In this episode I talk to Gemma Brady on the absolutel healing power of Circles. Gemma is founder of Sister Stories, which is on a mission to make going to Women's Circles as common as yoga class. What started as a simple Circle gathering in London has grown to a global movement of women training to lead and share the transformative power of Circle in their communities.

In this episode we discuss…

Being in the trenches with early Motherhood and simultaneously being in a creative expansion in Gemma’s work.

The path from working as a Documentary Filmmaker to creating a globally reaching business through Circle.

The many various ways that Gemma sees circle being integrated into differet social settings, and how strongly she feels this is imperative for our cultural evolution.

How she weaves the early years of motherhood together with her heart work, and the importance she places on taking time to be creative.

The importance of community and what it really means to belong in a world where there is so much isolation and seperation.

And so much more…

***You can also listen to the episode on Apple here and Spotify here.

Connect with Gemma here on the Sister Stories website, and here on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode and want more from me...

Join me on Substack here

Connect on Instagram here

Explore my offerings and online home here

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I talk to Somatic coach and movement practitioner Sara Duigou. Sara helps people who are feeling stuck navigating major life events to reconnect with their body so they can experience more self-trust, increased capacity and a renewed sense of possibility.

In this episode we discuss…

Sara’s current season of life - raising neurodivergent teens alongside following her soul work and going through peri-menopause as a neurodivergent person herself.

What somatic work is and what it means to come back home to the body and why Sara was called to go down the coaching route after years of teaching movement in different forms.

Why this work is so crucial at this time on the planet and how community holds the key to the onward path.

How Sara takes care of herself as a practioner, and some of her favourite ways of coming back to ourselves when we have lost our way.

The importance of safe space, and what it means to be trauma-informed in the world of coaching and space holding.

Ways we can hold ourselves through intense emotions and how to manage our stress response when we are in fight, flight or freeze.

And so much more…

***You can also listen to the episode on Apple here and Spotify here.

Connect with Sara here on her website, here on Substack and here on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode and want more from me...

Join me on Substack here

Connect on Instagram here

Explore my offerings and online home here

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I talk to Layla O'Mara is a writer, mother and acupuncturist living at the foothills of the Wicklow mountains in Ireland.

In this episode we discuss…

The season of life Layla is finding herself in right now; identifying with the daffodils, wild garlic and Spring energy as well as a shedding the ‘shoulds’.

Layla’s journey to her true heart work and what she feels deeply called to create in the world.

How she weaves together all the differing threads of her passions and heart work to birth her upcoming memoir.

Understanding the topography of our bodies and how the body holds the stories of our lives.

How having an understanding of her Human Design has expanded Layla’s awareness of her creative process and how to live in a more aligned way.

Layla’s non-negotiable self-tending practices and rhythms that help protect her energy.

The importance of trusting your gut and finding your own voice yet also sourcing the right people to listen to when starting on a writing journey.

***You can also listen to the episode on Apple here and Spotify here.

A couple of the resources that Layla mentioned in this post can be found here…

Jane Hardwicke Collings’ work around the phases of lifeAmy Taylor Kabbaz’s work on Matrescence

If any of what we discuss peaked your interest during this conversation, please do subscribe to Layla’s Substack Beauty & Bone to read her incredible words and hear more about the series of workshops that she is currently in the process of writing.

Back in January, I had the honour of being a guest on Layla’s podcast, Beauty & Bone. In this episode we discussed how Human Design can become a map to our true selves. The episode is available to listen to here.

Connect with Layla here on her website, here on Substack and here on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode and want more from me...

Join me on Substack here

Connect on Instagram here

Explore my offerings and online home here

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

Last week marked two years since I took the leap and started writing on Substack, I wasn’t planning on doing anything specific to mark this, however when I started reflecting on 24 months of re-devoting myself to writing I felt the call to share a little solo chat about the journey and the gifts that it has given me.

In this episode I share…

* What sparked me to create my Substack back in March 2023, and how it has evolved over the past two years.

* A crazy story about an Oracle card and how the Universe really does work in magical ways at times.

* How I view my Substack space as a home for all the things I love to share — from practices to audios, to poetry to written essays.

* Why finding a rhythm and structure was so useful for me, and how I honour my need for creativity within that.

