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Welcome to "No F**ks Given," where we redefine menopause as a superpower. Hosted by Holly Lamb, a women's health coach, who is navigating early menopause. This podcast offers empowering guidance on women's health and navigating perimenopause with confidence. From nutrition tips to fitness advice and mindfulness practices, we cover it all. But here's the twist: it's all about embracing your most authentic, unapologetic self. We're here to help you reclaim your power, say goodbye to societal norms, and live life on your own terms—no f**ks given. Welcome to the revolution!
Holly Lamb (00:00.832)
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the NoFoxGiven podcast with me, host Holly Lamb. This week I'm joined by Emma, who is a wellbeing coach and holistic practitioner. And she is here to share all of her wisdom with you today. Welcome to the podcast, Emma.
Emma (00:20.317)
Thanks for having me.
Holly Lamb (00:21.504)
You're so, welcome. It's lovely to have you here. I always start the podcast off by asking everybody how they got into the line of work that they do and what led you down this path.
Emma (00:34.958)
Yeah. So I started this journey about 10 years ago now. I'd had chronic back pain for quite a long time leading up to that. My back went when I was in my late 20s and I just, was in chronic pain for a lot, a lot of years. And I was kind of starting to manage that. I got into like Pilates and things like that. And I was starting to get my body back and feel more like it. And then sort of stress kicked in at work. I got busier and I realized that I'd...
was suffering from sort chronic illness. So as well as chronic pain, had one year where I had 11 weeks where I couldn't speak at all because I had such bad laryngitis. It was just recurring constantly. And they thought I had something wrong with my throat. They did loads of tests. had loads of cameras down and all sorts of stuff. And in the end, they couldn't find anything. And I got referred to a speech therapist. And she just looked at me she went, this is stress. You need to deal with your lifestyle.
Holly Lamb (01:05.144)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (01:12.942)
Wow.
Holly Lamb (01:31.288)
Wow.
Emma (01:31.446)
And it was like she slapped my face. It was so like, I was like, whoa. And at that point I had started to identify that I was stressed. So I'd had, I'd taken a few weeks before that I'd taken, because I lost my voice and I was like, right, I'm going to take a week off work and I'm just going to reset. I needed a jumper. I went to the gym every day and I just went back to like my health and wellbeing sort of bones. And I saw a poster on the wall at the gym when I was there on the treadmill one day advertising the mindfulness course.
Holly Lamb (01:34.766)
Mm.
Holly Lamb (01:40.184)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (01:54.03)
Mm.
Holly Lamb (02:00.696)
Mm.
Emma (02:00.834)
And I was like, right, I'm signing up. I didn't even think about it. I like, I am signing up. I need this. And that the teacher of the mindfulness course was a yoga teacher. And then I started going to his yoga classes every week. And I got a bit obsessed actually. was like, right, every single class I was first booked on and I was like there. And he was the one actually that then a few years later suggested to me that I should consider training to be a yoga teacher. And it's not something I've ever honestly thought about. And the first time he said it, I was like,
Holly Lamb (02:26.744)
Mm.
Holly Lamb (02:30.286)
you
Emma (02:30.68)
Well, who would want to see me teaching yoga? I'm not like the archetypal skinny, tall, blonde. I know I'm blonde, I'm not, you like I'm not the most flexible. I'm not the strongest or any of that sort of stuff. I kind of, for a couple of years, I was like, no, no, no. And then he was like, he kept saying it and he kept sort of, and I was like, actually, I'm going to start looking into this just in secret. And then I did eventually train and then that opened a whole world to me of well -being.
Holly Lamb (02:35.192)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (02:51.982)
Mm.
Emma (03:00.782)
holistic practices and that sort of led into me finding restful practices because the yoga I've been doing was like moving my body and I loved it. But then I found like yoga nidras and rest and restorative yoga. And as soon as I found those, was like, my goodness, where were these 10, like the last 10 years. And I just loved them so much. So then I trained in that, which then led me into energy healing and I started training in Reiki. Then I've
Holly Lamb (03:18.86)
Hmm.
