Imagine my delight this morning as I was taking my usual route to the office (for those that know me it’s a quick stroll from the house through the garden into The Space). To find this absolute beauty sitting just under the gate … If you haven’t found these beautiful painted rocks left in obscure places please start opening your eyes as there are some seriously talented folk who paint these as a hobby.

Take a look at Northampton Rocks … there are some fabulous rocks painted and hidden around the County and the Country.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/125674848057643

The wonderful Beccy posted that she had some left from celebrating the life of the Queen and jokingly I agreed with another poster about leaving one on my front door step.  Little did I think this lovely lady would pop round and leave such a wonderful surprise.
I haven’t stopped beaming all morning and every time I have caught sight of her I have had a small smile thinking about the Monarch and her reign.

Thank you so very much … it will be my daily reminder that there are some amazing women in the world and I have the honour and privilege to support them during a very special time in their lives.

If you want to know more take a quick look at http://www.rippleeffectyoga.co.uk
and feel free to connect Claire to see how Ripple can support you.
With lots of love … Claire

Affirmation Cards

When did you last have the chance to indulge yourself? To gather within yourself for at least 5 minutes or more … what a luxury to have the opportunity to reconnect with YOU … you perhaps ask yourself on a regular basis … WHO AM I? Having forgotten about who you are maybe because you are so busy looking after those around you, or so busy with our 80mph lives that even 5 minutes is just not enough. It’s like your body is stuck on the wheel of EAT, WORK, SLEEP, REPEAT … where is the rest … the time to pause .. to take time out for you?

Laying down everything and starting to build in some self care is essential … looking at all the aspects of our lives … what impacts us the most … many months ago in 2019 (gosh it seems like COVID has been here for a few years – time seems to really drag!) I gathered with other like-minded women … I found a small tribe that wanted to embrace, crack open themselves … release, let go … all words we hear bantered about but do not have the quality time to commit to (we need to find the balance to make the time) when we share the load with our partners, family members, friends then we have the opportunity to connect with ourselves.
… I’m conscious that all members of my household are in need of some of this …

I spoke about “keeping it simple” which has been my motto for a few years and to “just be” in the moment … whatever comes whatever needs to happen, to let that channel through you … to let the emotions bubble and if needs be … escape … erupt … whether that be through sound, movement, music, colours whatever floats your boat …

For me music and movement have always been my go to … but again we hold back … however sometimes you just can’t contain what is happening … and a piece of music may trigger a huge release … when we gathered: for me it was the tribe collectively singing and I felt inspired to join in … and to move … to finally let go of the shitstorm we had been in for the last 6+ months … (apologies for the offensive words) but ohh my goodness to finally be able to honour myself and let this go to start to find the balance in me again … if I don’t fill my own cup how on earth do I serve my family, my clients and ultimately myself?

On a (recent) trip in 2019 … a few synchronicities occurred and again if you know me well I am a great believer in things happening for a good reason … the first was an article on the 7-7 energy

JULY 7: 7-7 ENERGY

“The energy of 7-7 reminds us to pay attention to our intuition and follow our inner guidance. Our deep insight has messages that we need to hear. 7-7 tells us that luck and fortune can change at a moments notice and things can turn around for the better. 7-7 tells us that we are on the right path and to trust in our guidance and abilities along the way. 7-7 highlights uncertainty and where we have self doubt. This is a call to trust ourselves more and to see what we bring to the world. It can also be showing us where abandonment issues are rising so we may heal them. 7-7 represents karma and where we feel the hands of fate at play in mysterious ways in our lives.This energy can bring deeper understanding between worlds such as the spirit world, or between different parts of our lives. 7-7 can bring secrets or the unknown into the light which can have a huge transformational influence on our world.” ~Ara

Then we stumbled on this amazing exhibition … featuring the seven stone sculptures of I Sette Savi (The Seven Sages) produced in 1961 by Fausto Melotti. The sequence centres around the variation of a single theme and brings us to reflect on the composure and sacred appearance of those that who dedicate their lives to the search for knowledge.

