The 8th Wonder

08/09/2026

not my usual post but i’ve spoken a lot about bangladesh over the last few days, and then this popped up! 🥹 (a leaving gift from one of my team)

6 years ago i moved to dhaka on a whim for a job with next

sometimes i need a good reminder of how brave and cool some of the things i’ve done in my life are, and to stop feeling like a lost little lamb all the time 😵‍💫

living there also taught me a lot about privilege, race and the assumptions we carry into places that aren’t our own...

lessons i’ll unpack forever

07/09/2026

simplicity can be powerful!

in the opening circle of a recent acupuncture training, we were asked what had brought us there, and the word that kept coming up for me was 'simplicity'

motherhood's definitely been teaching me this in ways i hadn't really expected

i've spent so much of my life spinning plates
splitting myself in half
trying to keep everyone happy
trying to manage everything
trying not to need too much
trying not to be too much
trying not to ask for help
it's bloody exhausting 🫠

but i am learning that sometimes what's needed is to totally strip things back

i think this is why i felt so drawn to NADA when i was first introduced to it ~ an auricular acupuncture protocol using just five points on each ear

five needles
five points
simple

and yet this very simple protocol can be used in some very complex spaces (think addiction recovery, cravings, trauma support, stress, anxiety, and so much more)

and somehow this practice seems to embody the exact lessons i'm learning at the moment!

keeping it simple
learning to receive
creating space
realising i don't need to hold everything alone

so this is a little yey announcement 🥹

i've recently qualified in the NADA protocol

and i'm beginning to build something around it for my local community from october onwards 🙏🏼 (if i can jump through all the hoops 😵‍💫)

i've also been developing some beautiful hands-on work to accompany it, with the option to combine treatments or enjoy them completely standalone ~ your choice

kinda feels like new territory but also not at all, as underneath all of it is the same thing i've been exploring for years:
how do we come back ourselves through the body
how do we create space to receive
how do we stop performing wellness
how do we make care feel accessible, human and real

more to come soon 🤍

13/08/2026

you are the portal 🌀

📸 the divine dome 8/8 last year, sharing something i scribbled after the experience, and a note i wrote as/to my future self 😵‍💫...

• lead me to the blueprint of my becoming •

now is the season to create
to remember
to trust the slow unfurling
of the woman i have always been
knowing my blood carries the footsteps
of every mother before me

i must soften
the distrust
the perfectionism
the self judgement
sharpen only my discernment

holding high standards
because i am high standard!

(blue) lotus blooming in my chest
petals wide
i am open
i am ready to receive
i am guided

i place down what is not mine to carry
and know it is safe to let people slip quietly out the back door of my heart

i can soften

the longing to mother hums deep inside me
but
does all else pale if this doesn't come?
is this the root of my restlessness?

lion sun, fire in my heart
i walk forward
ganesha stands at the doorway
clearing the rubble from my path
the cave of my heart opens

i am the portal

soften
soften
soften

✨

📸 the mandala i created in the week following the event 🥲 this one is so significant to me, like genuine feels to art

isn't life wild and wonderful! our little sonshine, turning a dark and difficult day into a brighter more joyful one ❤️‍🔥

note to self: i am allowed to be happy out loud.

05/08/2026

📢 these are my confessions x
or is it reasons to follow/unfollow me?

anyway it doesn't end there 🙃

i think i'm dredging it all up as a way of bringing some realness back to this space. i'm feeling pretty exhausted by the performative highlight dumps and perfected morning routines amongst everything else

if your life is sunshine and rainbows every day then that is so mint and i'm genuinely buzzin for you but also are you just in denial and repression central with a selective camera roll 👀

i'm fed up of spiritual superiority and i don't believe that some emotions deserve a seat at the table more than others

and definitely don't leave your s**t outside the door!
bring it in, let it move you, let it move through you, for the love of god bring your humanness along for the ride 🫠

i overthink

i spiral (mostly inwards... but i'm practising spiralling out 😂)

i get jealous

i procrastinate, boy, do i procrastinate.

