Mama Joy

Loving all things witchy, enchanted and fantastical, Sara Walka didn’t always “fit in” as a kid. She says she was told she was “wise beyond her years” and while that felt right, after a while it also felt like she didn’t belong. Gradually pulling away from all she knew, to do instead what she though she “should” do, led her to an meltdown. Sara shares in this episode how she took that meltdown, an...

How much time do you spend considering what it is you actually want in your life? Chances are that even if you do ponder this at times, you tend to block yourself from “going too far”. We have this tendency to focus on all the symptoms that make our life feel challenging – the stress management, the time management. Which can cloud us when it comes to making decisions about what we really want. Th...

At 5 years old she’d made a clear decision as to what she wanted to be when she grew up. And, she did it! Working her butt off for 20 years as a veterinarian, Julie Johnson had essentially created her ‘dream life’. She’d travelled, met her husband, and was doing work she loved. Yet she was working 60-80 hour weeks, with a growing family and competing priorities. There came a point where she knew h...

How’s your “small talk” game? For many years I’d go about new conversations in a way that I thought I “should”. I’d make polite chit chat about the weather and make sure I was inquiring in to everything about the other person – even if it wasn’t of interest, felt negative, or frankly, was boring to me! I’d walk away from those moments feeling exhausted, like someone had zapped my energy, and kept...

When you’re so busy being strong and achieving, the richness of life that comes from the ordinary moments can slip by unnoticed. For Tamu Thomas, that busyness turned into increasing anxiety and panic attacks, leading her to realise she was living her life “upside down”, always putting herself last. Having come from 15 years in social work, she was knowledgeable enough to know things had to change...

I tried something new this week. And I noticed how wobbly I was! We hired long-term bicycles and took them for a spin. And instead of feeling elated and excited, I noticed how I was a little nervous and literally wobbly. In this week’s conversation starter we’re talking about finding your way in a new environment—in a way that feels good, and is as unique as you are! New things can feel hard at fi...

Choosing to be joyful is not always the easy choice. In fact at times leading with joy can feel in complete contrast to the junction you’re at in life. Whether you’re faced with challenges to your health, or relationship decisions, or even an ongoing stressful period at work – how you show up for yourself makes all the difference to the results you will see. Paediatric Occupational Therapist, mama...

When we talk about being busy we tend to rattle off everything we have on our “plates”. From working late and deadlines looming through to keeping up with the housework, social schedules and exercise routines. Much of what we think of when we think “busy” is schedule related. How “full” our diaries are = how “busy” we feel. Yet what if there was a whole other side to busy that we weren’t addressin...

Pressure and perfectionism tend to go hand in hand. Often the pressure builds up over time, meaning you don’t even realise how closely tied the relationship is. If you’d told our guest Gaelle Berruel she was a perfectionist, she wouldn’t have believed you. 😉 However a cocktail of becoming a mother, realising she had everything she wanted, and a performance review with unexpected feedback all led...

What if everything you’ve been craving to create in your life was so much closer than you think? It’s just that you’re choosing to play smaller than you deserve to be? Time and time again the women I meet tell me what the change they’re craving in their lives. They want to stop feeling so busy and torn between multiple demands. They want to feel deep relief and enjoy their lives more. And, they ha...

Whether you’re in a job you feel restless in, or daydreaming about the beach house you want to live in – if you want a shortcut to creating your life the way you want it, this episode is for you. Denise Duffield Thomas (@denisedt) wasn’t always “rich”. When she spent almost a decade living in London, she didn’t even own a winter coat. She has plenty of stories of starting businesses as a kid, from...

It’s easy to feel joyful on your most stressfree days. To “choose” to do something that feels good. But what about those challenging days? Or when your best friend is going through a really tough time? Is it okay to still choose joy? Too often the moment we start to feel good about ourselves, or our lives, an inner resistance shows up. A “guilt” for our joy. Your joy is your birthright. It’s there...