* How confidence giving writing on Substack has been for my creative expression and how it has become an integral part of my heart work ecosystem.

* How it took me two years to really experiment and land in this space.

* And so much more…

You can also listen to the episode on Apple here and Spotify here.

If you enjoyed this episode and want more from me...

Join me on Substack here

Connect on Instagram here

Explore my offerings and online home here

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I talk to Sober Coach, Mentor, Writer and Mother Ellie Nova.

We discuss...

The season of life Ellie is in — an aligned emergence with Spring as her work builds in momentum and new phases are on the horizon

Ellie’s journey in breaking free from alcohol and the years leading up to her becoming a sober coach

How to embrace curiosity when looking at your own relationship with alcohol and where to begin in embarking on a sober journey

The importance of showing ourselves deep love and compassion when facing any type of addiction

What gifts living a sober life has brought to Ellie

The culture of drinking intertwined with motherhood

You can also listen to the episode on Apple here and Spotify here.

A few of the resources that Ellie mentioned in this post can be found here…

The Little Book of Big Change by Amy JohnsonThis Naked Mind by Annie GraceThe Alcohol Experiment by Annie GraceAlcohol Explained by William Porter

Ellie is hosting free workshop, Self Care for Sobriety, exploring how self-care can support your sobriety journey, on 11th March. If this conversation has sparked something for you, this workshop is a wonderfully gentle place to begin. You can find out more and book your place here.

You can receive a free Self Compassion for Sobriety Guide when you sign up for Ellie’s newsletter here.

Connect with Ellie here on her website, here on Substack and here on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode and want more from me...

Join me on Substack here

Connect on Instagram here

Explore my offerings and online home here

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I talk to priestess, birthkeeper and womb & wild medicine woman Laura Hart Swann.

We discuss...

The season of life Laura is in — both practically as a 41 year old woman who is the Mother of a 6 year old son — and also from an environmental point of view as we approach Beltane and the emerging energy of Spring.

What an intentionally deep rest over the winter months really looks like when running a business and being a Mother, and how she is tending to herself as the energy rises now.

Merging our whole selves in Mothering, Business and Partnerships to encourage a letting-go of separation, and the richness that comes when we allow all pieces to be present in our work and our family life.

Laura’s journey to the soul work she does now as a Priestess, Birthkeeper and Womb and Wild Medicine Woman, and as a Mother who has grown up without a template for Motherhood.

What claiming the name Priestess means to Laura and how important shadow work has been in that journey.

Her calling to revolutionise birth and how we can honour the magic and mystery that comes through in the birth portal - even after birth.

The power of Closing Ceremonies to honour rites of passage, in particular the wrapping and holding process - and how we can reclaim our own lineage through this.

You can also listen to the episode on Apple here and Spotify here.

Join me on Substack here

Connect on Instagram here

Explore my offerings and online home here

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode I talk about…

My recent experience with a Cacao Dieta guided by Laura Durban

How I am merging my devotional practices with Motherhood and the magic that unfolds when I do this. 

Letting go of perfectionism. 

The feeling of being held by Cacao and how that has rippled through my life. 

Where I am at in my business and the importance of being malleable in our heart work. 

Unravelling the way I choose to show up in my work and differentiating between true heart work and doing more than I need to to validate my worth. 

Where my focus is for the next few months in my heart work.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

As I rebirth Unravelling into it’s latest iteration (forever shapeshifting and unfolding with my journey) — I am so excited to bring you this beautiful conversation with Lyndsay Kaldor.

Lyndsay is a mother, creative and storyteller with a background in interiors PR. Telling stories about spaces and the people who make them was at the heart of her role — this fostered her interest in the details of making a home and the part that our surroundings play in the way that we feel. Now a mother, she is creating a home as a foundation to nurture, a conduit of creativity and an anchor to her surroundings, as the seasons turn in her corner of the world.

Lyndsay writes the beautiful publication which is one of my absolute favourite things to read on Substack. You can dive into her beautiful writing here. You can also connect with her on Instagram here.

In this episode we discuss…

* Our dance with ‘winterspring’ — both internally and externally — and the uncertainty that comes when transitioning between seasons.

* How we have both honoured our seasons within Motherhood and how this has challenged and evolved our creativity.

* Softening to the many different seasons (seasons within seasons) and how they can enhance our experience of life, as well as provide a beautiful anchoring point, particularly in Motherhood.

