If you take care of everyone else, who takes care of you?
The Replenish Circle is a safe, warm, welcoming space for Mums, where we learn to soothe our minds, thoughts and emotions and calm by reconnecting back to the body.
Join us Wednesday mornings from 19th June 2024
10am - 11am
(includes your choice of MK mist to support your wellbeing back at home)
SEVEN SPACES PER SESSION
Let’s face it, when you’re in the day-to-day grind running on the treadmill of life
Always on the go
… mind racing through the never-ending to-do list
… always have to be somewhere, always running late
… trying to squeeze in a bit of social life for yourself, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out.
…or disconnected, zoning out, endless doom-scrolling feeling isolated and alone
You’ve never got time to yourself to be still and to just be.
No time to feel, so you’re in “it’s fine, I’m fine” mode
Wearing a mask, telling yourself you just gotta suck it up
(coz everyone else seems to cope, right?)
but all that pushing through, and burying those emotions and pretending is so.deeply.exhausting
Overwhelm, anxiety, the internal and societal pressure
get.it.all.right, to play the “good girl” version of being a “good Mum”
have you feeling like you are never enough.
You’re feeling frazzled, temper on a trigger finger
… raising your voice, losing your shit in frustration
Or you’ve checked out emotionally, shoving those feelings down
Just going through the day-to-day motions in robot mode.
And the more you struggle, the more your internal struggles ripple throughout your home
… the more your home (and everyone in it) feels heavier, and harder to hold.
They’re extra clingy, super defensive, always playing up, arguing back
… wanting something you have no extra time / energy / attention / emotional bandwidth to provide
Or worse, emotionally checked out, always on their phones, not making an effort to contribute
… everything you ask for is a big.freaking.deal, yet they still want Mum to drop everything when it suits.
You’re so tired of giving, giving, giving, and getting nothing in return.
And it all feels so freaking hard.
Some days your place feels less like a home and more like a house full of strangers, hardly speaking, passing each other like ships in the night.
And the worst days, it feels like you’re at war with each other.
It’s no wonder you feel so isolated and alone.
And in the still and quiet of the night, when they’re all in bed,
You’re left with that same sense of guilt and shame you always feel, the same questions running on repeat in your mind
“Why can’t I be the Mum I always thought I would be?”
“Why can't I just listen and stay calm?”
“Why does my teen feel like a stranger to me?”
(at best, grunting and groaning, at worst acting like you don’t exist)
“Why can’t I be more like her - that perfect Mum down the road who always has her shit together and always seems so damn patient”
MUM IS THE HEART + SOUL OF THE FAMILY: WE SET THE TONE, WE SET THE VIBE
We teach our kids how to be.
How to speak to us (and how to internally speak to themselves).
How to communicate (or not) our wants and needs.
What family means, and how we come together as a team.
Ultimately, how we have to behave to receive love and support.
And whilst all we want is our kids to FEEL and TRULY KNOW that they are
LOVED
SAFE
IMPORTANT
VALUED
RESPECTED
ACCEPTED JUST THE WAY THEY ARE
The truth is, you’re a Mum, not a machine: a living, breathing BEing with your own needs, wants and desires…
And when you’re running on empty, with nothing left in the tank
… when that treadmill keeps racing, and you’ve got so many balls in the air
… when you feel alone, isolated and like no one else seems to understand
… when you’re putting on a mask and pretending it’s all gonna be ok
Or that some new magical stage of mummahood will emerge and all of a sudden it really WILL be all ok.
When you are not nourished .. there’s NO WAY you can create (and maintain) the warm, safe, stable home you so badly want.
Hi, I’m Melinda and I believe us Mums are the heart and soul of the family.
I believe we all feel incredible external pressure to do this Mum thing right (and a lot of us carry enormous internal pressure too).
I believe we all need time out, to rest, and nourish ourselves
I believe we need a safe space to vent, to share, to be supported .. and to learn new things and to realise we are NOT alone
And most of all …
I believe that deep-down desire of yours to be calm and present and create a warm, safe, stable home is NOT just an impossible dream.
It’s my mission to help Mums move from overwhelming and out-of-control emotional ups and downs that create turbulence and discontent in our homes
… to gently coming home to a place where emotions gently rock up and down throughout our days, and naturally come back to balance.
I am passionate about providing Mums a place to tend to themselves, to come to a place of stillness, to reconnect to their precious hearts and honour how they truly feel
… to learn to listen to and respond to their own needs, communicate these needs and show our babes how to do the same.
I am committed to teaching and sharing the same tools that have supported and transformed mine, and my family's, emotions and behaviours
... so that mums can stop feeling so stressed and overwhelmed and trying to get it all perfect
… and they’re free to allow joy and laughter to fill their hearts and ripple through their homes
I’ve been guiding mums back home to themselves for many, many moons now
focussing on the same positive, grounded, heart-centred connection,
freedom from pressure to conform, and freedom from judgement family dynamic
that I’ve co-created with my husband and our three children, plus all the “bonus” kids who’ve lived under our roof over the years.
But it wasn’t always the way. Back when my daughter was 7, she suffered intense anxiety.
And I had one of those “oh-shit!” Mumma moments when I realised …HER ANXIETY was MY ANXIETY. All the worries, fears and behaviours I learnt as a kid to safe, accepted and loved. I had passed on to her.