Emma (03:28.416)
started using crystals and I changed in crystals and I just, it's kind of just snowballing, snowballing. And I trained as well as a wellbeing coach because I wanted to try and bring it all together. And it sort of all come together now in, I do this full time now. I don't have my corporate job at all anymore. So I'm just starting to build and sort of help as many people as I can really, because I know what it's like to be a stressed, overwhelmed person in pain who's not treating their body well, who is in chronic.
Holly Lamb (03:53.73)
Mmm.
Emma (03:57.134)
chronic pain, chronic fatigue and chronic illness actually for quite a few years. So I know what all that's like and I know how hard it is to make those changes but once you make the changes, your life's so much better. So I'm trying now to help us get that message out there that actually particularly rest and reducing your stress levels are so important. And particularly now we've come into perimenopause, I'm like, my goodness, thank God I've got these practices.
Holly Lamb (04:01.805)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (04:09.793)
area.
Holly Lamb (04:15.288)
Mmm.
Yes, could not agree more.
Holly Lamb (04:25.262)
Yes, yeah, 100 % because it'll kick your ass if you were still up here with the chronic stress, that would just be another level for you to deal with that you wouldn't be able to because you'd just be just too overwhelmed.
Emma (04:36.652)
Yeah. No.
Yeah, and I was then, you know, that was in my early thirties. So like, thank God I've like, have that got the two wools.
Holly Lamb (04:43.278)
you
Holly Lamb (04:46.926)
Yeah, got it now. Yeah, 100%. And it's funny that you mentioned about you didn't realize that it was chronic stress that you were in. And that's quite funny because there's some women that I've worked with who don't realize that their stress level is up here all the time and they've just come to live with it and that's their new normal. And they don't realize that, actually, if you don't bring that down and now you're in perimenopause,
it's really difficult to come back from. So it's amazing that that woman was like, no, this is stress.
Emma (05:21.001)
is
Emma (05:26.803)
Honestly, it was so, she said it to me so matter of fact as well. And I was like, it was the real wake up call that I needed though, and a particular medical professional saying it, because they don't always, sometimes they're like a bit, they kind of go around the edges, don't they? But she was so direct and I really needed to hear it. And I'd said to her, well, I've already started doing yoga. And she said, that was going to be the next thing that I said to you is you need to like start to think about that meditation or yoga or something more. And I was like,
Holly Lamb (05:36.066)
Mmm.
wish she was washing.
Holly Lamb (05:43.672)
Mm.
Emma (05:51.774)
Okay, well, I've already started to identify myself, thank goodness. And then like, I didn't really look back from that really. But you write the stress, and I'm trying to explain this to women all the time, like going through the menopause puts your body under stress. Your whole system is changing you under so much stress. Your system's like going, my God, what are you doing? Why is everything up and down? And if you're then also adding...
Holly Lamb (05:55.278)
Mmm.
Holly Lamb (05:59.416)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (06:08.434)
yeah.
Holly Lamb (06:15.854)
Mmm.
Emma (06:18.528)
life stress, work stress, family stress on top of that, just become overwhelmed and it's just, it is so hard then to calm yourself and to find that moment of peace.
Holly Lamb (06:22.082)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Holly Lamb (06:28.01)
Mm
Holly Lamb (06:31.436)
Yeah. And it's, and that's when a lot of women are, you know, turning to HRT as kind of like that stepping stone in order for them to get back on that even keel. But if you recognize it before you even get to perimenopause and you start to put these practices in place, then things like HRT are not going to be required. I mean, me personally, I was on it for a short time and it didn't...
It didn't fit for me, it didn't feel right in my body. And then that led me down the path of finding all the other tools in order to help me. And that's kind of the message that I want to get across to other women that it is possible. Yes, use it as a stepping stone to level you out and to feel better for now, but it's not a magic pill and it's not going to fix everything. And you need to put all these practices in place as well.
