top of page

Rise & Wild |

Get in touch

Email: rach@riseandwild.com

Instagram: @riseandwild

Portrait-Marcelina Rooted Retreat_edited

INSTAGRAM

connect @RiseAndWild

Rising early, meeting under starlight and being with the becoming of another day ✨

There’s something really special about doing things a little out of the ordinary & sharing experiences with others. Getting up early and gathering with like-minded and kind folks, journeying through forest and up hills with one shared intention: To be here and see the sun rise… To have a sense of the earth turning 🌍

To be here 🙏🏼♥️

I originally organised a sunrise walk after somebody on one of my nature and wellbeing programmes told me that, in all her 60 years, she had never seen the sun rise. Since, we’ve walked to raise money for charities, to gather outdoors, to share stories & morning brews, and address limiting fears, and most recently to embrace the darkening days of autumn. Here’s to the wild ones, and the becoming-more-wild ones. It’s an honour to guide and share moments & mornings like these with you 🤎🌲

Rising early, meeting under starlight and being with the becoming of another day ✨

There’s something really special about doing things a little out of the ordinary & sharing experiences with others. Getting up early and gathering with like-minded and kind folks, journeying through forest and up hills with one shared intention: To be here and see the sun rise… To have a sense of the earth turning 🌍

To be here 🙏🏼♥️

I originally organised a sunrise walk after somebody on one of my nature and wellbeing programmes told me that, in all her 60 years, she had never seen the sun rise. Since, we’ve walked to raise money for charities, to gather outdoors, to share stories & morning brews, and address limiting fears, and most recently to embrace the darkening days of autumn. Here’s to the wild ones, and the becoming-more-wild ones. It’s an honour to guide and share moments & mornings like these with you 🤎🌲

I was walking with Chai 🐾🌳 through the woods the other day, meandering along a route where wild lives were growing, sporing and decomposing in all their glory. Finding our way alongside river and rock and tree roots, following footsteps of folks who have been taking care of this land for generations, and more recently, young souls who have been creating earthly sculptures and river crossings and all kinds of imagination-running-free things.

Tears filled my eyes. Present, entirely in the now, senses alive and taking it all in. Feeling part of something truly wild and at home in the family of natural, living things. To be here, breathing, being, experiencing wonder and joy, peacefulness & intrigue. The creak of dry wood and the moo-ing of cows in a field nearby. Mushrooms, everywhere, tiny bonnets in the undergrowth… white-gilled & red spotted fly agaric cushioned between the blanket of moss, and brackets in seemingly open relationship with birch trees. I walked slowly, pausing often to stand with great big oaks & so many other. Meandering, humming and watching my happy little dog explore all of this new and ancient land. I felt elfish, gently & playfully finding my way.

The birds were singing, calling, and the wind teased the autumning leaves… some falling, lightly through space. I often wonder what freedom that brings to the branches after a summer laden with leaf, berry and seed. My feet, too were light, traversing a path which had only recently been made, space now within the overgrowth for new life to rise up and grow.

Here’s to the wildwood, the wild ways, and experiencing wonder on a cool, autumnal mid-week morning dog walk 🙏🏼🌳✨

I was walking with Chai 🐾🌳 through the woods the other day, meandering along a route where wild lives were growing, sporing and decomposing in all their glory. Finding our way alongside river and rock and tree roots, following footsteps of folks who have been taking care of this land for generations, and more recently, young souls who have been creating earthly sculptures and river crossings and all kinds of imagination-running-free things.

Tears filled my eyes. Present, entirely in the now, senses alive and taking it all in. Feeling part of something truly wild and at home in the family of natural, living things. To be here, breathing, being, experiencing wonder and joy, peacefulness & intrigue. The creak of dry wood and the moo-ing of cows in a field nearby. Mushrooms, everywhere, tiny bonnets in the undergrowth… white-gilled & red spotted fly agaric cushioned between the blanket of moss, and brackets in seemingly open relationship with birch trees. I walked slowly, pausing often to stand with great big oaks & so many other. Meandering, humming and watching my happy little dog explore all of this new and ancient land. I felt elfish, gently & playfully finding my way.

The birds were singing, calling, and the wind teased the autumning leaves… some falling, lightly through space. I often wonder what freedom that brings to the branches after a summer laden with leaf, berry and seed. My feet, too were light, traversing a path which had only recently been made, space now within the overgrowth for new life to rise up and grow.

Here’s to the wildwood, the wild ways, and experiencing wonder on a cool, autumnal mid-week morning dog walk 🙏🏼🌳✨

~ Being as nature intended 🌱

In our bodies, with the land and inherently connected. Finding balance and rhythm and honouring the cycles of life, the seasons & energies within and around us. Life often changing... Morphing, creating, deceasing. Resting before we’re on the floor & flat out exhausted, not as a reward for getting everything done, but because that’s how nature designed life to be. See the leopard in the tree. Watch sun rising, sun setting. Notice plants through autumn and into winter. Learn from the little ones, life honouring life.

We feel it in our bones, this ancient knowing that we are nature, although it isn’t really the story we’re exploring in our technological evolution. Computers, light bulbs, phones… they’re always on. As a species we’re indoors, all of the time (on average, 22 hours a day here in the UK). These feet were destined to journey over plains & climb trees and to be free. Overly structured play defeats the point, folks confide with AI whilst sitting in silence side by side friends, and convenience seems to overrule connection. Is it just me or is “modern-day life” starting to feel a little bit bizarre. The disconnect that comes from all the tech and too many hours sitting at a desk. Motorways, traffic jams, 10-hour work days, plastic in the food we eat and… I won’t go on.

As this stuff becomes more & more real, we’re here remembering another way… a wilder way, guided by our intuition, the wild within and mother nature’s teachings. What would it be like to live a little more as nature intended? In sync with our circadian rhythms and feeling inherently part of something so much bigger than you or I. To have kin within the natural world, to befriend your body and feel alive and well, most of the time. To feel at ease, with peace and wonder and a tribe around you. And a belief that this is real, it can be real. I wonder, are the majority living what’s truly right for us, rather than just what’s prescribed for us? And where do we go from here?

Come, let’s find a way 🪾🌱 🫁👣🙏🏼🌍♥️

~ Being as nature intended 🌱

In our bodies, with the land and inherently connected. Finding balance and rhythm and honouring the cycles of life, the seasons & energies within and around us. Life often changing... Morphing, creating, deceasing. Resting before we’re on the floor & flat out exhausted, not as a reward for getting everything done, but because that’s how nature designed life to be. See the leopard in the tree. Watch sun rising, sun setting. Notice plants through autumn and into winter. Learn from the little ones, life honouring life.

We feel it in our bones, this ancient knowing that we are nature, although it isn’t really the story we’re exploring in our technological evolution. Computers, light bulbs, phones… they’re always on. As a species we’re indoors, all of the time (on average, 22 hours a day here in the UK). These feet were destined to journey over plains & climb trees and to be free. Overly structured play defeats the point, folks confide with AI whilst sitting in silence side by side friends, and convenience seems to overrule connection. Is it just me or is “modern-day life” starting to feel a little bit bizarre. The disconnect that comes from all the tech and too many hours sitting at a desk. Motorways, traffic jams, 10-hour work days, plastic in the food we eat and… I won’t go on.

As this stuff becomes more & more real, we’re here remembering another way… a wilder way, guided by our intuition, the wild within and mother nature’s teachings. What would it be like to live a little more as nature intended? In sync with our circadian rhythms and feeling inherently part of something so much bigger than you or I. To have kin within the natural world, to befriend your body and feel alive and well, most of the time. To feel at ease, with peace and wonder and a tribe around you. And a belief that this is real, it can be real. I wonder, are the majority living what’s truly right for us, rather than just what’s prescribed for us? And where do we go from here?

Come, let’s find a way 🪾🌱 🫁👣🙏🏼🌍♥️

Wellbeing with Nature 🌱🌿💚

These six week programmes support folk to explore & deepen their relationship with nature. With the natural & living world, and with themselves. We gather for one day a week over six weeks and throughout that time begin to nurture relationships with one another too… so many stories, joys & tears that come up along the way. I know that M doesn’t like spicy crisps (which another soul shared one week when he forgot lunch), but also that he loves frogs and can name almost any bird or being we meet on site 🪲 I know how often S worries about her children and the deep care she has for hedgehogs in her garden. B loves roses and is going to be a grandmother, and T lights up when talking about nature & recent adventures ~ she listens too with a deep compassion. P learns best visually and has found her place sitting under & with a great big oak. We gather as a community and get to know the ups & downs of one another’s lives.

On these programmes, which evolve over the years and change with the seasons, we explore pathways to nature connectedness. I weave in wellbeing support for both human & environmental health, with creative and conservation-based activities, nature knowledge, ancient wisdom, movement, mindfulness, herbs, stories, folklore, breathing practices and rest. And loads more over the 30 hour course (+ additional time outside the programme and along the way).

Being well doesn’t happen in isolation. The heart and the head, the liver and the legs, the mental & the physical, the me & the you, the earth & the air, the environment and us. Everything is connected. These Nature and Wellbeing programmes are for remembering, care taking, communicating and reigniting a sense of wonder, kinship and reciprocal living 🌍 As we come toward the end of this summer-autumn programme, I’m exploring a couple of new partnerships and sites to add to a winter-spring series 🙏🏼🌀

Wellbeing with Nature 🌱🌿💚

These six week programmes support folk to explore & deepen their relationship with nature. With the natural & living world, and with themselves. We gather for one day a week over six weeks and throughout that time begin to nurture relationships with one another too… so many stories, joys & tears that come up along the way. I know that M doesn’t like spicy crisps (which another soul shared one week when he forgot lunch), but also that he loves frogs and can name almost any bird or being we meet on site 🪲 I know how often S worries about her children and the deep care she has for hedgehogs in her garden. B loves roses and is going to be a grandmother, and T lights up when talking about nature & recent adventures ~ she listens too with a deep compassion. P learns best visually and has found her place sitting under & with a great big oak. We gather as a community and get to know the ups & downs of one another’s lives.

On these programmes, which evolve over the years and change with the seasons, we explore pathways to nature connectedness. I weave in wellbeing support for both human & environmental health, with creative and conservation-based activities, nature knowledge, ancient wisdom, movement, mindfulness, herbs, stories, folklore, breathing practices and rest. And loads more over the 30 hour course (+ additional time outside the programme and along the way).

Being well doesn’t happen in isolation. The heart and the head, the liver and the legs, the mental & the physical, the me & the you, the earth & the air, the environment and us. Everything is connected. These Nature and Wellbeing programmes are for remembering, care taking, communicating and reigniting a sense of wonder, kinship and reciprocal living 🌍 As we come toward the end of this summer-autumn programme, I’m exploring a couple of new partnerships and sites to add to a winter-spring series 🙏🏼🌀

Yatha pinde tatha brahmande, yatha brahmande tatha pinde 🌍

“As is the universe, so is the human body, and as is the human body, so is the universe” 🌀

Ancient wisdom from the Yajur Veda, a text and teachings that have survived for over five thousand years and continue to guide many of us exploring the foundations of yoga, spiritual practice and our interconnectedness with nature & life itself. As is the universe, so is the human body… as is the macrocosm so is the microcosm ~ our bodies and our being are smaller representations of a larger whole. The seasons, our internal weather systems, the way water moves, energy disperses and cells divide, the patterns that govern life on Earth (and beyond!) are intrinsically linked to the patterns within our own human experience & make up. The structure of our bodies too reflect the structure of the cosmos.

Everything within the universe exists within us and everything within us reflects the entirety of the universe. It’s all connected. We’re all connected ♥️

Yatha pinde tatha brahmande, yatha brahmande tatha pinde 🌍

“As is the universe, so is the human body, and as is the human body, so is the universe” 🌀

Ancient wisdom from the Yajur Veda, a text and teachings that have survived for over five thousand years and continue to guide many of us exploring the foundations of yoga, spiritual practice and our interconnectedness with nature & life itself. As is the universe, so is the human body… as is the macrocosm so is the microcosm ~ our bodies and our being are smaller representations of a larger whole. The seasons, our internal weather systems, the way water moves, energy disperses and cells divide, the patterns that govern life on Earth (and beyond!) are intrinsically linked to the patterns within our own human experience & make up. The structure of our bodies too reflect the structure of the cosmos.