All seems to be supporting itself … our search and endeavour to fight for what we believe in, ensuring the truth be heard. To trust in ourselves and each other; to deepen the understanding between different parts of our lives.
Ohhh and would you like to guess what date we travelled on?
Yes you’ve guessed it the 7th July … 7-7 … talk about synchronicity … you just couldn’t have written this one … it also resonated with me because for months we had been searching for knowledge, fighting for the truth and trying to stay unified.

Anyway back to the gathering … the focus being on movement, music, sound … at The Om Studio … a truly delicious offering that complemented each other beautifully. My soul was nourished, cleansed, my body spat out with a force the negatives that it had been storing, a little like those storage units filled with belongings that you just don’t have the heart or energy to go through and set out … this was the day that I finally let go of the baggage … the movement aspect with the lovely Lootie was amazing … connecting through the breath … I’ll hear you all say well that’s an easy one for you … yes it can be … there were challenges … my body did eventually start to relinquish and let go … to just be! I kept it simple and played through my feet, through my tailbone and my pelvis … I let my heart connect to the music and there were pieces of music that completely broke open my shell and I was finally able to cry … to cry and be gently held by the gorgeous Debbie … thank you … I know you read me well … that hug was like someone holding me and saying it’s ok … you can do this … step up and acknowledge that it’s an experience you never thought you’d embrace …as I came down to the relaxation I finally found a comfortable position and was drawn to the mandala created by the gorgeous Heidi … the words in the centre kept calling to me ….

“Love is at the centre of our being, it connects one heart to another, it thrives on acceptance and appreciation, love is our greatest gift.”

As I relaxed and just reconnected … my breath had lengthened and my body had released …

The words around the outer edge also resonated … smiles, tears, loving, laughter, gratitude, kindness, thankfulness, respect, understanding (the last we as a family are still getting our head around) and I’m going to add one more in FORGIVENESS … this may take a long, long time … but I can hope that it will be there for all concerned …

After a cuppa and some restorative chocolate … I relaxed into the sound bath offered by Elizabeth … for those of you who have experienced a Sound Bath you just know – for those of you who haven’t I implore you when we eventually can gather either indoors or out (woodlands are magical) go and experience a Sound Bath … it is immense and takes you to a deeper level.

I started to write this after a pretty awful 6 months little did I know how bad 2019 would be with the sudden death of my lovely dad, the rollercoaster of a journey that would turn out to be and then watching the events for 2020 start to spiral out of China on New Year’s Eve as we watched it starting to snowball out across the world. Little did we think that 2020 would be so challenging (emotionally, physically, mentally & spiritually). I’ve watched my beautiful business shrink to more or less nothing and then start to gently re-grow with such a different emphasis … I came across a message from someone a few years ago when I was in the middle of passionately moaning about how I needed more clients …. I was told I wanted it too much and that was why they weren’t coming … during lockdown I wasn’t busy and run off my feet (made a huge change on how & where I saw my business) … I had a few key clients who sought me out for classes, doula support and postpartum mummy & baby classes … we managed (financially – although for some of you you would be spiralling to the depths of gloom and despair – but this has made me step back a say to myself – HAVE PATIENCE!).

It was a steep learning curve moving things online but I loved and still do love it … although you can’t beat face to face and holding that space for your lovely mummies to be and mummies and babies.
I have also found the time to reconnect to me … I have gone back to another of my passions – taking photographs … I started another instagram page … if you are interested you can find it here: https://www.instagram.com/the_ripple_mama_photography/
I’ve had a lot of fun as my wish was to challenge myself to explore using the manual mode rather than the camera doing everything for me. It was like anything new at the beginning and still is sometimes … a bit hit and miss but then with practice, practice, practice I suddenly got it and the click of the shutter catches an imagine I feel happy with that perhaps speaks from the heart or tells a story … who knows … these photos and the challenge were for my own personal journey … a reflection that I actually like keeping it simple and that I like being in the now … I don’t want drama as one family friend will say when we chat – “how’s the Morrow-Goodman rollercoaster?”
Let’s not tempt fate but let’s just say it’s bumbling along at a gentle pace …

Stay positive lovelies and if you’ve read to here well done … stay safe and look after one another ..

