Carly also lost her mum to cancer, while continuing to navigate her own diagnosis and the fear and uncertainty that came with it. At one stage, the cancer spread, yet Carly continued to trust the path she was on and doubled down on caring for her body and mind in a completely different way.

    Now, two years later, after recent scans, doctors could find no trace of cancer.

    This episode is not about telling anyone what they should or shouldn’t do medically, and Carly’s experience is uniquely her own. But it is a powerful conversation about trust, intuition, resilience, lifestyle, emotional wellbeing, and the incredible connection between mind and body.

    We talk about:

    • Carly’s diagnosis and the emotions that followed
    • Why she chose a different route
    • The intense lifestyle changes she made
    • Stress, grief, and the nervous system
    • Meditation and emotional healing
    • Learning to trust herself
    • What this experience taught her about life

    It’s a raw, moving, hopeful conversation and one I know so many of you will take something meaningful from.

    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    55 min
  • Thursday Thoughts - Small Steps When Noone's Watching

    On this week's Thursday's Thoughts, Lucy and I are talking about the small, unglamorous steps that we take when nobody’s watching, that ultimately get us to where we want to go.

    For example, I talks about the tiny, seemingly insignificant physio exercises I'm doing every day to help heal from my knee operation - it would be easy to feel like they weren’t doing anything, but I'm trusting the process, showing up every day, knowing that they will pay off eventually.

    So if there’s something you’d like to do, remember that it’s those baby steps you take that nobody else sees that are actually having the biggest impact of all.

    We hope you’ll find something useful in here.

    Love,
    Polly & Lucy x

    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    31 min
  • You Keep Saying You’ll Do Something for You… But You Keep Choosing Everything Else First

    You know the phrases…
     “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
    “Put your oxygen mask on first.”

    But here’s the real question…

    Are you actually doing it?

    Or are you still giving your time, energy, and attention to everyone else…
     and hoping you’ll get a moment for yourself somewhere down the line?

    In this episode, I’m sharing a very honest reflection, one that’s come from being forced to slow down after surgery, and what it’s helped me realise about what I thought was self-care… versus what actually supports your nervous system.

    ✨ In this episode, I also explore:

    •  Why knowing you should prioritise yourself isn’t the same as actually doing it 
    •  The hidden ways you might be “pushing” under the guise of self-care 
    •  What your nervous system really needs to feel calm and supported 
    •  Why one-off self-care (like holidays or occasional treats) isn’t enough 
    •  The power of small, consistent moments to reset and reconnect 
    •  A simple 3-step approach to start showing up for yourself daily

    To claim your FREE month's membership for The Inner Space (offer ends at end of May 2026) email INNER SPACE to [email protected] 


    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    26 min
  • Thursday Thoughts - It's All an Inside Job

    On today’s Thursday's Thoughts, Lucy and I are exploring the idea that ‘it’s all an inside job.’

    Your inner world shapes how you experience everything around you, and your outer world becomes a reflection of what’s happening within. 

    When you start to notice your thoughts, and how you’re really feeling, something shifts. You respond to life differently with more awareness and often more calm and compassion.

    In this episode, we share some of the simple tools that have helped us navigate our own inner worlds.

    We hope you find something useful in here.

    Love Polly & Lucy xx

    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    30 min
  • It's Ok to Not Be OK

    In this episode, I open up about how I’ve been navigating the emotional ups and downs of recovery after knee surgery.

    I share a recent wobble I experienced, and why learning to feel your emotions, rather than push them away, is such an important part of moving through difficult moments. It’s not about getting stuck in how you feel, but allowing those emotions to move through you with awareness and compassion.

    I also talk about the power of a good cry (something we often underestimate), and the simple, supportive ways we can gently shift heavy or stuck energy when it shows up.

    If you’ve been telling yourself you’re “fine” when you’re really not, I hope my  reflections remind you there’s another way.


    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    23 min
  • Thursday Thoughts - Not Living in the Past

    On this week's Thursday Thoughts, Lucy and I are talking about not living in the past.

    We all spend time thinking about the past — whether it's reminiscing about a lovely memory, cringing about something we said or did 5 years ago, or thinking about a relationship we're struggling to move on from. The question we want to ask is: how much time am I actually spending in the past?