Everything within the universe exists within us and everything within us reflects the entirety of the universe. It’s all connected. We’re all connected ♥️

~ Tending to the fire (and what’s coming up this season) 🍂

It’s been five years this month since I left a job and a team I loved as an area, project and community manager, working for a global social change organisation. I’d been there for five years, learned loads and met some of the most inspiring (and at times, challenging!) people. I remember laughing a lot, and being stressed a lot, in an environment that enabled us to try new things and new ways of working. One of the highlights of that role was taking a much-loved event format “Engage”, out into the Peaks as an outdoor & walking event. Rise and Wild had been brewing long before I even realised that’s where we were headed. But ultimately, that job (and some other stuff) led me to burn out and I knew it was time to hand in my notice. So many souls supported, listened to, encouraged and endured me during that time 🙏🏼

Sat here now, having a brew @themonoclecafe, nattering to folks who are every now and then looking at the art on the wall behind me, between working on what’s coming up, I feel present, content, and so so grateful. There’s so much goodness coming up this season 🍂

◦ Nurtured by Nature ~ a 6 week wellbeing programme (Aug - Sept)
◦ A community day at Hassall Green Nature Reserve (Sept)
◦ The Workshop in the Woods (Oct)
◦ Our Breath Connection days and weekend retreats
(Sept + Oct + Feb)
◦ The return of our Sunday morning Wild Within (Nov)
◦ A new Friday evening restorative practice (Nov)
◦ Nature Facilitator trainings for the public sector
◦ Community + mindfulness training for a charity
◦ Being well through the seasons ~ coming soon
◦ Weekly yoga, movement, being and rest practices
(Mon, Weds, Thurs + Fri).

Retraining 5 years ago and continuing to study, practice and live it, deepening my relationship with nature, slowing down, being in the woods more than I am online, nurturing pockets for deep rest and delving into my heart + bones has created so much space and wildness and connection. It’s the greatest gift to be here, nurturing what feels like a living venture and sharing, gathering with and honouring new + ancient ways to live out these lives with as much peace as we can find 🌿

~ Tending to the fire (and what’s coming up this season) 🍂

It’s been five years this month since I left a job and a team I loved as an area, project and community manager, working for a global social change organisation. I’d been there for five years, learned loads and met some of the most inspiring (and at times, challenging!) people. I remember laughing a lot, and being stressed a lot, in an environment that enabled us to try new things and new ways of working. One of the highlights of that role was taking a much-loved event format “Engage”, out into the Peaks as an outdoor & walking event. Rise and Wild had been brewing long before I even realised that’s where we were headed. But ultimately, that job (and some other stuff) led me to burn out and I knew it was time to hand in my notice. So many souls supported, listened to, encouraged and endured me during that time 🙏🏼

Sat here now, having a brew @themonoclecafe, nattering to folks who are every now and then looking at the art on the wall behind me, between working on what’s coming up, I feel present, content, and so so grateful. There’s so much goodness coming up this season 🍂

◦ Nurtured by Nature ~ a 6 week wellbeing programme (Aug - Sept)
◦ A community day at Hassall Green Nature Reserve (Sept)
◦ The Workshop in the Woods (Oct)
◦ Our Breath Connection days and weekend retreats
(Sept + Oct + Feb)
◦ The return of our Sunday morning Wild Within (Nov)
◦ A new Friday evening restorative practice (Nov)
◦ Nature Facilitator trainings for the public sector
◦ Community + mindfulness training for a charity
◦ Being well through the seasons ~ coming soon
◦ Weekly yoga, movement, being and rest practices
(Mon, Weds, Thurs + Fri).

Retraining 5 years ago and continuing to study, practice and live it, deepening my relationship with nature, slowing down, being in the woods more than I am online, nurturing pockets for deep rest and delving into my heart + bones has created so much space and wildness and connection. It’s the greatest gift to be here, nurturing what feels like a living venture and sharing, gathering with and honouring new + ancient ways to live out these lives with as much peace as we can find 🌿

Nature-based medicine 🌱

Over these past few months, I’ve been returning to the roots of practice and nature as my guiding life force. Calling upon, laying and dancing with, nurturing, listening, sharing & creating with the land.

Soothing a rattled nervous system, tending to grief, reinforcing boundaries and balance whilst dabbling with enchantment and tuning the dial for intuitive living. Deepening relationships with myself and other. Seeing, feeling and being seen. Coming into communication with herbs, making teas, receiving tinctures and adding more wild-grown and foraged food to my plate. I’ve been dreaming with mugwort, and singing with trees, chanting and breathing and reading and returning to the depths of my yoga practice like my life depends on it. All that being said, I’ve been doing less and being more. Resting more than I’ve rested in this lifetime before. The energetic shifts in return are abundant and anxiety that had been a familiar house guest has left the body of my soul.

Rise and Wild is my full-time work. But it is so much more than a job and even more than a business. It’s a way of life, a way of being, one of learning and living it and honouring our nature. It’s a roadmap and a journey. I’ve trained in multiple disciplines over the years and continue to study so that I can integrate new and ancient ways. There’s a daily practice and prayer and quiet activism living in this way, sharing with other souls who want to reconnect and rewild their lives a little bit also. Nature, yoga, coming together in community are balms for these modern times.

Here’s to remembering. And practicing.
Living it. And being 🌀

Nature-based medicine 🌱

Over these past few months, I’ve been returning to the roots of practice and nature as my guiding life force. Calling upon, laying and dancing with, nurturing, listening, sharing & creating with the land.

Soothing a rattled nervous system, tending to grief, reinforcing boundaries and balance whilst dabbling with enchantment and tuning the dial for intuitive living. Deepening relationships with myself and other. Seeing, feeling and being seen. Coming into communication with herbs, making teas, receiving tinctures and adding more wild-grown and foraged food to my plate. I’ve been dreaming with mugwort, and singing with trees, chanting and breathing and reading and returning to the depths of my yoga practice like my life depends on it. All that being said, I’ve been doing less and being more. Resting more than I’ve rested in this lifetime before. The energetic shifts in return are abundant and anxiety that had been a familiar house guest has left the body of my soul.

Rise and Wild is my full-time work. But it is so much more than a job and even more than a business. It’s a way of life, a way of being, one of learning and living it and honouring our nature. It’s a roadmap and a journey. I’ve trained in multiple disciplines over the years and continue to study so that I can integrate new and ancient ways. There’s a daily practice and prayer and quiet activism living in this way, sharing with other souls who want to reconnect and rewild their lives a little bit also. Nature, yoga, coming together in community are balms for these modern times.

Here’s to remembering. And practicing.
Living it. And being 🌀

~ Being, unraveling and the deeper work.

Over the past few months, I’ve been reducing the amount of work (work work) that I do. It came after the sudden loss of a close friend, recognising I was exhausted having missed some early warning signs, and dare I admit this so publicly, a series of panic attacks. My body was shouting at me to notice, and then beginning to shut down. The wellbeing practitioner that I am, in all of my humanness, my grief and my nurturing of others, had forgotten to take proper care of my own self.

Reforming. Rest. Therapy. I paused some of my weekly classes, cancelled some work, and for a time, said no to additional projects. I reduced time online, deleted more emails than I replied to and purposefully chose nature over technology. I’ve slept. And read stories. Stepped back from being the driving force of a lot of my relationships and asked for & accepted help from those who were in touch nonetheless. Whilst I’m not making as much money, one thing is really clear. This isn’t a break from work. This is and always has been the work.

This time has been one for hundreds of cups of tea, and tears, and coming deeper into relationship with the medicinal properties of herbs, of healing and nurturing a nervous system that’s been battered by grief, exhaustion and overwhelm over the years. Doing more of the work that I thought I had already done, teachings that hadn’t been fully embodied. Peeling away another layer to the onion. We can think about rest, understand & advocate rest, but that doesn’t actually equate to rest.

Journeying deeper down the track from mind, the thinking & figuring out, to being in my body, allowing time and digestion and expression. To feel all that we are feeling in both this heart-breaking and wonder-filled world. And recognising what a privilege it is to be able to do this. To say this, when so many people are suffering, feels unjust. Life isn’t fair, witnessing war and famine and the climate be in crisis, it’s cruel and heartbreaking and I don’t really know what to do but I know I need to be strong for what lies ahead. I’ve stepped both away and toward… Continued in images ♥️

~ Being, unraveling and the deeper work.

Over the past few months, I’ve been reducing the amount of work (work work) that I do. It came after the sudden loss of a close friend, recognising I was exhausted having missed some early warning signs, and dare I admit this so publicly, a series of panic attacks. My body was shouting at me to notice, and then beginning to shut down. The wellbeing practitioner that I am, in all of my humanness, my grief and my nurturing of others, had forgotten to take proper care of my own self.

Reforming. Rest. Therapy. I paused some of my weekly classes, cancelled some work, and for a time, said no to additional projects. I reduced time online, deleted more emails than I replied to and purposefully chose nature over technology. I’ve slept. And read stories. Stepped back from being the driving force of a lot of my relationships and asked for & accepted help from those who were in touch nonetheless. Whilst I’m not making as much money, one thing is really clear. This isn’t a break from work. This is and always has been the work.

This time has been one for hundreds of cups of tea, and tears, and coming deeper into relationship with the medicinal properties of herbs, of healing and nurturing a nervous system that’s been battered by grief, exhaustion and overwhelm over the years. Doing more of the work that I thought I had already done, teachings that hadn’t been fully embodied. Peeling away another layer to the onion. We can think about rest, understand & advocate rest, but that doesn’t actually equate to rest.

Journeying deeper down the track from mind, the thinking & figuring out, to being in my body, allowing time and digestion and expression. To feel all that we are feeling in both this heart-breaking and wonder-filled world. And recognising what a privilege it is to be able to do this. To say this, when so many people are suffering, feels unjust. Life isn’t fair, witnessing war and famine and the climate be in crisis, it’s cruel and heartbreaking and I don’t really know what to do but I know I need to be strong for what lies ahead. I’ve stepped both away and toward… Continued in images ♥️

On Saturday, we gathered in the woods for The Wild Ways 🌿 A day for remembering, connecting, embracing bare feet (if you wish) and the waters of the lake, the skies and the long grasses.

“What happens if it rains on your days, Rach?” I’m often asked… and today reminded me - after almost cancelling when everybody kept talking about heavy rains being forecast - just how much magic the elements in all their forms bring to these experiences (as long as it’s safe). Coming together, a community of 16 of us who heard the call to gather for a day in woodlands which have become a second home. Remembering they are our home. To slow down, eat together, explore & swim together, share & receive stories and make new memories. New pathways. To meet old woods and new, ancient ways. Coming back to our breath. To a little time solo, but never alone 🌳 To movement and to rest. To sit with and be with our innate nature and the family of beings we are part of.

There’s so much I don’t capture in video on these days… the deliciousness of pudding! Or the chanting, time in the lake or the cabin, the stories, yoga, people’s faces. People’s grief, people’s joy. The love. The wonder and the laughter and the gratitude I have for everybody who joins, for Sophie who conjures up the most incredible menu & food, the treats and the brews. For her kindness and her friendship, and the way she makes me belly laugh. To the woods for inviting us in. May we remember, may we take care, may we return to these earthly & wise, old, but new for many of us ways.

#thewildways #wildways #wildinglife #wilding #wildling #rewilding #nature #natureconnection #naturewell #natureknows #restnow #beherenow #mindfulness #wildfulness #intothewoods #thewoods #wellbeingwithnature #naturesmedicine #naturebased #natureworkshop #natureguide #guidedbynature #newpath #ancientwisdom #parasympathetic #reducestress #gatheroutdoors #rewildtheweekend #riseandwild

On Saturday, we gathered in the woods for The Wild Ways 🌿 A day for remembering, connecting, embracing bare feet (if you wish) and the waters of the lake, the skies and the long grasses.

“What happens if it rains on your days, Rach?” I’m often asked… and today reminded me - after almost cancelling when everybody kept talking about heavy rains being forecast - just how much magic the elements in all their forms bring to these experiences (as long as it’s safe). Coming together, a community of 16 of us who heard the call to gather for a day in woodlands which have become a second home. Remembering they are our home. To slow down, eat together, explore & swim together, share & receive stories and make new memories. New pathways. To meet old woods and new, ancient ways. Coming back to our breath. To a little time solo, but never alone 🌳 To movement and to rest. To sit with and be with our innate nature and the family of beings we are part of.

