Sandra Dumas wellness

09/08/2026

Another Sunday, another walk..and another lesson.

Today was probably the longest walk I’ve done for a long time.:the Irish man wall walk.

It started at a lovely leisurely pace… until we managed to miss the turning that you “can’t miss”....Twice.

In our defence, it was completely hidden by overgrown vegetation! But retracing our steps ( twice) added another 3–4km just before the most challenging climb of the walk.

And I had a wobble.

I was exhausted, had to sit down and, for a moment, really wasn’t sure I could finish.

Then I remembered something Ed, my PT, used to say: “Think like an athlete, Sandra.” And something I regularly tell my own clients: a pause is not a fail.

So I paused, rested, drank , and carried on... Daniel was very patient too. 😂

18km later, I’m shattered, but I still managed to enjoy the rest of the walk and we had a lovely day.

Apparently I need to take my own advice sometimes too ..

A wobble doesn’t have to decide how the rest of the day goes. I think that’s what I’ll try to remember this week.

07/08/2026

Next Pain Café – Thursday 13th August ☕

Living with persistent pain can sometimes make it feel as though pain has become your whole identity.

At this month's Pain Café, we'll be exploring a simple but important question:
Who am I beyond my pain?

Through a creative activity and conversation, we'll be looking at the many parts of ourselves that pain can sometimes overshadow, but never takes away.

📅 Thursday 13th August
🕙 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
📍 Neetside Community Centre

The Pain Café is free to attend, there's no need to book, and tea, coffee and cake are kindly provided by Community Cafe .

Whether you're living with persistent pain yourself, or supporting someone who is, you'll be made very welcome.
Funded by the support of & Country Primary Care Network

06/08/2026

August is often the month when life is supposed to slow down a little.

But when a gap finally appears in the diary, it can be tempting to fill it with everything we haven’t had time to do: the jobs we have put off, the people we have been meaning to catch up with, the rest we need to catch up on and all the things we thought we would do “when life became quieter”.

Before we know it, our time off has become another project.

Of course, a walk, an earlier night, time outside or a nourishing meal can genuinely support us. But there is a difference between "doing recovery" and "allowing recovery".

Alllowing recovery will look different to everyone : It could be leaving part of the day unplanned, choosing the simpler option, letting one of the jobs wait or saying no to something that sounds enjoyable but feels like too much right now.
And I can assure you, the laundry will still be there when you get back from your walk. ( I have tested it!)😉

Sometimes the question is not, “How can I make the most of this time?” but “What would support the energy and capacity I actually have today?”

This is something I often explore through health coaching: recognising when looking after ourselves has quietly become another expectation and finding a more realistic place to begin.

Your health. Your life. Your starting point.

02/08/2026

Have you ever wondered why life can suddenly feel harder, even when nothing particularly bad has happened?

It is something I have noticed more and more in conversations with clients. Life may be busy, but often it is also full of good things: family plans, holidays, celebrations, work, social events and all the small responsibilities that quietly fill our days.

Yet somewhere underneath it all, they feel more tired, less patient and far more easily stretched than usual. Then comes the frustration: “Why am I finding this so difficult when everything is fine?”

What we often forget is that even enjoyable things require energy. At the same time, our capacity is not fixed. Sleep, pain, hormonal changes, work pressure, caring responsibilities and the gradual build-up of everyday demands can all affect how much we have available.

Sometimes life has not changed much, but our capacity has.

I have explored this in my latest blog, Have You Run Out of Capacity?, including why adding more healthy habits is not always the answer and why it can be more helpful to understand what is already taking up so much space.

You can read the full article on my website here:

https://www.sandradumaswellness.com/blog//have-you-run-out-of-capacity

Feeling exhausted even when life is going well? Learn how changing capacity and nervous system demand can make everyday life feel harder.

02/08/2026

An early start was definitely worth it this morning. It was a bit colder at the start but it soon warmed up.
Watching the sunrise at Rough Tor, listening to the birds, spotting the wildlife, sharing breakfast at the top of Brown W***y and enjoying an uninterrupted walk with Daniel. I feel we have more meaningful conversations when walking in nature.
Moments like these are a big part of why I look after my health. Not to be perfect, but because I want to enjoy more moments like this for many years to come.🤞

27/07/2026

The summer holidays have started…And during the week before school broke up, I noticed a common theme in conversations with parents.

There was excitement about not having to do the school run every morning, not rushing from one club to another, and having a bit more freedom in the day.

But alongside that excitement, there was also a little worry…

How do I keep them entertained?
How will I manage childcare while still working?
Will I be able to make the holidays feel special enough?

I think many of us put more pressure on ourselves than we realise.

Somehow, holidays have become something we feel we need to “get right”.

But maybe a good summer does not have to mean filling every day with activities.

Children need connection, time to play, time to rest, and space to just be.

