Nourishing the Mother

Feeling trapped by your life isn't always about changing your circumstances. Sometimes it's about changing the way you meet them. In this final episode of our three-part series, Bridget and Julie explore what happens after you've identified the stories keeping you stuck. They unpack how to reclaim the parts of yourself that feel lost beneath the weight of responsibility, why pleasure and self-care often trigger resistance instead of ease, and how to create more romance, aliveness and fulfilment without waiting for someone else to bring it to you. If you've been longing to feel more like yourself again, this conversation offers practical, compassionate ways to reconnect with what you thought motherhood, partnership or adulthood had taken away. In this episode, we discuss: - Why feeling trapped is often less about your circumstances and more about your relationship with them. - How to reclaim parts of yourself that feel buried beneath responsibility. - Finding magic, pleasure and meaning within ordinary, everyday life. - Why self-care can feel surprisingly difficult, even when you know you need it. - The hidden beliefs, programming and rules that stop you receiving rest, joy and pleasure. - Why the things that are good for your long-term wellbeing don't always feel like an immediate "yes." - How to soften rigid thinking and create more flexibility in your life. - Practical ways to pair difficult responsibilities with comfort and enjoyment. - Creating romance by embodying the energy you want to experience, rather than waiting for someone else to create it. - How pressure and disappointment quietly erode intimacy in relationships. - Using imagination, books and story to reconnect with desire and possibility. - The difference between outsourcing your happiness and becoming the creator of it. - What genuine romance looks like beyond grand gestures. - The importance of reciprocity, thoughtfulness and showing up for your partner in meaningful ways. - Questions to help you notice where your life already contains more love, pleasure and possibility than you've been giving it credit for. - How to become the source of more of what you're longing for, instead of waiting for life to deliver it. Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Last episode, we started unpacking what’s actually underneath the feeling of being trapped by your life. This time, we take the next step: working out whether the thing making you miserable is an unavoidable fact of your life...or a “should” you’ve become so attached to that you can no longer see another way. Because while you might not be able to change the school run, your workload, your children, your partner or the responsibilities sitting on your shoulders, but you may have far more choice in how you experience them than you realise. We explore radical acceptance, the exhausting and often painful pursuit of trying to change other people, and what becomes possible when you stop fighting with the reality of what is. This episode will help you question the expectations keeping you stuck, find where you still have choice and flexibility, and begin experimenting with different ways of living the life you actually have, rather than continually suffering because it isn’t the life you think it should be. In this episode we discuss: * How to work out whether the thing making you miserable is a fact or a “should” * Why your expectations of how life, motherhood or your relationship should be may be making you suffer * What happens when you keep waiting for your partner, children or circumstances to change before you can be happy * Why trying to control and change the people you love is exhausting for everyone involved * The difference between accepting your reality and resigning yourself to a life you hate * How to find more choice when you feel like you have absolutely none * Why you might be stuck choosing the same “flavour” of life without realising there are other options * What to do when you can’t change the responsibility, but desperately need to change how it feels * How to pair the unavoidable parts of your life with pleasure, play and things that make you feel more alive * Why radical acceptance might be the thing that finally frees you from fighting with your life * How to stop waiting for your life to change and start experimenting with how you experience it * The second step in our three-part pathway towards feeling less trapped and finding more freedom, choice and fulfilment Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

What happens when you love your children, your partner and the life you’ve created...and still sometimes feel completely trapped by it? In Part 1 of this three-part answer pathway, we respond to a listener who is buckling under the weight of motherhood, work, relationships and the relentless responsibility of being needed. Rather than giving you another list of things to do to “find yourself again”, we start somewhere deeper: understanding what is actually creating your suffering. We explore how comparing the life you have to the life you used to have, or the life you wish you could have, can leave you feeling increasingly resentful, burdened and stuck. We show you how to get specific about what you believe you’ve lost, what you’ve gained that you never wanted, and the evidence you may be unconsciously collecting to prove that your life is the problem. This is the first step in moving from “I feel trapped by my life” towards understanding what you’re actually longing for, what needs to change, and where more freedom, fulfilment and choice might already be waiting for you. In this episode we discuss: * Why you can love your family and still feel trapped by your life * What you’re actually longing for when you fantasise about escaping it all * Why motherhood can leave you grieving the woman and freedom you used to have * How to work out exactly what is making you feel so resentful, burdened and stuck * Why comparing your life now to the life you used to have is making you suffer * The stories you keep telling yourself that might be making your life feel even harder * Why you keep finding more evidence that you’re trapped, unhappy or have lost yourself * How to stop making your current life the problem without pretending you love everything about it * What to do when you know something needs to change, but you have no idea what * The first step towards feeling more freedom, choice and fulfilment in the life you already have Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