I cannot wait to find some normalcy – whatever form that takes …

hugs Cx

This may be of interest …

4 different births … choices …

Birth … https://youtu.be/B8KizS-aS1o.

https://youtu.be/B8KizS-aS1o

This is the link to the you tube Birth All or nothing …. https://youtu.be/B8KizS-aS1o

Enjoy Cx

When I was pregnant with our first baby we didn’t want to know what we were having … it was exciting enough to know we were have a millennium baby (born in the year 2000) … we were happy either way … during the pregnancy I remember having strong dreams that could be interpreted that I was expecting a girl … I didn’t mind either way … buying clothing was interesting as I loved the greens, yellows & reds … splashes of blue as well as the white, beige and cream … was I nervous about the impending arrival of our baby … a little but it would be what it was …

Mother-daughter relationships are famously complicated, and my relationship with my mother growing up was no different.  I have to say that I have tried so hard to do it differently with my own daughter … ohh did I forget that bit … yes I birthed a gorgeous girl in April 2000 and life changed significantly …. nothing could have prepared me for the roller coaster that has happened since her arrival earth side … nearly 17 years to the day she finally made her entry … I am always in awe of her … feel very proud to say that she is my daughter … I’m never surprised when she says “Can I ask a question … ?” Our bond is amazing … do I get frustrated by and with her?  Of course … especially the bedroom that needs tidying … she’ll be mortified I’ve shared that … I could go one step further and share photographic evidence … but I won’t 🙂 … I am honoured to say I am her mother.

What have I learnt so far … birth is a journey, not just of a baby but of a maiden into a mother … and there is no rule book, there are no step by step instructions to tell you what to do, they aren’t a piece of flatpack furniture from Ikea … it’s a fly by the seat of your pants experience some days and most definitely nights!  It can be a lonely journey and you think you are the only one …. ohh thank goodness for circles of support … when you look at the woman chatting to you and slowly start to open that clam shell you have hidden yourself in and tentatively say how tired you are, how your baby doesn’t sleep, how you are feeling at your wits end with x, y or z … expecting to be told to toughen up, suck it up and get on with it … and low and behold … a new world is opened to you when they say “I know … I understand … little J or B is exactly the same …” …. ohh my goodness the world seems a lot smaller when you know you aren’t alone and that there are lots of other women who are struggling with a, b, c or x, y, z.

I feel honoured to have parented my daughter and I hope there are many more years to come … she is an amazing young lady … she’s embraced challenges of the everyday and bigger ones that have been like climbing Mount Everest but the smile on her face afterwards has been worth it … she has taught me so much … yes some of the lessons I so wished we hadn’t had to journey but they were soul changing and have opened up discussions that we never thought we would embrace … they have challenged us … but we are a strongly connected unit … and accept that these experiences are part of her personal development … helping her become the strong woman that she is and will continue to be ….

Some days I feel like I have been dragged half way up Mount Everest and then left to flounder, slip and slide my way back down … the old saying 10 steps forward 5 steps back …hitting your head against a brick wall … yup that is me on some days when parenting has felt hard … really hard … and other days I have marched my way up to the top of the hill … like the Grand Old Duke of York … and marched back down again … full of beans and fist punching the air that today was a great parenting day … I survived … I made it … and my child is still alive …

My daughter is strong.  Stronger in more ways than I ever was at her age.  But I look at the societies in which we have both grown up and I have to say I think this is a much tougher audience to please and in some ways I know sometimes we say “ohh I wish we could trade places with them” but the reality is … no I wouldn’t want to be her age group now!  We have had the inevitable chats of “I have a boyfriend … ohh who is he?” … ohhhh and we have had the inevitable heart break … appearing at the door, collapsing into my arms and sobbing her heart out  … so many lessons learnt and actually I feel so sorry for the poor sod who tries in the future to mess her around … be warned this is one strong woman … she’s going to see you coming from 50 yards and the wall will be up … you are going to have such a hard job of breaking it down or climbing over … be prepared to do battle … in order to win the smallest of concessions … and that might be a trip to the cinema … you have to earn the rest … don’t say I didn’t warn you …