There’s so much I don’t capture in video on these days… the deliciousness of pudding! Or the chanting, time in the lake or the cabin, the stories, yoga, people’s faces. People’s grief, people’s joy. The love. The wonder and the laughter and the gratitude I have for everybody who joins, for Sophie who conjures up the most incredible menu & food, the treats and the brews. For her kindness and her friendship, and the way she makes me belly laugh. To the woods for inviting us in. May we remember, may we take care, may we return to these earthly & wise, old, but new for many of us ways.

#thewildways #wildways #wildinglife #wilding #wildling #rewilding #nature #natureconnection #naturewell #natureknows #restnow #beherenow #mindfulness #wildfulness #intothewoods #thewoods #wellbeingwithnature #naturesmedicine #naturebased #natureworkshop #natureguide #guidedbynature #newpath #ancientwisdom #parasympathetic #reducestress #gatheroutdoors #rewildtheweekend #riseandwild

Finding quiet joys amidst the chaos of the world. The pink of the roses that blossom once a year & the warmth of my old boy 🐈 happily basking in the summer sun. Watching ducklings grow and their connection to the water; those little orange legs wiggling up in the air as they dive down for insects. Cups of tea with butterflies and gathering with neighbours to watch caterpillars in the long grass.

It all sounds so small, what’s the significance of a strawberry when there’s so much happening that’s out of our control? These are moments we are likely to miss when we are stressed, experiencing suffering and destruction around the world and within our own. They don’t get a look in when we’re busy, busy, busy. But they can be a little burst of presence, maybe even wonder. Here I am, *right now*, igniting a sense of being part of something, anchored to something so much bigger than, just me. The mundane has magic waiting for each of us. The strawberry tasted sweeter than any other of the season, grown and gifted by a lady who brought them to share at one of our classes. Kindness. Togetherness. Nature’s rhyme, the passing of time. The clouds that - if we blink we might miss the light shining, just like that and the way it can feel in our chest to experience such deep and fleeting beauty.

Hands in the earth, toes bare on the grass and legs light, held by a hammock that has carried so many others through the years before. Creating and enabling pockets for rest, comfort and companionship. Man, it’s what we and our frazzled nervous systems need right now. Softness. The intertwining of trees and the rising, hiding and transforming moon illuminating the night. It’s all here, waiting for us to notice ✨

Finding quiet joys amidst the chaos of the world. The pink of the roses that blossom once a year & the warmth of my old boy 🐈 happily basking in the summer sun. Watching ducklings grow and their connection to the water; those little orange legs wiggling up in the air as they dive down for insects. Cups of tea with butterflies and gathering with neighbours to watch caterpillars in the long grass.

It all sounds so small, what’s the significance of a strawberry when there’s so much happening that’s out of our control? These are moments we are likely to miss when we are stressed, experiencing suffering and destruction around the world and within our own. They don’t get a look in when we’re busy, busy, busy. But they can be a little burst of presence, maybe even wonder. Here I am, *right now*, igniting a sense of being part of something, anchored to something so much bigger than, just me. The mundane has magic waiting for each of us. The strawberry tasted sweeter than any other of the season, grown and gifted by a lady who brought them to share at one of our classes. Kindness. Togetherness. Nature’s rhyme, the passing of time. The clouds that - if we blink we might miss the light shining, just like that and the way it can feel in our chest to experience such deep and fleeting beauty.

Hands in the earth, toes bare on the grass and legs light, held by a hammock that has carried so many others through the years before. Creating and enabling pockets for rest, comfort and companionship. Man, it’s what we and our frazzled nervous systems need right now. Softness. The intertwining of trees and the rising, hiding and transforming moon illuminating the night. It’s all here, waiting for us to notice ✨

Last weekend, we gathered for our Summer Retreat at a beautiful, old farm cottage nestled in the countryside 🌿 words and photographs can’t really capture the magic, although Jamie hit the spot when he said, “who knew it would be so much more than a yoga retreat?!”

To retreat, and to remember nature’s ways. Switching off from the outside noise and settling into the now. A togetherness. Community. Spaciousness. Kindness and rest. Quietness. Silliness. Stillness. Spontaneity. The wild things and the ancient ways, and that giant Sycamore so many of us wrapped our arms around one morning after breakfast 🌳 All that was carefully planned from years of holding weekend retreats, and all that comes about organically. Folks staying up late sharing their stories. Others getting early nights and rising early to go for river dips together. Afternoons meandering, dreaming, being. Some embracing quietness and opportunities to have a little time to be, at one with nature.

Laughter ~ so much laughter! Meals that filled our bellies cooked with love & care & so much goodness, with gratitude for Kelly and all that she brings, embodies, teaches and creates. Yoga… gentle, responsive and restorative with practices to take home. Singing, songs, drums and mornings rising into chanting. Pranayama. More laughter, the hokey cokey (if you know…), folks sharing poems they’d written but never spoken and songs once sang with a mum no longer with us. Fire, embers glowing. Wisdom, honesty, vulnerability - I know it can be nerve wracking going on retreat, to lean into the unknowns. To go to something on your own. But man, this group came together & honoured one another with such ease. Men joined us, and women in their 20s, 70s, and every decade in between. A father with his daughter. A woman with her mother who arrived and said “I’m no good at yoga” - you all know how I feel about that phrase! Let’s change the narrative. Nurture new friendships. New ways. I can never truly know what’s going to unfold when we hold a retreat, and this one moved me to my centre.

So much so, we’re thinking of adding a date for November (Fri 7th - Sunday 9th)…. 😍🙏🏼🌍🍂🧡

Last weekend, we gathered for our Summer Retreat at a beautiful, old farm cottage nestled in the countryside 🌿 words and photographs can’t really capture the magic, although Jamie hit the spot when he said, “who knew it would be so much more than a yoga retreat?!”

To retreat, and to remember nature’s ways. Switching off from the outside noise and settling into the now. A togetherness. Community. Spaciousness. Kindness and rest. Quietness. Silliness. Stillness. Spontaneity. The wild things and the ancient ways, and that giant Sycamore so many of us wrapped our arms around one morning after breakfast 🌳 All that was carefully planned from years of holding weekend retreats, and all that comes about organically. Folks staying up late sharing their stories. Others getting early nights and rising early to go for river dips together. Afternoons meandering, dreaming, being. Some embracing quietness and opportunities to have a little time to be, at one with nature.

Laughter ~ so much laughter! Meals that filled our bellies cooked with love & care & so much goodness, with gratitude for Kelly and all that she brings, embodies, teaches and creates. Yoga… gentle, responsive and restorative with practices to take home. Singing, songs, drums and mornings rising into chanting. Pranayama. More laughter, the hokey cokey (if you know…), folks sharing poems they’d written but never spoken and songs once sang with a mum no longer with us. Fire, embers glowing. Wisdom, honesty, vulnerability - I know it can be nerve wracking going on retreat, to lean into the unknowns. To go to something on your own. But man, this group came together & honoured one another with such ease. Men joined us, and women in their 20s, 70s, and every decade in between. A father with his daughter. A woman with her mother who arrived and said “I’m no good at yoga” - you all know how I feel about that phrase! Let’s change the narrative. Nurture new friendships. New ways. I can never truly know what’s going to unfold when we hold a retreat, and this one moved me to my centre.

So much so, we’re thinking of adding a date for November (Fri 7th - Sunday 9th)…. 😍🙏🏼🌍🍂🧡

This little pocket of woodland next to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital has been a sanctuary for us this week 🌳 The birds, especially song of Robin and Wren softened the sounds of traffic and ambulance sirens, and the canopy of trees created a sheltered space for us to deliver Nature and Health facilitator training in the middle the park.

Alongside Carl, who is a senior mental health practitioner, psychotherapist & forest school leader in CAMHS, we have been guiding his colleagues and PhD students in the NatureWell approach. This 3-month accredited Green Care journey explores deepening our relationship with nature, anchored in a One Health approach that intertwines personal, social and ecological wellbeing.

Therapists, mental health practitioners, social care workers & students have been immersed in the first part of the course this week, which takes them experientially through the pathways to nature connection, introducing ecotherapy and outdoor facilitation skills. Supporting them to relax, learn about, connect with, feel inspired and immersed with nature, knowing they are going to then deliver green care opportunities within the NHS for young people and families… it’s one of the most fulfilling branches of the work I do.

Slowly, together, within societal systems and beyond, we are remembering these earthly, at one with nature, ways 🍃

This little pocket of woodland next to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital has been a sanctuary for us this week 🌳 The birds, especially song of Robin and Wren softened the sounds of traffic and ambulance sirens, and the canopy of trees created a sheltered space for us to deliver Nature and Health facilitator training in the middle the park.

Alongside Carl, who is a senior mental health practitioner, psychotherapist & forest school leader in CAMHS, we have been guiding his colleagues and PhD students in the NatureWell approach. This 3-month accredited Green Care journey explores deepening our relationship with nature, anchored in a One Health approach that intertwines personal, social and ecological wellbeing.

Therapists, mental health practitioners, social care workers & students have been immersed in the first part of the course this week, which takes them experientially through the pathways to nature connection, introducing ecotherapy and outdoor facilitation skills. Supporting them to relax, learn about, connect with, feel inspired and immersed with nature, knowing they are going to then deliver green care opportunities within the NHS for young people and families… it’s one of the most fulfilling branches of the work I do.

Slowly, together, within societal systems and beyond, we are remembering these earthly, at one with nature, ways 🍃

Sometimes we forget that we’re all just creatures roaming about on planet Earth 🐒🌳🌍
That every day is an opportunity to meet trees, to move and rest our bodies, to get to know and take care of ourselves & one another. To explore what’s possible, what’s necessary, what’s needed today. As adults, and maybe even as children, somewhere along the way we forget to play as a way of being in the world. Work and the news and witnessing disaster, war & climate change, never ending emails and to-do lists and those unnecessary bright lights in supermarkets and traffic and maaan, the routine of modern-day living really isn’t conducive to playing and roaming and caretaking & being with the land. For living our lives as nature intended.

I forget too, along the way, what we’re really here for and get consumed by everything man-made. Often it’s a little reminder that brings me back into being with everything else. Everything other and non-human and the essence of life. Of being life! The sun comes out. A dog asks to play. There’s an invitation… just like there was here. A team of us rangers and a baby and a dog out for a walk together, finding ourselves off the path and under a tree for a shady picnic spot. Somebody said “that’s a great tree for climbing!” And so we went, grinning, finding our feet and sweet spots to just be. Same with the rock, when the oldest, strongest member of the group was the first to the top. We were in awe and laughter and encouragement and we were connected. There’s something about finding and being with your tribe. Where gentle encouragement and wisdom and playfulness and the ignition of something that wakes us up from the daily grind can unlock a whole new/forgotten/longed-for way of living. Come, let’s find the way 🌱

Sometimes we forget that we’re all just creatures roaming about on planet Earth 🐒🌳🌍
That every day is an opportunity to meet trees, to move and rest our bodies, to get to know and take care of ourselves & one another. To explore what’s possible, what’s necessary, what’s needed today. As adults, and maybe even as children, somewhere along the way we forget to play as a way of being in the world. Work and the news and witnessing disaster, war & climate change, never ending emails and to-do lists and those unnecessary bright lights in supermarkets and traffic and maaan, the routine of modern-day living really isn’t conducive to playing and roaming and caretaking & being with the land. For living our lives as nature intended.

I forget too, along the way, what we’re really here for and get consumed by everything man-made. Often it’s a little reminder that brings me back into being with everything else. Everything other and non-human and the essence of life. Of being life! The sun comes out. A dog asks to play. There’s an invitation… just like there was here. A team of us rangers and a baby and a dog out for a walk together, finding ourselves off the path and under a tree for a shady picnic spot. Somebody said “that’s a great tree for climbing!” And so we went, grinning, finding our feet and sweet spots to just be. Same with the rock, when the oldest, strongest member of the group was the first to the top. We were in awe and laughter and encouragement and we were connected. There’s something about finding and being with your tribe. Where gentle encouragement and wisdom and playfulness and the ignition of something that wakes us up from the daily grind can unlock a whole new/forgotten/longed-for way of living. Come, let’s find the way 🌱

Space to be. Here 🌿 As you are, in indoor spaces or outdoor places with encouragement to s l o w down and reconnect. To explore ~ right now, in this moment. And sometimes to play with speeding up a little… the breath, our movement, or in my case during days together, the tea-making! Invitations and time to unravel from the doing of our day-to-day lives, settling back into rhythm with nature.