In this deeply personal solo episode, Julie responds to listener questions about her hysterectomy experience four years after surgery. From the realities of recovery and unexpected complications to the impact on sex, orgasm, identity, and womanhood, she shares the parts few people talk about openly. This is a candid conversation about what she gained, what she lost, what surprised her most, and why she would still make the same decision again. Fair warning: there is plenty of TMI in this episode - including discussions about vaginas, orgasms, catheters, numbness, butt pain, and all the messy, human realities of healing. In this episode, Julie discusses: - Why she ultimately chose hysterectomy after 17 years of prolapse and adenomyosis - The years-long decision-making process leading up to surgery - The unexpected emotional impact of community criticism and losing friendships - What happened when her urethra stopped functioning after surgery - Why self-catheterisation became a surprisingly empowering experience - The reality of recovery versus the commonly promoted six-week timeline - Significant fatigue and healing challenges during the first six months - The surgical complexity of removing a severely enlarged uterus - What nobody told her about post-surgical butt pain - Developing vaginismus for the first time after surgery - Nerve healing, numbness, and changing sensation inside the vagina - The loss of cervical orgasm and how that affected her sexuality - Whether orgasmic capacity can be rebuilt after hysterectomy - The surprising sexual benefits she experienced post-surgery - Using tantra, somatic practice, toys, vibrators and blindfolds to support recovery - Rewiring pleasure pathways and treating sexual healing as neurorehabilitation - Navigating identity without a uterus while still feeling deeply connected to womanhood - Continuing womb-space practices despite no longer having a womb - The overlap between hysterectomy recovery and perimenopause - What she wishes she'd known before surgery - The advice she would give any woman considering a hysterectomy today - Why, despite the trade-offs, she has never regretted her decision Other episodes on Julie's hysterectomy journey: 351 https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-351-lets-lift-the-veil-on-the-shame-of-post-partum-healing/id1013746031?i=1000554021072 356 https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-356-post-birth-pelvic-pain-shame-and-dysfunction/id1013746031?i=1000557953386 357 https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-357-post-birth-pelvic-pain-shame-and-dysfunction/id1013746031?i=1000558686443 378 https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-378-when-you-dance-with-becoming-what-youve-always/id1013746031?i=1000579970437 385 https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/nourishing-the-mother/id1013746031?i=1000585379354 NTM 443: Healing from pelvic surgery - what’s it like, one year on? https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ntm-443-healing-from-pelvic-surgery-whats-it-like-one-year-on/id1013746031?i=1000638978979 Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

If you've ever found yourself snapping at your partner, yelling at your children, or wondering why your anger feels bigger, faster and harder to contain than it used to, this conversation is for you. In this episode, we unpack the silence-explode cycle so many women find themselves trapped in, particularly during the motherhood and perimenopause years. We explore why anger isn't the problem, what it's trying to tell you, how depletion, over-functioning, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes shorten your fuse, and why the real work isn't suppressing your anger or unleashing it on everyone around you - it's learning to listen to the deeper truth underneath it. In this episode we discuss: - Why anger isn't the problem - and why we need to stop making it the villain - The silence-explode cycle and how pressure builds long before the outburst - Why motherhood, perimenopause, ADHD, burnout and depletion can shorten your fuse - Anger as a messenger rather than something to suppress or fear - The shame spiral that often follows explosive reactions - The difference between expressing a feeling and reacting from it - Emotional truth versus conscious, integrity-led behaviour - How threat responses hijack our ability to choose how we show up - The softer truths often hiding beneath anger - hurt, loneliness, disappointment and unmet needs - Why anger acts as armour protecting something more vulnerable - Learning to stay in your body instead of abandoning yourself when anger arises - The importance of safety, pauses and nervous system regulation before communication - Creating more space between trigger and reaction - Self-compassion, accountability and personal responsibility - The identity shifts many women experience through motherhood and perimenopause - Letting go of the "good girl" who keeps everything together until she can't - Why sleep, nourishment, hydration and rest matter more than we think - Building a healthier relationship with anger that supports connection rather than destruction - Asking: What is anger trying to tell me? - How self-awareness becomes the pathway from rage to revealing. Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

