April Newsletter

Hello amazing Mothers & Mothers-to-be!

Spring is here, and I am loving it. Lighter evenings, the warmth of sun on your skin, blossom on trees, leaves budding and golden daffodils to brighten up the day. More time to be outside. Glorious! I hope you’re enjoying it too.

I’m landing this newsletter with you on the Easter weekend with the hope you’ll dip into it when you can take a little pause from the busyness of modern life. No rush - come back to this anytime. I hope that it will provide you with some things to help you take a little pocket of time for yourself - to be inspired, to bring some joy and to help you support yourself with simple self-care.

Scroll down for my monthly yummy recipe, 2 minute self-care practice, a lovely guided meditation, a morning ritual to try and some inspiration - a book, nature, art to visit & things to think about perhaps, plus a poem to enjoy. I’ll share some exciting upcoming opportunities for us to come together too - including a really VERY special Wild Wellbeing Day Retreat in June (very limited places).

Wishing you a relaxing Easter bank holiday. I hope you enjoy the feel of the longer days now we’ve passed the Spring Equinox and savouring the shoots of Spring all around us.

Looking forward to seeing you soon

Susan x

PS Don’t forget you can also join me on my Instagram and Facebook pages too:

 
 
 

A simple monthly recipe

wild garlic pesto

Collecting wild garlic is such a treat this time of year. It’s a perfect first foray in foraging as it’s super easy to do, wild garlic is really good for you, and it gets you outside in the Spring sunshine too - win-win-win!

Ingredients:
50g sunflower seeds

40g fresh wild garlic leaves (washed)

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons oil (rapeseed, olive oil or sunflower)

salt & pepper

How to make it :

Simply add the all of the ingredients to a small blender, and whizz to a slightly chunky paste.

Taste and add more salt or lemon juice as required. If you like a looser pesto add more oil.

Enjoy on pasta, in risotto, drizzled onto pizza, in sandwiches - this stuff is seriously addictive! Use any flowers as a pretty garnish.

PS Always make sure you forage any food sustainably. So only take enough for your own use, and leave plenty for the wildlife.

Some things I’m loving right now & you might like too…

for modern mothers inspiration header

This month my inspiration to click on, I hope you enjoy them too.

  • An inspiring podcast about rest, burn out and living life with more wonder in an exhausted age.

  • Here’s a book that I love about enjoying a wilder, richer world and wellbeing

  • I’ve been using this with my life coaching clients. Do you want your life to feel alive in purpose, filled with meaning and makes you feel fully expressed? Then this free tool could help. Personally it was SO enlightening.

  • I’m looking forward to visiting this women-focussed sculpture exhibition

  • You might like to read how a megastar became a mother

  • And another read, this time about anti-consumerism and the dawn of the ‘deinfluencer’

2 minute self-care.

A super simple practice, to show yourself some care and love

for modern mothers 2 minute aelf care header

Exfoliate with a dry brush daily before a shower or bath. Your skin will feel more alive, and look glowing too. Plus Add it helps get your lymphatic system moving too.

Always brush in the direction of your heart.

Add it to your daily routine, to turn self-maintenance into self-care.

A poem

I find poetry so inspiring. So I thought I’d start to share a poem with you each month. Here’s the first one:

for modern mothers poem header

Poem of the One World by Mary Oliver

This morning
the beautiful white heron
was floating along above the water

and then into the sky of this
the one world
we all belong to

where everything
sooner or later
is a part of everything else

which thought made me feel
for a little while
quite, beautiful, myself.

A morning ritual

for modern mothers morning ritual header

I love the idea of ‘sky before screen’

Could you commit to this simple yet important daily ritual? Take in nature, before reaching for your phone. Ideally getting outside (sunlight in the morning helps our circadian rhythm), but even simply opening the curtains and taking in the day as the first thing you do.

I’m putting some effort into this, it’s not east as a serial bed phone user! 😬

Loving kindness meditation

for modern mothers meditation header

There is a really lovely type of meditation called Loving Kindness meditation or Metta. It’s an ancient practice with roots in Buddhist traditions, where we mentally send positive energy and kindness to ourselves and others. Scientific studies of Buddhist monks who practice this type of meditation show that it strengthens the neural connections for positivity - they are generally happier than others.