It was at that moment I realised, the only way to take care of her, was to take care of myself
I realised that trying harder, blaming myself more, thinking something was wrong with her - or anything in our outside environment - was not the answer (in fact, it was just making it all worse)
I took still and quiet responsibility for the ways I had taught her to hide herself (just ike I’d learnt as a kid) and I got to work.
Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t one of those fairytale moments where I experienced some Mary-Poppins-perfect parenting transformation.
But it was the catalyst for change
I began making small shifts, which led to quantum leaps over time:
… I stopped looking outwards to find something to blame, and started turning my attention to myself and the role I play.
… I got honest with myself about repeating patterns from the past, and got support to begin clearing out those dense generational patterns
(the one full of pressure and judgement and strings-attached conditional love.)
… I stopped playing the good girl, people-pleaser, self-sacrificer and committed to clearly and openly communicating my needs
(and normalised every single family member being able to do the same)
… And rather than running my family on auto-pilot or trying to measure up to some external standard, I developed the ability to anchor into MY body and into MY heart. (and grew to TRUST my natural instincts on how I wanted to love, to lead and to give and receive)
In time, I was able to guide myself and my family to a whole new way of relating, one anchored in acceptance, safety, healthy communication and nourishment.
With my lived experience as a foundation, I have qualified as a holistic counsellor and flower essence therapist, a parenting mentor, product creator and sacred space holder.
I have studied Birth order, numerology, reiki, aromatherapy, and astrology.
I’ve dived deep into the medicine of flower essences to support our emotional wellbeing,
I’ve learned how our emotions and emotional behaviours are driven by our beliefs and programming from the past.
I’ve woven this knowing and these practices through my own life, family and the work I do with mummas.
And now, I have devoted myself to building safe and enriching communities
… to lead women back home to themselves
… to balance their emotional and nervous system health
… to heal all those old patterns from the past, and ultimately
… to build a connection to and trust in their own innate knowing,
Here we are now a couple of decades down the track
my daughter is a happy, healthy, heart-driven and centred 25-year-old, and my husband and I and our 3 grown children CHOOSE to spend time together, to hang out, to play games, sit around a beautiful fire, to go camping out in the big wide world, to have deep conversations about our lives, to gather for meals and weekends away (even a holiday in Italy later this year).
Why?
Because we all feel safe, seen, heard, valued, accepted
able to have those courageous conversations, to ask for what we need, and above all else … deeply, unconditionally loved.
And that’s what is possible for you and yours too.
The Replenish Circle is a safe, warm, welcoming space to provide Mums the nourishment they need.
To provide the space and community to gently come home to yourself
To take the time out to just be, to breathe
To see yourself and your family through a different (more empowering) lens
To cry or rage or laugh or feel however you’re feeling (because all feelings are welcome here)
To (just for a second) not be the one always on call … not be the only spaceholder … not be the one trying to keep all the balls in the air.
Join us for a four-week journey to gently build a foundation for emotional balance ...
It’s a space for YOU to learn to soothe your mind, thoughts and emotions, and calm yourself to reconnect back to your body.
We journey together for four weeks, in an intimate circle, in my woodland studio on the outskirts of Yarra Valley in Panton Hill (a sweet 15-20 minute drive from nearby Eltham or Diamond Creek).
Picture tall gums,
… my studio tucked into the woods
… peace and quiet
… and a chance to come as you are, all masks let down.
Each mumma will receive an MK Wellbeing Relax Mist and Flower Essence Blend to support them outside of our circle and anchor them in emotional wellbeing throughout our four-week journey.
Each week, we come together in a beautiful non-judgemental circle of support, and experience different tools and techniques for emotional balance, which you can take away and put into practice each week.
Week One: Balancing Emotion with Essential Oils and Flower Essences
Week Two: Self-Soothing so you can Respond, not React
Week Three: Developing Awareness of Communication with Self & Family
Week Four: Gathering the Tools for Emotional Balance
You will walk away feeling connected to a community of other mums, and with practical tools for emotional balance and wellbeing, which ripple out into your wider family dynamic, for a calmer, warmer, more stable home environment.
And no matter how anxious, overwhelmed, checked out, frazzled or fed up you are when you arrive, you’ll walk away with a gentle smile, a sense of possibility, and the beauty of having somewhere you can just be you, no matter how you’re feeling for this entire journey.
We begin Wednesday evening 20th July 19th and have space for an intimate circle of just seven Mummas who are seeking emotional balance and community
(includes your choice of MK mist to support your wellbeing back at home)
SEVEN SPACES PER SESSION
Wondering what it’s like to work with me?
Here’s what other Mummas say:
To witness and be welcomed as part of a family unit that is built on love, acceptance, forgiveness, honesty, kindness and clear communication has been one of the most healing and deeply enriching experiences, especially as I transition from maiden to mother myself.
Seeing Melinda model this healthy, happy and fulfilling role has completely transformed my perception of motherhood and I look forward to nourishing our special friendship and soul-family connection for many more years to come.
Love, Alyce M. xoxo
“Wow! What a beautiful experience. Melinda is an open and fun communicator who really listens and cares about people. She provides great advice and understanding, sharing her knowledge with stories of growth and adaption, allowing everyone to feel comfortable and vulnerable to share.”
Denise .J