What happens when one partner feels like they are carrying the invisible weight of parenting, household management, life admin, remembering, planning, and emotional labour… while the other insists they’re helping? In this episode, Julie and Bridget unpack one of the most common resentment loops they see in relationships: the gap between effort and ownership. They explore why “helping” can still leave a primary parent feeling deeply alone, how over-functioning and under-functioning quietly reinforce each other, and why this conversation is so often less about chores… and more about responsibility. Together, they dive into the mental load, the defensiveness trap, gendered conditioning, breadwinning, and the exhausting dynamic of one person becoming the household manager while the other becomes the assistant. This is not about blame or shame - it’s about redefining partnership, shared ownership, and what it actually means to fully participate in the adult life you created together. If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in the “But I already do so much” versus “I still feel alone in this” cycle… this episode is for you. In this episode we discuss: - Why the mental load conversation so often becomes one of the most emotionally charged dynamics in modern relationships - The difference between “helping” and genuine ownership - and why that distinction matters more than most couples realise - How “I’m helping” can still leave one partner feeling like the default manager of the household, children, and life admin - Why this issue is often less about effort… and more about responsibility - The invisible labour of parenting: appointments, school calendars, sports runs, permission slips, meal planning, remembering, anticipating, emotional regulation - How “Just tell me what to do” can still leave the primary parent carrying the full cognitive burden - Why one partner often feels deeply alone… while the other feels like nothing they do is ever enough - The defensiveness cycle: “But I already do so much” vs “I still feel like I carry this alone” - How over-functioning in one partner can unintentionally create under-functioning in the other - The impact of gender roles, family-of-origin modelling, and socialisation on how couples divide responsibility - Why “help” language can accidentally reinforce inequality rather than partnership - The shift from assistance… to shared ownership - Why being a primary breadwinner matters - but doesn’t automatically exempt someone from adult responsibility at home - How to stop “borrowing the brain” of the overloaded partner and start taking proactive responsibility - Why couples often need skill-building, handover conversations, and grace while renegotiating long-held patterns - The importance of moving from scorekeeping and blame… into conscious, regularly renegotiated partnership - Why becoming better housemates can often be the first step toward becoming better lovers - The real goal: creating a family system where neither partner feels like they are carrying adulthood alone Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Perimenopause can feel like your body, mind and identity are shifting beneath your feet - but what if this season is not simply hormonal chaos to survive, but a profound invitation into your next evolution? In this powerful conversation, naturopath and counsellor Charmaine Newmark joins us to explore perimenopause as the transition from mother to matriarch - a deeply biological, emotional and spiritual rite of passage that so many women are navigating without enough support. Together, we unpack the symptoms, stress, body changes, identity shifts and nervous system depletion that can shape this chapter, while offering grounded, practical ways to support your hormones, energy, sleep and sense of self. In this episode we discuss: - What perimenopause actually is - and why it can begin years before menopause - Common symptoms including brain fog, fatigue, sleep disruption, libido changes and weight shifts - Why stress, burnout and nervous system depletion can intensify hormonal symptoms - The transition from reproductive woman to matriarch, and the identity shifts that can come with it - Reframing symptoms from “something is wrong” to understanding what your body is asking for - The role of protein, fibre, muscle-building and blood sugar support in hormonal wellbeing - Why sleep becomes essential: and practical ways to improve it - Rest as a personalised practice rather than a one-size-fits-all approach - Ownership of time, energy and capacity in this life stage - How to recognise your limits and support yourself with greater compassion and wisdom - The importance of self-care that genuinely restores rather than simply adds pressure - Perimenopause as a powerful opportunity for recalibration, deeper self-trust and redefining how you want to live next Free guide when you're feeling too tired and overwhelmed to start >>> Nourished You Free Guide — Charmaine Newmark - The Nourished Naturopath Facebook >>> https://www.facebook.com/charmainenewmarkthenourishednaturopath Insta >>> https://www.instagram.com/charmaine.newmark.nourished Website >>> Charmaine Newmark - The Nourished Naturopath Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Attraction doesn’t switch off when you’re in a committed relationship — but what it means, and what you do with it, is where everything changes. This episode reframes attraction from something dangerous or disloyal into something deeply human, and explores how to hold that energy with integrity, self-awareness, and choice, rather than repression or collapse. In this episode we discuss: - why attraction to others doesn’t disappear in monogamy… and what it actually signals - how we’ve been conditioned to equate attraction with betrayal, especially as women - the difference between feeling attraction and acting on it - how repression creates more charge, secrecy, and disconnection in relationships - using attraction as feedback; about your energy, your aliveness, your unmet parts - the concept of sexual sovereignty: holding your desire without outsourcing it or acting impulsively - how to stay in integrity with your relationship while still being a fully expressed, turned-on human - the importance of self-discipline: not from suppression, but from deep self-respect - how conscious conversations and agreements create safety around these edges Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