* Lyndsay’s journey with writing, starting with her blog and evolving into her Substack Story & Thread — which is where we met — and how she has discovered the depth of community and connection.

* How unseen Motherhood and Creativity are, and how inspiring it has been to see other creative Mothers on Substack.

* A little more about our inaugural event for our collaboration Holding Stories, which will be taking place in London on 20th April. You can explore more here. We would love to share this with you if you feel called.

“I write to process, and note down this fragment of our lives at the moment. It helps me to make more sense of myself.” —Lyndsay Kaldor

Hello to anyone who is new here… I am your Podcast host Lauren. Mother of two daughters, a Writer, Soulful Business Mentor, Website & Branding Creator, Human Design Guide, Sacred Space Holder and multi dimensional human being.

Join me on Substack here

Connect on Instagram here

Explore my offerings and online home here

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

This is a solo episode from me - after a little podcasting hiatus - where I share the messy truths of my second pregnancy. For me it is so important to normalise the full spectrum of emotions that pregnancy brings - and this is my personal experience, from my own perspective, recorded at 36 weeks.

In this episode I share…

• Preconception - from the conversations that needed to be had before we even decided to have a second baby to the way I prepped my physical body.
• The early days - from finding out that I was pregnant, to extreme nausea and the anxiety that was triggered by that.
• The surprising amount of grief that surfaced as my relationship with my daughter changed virtually overnight.
• The gratitude - and importance - of having trusted friends to be truly honest with.
• The temptation to compare second pregnancy to my first pregnancy - and the differences that I have noticed.
• How this pregnancy has helped me stripped back the badge of 'productivity' pretty much from the moment I found out.
  And so much more!

Links & Resources…

Join The Mother Well community here

Click here to connect with Lauren on her personal Instagram or here for The Heart Work Studio. Email me here if you want to keep this conversation going.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

A beautiful conversation with the multi-passionate Lily Parkinson about how we can find a more embodied healing path when it comes to the way we eat and perceive our bodies.

Lily is a Nutritional Therapist, Embodied Eating Disorder and Mind-Body & Eating Psychology Coach, Yoga Teacher, Medicine Woman and Cacao Ceremonialist. 

After struggling for many years with disordered eating, body dysmorphia and anxiety and depression, she began to seek a more embodied and spiritual path of healing through connecting with the wisdom of body and the earth.

Lily's soul mission is to support women to find embodiment so that they can find freedom in their food, body and health by combining different healing modalities that encompass the body, mind and spirit as healing resources so that women can live in their wholeness.

In this episode we discuss…

• Lily’s own healing journey with food and her body, and how it linked with feelings of unworthiness.

• How Yoga was the main catalyst for her journey with embodiment to begin.

• How society, media and the outside world has an impact on the disconnection and dissatisfaction that is so common within the body.

• Why we need to change the narratives around complementing people on their weight and appearance.

• The language we use towards ourselves and our bodies, and how awareness of this can be an important first step to healing our relationship with food and the body.

• The spectrum and complexity of eating patterns and how to notice if these are impacting your overall wellbeing.

• Some of the most powerful tools, rituals and practices Lily has found to help make baby steps to healing our relationship with food and the body.

• Some of the deeper reasons we turn to controlling food.

And so much more!

Links & Resources…

Click here to connect with Lily on Instagram. And click here to explore her website.

Click here to connect with Lauren on her personal Instagram or here for The Heart Work Studio. Email me here if you want to keep this conversation going.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe

A short and sweet solo episode from me all about the ways that my experiences in motherhood has actually lead to transformation within my business…

In this episode I share…

• How grieving for my past self was crucial to allowing myself to step into the new version of myself in my business.

• The importance of honouring the different seasons of motherhood - and how that can help bring more acceptance to the changes that undoubtedly arise.

• How Motherhood has helped me focus fully on the things that make my soul shine, and how that has impacted my business.

• Why I am now far more energy efficient and protective of my boundaries in my work.

• How facing my shadows in Motherhood has lead me to face them also in my business.

• Just how transformative Motherhood can be for our businesses if we allow it…

And so much more!

Links & Resources…

Click here to connect with me on Instagram or here for The Heart Work Studio. Email me here if you want to keep this conversation going.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurenbarber.substack.com/subscribe