Photographs share snippets from recent…
๑ reset days with medicine woman Miranda and my breathwork brother Sam @thebreathconnection_org
๑ community yoga at Hassall Green Nature Reserve with the Land Trust @greenangelslt
๑ nature connection walks & meditations
๑ time with the land. Encouraging folks to go barefoot and slow down & watch the sunrise together.
๑ evening light pouring into our Monday evening yoga classes
๑ Wednesdays & Fridays yoga, philosophy and rest @_thewellbeingspace
๑ gentle health walks with community groups in the Peak District National Park.

Macclesfield, Rainow, Mellor, Stockport, Sandbach, Shutlingsloe, Alderley Edge, the Peak District and beyond @riseandwild.

🌱🌍🧘🏼‍♂️✨👣🌀🙏🏼 remembering life is sacred.

Space to be. Here 🌿 As you are, in indoor spaces or outdoor places with encouragement to s l o w down and reconnect. To explore ~ right now, in this moment. And sometimes to play with speeding up a little… the breath, our movement, or in my case during days together, the tea-making! Invitations and time to unravel from the doing of our day-to-day lives, settling back into rhythm with nature.

Photographs share snippets from recent…
๑ reset days with medicine woman Miranda and my breathwork brother Sam @thebreathconnection_org
๑ community yoga at Hassall Green Nature Reserve with the Land Trust @greenangelslt
๑ nature connection walks & meditations
๑ time with the land. Encouraging folks to go barefoot and slow down & watch the sunrise together.
๑ evening light pouring into our Monday evening yoga classes
๑ Wednesdays & Fridays yoga, philosophy and rest @_thewellbeingspace
๑ gentle health walks with community groups in the Peak District National Park.

Macclesfield, Rainow, Mellor, Stockport, Sandbach, Shutlingsloe, Alderley Edge, the Peak District and beyond @riseandwild.

🌱🌍🧘🏼‍♂️✨👣🌀🙏🏼 remembering life is sacred.

Workshop in the Woods 🌳🌍🍃 ~ we’re now fully booked but if you would like to be added to the waitlist or to hear about the next, let me know ☺️🙏🏼🌱

On Sunday 25 May, join me for an extended morning practice and workshop exploring yoga, pranayama, sound and being nature. There will be time to (un)learn, practice and rest, as well as share brews and space with the trees in this incredible, ancient woodland. There’s no footfall through the space, providing a safe little haven for us to gather, with shelter if the rain comes.

Sunday 25 May, 10am - 1pm
Macclesfield
£38

Would you like to find out more or book one of the spaces? Follow the link in my bio or visit www.riseandwild.com 🌲🙏🏼

Workshop in the Woods 🌳🌍🍃 ~ we’re now fully booked but if you would like to be added to the waitlist or to hear about the next, let me know ☺️🙏🏼🌱

On Sunday 25 May, join me for an extended morning practice and workshop exploring yoga, pranayama, sound and being nature. There will be time to (un)learn, practice and rest, as well as share brews and space with the trees in this incredible, ancient woodland. There’s no footfall through the space, providing a safe little haven for us to gather, with shelter if the rain comes.

Sunday 25 May, 10am - 1pm
Macclesfield
£38

Would you like to find out more or book one of the spaces? Follow the link in my bio or visit www.riseandwild.com 🌲🙏🏼

The other day, I went to a new class: a strength building one that I didn’t know much about. I walked in, a little nervous. There were some spaces already laid out with different props & weights, could I go there or need to set up another?! I went up to the instructor and asked, “It’s my first time and I’m not sure what I need, please can you let me know?” She didn’t look at me, but sighed loudly, and told me bluntly to “Just figure it out”. Woah. I’m a sensitive person, and years of self-regulating practice kicked into gear. Still, it took everything in me for my eyes not to well up / say “sorry, what?!?!” / or walk out… and thinking back now, I probably should have done all three.

When I’m teaching, guiding workshops or walks or holding community get togethers, I know how daunting it can be for some of us to enter a space with new folk, not knowing where to go or what we’ll be doing. “What do I need” is a question that has been trained out of so many of us to even feel comfortable being able to ask. We live in a world that can be quite brash, fragmented, and disregulating. In response to that, I try to create spaces where it feels safe and soft around the edges. Safe to show up and to tune in and explore and do the work, to ask questions, however big or small. The sense of balance and reintegration we explore in the ancient teachings of yoga go way beyond the postural practice… it’s about all aspects of our lives and realms of being. And man alive, kindness is age-old and goes a really, really long way.

There are no mirrors in the places where I teach (the whole wall in the studio I mentioned was ceiling to floor reflective - nobody needs to see that much of themselves!) There’s no disregard or “just figure it out yourself” at any space I invite you to with Rise and Wild, walks, gatherings, classes and all. I’ll meet you with a smile, I’ll let you know where the loos, kitchen and kettle are, and we can talk or have some quiet time. That’s not to say I’m always my most loving, helpful Self… I get tired and have PMS and sometimes there’s a lot of needs to navigate but I’ll never be intentionally unkind or ignore your needs 🌻❤️‍🩹

The other day, I went to a new class: a strength building one that I didn’t know much about. I walked in, a little nervous. There were some spaces already laid out with different props & weights, could I go there or need to set up another?! I went up to the instructor and asked, “It’s my first time and I’m not sure what I need, please can you let me know?” She didn’t look at me, but sighed loudly, and told me bluntly to “Just figure it out”. Woah. I’m a sensitive person, and years of self-regulating practice kicked into gear. Still, it took everything in me for my eyes not to well up / say “sorry, what?!?!” / or walk out… and thinking back now, I probably should have done all three.

When I’m teaching, guiding workshops or walks or holding community get togethers, I know how daunting it can be for some of us to enter a space with new folk, not knowing where to go or what we’ll be doing. “What do I need” is a question that has been trained out of so many of us to even feel comfortable being able to ask. We live in a world that can be quite brash, fragmented, and disregulating. In response to that, I try to create spaces where it feels safe and soft around the edges. Safe to show up and to tune in and explore and do the work, to ask questions, however big or small. The sense of balance and reintegration we explore in the ancient teachings of yoga go way beyond the postural practice… it’s about all aspects of our lives and realms of being. And man alive, kindness is age-old and goes a really, really long way.

There are no mirrors in the places where I teach (the whole wall in the studio I mentioned was ceiling to floor reflective - nobody needs to see that much of themselves!) There’s no disregard or “just figure it out yourself” at any space I invite you to with Rise and Wild, walks, gatherings, classes and all. I’ll meet you with a smile, I’ll let you know where the loos, kitchen and kettle are, and we can talk or have some quiet time. That’s not to say I’m always my most loving, helpful Self… I get tired and have PMS and sometimes there’s a lot of needs to navigate but I’ll never be intentionally unkind or ignore your needs 🌻❤️‍🩹

Reflecting on Peaks of Health 🌲🥾🚲👨‍🦽☕️ a Recharge in Nature project I’ve been delivering over the past 8 months as a Wellbeing Ranger with the Peak District National Park. We’ve been connecting with community groups who support one another with health and care, living with grief, loneliness, dementia, poverty and in rehab; with LGBT+ groups, young carers, and people with disabilities. Organising wellbeing walks, wheeling & cycle rides and accessible adventures across the Peaks alongside building confidence in group leaders to get groups outside more and reconnect with nature.

Over 200 folk have joined us and I’ve learned, listened and laughed loads. It’s been a challenge at times, and a real gift to work on this project alongside Kate, our wellbeing trainee who has just qualified as a counsellor and is taking her practice into the realms of nature therapy. As our funding comes to an end, and big changes are afoot at the National Park, we’re exploring what’s next on our mission to connect people and place, ensuring wilder landscapes are accessible as well as cared for 🌎🌱

Reflecting on Peaks of Health 🌲🥾🚲👨‍🦽☕️ a Recharge in Nature project I’ve been delivering over the past 8 months as a Wellbeing Ranger with the Peak District National Park. We’ve been connecting with community groups who support one another with health and care, living with grief, loneliness, dementia, poverty and in rehab; with LGBT+ groups, young carers, and people with disabilities. Organising wellbeing walks, wheeling & cycle rides and accessible adventures across the Peaks alongside building confidence in group leaders to get groups outside more and reconnect with nature.

Over 200 folk have joined us and I’ve learned, listened and laughed loads. It’s been a challenge at times, and a real gift to work on this project alongside Kate, our wellbeing trainee who has just qualified as a counsellor and is taking her practice into the realms of nature therapy. As our funding comes to an end, and big changes are afoot at the National Park, we’re exploring what’s next on our mission to connect people and place, ensuring wilder landscapes are accessible as well as cared for 🌎🌱

Meeting under dark skies and walking by starlight and headtorch through the forest, journeying up to Shutlingsloe to watch the sunrise 🌲🥾🌞

A week or so ago I invited folk to join me for an early morning wander, and an idea turned into a gathering which fully booked within a couple of days. We raised £230 for Cheshire Without Abuse 🙏🏼 including some very kind donations from people not joining the walk who also wanted to contribute. We had a magical morning, sharing brews and stories and celebrating women past and present on International Women’s Day.

Lots of people said they’d love to come for a sunrise walk but couldn’t make the date or missed a space and have asked me to organise another, so here it is! Saturday 5 April, open to all 16+ (not just women). We will meet at 5am and journey together, experiencing as Kate mind bogglingly said to me as we saw the sun on the horizon “it’s not so much the sun rising, but us experiencing the earth turning!” 🤯🌎✨😍

Come solo (many do!) or with friends and family and please book a place in advance.

Find out more & sign up in the link on my page or visit https://www.riseandwild.com/service-page/sunrisewalk/

Meeting under dark skies and walking by starlight and headtorch through the forest, journeying up to Shutlingsloe to watch the sunrise 🌲🥾🌞

A week or so ago I invited folk to join me for an early morning wander, and an idea turned into a gathering which fully booked within a couple of days. We raised £230 for Cheshire Without Abuse 🙏🏼 including some very kind donations from people not joining the walk who also wanted to contribute. We had a magical morning, sharing brews and stories and celebrating women past and present on International Women’s Day.

Lots of people said they’d love to come for a sunrise walk but couldn’t make the date or missed a space and have asked me to organise another, so here it is! Saturday 5 April, open to all 16+ (not just women). We will meet at 5am and journey together, experiencing as Kate mind bogglingly said to me as we saw the sun on the horizon “it’s not so much the sun rising, but us experiencing the earth turning!” 🤯🌎✨😍

Come solo (many do!) or with friends and family and please book a place in advance.

Find out more & sign up in the link on my page or visit https://www.riseandwild.com/service-page/sunrisewalk/

🌲 Join me in the forest as we walk through the darkness and journey up to Shutlingsloe for sunrise.

Gathering at the top of the hill on International Women’s Day (Saturday 8 March), we’ll share brews and stories of women past and present as the sun rises and illuminates the view across Cheshire and the Peaks.

Our walk is donation-based from £5, raising money for My CWA (Cheshire Without Abuse) who, for almost 50 years have been supporting people in Cheshire East impacted by domestic abuse. Their services & centre are now facing closure as funding is being withdrawn from the Council.

Saturday 8 March
5 - 7.30/8am
🥾3.5 miles round-trip
Steep climb and descent

More info and how to book in the link in my bio 🥾🌲 if you have any questions, let me know ☺️

🌲 Join me in the forest as we walk through the darkness and journey up to Shutlingsloe for sunrise.

Gathering at the top of the hill on International Women’s Day (Saturday 8 March), we’ll share brews and stories of women past and present as the sun rises and illuminates the view across Cheshire and the Peaks.

Our walk is donation-based from £5, raising money for My CWA (Cheshire Without Abuse) who, for almost 50 years have been supporting people in Cheshire East impacted by domestic abuse. Their services & centre are now facing closure as funding is being withdrawn from the Council.