There’s a quiet, almost surreal moment when you realise… it didn’t pass through you. The reaction that used to be automatic doesn’t land the same. The pattern that shaped your family line stops with you. This episode explores what it actually feels like to break generational patterns - not as a loud, triumphant moment, but as a series of subtle, powerful choices that change the trajectory of everything that comes after you. In this episode we discuss: - the moment you notice you didn’t react the way you were wired to… and how significant that actually is - how breaking the pattern often feels quiet, almost underwhelming…but deeply profound - recognising the inherited dynamics you’ve been living inside of, without even realising - the tension of holding both where you came from and who you’re becoming - why growth isn’t about rejecting your lineage, but integrating and choosing differently - the grief and pride that can coexist when you see the pattern clearly - how your children reflect back the shifts you’ve made; in how they move, choose, and relate - the responsibility and power in knowing… this doesn’t continue through me Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

There’s a particular kind of fall that happens after we’ve tried to be the perfect parent - not just good, but better than what we had growing up; more conscious, more patient, more healed. And when we inevitably hit our edge, it doesn’t just feel like a bad moment… it feels like a collapse of identity. This episode unpacks how that spiral is not a sign you’re failing, but a direct consequence of the pedestal you’ve placed on who you think you need to be…and how softening the fantasy is what actually frees you from the shame loop. In this episode we discuss: - how you didn’t just become a parent… you stepped into a version of yourself you’d been rehearsing for years the “perfect parent” as a fantasy built from everything you didn’t get, and everything you swore you’d be - why the higher the pedestal, the harder the fall: pride into guilt, control into collapse - the moment you hear your parent come out of your mouth… and the shame lands hard and fast - how the spiral isn’t because you’re failing…it’s because the standard was never human to begin with - the quiet compensation of “I’ll be perfect somewhere else” when you can’t feel it here - why trying to pull yourself out of the spiral keeps you stuck… instead of questioning the fantasy that created it - what it actually looks like to equalise the high: bringing the “perfect parent” back into something real, messy, and sustainable Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

In this episode, we’re joined by family therapist and author Lisa Taylor (The Perfect Parent Trap) for a deeply honest conversation about what’s really happening underneath our parenting. Lisa brings over 25 years of clinical experience into this discussion as we unpack the difference between reacting to our children versus truly responding to them — and how often we’re unknowingly parenting from our own unresolved “heartprints” rather than the child in front of us. We explore the pull toward control, the moments that hijack us, and what it actually looks like to pause, repair, and reconnect in real time. This is a conversation about letting go of perfection, understanding behaviour as communication, and learning how to hold boundaries from a place of love — not fear. Connect with Lisa: Book - https://www.amazon.com.au/Perfect-Parent-Trap-Therapists-Traditional/dp/1923403583/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2E8VQDPV2U8TU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._ao0PRbW0zBY3kS7KnQ3DUz7-q2qOlhvDeJZgzHdOUwgmDudrVGboz5JAjB-ltXPadqtvGtmzN2J9WgpHPWK1cPmbTJkpf_D23VGctUQbYNLUzFVy3e57ktSLo1wYBWPMZB_nuODGg4lk47n8ew6fA12lwI43ckJ2Rois18URTa7Ed8eAni5WdUbulUUOOEc94irCe3QynwqKXkMTw3bTKfAyRmwQ3uqqGYM9aXr6jLfuubxtJfnBca2pYIgj7PrJGRFhAm_n2VAUkQDX4tJ7mQydWQB0jjErppf6tziYp8.vJ0s9YwswYLjAts_LtqLsFT7n8Vyu_UYsnG3WPKmZBA&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+perfect+parent+trap&qid=1775017583&sprefix=The+perfect+par%2Caps%2C260&sr=8-1 https://www.facebook.com/SFACounsellingService https://strengtheningfamiliesaustralia.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/lisataylor.au/ Book recommendation: Virginia Satir https://www.booktopia.com.au/virginia-satir-steve-andreas/book/9780911226386.html?source=pla&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21618274688&gbraid=0AAAAA-Ia9hP8VfN-cfNAAaQ7omSeUbDuX Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love . Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

