I met Kay at a Poetry Night that a friend, Fi McQuay (ft. Episode no.16) and I organised at my local bookshop on International Women's Day, earlier this year. It was a very special night!

Since then it has been lovely to connect more with Kay as fellow Mums and poets and I'm delighted to share this conversation and more about Kay in this episode.

In this episode we speak about:

• Kay's journey with writing poetry and sharing it
• birth, motherhood and Kay's experience of Matrescence so far
• raising children with dual heritage
• judgement and racism in society and at school
• supporting and being advocates for our children
• how 'we' need to be better at having difficult conversations
• apologising with integrity
• knowing our capacity and not judging ourselves
• busting motherhood myths and the ripple effect of that
• Kay's video for her poem 'This Is My Body' and working with Her Story and Co.
• body image and loving ourselves more at any stage/age

Themes: mothering, poetry, matrescence, racism, story writing, boundaries, body image, mental health

You can connect with Kay and her work here on Instagram. And you can find a link to the amazing video and poem we speak about, 'This Is My Body' here.

At the end, I share a poem written by me.

I mention my Goddess Circles, and you can find out more about those HERE on my website.

I also mention Harriet Lerner's book 'Why Won't You Apologize? Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts'. And 'Eating in the Light of the Moon' by Anita Johnston.

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, I would really appreciate it if you could please leave a review on the platform that you listen.

Would you like to work with me? Get in touch today to book a FREE 30-minute call.

For more insights and to contact me you can find me on Instagram, and at www.lucywyldecoaching.com, where you can sign up for my newsletter!

As it's almost mid-November, and having witnessed what I have both as a woman and a coach I felt it super necessary to put out an episode talking about December/Christmas and the juggle — or let's be honest the STRESS — it can be for some.

Many don't speak about how the load and expectations can become heavier at this time of year and suffer in silence, whilst feeling like a pressure cooker(!).

In this episode I speak about:

• reducing stress and why it's important
• listening to your body
• the heaviness of real or perceived pressures and expectations
• welcoming greater enjoyment
• honouring your capacity at any given time (aka giving less f**ks about some of the things)
• a funny share about buying prezzies for Matilda
• boundaries and dealing with the emotions of others LESS (if you can)
• how our energy can be affected by people and places
• being an advocate for your/your family's needs and desires
• do you want to/have to travel around Christmas?!

Themes: boundaries, Christmas, family, parenting, relationships,

At the end of the podcast I share a poem by me.

The books I mention are 'Call of the Wild' by Kimberly Ann Johnson, 'When the Body Says No' by Gabor Maté and 'The Body Keeps The Score' by Bessel van der Kolk. I also mention Mark Groves.

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please consider leaving a review on the platform that you listen. Click here for Spotify or here for Apple Podcasts.

Want to learn more about working with me? Book in for a free 30-minute discovery call by emailing me at lucy@lucywyldecoaching.com.

For more insights, you can follow me on Instagram, and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter at www.lucywyldecoaching.com.

Heading into my 53rd week of podcasting with a bang! Today's topic is (another!) one that is close to my heart; DANCE.

In this episode I'm speaking to Tara Choudrie. Tara is a dance teacher, facilitator, and educator who is currently studying for her MA at Rambert Dance School. Her research area is supporting mothers working in the dance sector, with a specific focus on maternal mental health and dancers. She is a Mother of two boys whom have a dual heritage.

In this episode we speak about:

• being a Mother of boys and raising dual nationality children
• showing our emotions and being advocates for our feelings, whatever our age
• Tara's varied work as a dance teacher
• Tara's MA studies and incredible research into Mothers returning to dance as a career
• going through Matrescence in the dance world
• preparing for motherhood better and really knowing our boundaries as Mothers
• how the mindset and qualities of a dancer can impact motherhood
• Matrescence/Patrescence awareness and why it matters
• how maternal mental health can be pathologised instead of recognising MATRESCENCE
• the pressure to always do/be more that we can so often feel
• how motherhood can 'upgrade' us, our skills and CV — BIG time!!

Themes: parenting boys, mothering, dance, matrescence, hinduism, baby reflux

You can connect with Tara and her work here on Instagram. And you can find a link to Tara's MA studies here.

At the end, I share a poem by Mata Hari.

I mention Shahroo Izadi.

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, I would really appreciate it if you could please leave a review on the platform that you listen.

Would you like to work with me?

For more insights and to contact me you can find me on Instagram, and at www.lucywyldecoaching.com, where you can sign up for my newsletter!

Episode 52! — That means I am celebrating ONE YEAR of 'Mums F**king Matter'!!

In this episode I speak about:

• sharing my voice and my opinions openly over 52 weeks and how I've grown
• some of the conversations I've had over the past year
• how can you celebrate yourself?!
• I give thanks to Flo Lacy for being my podcast producer when I started
• and thanks to Mike Merrick for helping me with editing also
• thank you so much for the reviews and the messages I've received

A big THANK YOU for listening!

Themes: mental health, motherhood, healing, growth

At the end of the podcast I share a poem by Donna Ashworth.

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please consider leaving a review on the platform that you listen. Click here for Spotify or here for Apple Podcasts.

Want to learn more about working with me? Book in for a free 30-minute discovery call by emailing me at lucy@lucywyldecoaching.com.

For more insights, you can follow me on Instagram, and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter at www.lucywyldecoaching.com.

Rebecca Cox is a writer, a Mum to a 9 year old boy and a gorgeous soul with such wisdom to share on solo motherhood. She has become a friend of mine over the last few months and I'm delighted to share this conversation.

Rebecca co-authored the book 'How To Be A Happy Single Parent', with her friend Zoe Desmond, founder of the Frolo app.