Saturday 8 March
5 - 7.30/8am
🥾3.5 miles round-trip
Steep climb and descent

More info and how to book in the link in my bio 🥾🌲 if you have any questions, let me know ☺️

For the love of brews and morning walks ☕️ Getting up and out to meet the light as she rises. Whistling with the wind, jumping over mud and finding my feet. Finding our way. Oh to wander… and wonder and share the journey with love and four paws. And whether on track, at a little cafe along the route, or returning home and hearing the kettle boil, to have a cup of the good stuff. I find so much joy and direction and freedom being out on the land, moving & exploring. And so much contentment sat having a cuppa, appreciating the tea and where it’s traveled from, and the time and the world passing by. Immersed in the nature of things.

The photo of the brew is at a lovely cafe on the Monsal Trail, The Refreshment Room at Miller’s Dale (their date slices are 🤤👌🏽too!) The video is from the top of a very windy Shutlingsloe 🤎

I’m going to head upto Shutlingsloe again soon for a cuppa at sunrise 🌲☕️✨ Let me know if you’d like to join me (walking from 6am with head torches, steep ascent & descent at a gentle pace, approx 2 hours).

For the love of brews and morning walks ☕️ Getting up and out to meet the light as she rises. Whistling with the wind, jumping over mud and finding my feet. Finding our way. Oh to wander… and wonder and share the journey with love and four paws. And whether on track, at a little cafe along the route, or returning home and hearing the kettle boil, to have a cup of the good stuff. I find so much joy and direction and freedom being out on the land, moving & exploring. And so much contentment sat having a cuppa, appreciating the tea and where it’s traveled from, and the time and the world passing by. Immersed in the nature of things.

The photo of the brew is at a lovely cafe on the Monsal Trail, The Refreshment Room at Miller’s Dale (their date slices are 🤤👌🏽too!) The video is from the top of a very windy Shutlingsloe 🤎

I’m going to head upto Shutlingsloe again soon for a cuppa at sunrise 🌲☕️✨ Let me know if you’d like to join me (walking from 6am with head torches, steep ascent & descent at a gentle pace, approx 2 hours).

🌱 Many schools and philosophies of Yoga teach us of transcending the human condition, that it’s possible to become separate from mind and body, to rise beyond the ordinary and experience a superior / supernatural state. In the way we speak, too, and within healthcare systems and ways we are educated in the West, we are taught that there is the mind (head) and the rest of us (body). That “I am here“ and nature is “out there”.

I never really felt this to be true… Did you? I felt part of it all, ever since I was little… a deeply sensitive soul channeling the waves of life. Never “me and them”, but Us. All of Us… the mind within the body within the human within the earth, and the animals, insects, birds too. The skies and the seas, the rocks and Ancients.

Embodiment teaches us that the body is an essential part of who we are. That the body is life - is nature - experiencing itself, is nature expressing itself. Mind and body and soul and planet and all that seems beyond is really all right here as one. Ever-changing, cells dividing, stars exploding, life regenerating. One. The thinking mind and the feeling body and the living, breathing earth and trees and all of it. In tune and attuned. As I understand it, embodiment isn’t a choosing but a returning, a re-membering.

We are living through some strange times where humanity is obsessed with being independent, separate, living as though the head isn’t part of the body and the human isn’t dependent on the Earth and vice versa. Practicing rekindling embodied ways of living invites us back into deeper channels of communication, care, nurture and surrender. To intuition and a cosmic, earthly way of being. This ordinary life, this body with her belly that knows hunger and a heart that can feel such deep love, is the greatest expression of universal consciousness. And we can know it now. Here, today, in our beautifully abstract and divinely entangled lives. May we be here for it now 🌍

🌱 Many schools and philosophies of Yoga teach us of transcending the human condition, that it’s possible to become separate from mind and body, to rise beyond the ordinary and experience a superior / supernatural state. In the way we speak, too, and within healthcare systems and ways we are educated in the West, we are taught that there is the mind (head) and the rest of us (body). That “I am here“ and nature is “out there”.

I never really felt this to be true… Did you? I felt part of it all, ever since I was little… a deeply sensitive soul channeling the waves of life. Never “me and them”, but Us. All of Us… the mind within the body within the human within the earth, and the animals, insects, birds too. The skies and the seas, the rocks and Ancients.

Embodiment teaches us that the body is an essential part of who we are. That the body is life - is nature - experiencing itself, is nature expressing itself. Mind and body and soul and planet and all that seems beyond is really all right here as one. Ever-changing, cells dividing, stars exploding, life regenerating. One. The thinking mind and the feeling body and the living, breathing earth and trees and all of it. In tune and attuned. As I understand it, embodiment isn’t a choosing but a returning, a re-membering.

We are living through some strange times where humanity is obsessed with being independent, separate, living as though the head isn’t part of the body and the human isn’t dependent on the Earth and vice versa. Practicing rekindling embodied ways of living invites us back into deeper channels of communication, care, nurture and surrender. To intuition and a cosmic, earthly way of being. This ordinary life, this body with her belly that knows hunger and a heart that can feel such deep love, is the greatest expression of universal consciousness. And we can know it now. Here, today, in our beautifully abstract and divinely entangled lives. May we be here for it now 🌍

For the love of moss 🌱 Is anybody else’s camera roll filled with the wonder of wild plants growing? There’s so much to be found through these colder, rainy months when moss can flourish and bring bursts of colour (even when dormant) to woodlands and walls and concrete floors. I wonder how lovely it would be to shrink to something small, a creature or woodland spirit, and climb onto a spongy bed of the stuff to have a nap 🧚🏻‍♂️🐞 Cocooned and cushioned by nature. I’m fascinated by it, this stuff that grows everywhere, both tiny and vast. Present and ancient. Mosses and their relatives were the first plants to grow on land, and they’re spectacular at living… drinking rainwater and eating dust particles, some being able to survive for up to 19 years without water. 19 years without the stuff that sustains them! They encourage me to notice, to get close. To be with their spiralling leaves & soft, spongy textures, and that damp, earthy smell of mud and moss. Next time you’re in the forest, or walking to the shops, see if you can spot some growing, and say hello to our old friend from me 🤎

For the love of moss 🌱 Is anybody else’s camera roll filled with the wonder of wild plants growing? There’s so much to be found through these colder, rainy months when moss can flourish and bring bursts of colour (even when dormant) to woodlands and walls and concrete floors. I wonder how lovely it would be to shrink to something small, a creature or woodland spirit, and climb onto a spongy bed of the stuff to have a nap 🧚🏻‍♂️🐞 Cocooned and cushioned by nature. I’m fascinated by it, this stuff that grows everywhere, both tiny and vast. Present and ancient. Mosses and their relatives were the first plants to grow on land, and they’re spectacular at living… drinking rainwater and eating dust particles, some being able to survive for up to 19 years without water. 19 years without the stuff that sustains them! They encourage me to notice, to get close. To be with their spiralling leaves & soft, spongy textures, and that damp, earthy smell of mud and moss. Next time you’re in the forest, or walking to the shops, see if you can spot some growing, and say hello to our old friend from me 🤎

Reflecting on how much has changed 🌱
The second photograph here is from a time in another role many years ago, traveling around the country leading 50+ events a year (and doing so much more!) for the global charity I worked for as an Area, Community and Project Manager. I learned so much in those years and met some incredible friends, teachers and connections. I was inspired by the resiliency and creativity and care that people had for others. People who believed that together, we can make life better, take better care of the environment, be more inclusive, and improve education & healthcare & all the other systems. More than anything, a deep sense that whilst it might be difficult and it might take a lifetime, almost anything is possible. That ordinary people can come together and make massive changes in the way that we live in society.

I was inspired and challenged, and as the world went into lockdown I was already putting into place some big changes for how I showed up in the world. Working on what my heart had always asked me to do. To bring people together more organically, to connect with one another and the land where we live, to slow the F down and live as nature intended. It was an amazing but pretty stressful job I had at the RSA, and I didn’t want to be on 10pm trains home from London all the time anymore, or receive 300 emails a week. I wanted more time to be, to walk in the hills (here entered Chai into my life 🐕), to meditate, to feel part of a local community, to be able to hear my body over a busy mind, to cook from scratch and exercise and rest and have space to support others to live this way too.

And so Rise and Wild was born, bringing together the teachings of yoga and rekindling our relationship with nature, my little social change mission. More than anything, a way of being, a way of living in this crazy, sometimes awful, and often beautiful world.

Reflecting on how much has changed 🌱
The second photograph here is from a time in another role many years ago, traveling around the country leading 50+ events a year (and doing so much more!) for the global charity I worked for as an Area, Community and Project Manager. I learned so much in those years and met some incredible friends, teachers and connections. I was inspired by the resiliency and creativity and care that people had for others. People who believed that together, we can make life better, take better care of the environment, be more inclusive, and improve education & healthcare & all the other systems. More than anything, a deep sense that whilst it might be difficult and it might take a lifetime, almost anything is possible. That ordinary people can come together and make massive changes in the way that we live in society.

I was inspired and challenged, and as the world went into lockdown I was already putting into place some big changes for how I showed up in the world. Working on what my heart had always asked me to do. To bring people together more organically, to connect with one another and the land where we live, to slow the F down and live as nature intended. It was an amazing but pretty stressful job I had at the RSA, and I didn’t want to be on 10pm trains home from London all the time anymore, or receive 300 emails a week. I wanted more time to be, to walk in the hills (here entered Chai into my life 🐕), to meditate, to feel part of a local community, to be able to hear my body over a busy mind, to cook from scratch and exercise and rest and have space to support others to live this way too.

And so Rise and Wild was born, bringing together the teachings of yoga and rekindling our relationship with nature, my little social change mission. More than anything, a way of being, a way of living in this crazy, sometimes awful, and often beautiful world.

There won’t be any New Year resolutions or intention settings here, nor in my January classes, wellbeing programmes or retreat days. There won’t be expectation of myself or of you, to do any more than your body is asking for, or to change in any way in the depths of winter. There will be space to be, to practice listening, remembering and connecting with what these bodies and minds need in this season, this cycle, or moment. We continue to go slow, tuning in, gently gently until the rising light lifts our energies toward Spring, the real season of renewal. The green man reminds us of our interrelationship with nature… that we are nature, and to be bounding into January when the nights are long and energy is low is counterintuitive. It highlights our disconnectedness. We are not the machines that we have come so much to love, rely on and control. I saw a post from @mattzhaig the other day which said “You don’t need a new you. You are not an iPhone. You don’t need replacing every year”. Let that land. God you’re lovely, just as you are. And it’s ok to want change, but we aren’t Amazon Prime delivery either, and it takes time, it takes time for buds to unfurl and for branches to grow. Promise me, you’ll be kind this January. You won’t starve your wintering bones and you’ll keep warm and you’ll rest, not just when you’re sick. We’ll practice patience, relaxation, regenerating from sickness and sugar and bring a little balance back to what is, remembering what we are really here for 🌀🤍🌍

There won’t be any New Year resolutions or intention settings here, nor in my January classes, wellbeing programmes or retreat days. There won’t be expectation of myself or of you, to do any more than your body is asking for, or to change in any way in the depths of winter. There will be space to be, to practice listening, remembering and connecting with what these bodies and minds need in this season, this cycle, or moment. We continue to go slow, tuning in, gently gently until the rising light lifts our energies toward Spring, the real season of renewal. The green man reminds us of our interrelationship with nature… that we are nature, and to be bounding into January when the nights are long and energy is low is counterintuitive. It highlights our disconnectedness. We are not the machines that we have come so much to love, rely on and control. I saw a post from @mattzhaig the other day which said “You don’t need a new you. You are not an iPhone. You don’t need replacing every year”. Let that land. God you’re lovely, just as you are. And it’s ok to want change, but we aren’t Amazon Prime delivery either, and it takes time, it takes time for buds to unfurl and for branches to grow. Promise me, you’ll be kind this January. You won’t starve your wintering bones and you’ll keep warm and you’ll rest, not just when you’re sick. We’ll practice patience, relaxation, regenerating from sickness and sugar and bring a little balance back to what is, remembering what we are really here for 🌀🤍🌍

🌲 I love this place. Especially in the mornings, when the trails are quiet and the sun is beginning to rise up and over the trees. I feel connected, held by tall pines and an energy that is much older than my own. I sometimes wonder whether my ancestors shared time here, or perhaps I’m attuning to the wider family of things. The forest, where wolves and wild boar once roamed 🐺 this sacred, moss-filled, shadowsome and light-filled place.