This one goes right to the heart of what so many long-term couples quietly sit in but rarely say out loud; the moments where you question everything, where disinterest creeps in, and where part of you starts scanning for the exit. Julie and Bridget unpack the truth that these seasons don’t mean your relationship is broken, but they do ask something deeper of you. They explore the concept of the “exit girl” - the part of you that wants out - not as something to suppress, but something to understand, honour, and get honest with. Because when you know what that part of you actually needs, you stop making reactive decisions and start making powerful ones. This is a conversation about choice, clarity, and taking responsibility for the relationship you’re in; whether that means staying, leaving, or completely redefining how you show up inside it. In this episode we discuss: • the normalisation of disinterest, distance and “co-existing” seasons in long-term love • why questioning your relationship doesn’t mean it’s failing…it often means you’re waking up • meeting your inner “exit girl” and understanding what she’s really trying to communicate • the difference between reactive “I want out” energy vs grounded, self-led choice • how over-functioning, motherhood, perimenopause and mental load shift relationship dynamics • the moment women realise “I don’t actually need this” and what sits underneath that • why stress strips capacity, lowers emotional intelligence, and impacts connection and desire • the danger of making relationship decisions from burnout, resentment or nervous system overwhelm • creating an “exit strategy” as empowerment, not as a threat, ultimatum or escape plan • getting radically clear on what you do want instead of circling what you don’t • how economic power, self-trust and support systems shape your choices in love • the importance of clean, honest communication that invites growth instead of blame • the truth about long-term love: that it requires ongoing attention, not autopilot • the role of AI in support spaces and why human-to-human connection still matters deeply • choosing your relationship consciously, again and again, rather than staying by default Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Friendships are one of the first places our children meet the raw edges of relationship: loyalty, exclusion, conflict, repair and belonging. And if you’re a parent watching from the sidelines, it can stir up everything. In this conversation, Julie and Bridget unpack the emotional complexity of children’s friendships, particularly through the tween and teenage years, where identity, social power and belonging start to take shape. They explore the difference between protecting our children and rescuing them, the courage required to teach accountability, and why sometimes the most powerful thing we can do as parents is step back and allow our children to learn how relationships actually work. In this episode we discuss: • Why our children’s friendships can trigger such a deep emotional response in parents…especially mothers • The different ways boys and girls often develop socially and how this shapes their friendship dynamics • Why the tween years are a “trying on” period for identity, belonging and social power • The challenge of holding the reality that our child can sometimes be both the hurt one and the one who hurts others • The temptation to rescue our children socially - and why stepping back is often the more powerful parenting move • Teaching children accountability and helping them understand the impact of their behaviour on others • The difference between true bullying and the messy, normal friction of childhood friendships • How parents can guide children through conflict without taking sides or becoming the referee • Why going directly to other parents about friendship issues often escalates problems rather than resolving them • The importance of partnering with teachers and schools when social issues arise • Navigating the complicated world of group chats, devices and digital friendships • Helping children recognise who their friends really are and what healthy friendship actually looks like • Allowing our children to learn resilience, communication and repair through real-life friendship experiences • Why parenting through friendship struggles is less about fixing the problem, and more about raising relationally aware humans Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Adult friendships can look very different once life fills up with partners, children, careers and shifting values. In this conversation we explore what it really means to navigate friendship as grown women: the grief when friendships change, the beauty of seasonal relationships, and the quiet truth that the friendships that last are the ones built on reciprocity, honesty and shared values. We unpack the pressure women often feel to maintain friendships exactly as they once were, and why allowing relationships to evolve can actually create space for deeper, more aligned connection. In this episode we discuss: • How friendships naturally evolve through motherhood, career shifts and changing life seasons • The grief that can arise when friendships change, stretch or quietly fall away • Why some friendships are seasonal gifts rather than lifelong commitments • Navigating different parenting styles, values and life circumstances with friends • The emotional labour women often carry in maintaining friendships • The importance of reciprocity; friendships need deposits, not just withdrawals • Setting boundaries when friends expect more than you can realistically give • How children can sometimes mirror our own relationship wounds and friendship patterns • The difference between friendships built on proximity and those built on deeper alignment • Creating space for friendships that feel nourishing, mutual and authentic in this season of life • Why mature friendships allow for distance, difference and changing capacity without punishment • Investing in the friendships that truly support who you are becoming • A reflection on community, belonging and the role spaces like Honey Club can play in supporting women through these seasons Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

