We had another brilliant ‘Feel Better Together’ call this week and I am extremely grateful to Nicola Jane for sharing her very personal story with us. Nicola has lived with chronic pain since childhood and has endured various treatments and surgeries throughout her life. Despite all this she has led a fascinating career caring for others through her work with children as a creative therapist. She is also a keen writer and shares her writing to connect and offer comfort to others living with chronic pain. Her capacity for giving and caring for others whilst managing her own health is quite remarkable but has taken perhaps an inevitable strain upon her own health. It seems the pandemic has enabled her to reflect upon this and ask some poignant questions regarding her career, including this very important one; ’If I was meant to be doing this would it be making me this ill?’ We were therefore very privileged to listen as Nicola shared her writing with us at this significant moment in her life. Writing can be a great way to express and release our feelings and Nicola describes her writing as a huge part of her healing journey. She has made a conscious decision to listen to her body and allow it the time it needs to heal. I am so grateful that she shared her story with us. I look forward to watching her story continue to unfold and wish her all the health and happiness that she so deserves. She will continue to write and share her story and I would encourage you all to read it. Please click on the link to connect with her Roots and Wings

We were all deeply moved by her writing and it led to a wonderful discussion, which I am sure we all took different things from.

There are so many wise voices within the group, and it has become a real highlight of the week for me. We were brought back to the recurring theme of the importance of movement as an emotional release, but also as a way of connecting us with our bodies. Su articulated beautifully how writing was a kind of moving meditation in Ayervedic medicine, and this may indeed be why Nicola finds it to be so healing. The more we connect with our bodies, the more we have an opportunity to listen to what it is telling us. Afsha then invited us to sound out the word ‘depressed’, and consider that it might actually be a sign for the body’s need for ‘deep rest.’ I found this both fascinating and brilliant. There is no doubt that Nicola is now benefiting from listening to what her body is telling her, and we can all learn to do this more.

I hope you are all finding some moments for reflection during these strange times. I have certainly been so inspired by all the brilliant people sharing their stories on our call and their examples of overcoming illness by taking their health in their own hands. There is so much we can do to build our own resilience against disease, as Izabella shared so eloquently with us last week. If you were unable to make the call. I am delighted to be able to share a video recording of it with you here. Please do take a moment to listen and to share with others. Building Resilience

This week, I am delighted that my good friend Norman Brown will be sharing his story with us. He also has an inspirational story to share and is certainly the only 70-year-old personal trainer I know of! He sees the benefits of exercise on health and wellbeing daily and through his successful joint pain programme also witnesses the remarkable power of movement in healing the body.

It will no doubt create another fascinating discussion. Please do join us if you would like and share with others who may benefit. We would be delighted to welcome you into our supportive weekly community.

The Feel Better Together call is every Wednesday 12.30-1.30 pm. Please click on the link if you would like more information about this week’s call and the Zoom link to join us.

Take good care,

Harriet x