https://www.facebook.com/179186002708808/

Restfed, High Peak (2026)

28/10/2026

**Why do we expect of ourselves to be good at everything?**

One of my core wounds / limiting beliefs is that I must be perfect in order to be safe / loved / validated etc. I must be a good girl. I must constantly achieve. I must get it all right. This created patterns in my life that set an impossibly high bar, and set myself up to fail. Then feel exhausted, unworthy and just wrong.

Sound familiar?

Be a good parent. Manage all the domestic chores. Remember everyone's needs. Be emotionally available and all things to all people. Stay healthy. Work. Manage money. Have an amazing self-care routine. Socialise. Do all of the courses..

________________(fill in the blank).

And somehow do it all without complaining.

I remember the photograph I used for this post being taken on top of a mountain. I was with an old boyfriend at the time, and I remember wanting to impress him. I even climbed in flip flops!

Looking at it now, I wonder how much of my life I've spent trying to demonstrate that I'm capable, strong, interesting, accomplished — enough. And how different it might have felt to believe I was already enough, without having to prove anything.

I've been thinking about these patterns while preparing the story of Habetrot for my November circles.

In the tale, a young woman is expected to spin an extraordinary amount of yarn.

But she's not good at spinning. And she doesn't want to spend her life doing it.

The story raises an interesting questions:

Why was she meant to be good at it in the first place?

How many of the things we struggle with are actually things we never chose?

Expectations inherited from our families, our culture, our ideas about gender, work and what makes a person valuable.

And how much energy do we spend trying to meet those expectations, rather than questioning them?

I'm not suggesting we abandon our responsibilities. But perhaps we could begin by asking which ones genuinely belong to us, which ones could be shared, and which ones were never ours to carry.

Because being capable of doing something doesn't necessarily mean we should have to do it.

**What's something you've spent years believing you ought to be good at? And why?**

27/10/2026

Old stories. New conversations.

On Sunday 8 November, we're gathering for our Restfed Family Story Circle, exploring the tale of Habetrot.

It's an old story about a young woman faced with an impossible spinning task, a mysterious old spinster who comes to her aid, and a man who comes to see the expectations he places upon others differently.

And there's so much to explore!

What happens when we're expected to be good at something we don't enjoy?

Is it fair to expect everyone to do the same things?

What can we learn from people who are older or younger than ourselves?

And can we change our minds when we begin to see things from another person's perspective?

These aren't questions just for children, or just for adults.

They're questions we can explore together.

That's what I love about bringing different generations around a story.

Children bring imagination, curiosity and playfulness. Adults bring their experiences and perspectives. And everyone has something to contribute.

We'll weave together interactive storytelling, movement, ancestral crafts, rest, creativity and conversation, making space for different ages and ways of participating.

At the heart of these gatherings is something simple but increasingly precious: families spending meaningful time together while building friendships, belonging and community with other families.

**Habetrot — Family Story Circle**

Sunday 8 November | 10am–11.30am

Spring Bank Arts Centre, New Mills

The whole family is welcome.

To book/enquire: [email protected]

Supported ticket: £15 per adult and children / £4 per additional adult

Abundant ticket: £20 per adult and children / £6 per additional adult

23/10/2026

Introducing two monthly circles in New Mills...one for families and one for women.

These gatherings have grown from something I've been exploring for a long time: how we restore nourishment, connection and belonging in lives that so often leave us feeling overstretched, isolated or disconnected from ourselves, one another and the natural world.

For generations people gathered around fires, shared stories, made things together, celebrated the changing seasons and passed wisdom between generations.

Stories weren't simply entertainment. They helped us make sense of our experiences, navigate life's challenges and explore what it means to be human. I believe these old stories have something important to teach us.

Through folklore, fairytale, mythology, seasonal wisdom, embodied practices and creativity, Restfed circles offer opportunities to slow down, reconnect, create and explore the questions that shape our lives.

Each month we'll gather around a story that relates to seasonal energies, archetypes and wisdom, bringing it to life through storytelling, movement, creativity and conversation.

**Family Story Circles:**

At the heart of these circles is belonging and community. Children are welcomed alongside the adults who love and care for them.

Through folklore, interactive storytelling, ancestral crafts, movement and seasonal activities, we create opportunities to slow down, explore, imagine and reconnect and discover what different generations can learn from one another.

**Women’s Story Circle**

Step away from life's demands and spend time attending to your own needs, alongside women who get it what it means to hold it all.

Through storytelling, embodied movement, rest, creativity and shared reflection, we'll explore themes that speak to women's lives: identity, relationships, inherited patterns, grief, transformation, sovereignty, community and belonging.

**Our folktale for November is Habetrot**

Family Story Circle - Sunday 8 November, 10–11.30am

Women’s Story Circle - Sunday 22 November 10am-12.30pm

Spring Bank Arts Centre, New Mills

Contact: [email protected] to enquire / book

21/10/2026

**Who holds the woman who's holding everyone else?**

I've been sitting with this question this week.

On Sunday, I hosted my first intergenerational folklore circle, followed by a community gathering and lunch at my house.

It was wonderful and nourishing. I loved bringing everyone together, sharing stories, creating space for connection and watching something I'd imagined come to life.

I also had friends staying for the weekend, which again was very nourishing. And two days of hosting, listening, supporting and being present for others.

And then Monday arrived.

Straight back into the working week, with parenting responsibilities, unexpected challenges, deadlines, a storage unit to empty and a car to get through its MOT.

Nobody else to share the load.

And the thing is, I have the tools. Movement, breathwork, EFT, meditation, rest practices. They're a lifeline to me.