In this honest, grounded conversation, we unpack what it really takes to sustain a long-term relationship through parenting, midlife shifts, sexual differences, resentment, novelty, and the quiet drift that can happen when life gets busy. We share personal stories from our own marriages - the escapes, the misunderstandings, the accountability, the grace - and explore how intentional action, communication, sexual intimacy, and self-awareness can transform a partnership from obligation back into choice. This is a conversation about choosing each other again and again, with freedom, truth, and depth. In this episode, we discuss: -The reality of long-term love beyond the honeymoon phase -How parenting reshapes identity, intimacy, and friendship -Why modern couples spend so little quality time together...and what that costs us - The power of novelty in preventing complacency - Grace as the glue in decades-long relationships - Masculine accountability and moving out of resentment - What happens when love languages don’t naturally align - Why immediate action often creates more connection than endless planning - Balancing personal freedom with relational responsibility - Sexual intimacy as a sustaining force in long-term partnership - When women have higher desire — and normalising that dynamic - The difference between possession and conscious choice in love - Self-awareness, capacity tracking, and ending people-pleasing patterns - Making the most of fleeting moments of connection as parents - Building trust with children while holding your own truth - Why relationships require ongoing adaptation, not autopilot - The transformative power of compassion, honesty, and consent - Choosing your partner again; not because you have to, but because you want to Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

In this episode of Nourishing the Mother, Julie and Bridget dive into the invisible labour of advocating for your child inside school and medical systems; especially when your child is neurodivergent, anxious, or simply doesn’t fit the mould. They unpack how our own history with authority shapes how we show up, why systems can both help and harm, and how constant advocacy quietly erodes mothers’ energy, self-worth, and capacity. This is a raw, practical conversation about choosing your battles, preparing proactively, assuming positive intent where possible, and tending to yourself so advocacy doesn’t consume you whole. In this episode we discuss: • why advocating for your child can feel emotionally brutal, lonely, and never-ending • how your own experiences with authority shape how you deal with schools and professionals • the difference between fighting a system and learning how to work within it • why choosing aligned schools and services matters more than trying to change broken ones • how neurodivergent kids often need proactive planning, not reactive discipline • why diagnoses can open doors, even when they’re emotionally complex • the mental load mothers carry when they’re the default advocate • how to prepare teachers early so the year doesn’t unravel later • why assuming positive intent can protect your energy (without bypassing reality) • the importance of decompression, support, and not carrying advocacy alone Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

A simple ask for help on the sidelines becomes a powerful mirror into long-term relationship dynamics. In this episode, Julie and Bridget unpack a very real rupture between Julie and Nick, revealing how moments of overwhelm can activate old attachment wounds, masculine defensiveness, and feminine collapse. Together they explore how childhood patterns quietly replay in adult partnerships, why competence can become a barrier to intimacy, and what it actually takes to keep choosing each other when nervous systems are under pressure. A raw, honest conversation about communication, polarity, and the ongoing work of conscious love. In this episode we discuss: - How small moments can activate old relational wounds - What happens when asking for help is met with defensiveness - The grief and humiliation that can arise when support isn’t available in panic - How childhood patterns (especially with our mothers) replay in adult relationships - The strategies women develop to avoid rejection, and the intimacy cost of those strategies - The difference between trusting your partner generally and trusting them in chaos - Masculine and feminine nervous system differences under stress - Masculine fixing reflexes versus feminine needs for presence and support - How polarity breaks down in moments of overwhelm — and how to restore it - Why clear, moment-to-moment communication matters more than good intentions - How to name behaviour in real time without attack or collapse - What accountability looks like in a conscious, long-term partnership - Why healing in love is ongoing, layered, and deeply relational - How understanding masculine–feminine dynamics changes the way you ask, respond, and repair Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