    The truth is that what's done is done, and while we can learn lessons from the past, staying stuck on something that happened 3 weeks or 10 years ago probably isn't serving you. So...if you find yourself spending a little too much time ruminating over that time you made a tit of yourself at last year's Christmas party, it might be time to let that go; and instead, start thinking more about the present moment, and your exciting future.

    We hope you'll find something useful in here.

    Love,

    Polly & Lucy x

    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    21 min
  • Thursday Thoughts - Brainwash Yourself

    On today’s Thursday's Thoughts, Lucy and I are talking about brainwashing ourselves with beliefs that are actually going to serve us.

    Whether we know it or not, our lives are quietly being run by the subconscious beliefs that we hold - some of which are helping us, many of which are not.

    The good news is that we can choose to change our beliefs anytime we like; so if you believe that “life goes downhill once you hit 50”, or “being single makes me a loser”, you aren’t stuck with those limiting beliefs forever. It’s simply a matter of choosing a different, more empowering belief, and reinforcing that new one in the same way you reinforce the negative ones.

    Ultimately, a belief is just a thought you think over and over and over again - so…it’s time to start paying attention to the stories on repeat in your monkey mind.

    We sincerely hope that you’ll find something useful in here.

    Love,
    Polly & Lucy x

    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    32 min
  • Thursday Thoughts - Trusting the Process

    On this week’s Thursday Thoughts, Lucy and I are talking about trusting the process. I talk about my recent knee operation and how trusting the process has been has been and will be such an important part of my recovery.

    We explore how having faith, and choosing to believe that things are working out for you, even when it doesn’t feel like it, can really help to keep positive. Because let’s be honest… it’s easy to trust when life’s flowing. It’s a very different story when things feel slow, uncertain, or a bit wobbly.

    We hope you find something useful in here.

    Love Polly & Lucy xx

    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    21 min
  • Thursday Thoughts - Patience

    In today’s Thursday's Thoughts, Lucy and I are diving into something we all need a little more of… patience.

    In a world where almost everything is available at the click of a button, waiting can feel harder than ever. We’re so used to instant results that anything slower can feel frustrating.

    But when we allow things to unfold in their own time, they often feel even more meaningful. There’s a richness in the process that we miss when we rush straight to the outcome.

    Because sometimes, it really is better to travel than to arrive!

    We hope this conversation gives you a gentle reminder to slow down, trust the timing, and maybe even enjoy the in-between moments a little more.

    Love Polly & Lucy xx

    Download 15 Breaths to Calm Anxiety - a FREE 5 minute audio to calm you down in real time.

    Download The Breath Check-Up - your FREE guide to understanding how well you're breathing right now.

    Download my energising 5 Minute Morning Practice to get your day started in the best way possible.

    To find out more about my membership The Inner Space go to:  https://www.pollywarren.com/theinnerspace

    Email me at:  [email protected]
    https://www.pollywarren.com/
    https://www.instagram.com/pollywarrencoaching/

    26 min

About Take A Breath

From the publisher's feed

A podcast for creating practical calm in the messy middle of midlife.


This is your space to pause. 

Because life in midlife is full-on. Between work, family, menopause,…

More shows like Take A Breath

The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes

The School of Greatness

21,054 Listeners

The Chalene Show | Pop Culture, Women's Health, & Fitness by Chalene Johnson

The Chalene Show | Pop Culture, Women's Health, & Fitness

7,233 Listeners

Age Better with Liz Earle by Liz Earle

Age Better with Liz Earle

230 Listeners

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett by DOAC

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

8,527 Listeners

The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast by Dr Rupy Aujla

The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast

587 Listeners

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee by Dr Rangan Chatterjee: GP & Author

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

3,604 Listeners

Happy Place by Fearne Cotton

Happy Place

915 Listeners

On Purpose with Jay Shetty by Perfect Strangers

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

27,826 Listeners

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast by Dr Louise Newson

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

266 Listeners

BETTER! with Dr. Stephanie Estima | Strength, Body Composition & Perimenopause by Dr. Stephanie Estima, Perimenopause & Women's Fitness Expert

BETTER! with Dr. Stephanie Estima | Strength, Body Composition & Perimenopause

617 Listeners

ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast by Kate Moryoussef

ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast

176 Listeners

ZOE Science & Nutrition by ZOE

ZOE Science & Nutrition

2,024 Listeners

The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast

19,273 Listeners

Begin Again with Davina McCall by Begin Again

Begin Again with Davina McCall

668 Listeners

Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball by Persephonica

Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball

180 Listeners