I remember finding this time challenging when my girls were younger. We didn’t have family nearby to help, and like many parents, I was trying to balance work with making sure they had a lovely summer too.

One thing that always helped us was asking the girls to choose a few things they would really like to do over the summer. Nothing complicated — sometimes it was a day out, but often it was something simple like watching a film together, having a picnic, or playing a game.

It gave them (and me!) little things to look forward to in between working hours, without feeling like I had to constantly create something special.

And it reminded me that making memories does not have to mean constantly creating activities.

Perhaps this is a good reminder for us as adults too.

We don’t all start the holidays with the same amount of time, energy or capacity.

Some people are working throughout the summer.
Some are juggling childcare or caring responsibilities.
Some are managing health challenges where energy can be unpredictable.

There is no “right” way to do the holidays.

A quiet day at home counts.
Rest counts.
Doing what works for your family counts.

Sometimes taking the pressure off is the best thing we can do for ourselves and the people around us. 😊

22/07/2026

One of the things I value most about my work is how often my clients make me reflect too.
As I was thinking back over my day today, one comment from a client stayed with me.

"I'd forgotten it was possible to feel relaxed to that level."

It made me wonder how many of us become so used to feeling "fine" that we forget what being truly relaxed actually feels like.

Not sitting down for five minutes while thinking about the next thing.

Not collapsing on the sofa because we're exhausted.

But that feeling of your body genuinely letting go.

Not because life is necessarily bad, just because we're so busy getting on with it.

When did feeling "fine" become your normal?

16/07/2026

When you think about overwhelm, you might imagine a difficult time in life:

A stressful period at work, a health challenge, a difficult situation or too much responsibility.

But something I notice again and again in my work is that overwhelm doesn’t always arrive when things are going badly.

Sometimes life is picture perfect: maybe you’re seeing friends, enjoying the summer, going away, attending celebrations or making plans you’ve genuinely been looking forward to.

And yet you still feel exhausted, your patience is shorter., your mind feels busy and you’re craving more space and quiet than usual.

This can feel confusing because we often think:

“Why do I feel like this? Everything is fine.”

But your nervous system doesn’t only respond to negative stress.

It responds to the overall volume of what you’re processing.

And good things require capacity too.

Your capacity can be influenced by so many things:

• Sleep
• Pain
• Stress levels
• Hormones
• Health
• Emotional load
• The pressure you place on yourself

This is why I look at the whole picture when I work with someone.

I’m not interested in giving you another long list of things you “should” be doing.

Because when your system is already overloaded, even healthy habits can start to feel like another demand.

Sometimes we need to strip things back first.

Understand what is taking up your capacity, find the right place to begin and then build from there.

Because sustainable health isn’t about pushing yourself harder.

It’s about creating the conditions where your body has the capacity to respond.

Your health. Your life. Your starting point.

This is the work I do with my health coaching clients: helping you understand the bigger picture, identify what may be affecting your wellbeing, and create realistic changes that work with your life and your current capacity.

If you’re feeling stuck and you’re ready to understand what could help, you can book a discovery call with me here:
https://sandradumas.setmore.com/services/f542cb93-d560-4ee7-bd1f-53a96e4d7c0d

The call is simply a chance to talk through where you are, what you’ve been experiencing, and what support might look like. There’s no pressure — just a conversation to see whether my approach is the right fit for you.

15/07/2026

“I've tried everything.”

Maybe you've changed your diet. Tried to exercise more. Worked on your sleep. Taken supplements. Tried to manage your stress.

You've put a huge amount of effort into feeling better.

And yet... you still feel stuck.

The problem is, your body doesn't work in separate compartments.

Sleep affects pain. Pain affects movement. Stress can affect digestion. Hormones influence energy. And when your energy is already low, even the things that are supposed to help can start to feel like another demand.

This is why, when I work with someone, I want to understand the whole picture.

I'm not interested in simply giving you another list of things you “should” be doing.

I want to understand what your body and nervous system have been dealing with, what may be keeping you stuck, and importantly, what you actually have capacity for right now.

Sometimes we start with nutrition. Sometimes sleep.
Sometimes the first step is reducing the load and helping your nervous system move away from that constant state of overwhelm.

Because if your system is already overloaded, adding five new healthy habits may simply become five more things you feel you're failing at.

This is why I often strip things back with my clients.

We start small. We look for the right place to begin. And we build from there.

Not a one-size-fits-all plan.

Not more pressure.

Your health. Your life. Your starting point.

If you've been doing “all the right things” and still feel stuck, perhaps it's time to look at the whole picture.

15/07/2026

I am sure this will be an amazing event. I am lucky enough to know Anne, Claire and Jo and they are all amazing. 🙏

Please share far and wide. Hoping to support all you Lipoedema ladies and Lymphoedema people out there and spread awareness. The day is FREE but we will have a ‘ buy a number’ to win a free therapy session while raising funds for E4M . See you there I hope .