Back to school isn’t just a diary change…it’s a full nervous system reboot. In this episode, Julie and Bridget get radically practical about what actually creates calm in the return-to-school season. Not mindset hacks. Not “just be more organised.” But the real, lived strategies that reduce friction, soften mornings, and help both parents and kids land back into rhythm; especially when neurodivergence, sensory needs, or emotional overwhelm are in the mix. This is about removing the predictable stress points so you’re not burning through your capacity before 8.30am… and so you can meet your children with steadiness instead of snapping over socks. In this episode, we discuss: - Why back to school dysregulates parents just as much as children, and how to work with that instead of against it - How small, repeated friction points quietly drain your nervous system (and why it’s never really about the socks) - Identifying your personal school-morning kryptonite before it takes you out - Running each child individually, instead of treating the family like one blurred system - Supporting neurodivergent kids with predictability, sensory-aware systems, and reduced decision load - How personalised stationery, colour-coding, and clear structure can dramatically lower anxiety - Why writing everything down actually restores capacity (and isn’t another thing to “get right”) - Front-loading the obvious — socks, uniforms, lunches — so you’re not regulating chaos later - The reframe: you don’t need more patience, you need more margin - How logistics create emotional safety for kids (and parents) - Streamlining lunchboxes and routines to reduce daily decision fatigue - Having the conversations early that prevent meltdowns later - Clarifying assumptions around sleepovers, screens, bedtimes, and flexibility - Preparing for wobble: school changes, transitions, big feelings…without trying to prevent them - Why this isn’t control… it’s care - How planning for reality lets you soften into the year instead of bracing against it This episode is for the parent who wants calmer mornings, steadier energy, and a school year that feels more doable - not because life is easier, but because you are better resourced. Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

In this episode, Bridget shares her experience of her grandfather’s passing, and the reflections that surfaced in the aftermath. Together, Julie and Bridget explore how our understanding of the people we love is always shaped by proximity, role, and family narrative. We unpack the idea that we never truly know a whole person; only the version revealed to us through relationship, family dynamics, and shared stories. This conversation gently examines legacy, memory, and the quiet humility required to accept that every life is larger and more complex than the slice we are given. It’s a reflection on grief, inheritance, and the ways family both connects us and limits what we can see, without needing answers, conclusions, or neat meaning-making. In this episode we discuss: - What it’s like to lose a grandparent and sit with what remains unspoken - How family stories shape who someone is allowed to be in memory - The idea that we only ever know people through our own relational lens - How different family members can hold entirely different versions of the same person - Why legacy is never the full truth of a life; just a fragment - The tension between intimacy and unknowability in close relationships - How grief can soften certainty rather than create clarity - What it means to honour someone without needing to define them - The humility of accepting partial knowing - Allowing complexity to exist without trying to resolve it Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life

You don’t need a quiet house. You don’t need a fresh journal, a candle, or the “right headspace.” In this episode, Bridget and Julie walk you through 10 gentle New Year reflection questions in real time - the kind you can answer as you listen. Sitting in the car. On the couch. With a notes app open and a half-drunk cup of tea beside you. We pause. We give you space. And then…imperfectly and honestly…we answer them ourselves, on the fly. This is not about crafting beautiful intentions or saying the “right” thing. It’s about noticing what’s actually true after a full year of living, loving, mothering, working, holding, and becoming. You’re invited to reflect alongside us - not as a student, not as someone who needs to get it together - but as a woman in motion. Let this be messy. Let it be simple. Let it meet you exactly where you are. Press play. Grab your phone or a pen. And join us in meeting the year ahead, without forcing it. Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub Reach out to Bridget for 1:1 coaching - bridgetwood.life