We are often as mothers the last to ever wish ourselves well, so this is a lovely and simple way to extend some kindness to yourself as well as to others in your life and all living beings. It’s simply beautiful, do give it a try.

Lets Come Together…

for modern mothers together header

Come and find some time and space for yourself within the busyness of life and motherhood.

I am so very excited about this! A whole DAY RETREAT IN NATURE in the most amazing and magical woodland venue.

Join me on Friday 9th June, for a whole day of:
~ yoga & breath work in the woods
~ forest bathing
~ woodland sauna
~ wood fired hot tub
~ locally grown organic lunch & foraged/homemade drinks
~ gathering around a fire
~ sea swimming (optional)
~ time in nature for rest, relaxation & reconnection
It’s going to be a very beautiful & special day

It’s a bijou event - very limited places (only FIVE places left as I write this)

More info on the Wild Wellbeing Day Retreat here

I also have a NEW ‘Womens Circle’ called Gather. This is all about the essence of gathering together around a campfire, to connect, listen inwards and be supported by other women. More on Gather here.

If you are pregnant right now then I have lots to support you. Including my 5-start Hypnobirthing & Antenatal course. Please do also share with your pregnant friends too…

If you want to see my full schedule of classes & events then do head here

 

With love and spring energy to you all.

Susan x

PS Do drop me an email with any feedback on this new Newsletter, or any suggestions. It’s always lovely to hear from you.

Other things you might find supportive…

For Modern Mothers Podcast

You can also now listen to my podcast. This is a podcast to help mothers and mothers-to-be you thrive physically, mentally and emotionally in the modern world.

You’ll find no BS talks about all aspects of modern motherhood & wellbeing - physical, mental and emotional health, self-care, mindset, pregnancy, work, relationships, birth, cyclical living. This is a podcast to support, inform and empower you to find your own unique way through motherhood. Episodes include:

~ The Truth About Baby Sleep

~ Postnatal Bodies

~ Breastfeeding Myths

~ Self-Care For Mothers

~ Reconnecting with your Menstrual Cycle

Plus there are some guided meditations on there too. Use the link below or simply search for 'for modern mothers' on your preferred podcast platform (Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Google, Spotify, Stitcher etc). ttps://www.formodernmothers.com/podcast

 
 

Join me on instagram…

5 Tips For.... Creating the best birth space There is SO much you can do to make your birth space help you feel safe, more relaxed, more private and supported. And that will help the process of birth. Mammals weren't designed to birth in brightly l
Gratitude... In this weeks classes we've been sharing things we are grateful for. Such a simple yet really powerful practice to do each day. Today I am grateful for... 〰 Being able to work outside as I write a new course 〰 Iced coffee ☕ ❄ 〰 Shade!
When a mum from from your Mum & Baby Yoga classes, bakes homemade blackcurrant muffins for all the other mums for the end of the class 😍😍😍😍 Susan x . #community #motherhood #findyourtribe #connection #together #homemade #supporthemother #mat
Just recording new videos for my 'Yoga For Modern Life at home' , on-demand class library 🧘‍♀️🏡 There's a new six-part, simple and sweet meditation course. It guides you with the options of videos 📺 or audio only 🎧. If you want to start (or
This week I taught one of the small people how to cut flowers. This means I now get presented twice a day with such delights as this ❤️❤️❤️ Joyful. Children have their uses after all it seems 😉 And my goodness the sweet peas are blooming at an a
Connection, sharing, being seen and heard are extraordinarily powerful. We are more resilient in the togetherness on community and being connected. Beautiful words as always by @rupikaur_ from her book home body Susan x . #together #community #c
Just to share the beauty and majesty of this glorious image ❤️🤰 Strong yet soft Majestic yet vulnerable Stillness yet full of deep energy The curves, the fluidity, the potential and potency. The utterly awe-inspiring body of a pregnant woman or p
It's easy to get caught up in overthinking. Especially in pregnancy. Sometimes it's a diversionary tactic. If we spend weeks making lists and researching which travel system to buy, or what colour to paint the nursery, then we don't have to think ab
🤱Ways to help a new Mother🤱 Anything else to add to the list? What helped you the most? Please share your own pearls of wisdom in the comments, I'm sure another mother or mother-to-be would really appreciate it 😊 And please do share with anyone