Five years ago, I started this journey with a simple mission—to create a space where women feel supported, nurtured, and empowered. Looking back, I could never have imagined how this beautiful community would grow. At our 5th Business Birthday Bash, I shared a few words straight from the heart, reflecting on this incredible journey and expressing my gratitude to each and every one of you. I wanted to share them here too.

Where do I start…. Most of you already know this story so I’m sorry if I’m repeating myself but let’s start at the beginning.  From a young age I wanted to work in professional sport with athletes that were at the peak of their physical fitness.  And I got there, I loved my career and was driven.  Then we decided to start a family! And this is where I think my shift in mindset started.

After having our first child I was determined to get back to my career (partly because the men there believed I wouldn’t, so wanted to prove them wrong!) but partly because I was trying to get me back!   But I very quickly realised that I was no longer that version of me.  I had a beautiful baby boy who was my world and priority.  This made me feel quite lonely because although I had made some mum friends, I was thrown back into the male environment and had to almost compartmentalise being a mum.

Then we tried for our 2nd child, which was a roller-coaster as we had a miscarriage before then having our daughter. Again, this was a very lonely experience. I was actually away on pre-season tour at the time and surrounded by men who were very supportive but still not what I needed at that time.

Moving up to Worcester heavily pregnant was not the best idea but we wanted to be closer to family and to see if we wanted to make the move permanent.  I was lucky enough to meet my mum tribe when Maisie was only 8wks old and they are still my rock now! I totally blame them for me being in the situation now!!! The three of them were my cheerleaders encouraging me to take that leap and buy the business.

When Maisie was only 6 months old the opportunity came up to buy this business.  It was the scariest decision I ever made as it was leaving a career I had worked so hard for and had loved… but I had outgrown it and I felt that I wanted to give women a safe place to move their bodies without judgement, to make friends, empower each other, and build that vital network of support around them. Which I still have today with my mum tribe.

This was just as much of a rollercoaster as 6 weeks after spending our lifesavings, covid hit!! Starting my journey as a yoga teacher online, running a business, I had no idea how to run and 2 kids under 4 was not the ideal situation, but it worked.  Then 12 months into my franchise journey it folded! Leaving me with only 1 week to decide whether to stop, carry on and pay a licence fee for the name or totally rebrand the business.  The week was filled with very little sleep and lots of stress, partly because Maisie just didn’t like to sleep!

But I decided to keep the name that was known and go it alone without the franchise support.  And again, the BEST decision!  I was able to expand my classes and my offerings as I wasn’t tied to the franchise anymore.  And it snowballed from there and I have offered lots of workshops, retreats and events over the last 4 years.

Bringing my VA Rachel on-board nearly 2 years ago (July 2023) was life-changing! She gave me the support, encouragement and ability to build further; all the things I lost when the franchise folded.  Then in the last year, the lovely Claire joined me.  What can I say about Claire, she is so supportive of women and feels as strongly as I do that women need and deserve a community around them.  These two ladies are just amazing! They are soo supportive and empowering and I thank them both from the bottom of my heart.

I must take this opportunity to mention my friends Sarah and Louisa, those of you who have come to our weekend retreats will have met them.  These ladies were my absolute rock, we basically run our businesses alongside each other in Edinburgh and Ipswich/Colchester as they trained with me and are on the same journey as me.  We always said we wished we lived closer so we could run a business together.  Then last year we made that dream a reality forming The R&R Club.

So why am I telling you this…. I guess I hope that by sharing my story and journey that it may encourage others to take that leap of faith.  Because if you have those fierce friends behind you lifting you and up and encouraging you then you can’t fail!

So here’s to the next 5 years… Lets see where life takes us.