But no amount of nervous-system regulation can replace the practical and emotional support of other people.

And I've been reflecting on something else:

**Just because we're good at holding space for others doesn't mean we don't need someone to hold space for us.**

I love caring for people. I love creating spaces where others feel safe, welcomed and nourished.

But that doesn't mean I have endless capacity.

And sometimes, when you're the person everyone relies on, it's difficult to even recognise what you need, let alone find the time or support to meet those needs.

We talk a lot about boundaries and prioritising self-care. And yes, those things matter.

But sometimes the issue isn't that we haven't learned to say no.

It's that there are responsibilities which still need attending to, whether we have the energy or not.

And there's no one else to do them.

I don't believe the answer is simply to become better at managing everything. I think we need to question why so many of us are managing so much alone.

And how we begin to restore the kinds of relationships and communities where care flows in more than one direction.

Because the people who hold space for others need somewhere to rest, too.

**Who holds you when you're the one holding everything together?**

14/10/2026

**How are we supposed to prioritise rest when we're the ones holding everything together?**

I think about this a lot. I understand the importance of rest, nervous system regulation, slowing down and making space for nourishment.

It's what I teach, for goodness' sake! But knowing what we need and being able to make room for it are two very different things.

Parenting solo, home education, work commitments, life admin, appointments, household jobs, studying. Decisions to make, people to support. And life's curveballs.

A million things to juggle. And most of the time, I'm doing it on my own.

I'm passionate about rebuilding community, mutual support and ways of living where we don't have to hold it all individually. I'm actively trying to create more of that in my own life.

But the day-to-day reality is that everyone is busy and has responsibilities.

People genuinely want to help, but it's not always obvious how. Sometimes I don't even know what help to ask for.

And somewhere in all this, I'm supposed to find time to rest.

Today, I combined a medicinal sunbed session (recommended by my naturopath for my skin issues) with some breathwork.

11 minutes of conscious breathing while I was already lying there: 36 cycles of 4/8. I was rather pleased with myself for finding a way to fit it in!

But there's an irony in that, too. Even when we're consciously trying to nourish ourselves, we have to be resourceful about finding the time.

The answer is not simply to tell women to prioritise ourselves. The harder questions are about what we're carrying, and why, and what genuine support might actually look like.

How do we create lives where rest isn't something we have to squeeze in? Where asking for help doesn't become another task to manage, and care and responsibility are shared rather than carried by one exhausted person?

I don't have all the answers. I'm living these questions myself. But I do know that our challenges with rest are a systemic issue. That rest and nourishment are more than individual responsibilities.

We need each other. We need ways of living that make it possible to care for ourselves as well as everyone else.

Does this tension feel familiar?

12/10/2026

You can be grateful for your life and still know that something has to change.

The theme of my morning breathwork meditation today was “What a day to be alive.”

An invitation to notice the extraordinary gift of being here. Of having another day to experience this strange, beautiful, complicated business of being human.

To notice what sustains us, the small pleasures, people we love, the beauty around us, and to feel genuine gratitude for them.

It struck me afterwards how beautifully this connected with something I've been reflecting on lately.

Gratitude isn't the same as resignation.

Sometimes I think we confuse the two.

As though being grateful for what we have means we shouldn't want anything to change.

As though appreciating the good in our lives means we have no right to acknowledge what's difficult, exhausting or simply not working.

We can hold both.

We can love parts of our lives and still want to change others.

We can appreciate what sustains us while recognising what depletes us.

We can feel deeply grateful for the people and opportunities in our lives while also acknowledging our unmet needs.

And we can recognise the beauty of being alive without pretending that everything about living is easy.

For me, this is part of what nourishment means.

By paying attention to what helps us feel more alive, connected and at home in ourselves. And having the courage to notice what needs to change.

Gratitude doesn't ask us to settle.

It doesn't require us to silence our needs, tolerate what harms us or make ourselves smaller.

Perhaps gratitude can actually help us see more clearly what matters to us, what we want to protect, what we'd like to make room for, what we're no longer willing to sacrifice.

What a day to be alive.

With all its beauty, messiness, possibilities and contradictions.

We can be grateful for this life and still want something different from it.

Does gratitude ever feel tangled up with the feeling that you should be satisfied with what you've got?

02/07/2026

Pickled honeysuckle!!

Inspired by the deliciously gingery pickled magnolia blossom made by the wonderful Nic Retreat Wild | Bushcraft & Rewilding Experiences UK I've decided to start preserving summer flowers in apple c***r vinegar for the autumn and winter months.

Rose petals next!!

11/06/2026

I've been off my game this week! Usually, I'm up at 5am, but this week, I've struggled to get up by 6am, and I've been in a right old daze!

(I haven't been sleeping well lately....so thank all the pantheons for my deep rest practice!)

Case in point....went for my morning swim this morning and realised my towel was still wet from yesterday!!!! Then I mindlessly stripped off my cosi before having a shower, so I had to put it back on sopping wet!! Anyone who's done these things will know it ain't pleasant. Major school girl errors!!🤪

I need to stoke my inner fire! All this rain ain't helping!

However......synchronously...thank you universe...the theme of my class this evening for The Homecoming Method as we move towards summer solstice is FIRE....🔥

Inner powerhouse, spark, motivation, energy, spirit, mojo, vavavoom...

Let's be fireballs!

Bring it on!!

Drop in welcome (£14)

Thursday 18.15-19.45

Restfed

28/10/2026

27/10/2026

23/10/2026

21/10/2026

14/10/2026

12/10/2026

02/07/2026

11/06/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Other Alternative & Holistic Health in High Peak

Listing takedown request

Choose nearby location