🌲 I love this place. Especially in the mornings, when the trails are quiet and the sun is beginning to rise up and over the trees. I feel connected, held by tall pines and an energy that is much older than my own. I sometimes wonder whether my ancestors shared time here, or perhaps I’m attuning to the wider family of things. The forest, where wolves and wild boar once roamed 🐺 this sacred, moss-filled, shadowsome and light-filled place.

Moments from our most recent Nurtured by Nature 🌱 six-part nature connection & wellbeing programme that I’ve been guiding at Hassall Green Nature Reserve. Designed and evolving through the years, these days encourage connection with one another, ourselves and the land. We practice mindfulness, compassion and take action for both our wellbeing and for nature. We move our bodies, we rest and we receive, practicing s l o w living. Sharing food, stories and at times, struggles. There’s laughter, warmth of the fire and kindness of strangers who, throughout the weeks become friends. Practices invite us to reflect, explore, play, create and see in new & familiar ways. I’d almost forgotten how much I love delivering these wellbeing with nature programmes and will be exploring places and spaces to offer a couple more in 2025 🌲🍃

Moments from our most recent Nurtured by Nature 🌱 six-part nature connection & wellbeing programme that I’ve been guiding at Hassall Green Nature Reserve. Designed and evolving through the years, these days encourage connection with one another, ourselves and the land. We practice mindfulness, compassion and take action for both our wellbeing and for nature. We move our bodies, we rest and we receive, practicing s l o w living. Sharing food, stories and at times, struggles. There’s laughter, warmth of the fire and kindness of strangers who, throughout the weeks become friends. Practices invite us to reflect, explore, play, create and see in new & familiar ways. I’d almost forgotten how much I love delivering these wellbeing with nature programmes and will be exploring places and spaces to offer a couple more in 2025 🌲🍃

Everything around us is entering its winter phase. Bulbs deep in the earth are dormant, buds on the trees waiting patiently until Spring. Hedgehogs, dormice and bats hibernate and other creatures 🦡 become much less active. The grass doesn’t need cutting and the energy of the sun is, well you know. And I look around and in contrast I see the frantic buzz of humanity. Late nights, struggled sleep, the glow of technology ever present... That blue glow signalling to your body “it’s daylight, time to be active, go go go”. We are beings with rhythms guided by sunrise and sunset, intended to live with the seasons, yet modern lifestyle is overriding our instincts. We are not the whirring computers we have grown so much to rely on. “Are you resting?” I often ask, and people’s eyes tell me all I need to know. I see it in myself too, this past season I’ve taken on too much work and I feel the pace I’ve been operating at take its toll on my body. This sweet animal body which craves rest. Nature’s rest 🍂 and so, a journey of undoing begins and I invite you to join me…

Everything around us is entering its winter phase. Bulbs deep in the earth are dormant, buds on the trees waiting patiently until Spring. Hedgehogs, dormice and bats hibernate and other creatures 🦡 become much less active. The grass doesn’t need cutting and the energy of the sun is, well you know. And I look around and in contrast I see the frantic buzz of humanity. Late nights, struggled sleep, the glow of technology ever present... That blue glow signalling to your body “it’s daylight, time to be active, go go go”. We are beings with rhythms guided by sunrise and sunset, intended to live with the seasons, yet modern lifestyle is overriding our instincts. We are not the whirring computers we have grown so much to rely on. “Are you resting?” I often ask, and people’s eyes tell me all I need to know. I see it in myself too, this past season I’ve taken on too much work and I feel the pace I’ve been operating at take its toll on my body. This sweet animal body which craves rest. Nature’s rest 🍂 and so, a journey of undoing begins and I invite you to join me…

There are moments in life where we can feel so incredibly connected. Sat on the floor meditating (as I had been here), and writing, moving, resting, belly laughing, making love, cooking food, and always whilst playing with animals! Watching the morning sun rise, birds singing, leaves falling, traffic beginning to roar. It might happen deep in conversation, with someone we love and sometimes in passing with somebody we’ve just met. Maybe it’s whilst eating pizza, sharing slices, or messaging a friend who replies “I was literally just thinking about you”. Sometimes it rolls in quietly, and others might arrive in times of grief or sadness. ‘Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine’. Mary Oliver’s poems and all that they ignite. Art. TV series that awaken something within. Watching fire and candle light flicker. Does any of this ring true for you? What about the buzz from the double shot of coffee kicking in ~ woah, that feeling… here I am. Living, feeling, being in the world. Present whilst walking through forests and jumping into lakes. Smiling at somebody who smiles back straight away, singing along at music gigs, and sharing cups of tea.

There are moments in life where we can feel so incredibly connected. Sat on the floor meditating (as I had been here), and writing, moving, resting, belly laughing, making love, cooking food, and always whilst playing with animals! Watching the morning sun rise, birds singing, leaves falling, traffic beginning to roar. It might happen deep in conversation, with someone we love and sometimes in passing with somebody we’ve just met. Maybe it’s whilst eating pizza, sharing slices, or messaging a friend who replies “I was literally just thinking about you”. Sometimes it rolls in quietly, and others might arrive in times of grief or sadness. ‘Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine’. Mary Oliver’s poems and all that they ignite. Art. TV series that awaken something within. Watching fire and candle light flicker. Does any of this ring true for you? What about the buzz from the double shot of coffee kicking in ~ woah, that feeling… here I am. Living, feeling, being in the world. Present whilst walking through forests and jumping into lakes. Smiling at somebody who smiles back straight away, singing along at music gigs, and sharing cups of tea.

Sharing places like these as autumn draws in. Natural or low light, plant life and where space allows, the crackle of fire. In woodland cabins and community centres and church halls and living rooms and nature reserves and gardens and on the hill and all the other places where we meet. You’re welcome here, exactly as you are 🧡

Sharing places like these as autumn draws in. Natural or low light, plant life and where space allows, the crackle of fire. In woodland cabins and community centres and church halls and living rooms and nature reserves and gardens and on the hill and all the other places where we meet. You’re welcome here, exactly as you are 🧡

To know the forest, or a woodland, is to know love. To feel the soft, spongy blanket of earth beneath bare feet and to meet moss like it’s the greatest treasure you’ll ever come across. Love soars… To be with the birds, hearing them up high in the trees and to feel their wildness within the depth of our own animalness. It is here where we return, welcomed, embraced, encouraged in the arms of trees. Our bodies breathe a little more deeply, freely. Eyes - however tired - sparkling with the light. And there’s a heartbeat, tell me you’ve felt it too, the bdum bdum that’s beating throughout our bodies, in rhythm with the heart and soul of this shared & sacred place 🤎

To know the forest, or a woodland, is to know love. To feel the soft, spongy blanket of earth beneath bare feet and to meet moss like it’s the greatest treasure you’ll ever come across. Love soars… To be with the birds, hearing them up high in the trees and to feel their wildness within the depth of our own animalness. It is here where we return, welcomed, embraced, encouraged in the arms of trees. Our bodies breathe a little more deeply, freely. Eyes - however tired - sparkling with the light. And there’s a heartbeat, tell me you’ve felt it too, the bdum bdum that’s beating throughout our bodies, in rhythm with the heart and soul of this shared & sacred place 🤎

🧡 Captured in the moment with the beat of a drum and our soles bare, moving with the land. Reawakening to the sensitivity and resiliency and lifefullness of our bodies. To be here, with nature reserves and woodlands, coastlines & community centres, you and me and the creatures, trees & other wildlings, guiding practices and space for expression, reconnection, giggles and wiggles and soulful experience. Here, with the handbuilt, earth-made roundhouse, returning to our embodied nature.

It hasn’t always been this way. For a long time in my earlier years I was out of tune with my body, just the thought of moving, dancing - feeling - in public filled me with dread. My friends would rock to a live band with confidence & rhythm whilst I found it excruciating. It’s taken years for me to unravel from self-consciousness & stories spun untrue in my mind and from within our society. When I began to remember how (and learn and practice and allow) felt-sense to guide me, I began to experience a freedom and a way of life that I have been dancing more & more toward ever since.

🧡 Captured in the moment with the beat of a drum and our soles bare, moving with the land. Reawakening to the sensitivity and resiliency and lifefullness of our bodies. To be here, with nature reserves and woodlands, coastlines & community centres, you and me and the creatures, trees & other wildlings, guiding practices and space for expression, reconnection, giggles and wiggles and soulful experience. Here, with the handbuilt, earth-made roundhouse, returning to our embodied nature.

It hasn’t always been this way. For a long time in my earlier years I was out of tune with my body, just the thought of moving, dancing - feeling - in public filled me with dread. My friends would rock to a live band with confidence & rhythm whilst I found it excruciating. It’s taken years for me to unravel from self-consciousness & stories spun untrue in my mind and from within our society. When I began to remember how (and learn and practice and allow) felt-sense to guide me, I began to experience a freedom and a way of life that I have been dancing more & more toward ever since.

Our weekend retreat in Ashbourne ~ October 2024 🍂 Creating space for people to feel truly nourished, with yoga classes, walks, nature-based practices, embodied movement, the greatest feasts and free time to read, swim, be… We laughed so, so much and tears flowed at times. Connections were made, stories told, friendships evolving, bodies listened to. One morning, leaving my little cottage early to prepare for our first practice of the day, 3 of the group were up watching the sun rise in their dressing gowns, brews in hand. My heart flooded with love, the whole weekend. To be this way, for people to have an opportunity to receive what they need. To slow down, be fed, listened to, nurtured. To have quiet time alone and to be surrounded by laughter and kindness at times. I am so, so grateful to everybody who joined us for making it the weekend that it was, and to Charis and Josh @feastable.uk for all they are and all they do feeding bellies, hearts & minds. Love you incredible beings… here’s to the next one (coming Spring 2025 ☺️)

Our weekend retreat in Ashbourne ~ October 2024 🍂 Creating space for people to feel truly nourished, with yoga classes, walks, nature-based practices, embodied movement, the greatest feasts and free time to read, swim, be… We laughed so, so much and tears flowed at times. Connections were made, stories told, friendships evolving, bodies listened to. One morning, leaving my little cottage early to prepare for our first practice of the day, 3 of the group were up watching the sun rise in their dressing gowns, brews in hand. My heart flooded with love, the whole weekend. To be this way, for people to have an opportunity to receive what they need. To slow down, be fed, listened to, nurtured. To have quiet time alone and to be surrounded by laughter and kindness at times. I am so, so grateful to everybody who joined us for making it the weekend that it was, and to Charis and Josh @feastable.uk for all they are and all they do feeding bellies, hearts & minds. Love you incredible beings… here’s to the next one (coming Spring 2025 ☺️)

Joy. The kind that encompasses us entirely, bringing us into pockets of presence where nothing else exists other than here, now. Here, with the mushrooms. With a brew at our favourite cafe… phone off, people watching. Reading something inspiring. Swimming in sparkling, clear natural waters. Peacefulness. The sun rising. Watching the sun set on a hill with a cold can of something. A song that stirs the soul. Dancing. Moving with the land. Driving, windows down. The slow exhale in a yoga class. Belly laughing with somebody you love. Are we choosing this every day? Alongside work, family life and doing the dishes. What if there was joy to find in doing the dishes? In the activism to make things easier for those who are suffering. Joy in being. Not constantly high on life (let’s be realistic), nor avoiding difficult feelings with pursuits of happiness or escape, but for there to be glimmers throughout our days. Is the coffee being savoured? Are we present on our morning walks? Is the work, in some part, fulfilling? Do we remember the feeling that lives within our bones?

Joy. The kind that encompasses us entirely, bringing us into pockets of presence where nothing else exists other than here, now. Here, with the mushrooms. With a brew at our favourite cafe… phone off, people watching. Reading something inspiring. Swimming in sparkling, clear natural waters. Peacefulness. The sun rising. Watching the sun set on a hill with a cold can of something. A song that stirs the soul. Dancing. Moving with the land. Driving, windows down. The slow exhale in a yoga class. Belly laughing with somebody you love. Are we choosing this every day? Alongside work, family life and doing the dishes. What if there was joy to find in doing the dishes? In the activism to make things easier for those who are suffering. Joy in being. Not constantly high on life (let’s be realistic), nor avoiding difficult feelings with pursuits of happiness or escape, but for there to be glimmers throughout our days. Is the coffee being savoured? Are we present on our morning walks? Is the work, in some part, fulfilling? Do we remember the feeling that lives within our bones?