TRIGGER WARNING: we talk about birth trauma at 36.30 to 38.00.

In this episode we speak about:

• Rebecca and Zoe's book 'How To Be A Happy Single Parent'
• the shame and loneliness in single parenthood at times, and connecting with others on the Frolo app
• the evolution of Rebecca's career before and after becoming a Mum
• the (ridiculous) stigma to being a divorcée
• failure/perceived failure
• the media's portrayal of single parents, Rebecca finding her niche and writing what she needed to see represented
• 'trends', masks, inauthenticity, the curation of life that's put out — and the need for honesty
• the self-doubt we can have, especially in mothering
• the parenting paradigms we are in and have come from
• birth trauma, the lack of REAL preparation (from certain birth prep classes) that we can often have for motherhood
• Rebecca's experience of matrescence over the years and growing alongside our children
• dating after divorce

Themes: single parenting, single mothering, journalism, matrescence, sexuality

You can connect with Rebecca and her work here on Instagram. And you can find the book 'How To Be A Happy Single Parent' anywhere you buy books.

At the end, I share a poem written by Jess Urlichs.

(Donna Laine Fine Jewellery is the lady/shop I speak about 13 minutes in.)

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, I would really appreciate it if you could please leave a review on the platform that you listen.

Would you like to work with me?

For more insights and to contact me you can find me on Instagram, and at www.lucywyldecoaching.com, where you can sign up for my newsletter!

I believe we all experience some kind of trauma in our lifetime. And it's often a tricky/taboo subject for some people. I wish to invite change in that, so that we can perhaps all heal a bit more over our traumas; small or large, from recently or many years ago.

Trigger Warning! — I speak a little about birth trauma.

WARNING! - I talk about Father Christmas at 15 minutes 50 seconds to 16 minutes 15 seconds.

In this episode I speak about:

• the gaslighting that can so often happen when speaking about our trauma
• birth trauma; my experience of it and the huge effect it can have on families
• the work of Dr Rebecca Moore and the Birth Trauma Conference
• 'silver linings', why there sometimes aren't any and how trauma can't always be 'swept under the rug'
• Gabor Maté's work on trauma and his documentary 'The Wisdom Of Trauma'
• being bullied and the positives of 'bad' things happening to us
• post-traumatic growth
• one person's trauma isn't the same for another and validating your own feelings

I share quotes from Gabor Maté, Alan Turing, Leonard Cohen, Brené Brown and Mark Groves.

I mention the book 'How To Heal A Bad Birth' by Debby Gould and Melissa J. Bruijn, that helped me a lot after birth trauma.

Here is a link to the blog piece I mention about trauma that's on my website.

Here is some more information on Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG).

Themes: trauma, birth trauma, healing, addiction, post-traumatic growth

At the end of the podcast I share a poem by Tanya Markul.

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please consider leaving a review on the platform that you listen. Click here for Spotify or here for Apple Podcasts.

Want to learn more about working with me? Book in for a free 30-minute discovery call by emailing me at lucy@lucywyldecoaching.com.

For more insights, you can follow me on Instagram, and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter at www.lucywyldecoaching.com.

Today I am talking to a dear friend of mine, Penny McKenzie.

Penny is an artist, a counsellor and a Mother to two grown up children. Penny used to be a client of mine, and it's been wonderful to remain good friends, witness her grow and step into who she is more.

What we talk about (particularly 35 minutes onwards) is absolute GOLD; about knowing we deserve time for ourselves.

In this episode we speak about:

• Penny's passions and the work she does
• the experiences in parenting grown up children
• consciously 'unmothering'
• Penny's journey with art and becoming an artist
• our own self-development, growth and how to replenish
• defying what others think of us decades on
• the work of Dr Gabor Maté
• Penny's experience of pregnancy, birthing premature babies and her matrescence; both early on and to this day
• how common self-abandoning is in motherhood and going against the grain to remember we matter too!
• the sociology of Motherhood (see EP43 for my chat with Motherhood Sociologist Dr Sophie Brock)

Themes: unmothering, martyr mothering, counselling, art, matrescence, therapy

At the end, I share a poem written by me.

To see more about Penny see here on her website. And connect with Penny here on Instagram.

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, I would really appreciate it if you could please leave a review on the platform that you listen.

Would you like to work with me?

For more insights and to contact me you can find me on Instagram, and at www.lucywyldecoaching.com, where you can sign up for my newsletter!

The world I/we live in can go at quite a pace so in this episode I aim to invite you to think about whether there really needs to be a 'rush' to your pace; from replying to messages to walking day-to-day and more.

Warning! — If listening around little ones, I mention Father Christmas at 14.50.

In this episode I speak about:

• the pace of modern life and how it can feel to some
• the book 'Wintering' by Katherine May and slowing down during divorce/stressful times
• dropping the apologies and prioritising what truly matters
• doing less at certain times during your monthly cycle
• Glennon Doyle's brilliant words
• the 'revving reflex' and the work of Dr Scott Lyons
• simple ways and places you could integrate a slower pace

I share quotes from Glennon Doyle, the book 'Wintering' by Katherine May and from Carl Honoré.

Here is a link to the podcast I mention with Mel Robbins talking to Dr Scott Lyons.

Themes: wintering, slowness, boundaries,

At the end of the podcast I share a poem by Emma Heaphy.

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please consider leaving a review on the platform that you listen. Click here for Spotify or here for Apple Podcasts.

Want to learn more about working with me? Book in for a free 30-minute discovery call here!

For more insights, you can follow me on Instagram, and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter at www.lucywyldecoaching.com.