If you tend to get caught up in overthinking and worrying what you “should” or shouldn’t do, today’s episode is a must for you. Having shuffled around shelter homes, moved to the other side of the world at age 18, divorced a few years later, and moved again to a foreign country with no qualifications, it could be easy to question how Susie Moore has kept her inherent positivity and joyful attitude...

If someone told you to “be yourself” or “show up as you” would you know what they meant? What parts of you could you potentially be holding back on because you’re worried what would happen? Monday episodes are designed to get you out of your head and feeling in a whole new way. I share insights and self-inquiry tips that’ll shift your focus for the week, and accelerate your joy. In today’s convers...

Here’s what you can expect from Season 4 of the Let It Shine Podcast: •We’ll be exploring themes ranging from giving up worry about what others think of you, through to bringing your dreams to life, and how to show up through really challenging times. •Every Monday there’ll be a new “mini” episodes, a 10min conversation starter for your week, to keep you fuelled, feeling good and ready to take car...

There is a lot that is uncertain in the world right now (and, always). Trying to “handle it all” is exhausting and futile. We tell ourselves if we can just read that extra book this week or check in with that friend or read more of the news or focus on that deadline at work, then everything will feel better. What we’re really saying to ourselves is that we want our control back. And the issue with...

Today’s guest will draw you in with her magnetic laugh and ability to make hard things sound fun. 😉 Dr Rebecca Ray is a writer, speaker, clinical psychologist, and – most importantly – human. While she’s written multiple books, grown an incredible Instagram community and created digital courses on overcoming self-sabotage, and radical courage, she says being human always comes first. Rebecca can...

Usually at this time of year I do a mid-year review. It’s one of my favourite things to do! A mini stocktake of how things are going so far and reignition of what I most want to create in my life. So often we’re busy chasing that we forget to integrate. While I’ll most definitely still be doing the review, it feels like this year I have been feeling like I needed a few more weeks to marinate. To l...

I have so much to say about this episode that I’m left kinda stumped as to where to start. The woman I’m about to introduce you to is special for many many reasons. I’ve witnessed her transformation and dedicated commitment to her dreams for twenty years now, and yet there’s something even more magical happening right now. The more she has “jumped in” the more of her light you see. Noriko Clarke l...

Do you ever find yourself in a loop of the same thinking? You keep asking yourself the same questions over and over again, but can’t seem to come up with any new answers? And then you’re stuck, for days, weeks even, feeling frustrated with yourself. Or, there’s a big decision to make in your life and you can’t seem to do anything about it. Instead you stay stuck in overthinking mode, believing it...

From acting to psychotherapy to creating a never-done-before wellness publication, Sophie Scott has navigated plenty of decisions in her life. Throughout all of these turning points she says her curiosity has led the way and kept her connected to her sense of purpose. She’s determined to empower people connect to their own meaning and to know and look after themselves better. Sophie has lead BALAN...

I shared this blog post a few months ago about me sitting on my couch in the full sunshine feeling so calm and peaceful, only to be interrupted by this gross sewerage smell. I wanted to get all irritated, frustrated and angry about it. Quickly my mood and emotional response was shifting from calm and peaceful to cranky. I realised that I could have both. I could feel a bit frustrated and also stil...

I am fascinated by stories. How people connect the dots from seemingly unrelated parts of their journey. And how they choose to create something that feels joyful and fulfilling to them in their lives. Halima Salim is an inspiring example of choosing curiosity and gratitude above all else. Somalian by birth, moving to the UK as a refugee at age nine, with no prior schooling – Halima went on to be...

I got asked this question recently. And it’s a common theme in many of my coaching sessions – how can we feel more confident in our lives? For me, confidence is much more about creating a sense of certainty within ourselves. Rather than it being a skill that we need to ‘develop’. Confidence comes from knowing yourself, and (yep, I’m saying it again!) how things make you feel. If you’ve ever found...

Marta Perales made me smile from the moment I first had contact with her. She responded to a message I left in a business group I’m part of so promptly and with so much joy it was infectious. Having left a successful corporate career in IT, Marta returned to a hobby that had been along her side for almost 20 years. Taking what she says “filled her heart” and creating a photography business. In thi...