sometimes i'm paralysed by self-doubt

sometimes i feel completely lost

sometimes i have a proper little wobble about life

sometimes i say the wrong thing

sometimes i avoid replying to messages because my brain feels full

and sometimes I'M AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT OF A HUMAN BEING 🥳

apparently all of the former isn't very "high vibration" of me BUT i'm not interested in pretending to be emotionally airbrushed, and i don't believe healing means never feeling anger, envy, grief, fear or doubt

i believe it means making enough space for ALL OF IT

let me see your messy bits ~ i'll celebrate yours if you celebrate mine 😉

31/07/2026

buzzin up to my eyeballs that pre-motherhood Mel unknowingly looked after post-motherhood Mel by doing postnatal and mum & baby yoga training back in 2022 (which i've done absolutely ZILCH with until now I'll have you know. nice one 🙃)

you can't see it in this photo, but there's blocks, bolsters and straps galore and i am HERE FOR IT

my body still doesn't quite feel like mine and it's such an odd feeling. somewhere between awe and an identity crisis... like, i have the deepest respect for everything she's done and continues to do, and at the same time i'm getting to know her all over again!

but hey i've always been a walking contradiction, why stop now 🤷🏻‍♀️

03/07/2026

a throwback to this little pocket of magic in the swedish forest just over a year ago 🌲✨

days of movement, stillness, laughter, tears, moss-covered paths, dancing barefoot, deep conversations, silence, and the kind of community that reminds you how good it feels to simply be human 💞

"a sense of union with others is the power of the heart"
it was powerful

don't you just love trainings that nourish you FAR BEYOND the certificate ❤️‍🔥 thank you Satu Tuomela 🌀 Movement Medium HIIT but DEEP- Shake the Dust®️ OG Embodied Yoga/ Somatics community and education born 2009 🙌🏼



togetherness

still dreaming of the swedish forest

sanctuary

pure joy

wanderlust

exploring with

made a friend

THE BEST cinnamon buns EVER

the quote that sums it up 💖

25/06/2026

there’s two things i always wanted to be when i was little

a fashion designer
and a mum

one i’ve done for over a decade (unwaveringly)
and the other i’ve only just begun
(after not knowing if it would happen for me)

other things have presented themselves along the way, but it’s made me realise…

maybe i’ve spent so much of my life moving the goalposts
that i forgot to celebrate actually arriving

because here i am, holding the life i once imagined. what a privilege

i think i’ve been measuring success in ways that were never truly mine

and maybe it isn't visible. maybe it's simply living, being deeply present with what you already have

maybe being is enough...




📸 seeing your hand drawn design concept being brought to life in production never, ever gets old

05/06/2026

a reminder of a version of myself that felt deeply nourished, embodied, strong, healthy, curious, and aligned

and now, in this postpartum season, not necessarily longing to go back to her, but reconnecting to those qualities in a new form

this photo was taken during my tcm elements training, which felt less like a training and more like a retreat for the soul (thank you ✨✨✨)

it's funny looking back now, almost at the end of my first year studying tcm acupuncture, in a season of motherhood that has reshaped me in ways i never could have imagined

these days look very different, slower, softer
held together by contact naps and cold cups of tea 😅

but i can feel this gentle pull back towards practice
not from a place of urgency or "bouncing back" but from a desire to reconnect with the things that make me feel most like myself

looking forward to finding my rhythm again
not the old one
a new one 🪷

ganda bherundasana | postpartum yoga | new mum | reflection

18/05/2026

life has looked a little different lately 🤍

the last few months invited me inward in ways i didn’t fully expect. i became quieter, slower, more protective of my energy and my space as i prepared to welcome our son earthside

and now, here he is, my little cherub laurence 🥰

conceived at the lions gate, and born into the aries storm on his heavenly grandads birthday, already changing everything in the most beautiful ways

we’ve been tucked away in a little love bubble, soaking up these early weeks together, adjusting to this new rhythm of life and love

to those who've been patient, understanding, supportive and gently held space for my absence during this chapter ~ thank you, truly ~ your kindness has meant more than you know 💗

and to this season as a whole, thank you also for the clarity it brought. some people showed up with softness and grace, others revealed where alignment no longer existed ~ and both have been gifts in their own way 🙏🏼

for now, i’m embracing slower days, fuller hearts, and this next chapter of becoming 🌱

see you all soon x

04/11/2025

Local chair yoga, delivered by the lovely Clare O'Grady Holistics & Yoga - sharing for anyone who may need it x

It was a pleasure to teach chair yoga to the community of Gee Cross this morning. Chair yoga will be held here at Gee Cross Community Centre every Monday at 10am, followed by a warm drink and a chat. I've got fond memories of growing up in this community with my family, and I'm thrilled to give back. This session is for every body - yoga is for everyone, and I invite you to join us. Connection and movement are key to a happier, healthier life. Your first session is free, so why not give it a try?

You can book@using the link in my bio or send me a little messsge 🤍💫🫶🏻