Gathering around fire and beneath trees 🌍
In community spaces, indoor places, woodlands, parks, towns, online and on retreat in the mountains. Lay on the earth, sharing meals on big tables, climbing trees, navigating screens, walking beneath moonlight, swimming in wild waters and picnics with old, stone walls. Here we are, coming back together, changing the pace, sharing and connecting with something more than the majority of us encounter day to day. Remembering. Deepening our practice, our presence. Laughing, crying sometimes, moving, resting, rewilding our lives, enchanting our evenings and weekends and middle of the week days and all the pockets of time in-between. Unravelling, channelling and coming back together with the world.

Gathering around fire and beneath trees 🌍
In community spaces, indoor places, woodlands, parks, towns, online and on retreat in the mountains. Lay on the earth, sharing meals on big tables, climbing trees, navigating screens, walking beneath moonlight, swimming in wild waters and picnics with old, stone walls. Here we are, coming back together, changing the pace, sharing and connecting with something more than the majority of us encounter day to day. Remembering. Deepening our practice, our presence. Laughing, crying sometimes, moving, resting, rewilding our lives, enchanting our evenings and weekends and middle of the week days and all the pockets of time in-between. Unravelling, channelling and coming back together with the world.

Welcoming Change ~ Here’s to the warmer months we’ve had 🧘🏽‍♀️🌲 our practices outdoors, in nature reserves and woodlands, parks, cabins, roundhouses and gardens. Being barefoot with the land, listening to bird song and watching ducks grow from ducklings; beetles move and mate and wildflowers come and go. Mesmerised by the way the light changes, week to week, moment by moment. Our bodies have been tanned and chilled, strengthened and supported. Now we welcome the changing season 🍂 with some classes & programmes continuing outdoors until December, others taking shelter in the cabin, fire lit and cosy. Walks are offered year round, retreats are sprinkled through the year and many practices remain indoors throughout the seasons, with connection to nature at the beating heart of them. If you would like to find out about seasonal yoga classes, deeper nature workshops and trainings, winter walks, peaks of health and my wider health & wellbeing work, please join my mailing list ~ share your email at the bottom of my website www.riseandwild.com (link in bio) 🧡

Welcoming Change ~ Here’s to the warmer months we’ve had 🧘🏽‍♀️🌲 our practices outdoors, in nature reserves and woodlands, parks, cabins, roundhouses and gardens. Being barefoot with the land, listening to bird song and watching ducks grow from ducklings; beetles move and mate and wildflowers come and go. Mesmerised by the way the light changes, week to week, moment by moment. Our bodies have been tanned and chilled, strengthened and supported. Now we welcome the changing season 🍂 with some classes & programmes continuing outdoors until December, others taking shelter in the cabin, fire lit and cosy. Walks are offered year round, retreats are sprinkled through the year and many practices remain indoors throughout the seasons, with connection to nature at the beating heart of them. If you would like to find out about seasonal yoga classes, deeper nature workshops and trainings, winter walks, peaks of health and my wider health & wellbeing work, please join my mailing list ~ share your email at the bottom of my website www.riseandwild.com (link in bio) 🧡

Outdoor wellbeing with the Green Angels, guiding wildful, mindful nature workshops, forest meditations and yoga at their nature reserves. Bringing generations of folk… children, grown ups, elders and families together with workshop leaders, creators, woodworkers, face painters, holistic practitioners, cake-bakers volunteers & conservation leaders. Sharing the story of place and all that wildlife-rich space enables 🐍 Community, connection and collaboration at play day-to-day. The Green Angels have become family over the years and it’s a joy to collaborate with them, delivering wellbeing with nature programmes, talks, guiding weekly opportunities for people to connect and practice slow, mindful living and being part of their community open days.

Outdoor wellbeing with the Green Angels, guiding wildful, mindful nature workshops, forest meditations and yoga at their nature reserves. Bringing generations of folk… children, grown ups, elders and families together with workshop leaders, creators, woodworkers, face painters, holistic practitioners, cake-bakers volunteers & conservation leaders. Sharing the story of place and all that wildlife-rich space enables 🐍 Community, connection and collaboration at play day-to-day. The Green Angels have become family over the years and it’s a joy to collaborate with them, delivering wellbeing with nature programmes, talks, guiding weekly opportunities for people to connect and practice slow, mindful living and being part of their community open days.

Into the woods and onto the ground and up with the canopy 🌲 Admiring fungi, feeling the cool earth and relearning how to climb. Arms open, in conversation with one another & the trees with time to be, to wander, to sit and listen. To experience a different pace, where wonder reignites our interrelatedness. You. Me. Nature. Same same. Experience and research + age-old wisdom that we retain in our DNA shows that time with trees can magnify our positive emotions and reduce stress hormones. Our blood pressure & heart rate lowers and our immunity improves from walking in the woods. I often say it’s magic, this, and it really is. But more & more I say it’s mandatory and we are remembering that it’s medicinal. Not just for us (humans) but the whole, our ecosystem, to come back home and heal & thrive and play together.

Into the woods and onto the ground and up with the canopy 🌲 Admiring fungi, feeling the cool earth and relearning how to climb. Arms open, in conversation with one another & the trees with time to be, to wander, to sit and listen. To experience a different pace, where wonder reignites our interrelatedness. You. Me. Nature. Same same. Experience and research + age-old wisdom that we retain in our DNA shows that time with trees can magnify our positive emotions and reduce stress hormones. Our blood pressure & heart rate lowers and our immunity improves from walking in the woods. I often say it’s magic, this, and it really is. But more & more I say it’s mandatory and we are remembering that it’s medicinal. Not just for us (humans) but the whole, our ecosystem, to come back home and heal & thrive and play together.

As she left my class this morning, Leslie said to me “Rachel. Your classes are medicine. It’s so much more y’know.... It’s a mind, body experience. I am so glad that I found you.” Stood there, watching her with kindness and intent in her eyes, my own welled up. Listening, receiving, smiling. What a gift it is to be sharing the wisdom and the qualities of a practice that I’ve devoted so much of my life to exploring. Practicing yoga. Practicing being here in this body. Aware. Present. Calm. Sometimes anxious. Back to calm. Other times overwhelmed, joyful, soft, slow, angry, shallow breathing. Belly breathing. Mmm. Belly breathing! Practicing balance. Pranayama. Meditation. Practicing peacefulness, stillness, surrender and sacrifice. Practicing beyond asana (the postures). Deepening my understanding of what it means to be human, to have this body and to be influenced, ohoho so influenced, by the world and the people and the creatures and landscapes we share our lives with. It’s a practice, yoga. It’s a showing up. Choosing and practicing to live well. Sometimes we nail it and sometimes we fail and sometimes we forget and not often enough do we celebrate the medicine that is at our finger tips. Here I am, with you, learning and guiding & reminding one another as we go 🌍

As she left my class this morning, Leslie said to me “Rachel. Your classes are medicine. It’s so much more y’know.... It’s a mind, body experience. I am so glad that I found you.” Stood there, watching her with kindness and intent in her eyes, my own welled up. Listening, receiving, smiling. What a gift it is to be sharing the wisdom and the qualities of a practice that I’ve devoted so much of my life to exploring. Practicing yoga. Practicing being here in this body. Aware. Present. Calm. Sometimes anxious. Back to calm. Other times overwhelmed, joyful, soft, slow, angry, shallow breathing. Belly breathing. Mmm. Belly breathing! Practicing balance. Pranayama. Meditation. Practicing peacefulness, stillness, surrender and sacrifice. Practicing beyond asana (the postures). Deepening my understanding of what it means to be human, to have this body and to be influenced, ohoho so influenced, by the world and the people and the creatures and landscapes we share our lives with. It’s a practice, yoga. It’s a showing up. Choosing and practicing to live well. Sometimes we nail it and sometimes we fail and sometimes we forget and not often enough do we celebrate the medicine that is at our finger tips. Here I am, with you, learning and guiding & reminding one another as we go 🌍

Introducing *Peaks of Health*, a new project I’m delivering with the Peak District National Park 🪨 Guiding inclusive health walks and nature-based wellbeing interventions, alongside training and resources for organisations & community groups that support people with mental or physical health challenges. Peaks of Health is about increasing access, breaking down barriers and enabling more people to venture into the National Park to access the health and wellbeing benefits of being here, being outdoors, connecting, and walking or cycling. I love this place, and I care so deeply about this work. If you support a group that might benefit from joining us, or you’d like to find out more, get in touch x

Introducing *Peaks of Health*, a new project I’m delivering with the Peak District National Park 🪨 Guiding inclusive health walks and nature-based wellbeing interventions, alongside training and resources for organisations & community groups that support people with mental or physical health challenges. Peaks of Health is about increasing access, breaking down barriers and enabling more people to venture into the National Park to access the health and wellbeing benefits of being here, being outdoors, connecting, and walking or cycling. I love this place, and I care so deeply about this work. If you support a group that might benefit from joining us, or you’d like to find out more, get in touch x

Finding wonder in the spaces in-between.
In the small places, the unexpected, the catch you by surprise on an idle afternoon. You know the ones. Something, a glimpse, and a rush of sensation floods the body, speaks to the heart and captures our eyes. It’s how I felt here, walking with a friend through the forest, deep in conversation. Until we both paused. We left the path in silence and looked. We wondered and we ooooohhhhed and ahhhhed. Ahhhhh. Look! The wall sang to me with her jagged teeth and stones lay by hands however long ago. Miranda was smiling, practically grinning, reaching out to touch the flowers in all their lifefullness and glory. Photographing them like loved ones. It was so lovely to witness her there in the moment, breathing it all in. Being there with the hawkweed. The cow parsley. The insects and the grasses and man, those stones. That moment. May our lives sparkle with those moments, those pockets of noticing how beautiful and bizarre and unique this life really is ✨

Finding wonder in the spaces in-between.
In the small places, the unexpected, the catch you by surprise on an idle afternoon. You know the ones. Something, a glimpse, and a rush of sensation floods the body, speaks to the heart and captures our eyes. It’s how I felt here, walking with a friend through the forest, deep in conversation. Until we both paused. We left the path in silence and looked. We wondered and we ooooohhhhed and ahhhhed. Ahhhhh. Look! The wall sang to me with her jagged teeth and stones lay by hands however long ago. Miranda was smiling, practically grinning, reaching out to touch the flowers in all their lifefullness and glory. Photographing them like loved ones. It was so lovely to witness her there in the moment, breathing it all in. Being there with the hawkweed. The cow parsley. The insects and the grasses and man, those stones. That moment. May our lives sparkle with those moments, those pockets of noticing how beautiful and bizarre and unique this life really is ✨

Over the years, so many people have said to me, “I can’t practice yoga because I’m not flexible enough”. I hear it all the time, along with “I wouldn’t be able to do it because I can’t get down onto the ground, or I’m not quick/strong/fit/calm enough. I don’t have anybody to come with, I’m not confident enough or I can’t afford it”. I really hear those realities and feel strongly about how many practices there are out there that reinforce similar beliefs & barriers. Not every yoga class can be for everybody, and I’m very open about the sessions I teach that are only accessible, for example by car (the woodland ones). My most accessible class is the chair-based one, bringing folk together for a 45-minute seated practice, a natter and for those who fancy it, a brew afterwards. The practice I teach has the same theme & movement patterns as my other classes that week, the only difference is that it’s seated. I love the process of creating something that can be expressed in different ways, that speak to different people & their individuality. As I grow as a teacher, my class plans are becoming more & more fluid, responding to the people who attend in those moments. I try to create an environment where everybody feels involved and comfortable, especially if they’re doing something different to the person next to them. That’s not to say I won’t encourage you, at times, to explore your comfort zones. And sometimes I get it wrong, and sometimes I forget and often we figure it out together. I learn so much from you, with you. Liz has been joining my weekly chair-based yoga classes, the first time she’s ever felt she could practice yoga, and she recently said “I had no idea what I’ve been missing out on all this time.” The classes are offered on a pay-what-you-can scale from £0 - £8, people who don’t have a lot financially come for free and people who have enough pay what they can (I offer this for all my classes). If you ever want to talk about what’s involved, or share experiences where yoga really hasn’t been accessible for you, or to come and try a class for free, message me 🤍 photo taken after a class & shared with their permission.

