Holistic Aquila

04/09/2026

Full podcast episode link in comments 🧡

01/09/2026

Interested in accessibility within wellness? Check out our podcast episode! Join us for a conversation between 2 wellness professionals on:

- accessibility
- chronic illness
- neurodivergence
- hypermobility
- trauma-informed yoga
- inclusion
- ableism

We teamed up to record this conversation as a podcast episode.

It’s led by our shared values on challenging mainstream individualised wellness culture by creating more community-focused spaces with inclusivity embedded into the foundations.

Astrid is a Somatic Therapist, and Jas is an Accessible Yoga Teacher.

We both work to create spaces that are accessible, inclusive, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and supportive of the many different ways bodies and minds experience the world.

Astrid runs a podcast called ‘Holistic Aquila’ to start much needed conversations about the people mainstream wellness spaces often leave out, and how a more trauma-informed, accessible, and inclusive approach is integral to our collective well-being.

🎧 Listen now by searching ‘Holistic Aquila’ in Spotify podcasts:

Episode 1: Accessibility within the wellness industry with Jasmine Sara trauma-informed yoga teacher

Episode 2: Rest is not a reward: burnout, ableism and a cultural obsession with productivity.

Let us know any feedback, thoughts, additions to the conversation in the comments 😊

26/08/2026

I’m back and taking appointments from Soft Soul Studio ✨ 💚

This includes:

✨Ongoing and new somatic therapy
✨Reiki
✨Shamanic healing
✨Sound healing
✨Combined appointments
✨Reiki training
✨Sound baths

Booking link in bio or DM ‘discovery’ for a free discovery call for somatic therapy and reiki training

This venue is fully wheelchair accessible with a wheelchair accessible, gender inclusive bathroom. Adjustable lighting, fidget toys available and sensory lighting.

25/08/2026

Burnout, ableism, chronic illness, neurodivergence and productivity culture are topics that impact myself, and my community. So I wrote a blog post and recorded a podcast episode on why rest is a fundamental human need, not a reward for productivity!

Dominant culture is obsessed with productivity. The typical full-time working week is designed around the assumption that everyone CAN work full-time hours consistently, which makes it inaccessible to those whose capacity fluctuates.

Within this constant prioritisation of productivity, is an in-built ideology that rest is a reward for being productive, not an innate human need.

Rest is used as the carrot at the end of a stick, the reward after the activity.

Those of us who are chronically ill, disabled, and/or neurodivergent, do not fit this narrow mould. Our existence challenges productivity focused culture. Our bodies and brains need more rest to survive, and we have to do the difficult work of dismantling productivity focused cultural conditioning.

Often, we must rest before, and after an activity, or even during to manage it at all. It can be incredibly challenging to unpick internalised ableism that makes us feel somehow “less than” for not being able to do more.

Within the dominant productivity focused culture, those of us who can’t do more, are told we need “better discipline”, to “try harder” or to “stop being lazy.” But bodies don’t work like that…

Read in full on my website (linked in bio) or head on over to Spotify and search for the Holistic Aquila podcast episode ‘Rest is Not a Reward’

17/08/2026

One of the important questions we need to be asking ourselves as practitioners is:

“How do I hope someone feels when they leave one of my sessions?”

My answer to that question is informed by my values of accessibility and inclusion. I don’t want people to leave feeling I tried to “fix” them, because I don’t want people to feel there was anything about them that needed “fixing”.

I hope people leave their sessions with me feeling:

a little more connected to themselves,

a little more relaxed,

a little more understood,

and, a little more able to meet themselves with gentleness, compassion, and kindness.

When I read through client feedback recently, some of the words that came up repeatedly were:

💛 Calm
💛 Held
💛 Peaceful
💛 Understood
💛 Comfortable
💛 Welcomed
💛 Supported at my own pace

That’s exactly how I hope people feel after leaving a session with me! So it’s wonderful to see that people feel this way.

We need more spaces that don’t ask us to mask. Spaces where changing capacity, chronic illness, neurodivergence, burnout or trauma recovery don’t need explaining, or apologising for, or hiding.

Whether we’re working together through Somatic Therapy, Reiki, Shamanic Healing or another holistic practice, the same intention underpins everything I do:

to create a space where you can arrive, and be met, exactly as you are.

If you’ve been looking for that kind of support, you’re welcome to book a free, no-obligation connection call via the link in my bio.

11/08/2026

We all need spaces where we can arrive exactly as we are, and bring our whole selves without feeling pressure to leave parts of ourselves at the door.

Humans are full of complexity, nuance, and ever-changing capacity. We need spaces that can honour this, making room for the many different ways our bodies, minds and nervous systems experience the world.

In my Somatic Therapy practice, I intentionally create a space that welcomes all parts of the person I’m working with.

I work with many people navigating chronic illness, neurodivergence, burnout and trauma recovery.

Too often, these communities are expected to mask, are met with barriers to access, or receive the message - both subtly and overtly - that they need to hide parts of themselves to be accepted.

My hope is that the work my clients and I do together offers the antidote to this: a space where they don’t have to perform, push through, or become someone else, to be given support.

Instead, they are given full permission to simply exist as they are, however they arrive that day, and we’ll adapt together to best meet the moment.

My practice, whether you join me online, or in person, is:

* Trauma-informed
* Neurodiversity-affirming
* Accessible
* Body-based
* Q***r affirming
* Disability aware

If you’re curious about working together, you’re welcome to book a free, no-obligation connection call via the link in my bio.

07/08/2026

07/08/2026

This is how I regulate before clients most days 🌀

Moving excess energy or bringing some energy back in when I’m feeling flat. Sometimes it’s shaking, dancing, stretching, walking around the room… whatever my body seems to need that day

I am moving house in a week and starting a full time course at the end of the month, lots of big new things are happening so it’s important for me to take the extra time to regulate in between the chaos!

Of course what regulates one nervous system can be way too activating for another, so it’s always about finding what feels supportive for you

But honestly, it just feels good to move my body 💃

06/08/2026

I wish that our culture and wider society was set up to give people more permission to adapt. So much of the wellness world tells us we should push through, stay “consistent”, or keep striving for bigger breakthroughs.

Living with chronic illness, neurodivergence, trauma, burnout, or simply being human means our capacity changes. Every day can be different, and making space to check-in with ourselves to see how we are each day, is a beautiful practice.

Learning to listen to your body can be a whole process. It’s not always innate or obvious how to do that. But I think, it often starts with giving ourselves permission to go against the grain of productivity focused culture.

Which permission slip did you need today (if any)? 

And would you like to see more content like this? I am considering making the ‘Permission Slips’ a monthly feature :)

My online Somatic Therapy sessions are adaptable to the person I have in front of me. It’s never a one-size-fits-all!

My practice is:

* Trauma-informed
* Neurodiversity-affirming
* Accessible
* Body-based
* Q***r affirming
* Disability aware
* Available for online sessions

05/08/2026