Hormones … ohh boy … if someone had said to me what this aspect of having a daughter would be like … I might have said pop her back and change her … but through thick and thin we have mustered on … in tune with her in primary school knowing that her menarche was coming being in an amazing place to celebrate and journey with her for this rite of passage to support her and guide her … over the years being very aware and sensitive to her cycle … trying to ask the males of the house to be more aware and sensitive and ‘not push the buttons” so that she wouldn’t stomp out of the room or be aggressive … they were good at pushing the right buttons … but as she has started to become more aware of herself she is able to support and nourish herself … take herself off to spend some quality time doing what she needs to support herself …

Sleep – if someone had told me that an early rising child could suddenly change to one who loved to lie in and sleep … I would have passed out … but that is just what happened … overnight she suddenly changed … her bed … her pit … she can spend hours in the land of nod … and emerge and look absolutely exhausted … what I have learnt about teenagers is that they need their sleep … that if they don’t they can be an absolute nightmare …

She’s journeyed her GCSE’s and survived – yes if you are reading this and are about to sit them … you will survive and what happens on Results day is not the end of your world … you have to believe and follow your heart … she hasn’t looked back and is loving her course and all the challenges that come with this … meeting deadlines, stepping out of her comfort zone … if you’d told me she would learn to play base guitar and actually look pretty awesome doing so … I wouldn’t have believed you but she has and does …

She continues to volunteer in Girl Guiding and had the most amazing trip Stateside last summer raising over £2000 so that she and her team – @Princess_Posse Link  could take part in a 100 Challenges across the USA and Canada … they were amazing and won the challenge … here’s the amazing video of their trip … I think you can tell that I’m a little bit proud … most definitely …  and the fact that they were the Princess_posse and … ohh but that’s going to spoil the last little bit of this …

Anyway … my daughter … our daughter … has a plan … a grand scheme … a bucket list … a passion for travel … and all the other interests she has … but over the last few days she has started to formulate a challenge we chatted about way back when she was 14/15 years old and decided that she was going to grow her hair out so that she could at an appropriate time then cut it off for the Little Princess Trust; a Charity that provide wigs to children with cancer to help them cope when they lose their hair.

Link

My daughter recently shared a video on her Facebook page that has truly inspired her.  In the video, Jae West invited the public in Times Square to cut or shave a piece of her hair with the message that “Beauty isn’t dependent on the external appearance”.  Link

Imogene has set herself the challenge of raising £1000 to support the work of the Little Princess charity but is taking this to another level … she would like to invite the general public to shave off the remainder of her hair.  Believe me when I tell you that I have sobbed over this as her hair is amazing … however I respect and support her fully.  My heart will be in my mouth and there will be tears flowing when she meets the target or exceeds it however I am so proud that she wants to support such precious work and ensure that a young girl somewhere will have the gift of hair.

If you feel that you can please do sponsor her … if you can’t … thank you for reading this …. and please do share the message of what she is doing … we all have amazing children that will go to great lengths to support causes that they feel passionate about … I know when I was younger it was the British Heart Foundation, as a teacher Cancer Research trekking to Peru, then Tommy’s when I started to work in the birth and baby world, doing The Moon Walk for breast cancer not even thinking that I might complete the challenge and a few months later have a team member embarking on her own breast cancer journey.  I know my endeavours have encouraged Imogene and the fact that the Stateside team were the Princess_posse and she is doing this for the Little Princess Trust … it’s meant to be …

We never know what is around the corner, we need to live life in the moment … as the acronym YOLO says “You Only Live Once” … and you know what my daughter will go on to do many more wonderful things and her hair will grow back … I look forward to see her undertaking this challenge and succeeding at raising the money and supporting a charity that she is passionate about.  Thank you for sponsoring her … hugs Cx

Link

As some of you are aware last year I had an amazing holiday to Bali and one of the things on my bucket list to do with my passion around mums, babies, positive birth and all that jazz was to visit Bumi Sehat.

They are amazing and provide a scared space for families to come and have their babies … people come from far away to have their babies in the Space …

For those of you who very kindly donated clothing that we took last August when we visited Bali this is where they went to … Bumi Sehat is amazing … and such a highly respected organisation … they are held in awe and spoken of with such reverence … thank you Cx

Here’s a video that shows you so much more than I can share with you … just how powerful the birth space is … and giving birth …

A huge thank you to the wonderful donations that were received … we took them and passed them on with lots of love …