Over the years, so many people have said to me, “I can’t practice yoga because I’m not flexible enough”. I hear it all the time, along with “I wouldn’t be able to do it because I can’t get down onto the ground, or I’m not quick/strong/fit/calm enough. I don’t have anybody to come with, I’m not confident enough or I can’t afford it”. I really hear those realities and feel strongly about how many practices there are out there that reinforce similar beliefs & barriers. Not every yoga class can be for everybody, and I’m very open about the sessions I teach that are only accessible, for example by car (the woodland ones). My most accessible class is the chair-based one, bringing folk together for a 45-minute seated practice, a natter and for those who fancy it, a brew afterwards. The practice I teach has the same theme & movement patterns as my other classes that week, the only difference is that it’s seated. I love the process of creating something that can be expressed in different ways, that speak to different people & their individuality. As I grow as a teacher, my class plans are becoming more & more fluid, responding to the people who attend in those moments. I try to create an environment where everybody feels involved and comfortable, especially if they’re doing something different to the person next to them. That’s not to say I won’t encourage you, at times, to explore your comfort zones. And sometimes I get it wrong, and sometimes I forget and often we figure it out together. I learn so much from you, with you. Liz has been joining my weekly chair-based yoga classes, the first time she’s ever felt she could practice yoga, and she recently said “I had no idea what I’ve been missing out on all this time.” The classes are offered on a pay-what-you-can scale from £0 - £8, people who don’t have a lot financially come for free and people who have enough pay what they can (I offer this for all my classes). If you ever want to talk about what’s involved, or share experiences where yoga really hasn’t been accessible for you, or to come and try a class for free, message me 🤍 photo taken after a class & shared with their permission.

~ Life in the water 🐟

So many people ask me “why are we drawn to water?” Why do we feel at peace being by and in bodies of water? Is it something to do with our body being made up of the stuff? That it’s where we came from, before our bodies met land? Studies show that (for those who feel safe) the benefits of being outdoors increase where water is present, and I feel that in my own experience. Almost as though there’s a magnet in my bones that really feels this deep draw. Sometimes I get in the van and can’t help but drive to the coast, and there’s that feeling, like a bodily sigh, when I arrive. A homecoming. I had a brew @themonoclecafe the other day & Ash and Jim were beaming telling me about their recent adventure to Pembrokeshire swimming in the sea. “It felt incredible!” It does feel incredible! Yes! My body responded with that same knowing. My best friend has been pregnant recently and she has taken herself to lakes and pools to swim and be, to feel the water holding her body & baby with a lightness that we don’t experience on land. Each week, I swim in the lake I’m in here, sharing the evening with a small group of folk who join me for an outdoor yoga practice, and I watch their eyes light up and their faces beam with joy. There are so many stories of awe and wonder I could share, my own and other folks, of our connection to the lakes, the rivers and seas.

Gratitude for my friend and incredibly talented photographer @folkandtale who captured this moment when she joined us at our Wild Retreat Day last year 🤍

~ Life in the water 🐟

So many people ask me “why are we drawn to water?” Why do we feel at peace being by and in bodies of water? Is it something to do with our body being made up of the stuff? That it’s where we came from, before our bodies met land? Studies show that (for those who feel safe) the benefits of being outdoors increase where water is present, and I feel that in my own experience. Almost as though there’s a magnet in my bones that really feels this deep draw. Sometimes I get in the van and can’t help but drive to the coast, and there’s that feeling, like a bodily sigh, when I arrive. A homecoming. I had a brew @themonoclecafe the other day & Ash and Jim were beaming telling me about their recent adventure to Pembrokeshire swimming in the sea. “It felt incredible!” It does feel incredible! Yes! My body responded with that same knowing. My best friend has been pregnant recently and she has taken herself to lakes and pools to swim and be, to feel the water holding her body & baby with a lightness that we don’t experience on land. Each week, I swim in the lake I’m in here, sharing the evening with a small group of folk who join me for an outdoor yoga practice, and I watch their eyes light up and their faces beam with joy. There are so many stories of awe and wonder I could share, my own and other folks, of our connection to the lakes, the rivers and seas.

Gratitude for my friend and incredibly talented photographer @folkandtale who captured this moment when she joined us at our Wild Retreat Day last year 🤍

This year I’ve been working with the Our Dee Estuary project, a Heritage Lottery funded programme led by Cheshire Wildlife Trust designed to inspire coastal communities about the natural heritage of the Dee Estuary. They approached me to design and deliver Coastal Connection training days for community facilitators & organisations who create opportunities for social connection to improve wellbeing. We created experiential days for each group, to learn about the process of deepening our relationship with nature (our own and that which we are part of), and to put it into practice... To connect, explore, share barriers and find solutions within the work that they do and want to do. Each day unfolded differently, responding to the needs of the group and the lay of the land, sharing facilitation skills, mindfulness practices, nature knowledge and conservation toolkits, with opportunities to slow down, respond, listen and to truly connect. I design and deliver these days but the people who come along (fully funded, free places 🙏🏼) really make them what they are. It’s been a real joy collaborating with Hannah and supporting the team with the incredible work they are enabling @ourdeeestuary @cheshirewildlifetrust.

This year I’ve been working with the Our Dee Estuary project, a Heritage Lottery funded programme led by Cheshire Wildlife Trust designed to inspire coastal communities about the natural heritage of the Dee Estuary. They approached me to design and deliver Coastal Connection training days for community facilitators & organisations who create opportunities for social connection to improve wellbeing. We created experiential days for each group, to learn about the process of deepening our relationship with nature (our own and that which we are part of), and to put it into practice... To connect, explore, share barriers and find solutions within the work that they do and want to do. Each day unfolded differently, responding to the needs of the group and the lay of the land, sharing facilitation skills, mindfulness practices, nature knowledge and conservation toolkits, with opportunities to slow down, respond, listen and to truly connect. I design and deliver these days but the people who come along (fully funded, free places 🙏🏼) really make them what they are. It’s been a real joy collaborating with Hannah and supporting the team with the incredible work they are enabling @ourdeeestuary @cheshirewildlifetrust.

~ Navigating space, that which is within and that which I am in. Letting what wants to come through, move through. Less and less of the over-thinking mind and more and more of an integrated, feeling, sensing and whole body. Head included! These bones and cells and spirit and earth, colliding, oxygenising, slow dancing with life.

~ Navigating space, that which is within and that which I am in. Letting what wants to come through, move through. Less and less of the over-thinking mind and more and more of an integrated, feeling, sensing and whole body. Head included! These bones and cells and spirit and earth, colliding, oxygenising, slow dancing with life.

When Same But Different asked to interview me for #RarityLife (a publication for people affected by rare disease, disability and cancer & their communities, with content that is truly inclusive), I was honoured and so excited to meet with them. We had a humbling conversation about wholeness, about unifying our collective experiences and celebrating and sharing differences. Sally and the team transformed my words and gestures, passions & frustrations into a 4-page article. It captures a little of my journey and my care for being an inclusive yoga teacher who advocates for accessible, welcoming practices, celebrating & honouring all bodies. If you would like to read the article, please comment below and I’ll share the link with you 🤍

P.S. Whilst my first yoga teachers were in the Iyengar discipline (over 10 years ago) this is no longer my area of study. I teach a much gentler, grounding practice anchored in yoga philosophy & nature’s way.

🌱

When Same But Different asked to interview me for #RarityLife (a publication for people affected by rare disease, disability and cancer & their communities, with content that is truly inclusive), I was honoured and so excited to meet with them. We had a humbling conversation about wholeness, about unifying our collective experiences and celebrating and sharing differences. Sally and the team transformed my words and gestures, passions & frustrations into a 4-page article. It captures a little of my journey and my care for being an inclusive yoga teacher who advocates for accessible, welcoming practices, celebrating & honouring all bodies. If you would like to read the article, please comment below and I’ll share the link with you 🤍

P.S. Whilst my first yoga teachers were in the Iyengar discipline (over 10 years ago) this is no longer my area of study. I teach a much gentler, grounding practice anchored in yoga philosophy & nature’s way.

🌱

To be here, in the moment and with the morning 🌳 Chai playing in the river whilst we hang and play and swing with the trees. Listening to the water ripple & gurgle, and singing to the birds who gather on branches to watch a moment of peacefulness unfurl. To be here, now.

To be here, in the moment and with the morning 🌳 Chai playing in the river whilst we hang and play and swing with the trees. Listening to the water ripple & gurgle, and singing to the birds who gather on branches to watch a moment of peacefulness unfurl. To be here, now.

Early morning swims in icy Scottish lochs, skipping along coastlines in Pembrokeshire, Wales, jumping off the pier into clear blue, Cornish waters… Being daft with my best mate whenever we get the chance, and sharing so many moments with others, human, beast and being. The joy that arises, and opportunities to face our fears (I’ll never forget the moment @b3ckydav1es grabbed my hand and jumped with me when I thought I couldn’t). The way the water always calms anxiety & often brings belly wobbling laughter. The cold. The warmth. The feeling during and then after! The many experiences of easing in - safety first - with a tribe of folk around, together, some of whom it’s their first time in natural waters ~ the gift of witnessing their courage and eyes that say “I did it”. Listening to our bodies. Weekly evening swims after teaching yoga in the woods with our wild tribe (everybody welcome). All the photographs and times and memories I haven’t shared here, and all that are to come. Here’s to the water 🤍

Thank you Anna @folkandtale for capturing the serenity in the second photograph at one of our Wild Retreat days 🐟

Early morning swims in icy Scottish lochs, skipping along coastlines in Pembrokeshire, Wales, jumping off the pier into clear blue, Cornish waters… Being daft with my best mate whenever we get the chance, and sharing so many moments with others, human, beast and being. The joy that arises, and opportunities to face our fears (I’ll never forget the moment @b3ckydav1es grabbed my hand and jumped with me when I thought I couldn’t). The way the water always calms anxiety & often brings belly wobbling laughter. The cold. The warmth. The feeling during and then after! The many experiences of easing in - safety first - with a tribe of folk around, together, some of whom it’s their first time in natural waters ~ the gift of witnessing their courage and eyes that say “I did it”. Listening to our bodies. Weekly evening swims after teaching yoga in the woods with our wild tribe (everybody welcome). All the photographs and times and memories I haven’t shared here, and all that are to come. Here’s to the water 🤍

Thank you Anna @folkandtale for capturing the serenity in the second photograph at one of our Wild Retreat days 🐟

Watching life unfold 🌱🐸 Bearing witness to creation, coming into being, and these early stages of movement & transformation. Frantic, eager, tiny, alive… never will it not be incredible, to see and to be part of this life on earth. The vibration of life moving through all of us.

Watching life unfold 🌱🐸 Bearing witness to creation, coming into being, and these early stages of movement & transformation. Frantic, eager, tiny, alive… never will it not be incredible, to see and to be part of this life on earth. The vibration of life moving through all of us.

Waking up to pine trees and the sea loch from a little cottage in the middle of wild lands on the Cowal peninsula (a few weekends ago). Cooking meals together, all of us involved and dancing around the kitchen navigating who, what, where, how long, and the sensational heat of an aga. Jumping in the loch’s icy cold water and running back up the hill feeling alive, awake & grateful, dogs in tow. Watching little birds and red squirrels, listening to peacefulness, and finding endless wonder in the enormity of the landscape. Offline, swapping screens for board games, and better connected than ever 🌲

Waking up to pine trees and the sea loch from a little cottage in the middle of wild lands on the Cowal peninsula (a few weekends ago). Cooking meals together, all of us involved and dancing around the kitchen navigating who, what, where, how long, and the sensational heat of an aga. Jumping in the loch’s icy cold water and running back up the hill feeling alive, awake & grateful, dogs in tow. Watching little birds and red squirrels, listening to peacefulness, and finding endless wonder in the enormity of the landscape. Offline, swapping screens for board games, and better connected than ever 🌲

.pro-gallery-wix-wrapper {display: block !important;} .pro-gallery-wix-wrapper .gallery-item-container {opacity: 1 !important; display: block !important;}

bottom of page