Emma (07:24.44)
Yeah, you need to, I think you need to responsibility for your wellbeing. That's the main thing that I think is, you know, like actually it's not something that's happening to you. Like work with it and understand it. And then you can actually start to understand your, and I'm always trying to encourage people to track their symptoms, track their cycles and, just understand what's normal for them. Because quite often someone will say to me, this bit aches. And I'm like, does it ache every single day or does it only ache some days of the month? And when you ask that question then I see them like,
Holly Lamb (07:28.942)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (07:35.192)
No.
Holly Lamb (07:44.878)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (07:51.148)
Yes.
Emma (07:54.41)
I don't know, I don't know. well, start writing it down and think about it. Because if it's only coming a few days a month, then it's probably home, but it could well be home or not necessarily, definitely. it probably, it's like one of my friends had a really bad shoulder, I was like, well, frozen shoulders, quite a common thing in perimenopause. Just be really conscious of it. When does it happen? And then she came back to me about two months later, she was like, you were right. I think it's, I think it's menopause. was like, that's okay.
Holly Lamb (07:58.252)
Mm
Holly Lamb (08:07.693)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (08:11.384)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (08:15.65)
Mm -hmm.
Holly Lamb (08:21.494)
Yeah. And it's funny, there's all these symptoms. Yeah. That you just don't realize and frozen shoulder is, is one of them funnily enough. Yeah. Really, really common. but no, just having the awareness of your body makes such a difference to your menopause journey. And that's why I'm so, I go so deep with the menstrual cycle. Even if your menstrual cycle is irregular, it's literally your inbuilt health.
Emma (08:27.768)
Really good comment. Yeah.
Holly Lamb (08:51.116)
and wellness tool. And as long as you're tracking, honoring, understanding about it, then you can use it to your advantage and use it to step into the next version of you when you go into perimenopause.
Emma (09:08.332)
Yeah, definitely. And even if you're past that and you're not having periods, track it to the moon because we're all, we're all cyclical beings. We've been sort of led down a path of not being in touch with nature and not being in touch with our cycles and the cycles of the world and the cycles of the universe. But actually, once you tap back into that, into that more feminine energy of understanding all that, actually it's really powerful. But we've been kind of told for years and years and years, no, you don't want to get involved in that. Like that's just silly stuff. And like, actually it controls the whole world.
Holly Lamb (09:10.743)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (09:29.59)
Mmm.
Holly Lamb (09:33.23)
No, I know. God no.
Emma (09:38.24)
If the moon controls the tides, how can we be so arrogant to think it doesn't control us? Exactly. I can't often say that to doubters and they're like, hmmm.
Holly Lamb (09:43.074)
Yeah, when we're made up of mostly water as well. yeah.
Yeah. I know. It's like, what women, like, if you look back in history, like women used to gather together and they had the red tents. Yeah, exactly. And they would menstruate together. And then the older crone women would put forward their wisdom to the younger women who were menstruating. And then they would become like the, like the keepers of the wisdom and the knowledge, which is what postmenopause is. But
Emma (09:57.9)
in the red tent. Yeah.
Holly Lamb (10:17.838)
Crone, the terminology has a very negative connotations with it now, whereas actually meant like powerful elder within the community.
Emma (10:24.974)
Like which did? Which came from wise woman? It was the elders of the who was actually supporting and helping and had the understanding and the wisdom to support the younger women. And yeah, it's all got twisted.
Holly Lamb (10:39.758)
course. That's another rabbit hole. Well, yeah. But yeah, and it's, think menopause will show you the areas of yourself that you're not looking after. So whether that's mind, body, spirit, whatever that, or all three, if you've not been honoring your cycle whilst you are still cycling, then yes, it will absolutely
be the guiding force to show you where you need to put in the self care.
Emma (11:10.412)
Yeah, and what I've also noticed in myself and in others is if there's some things that you've been pushing down, pushing down, pushing down, pushing down for years and years and years, it's all going to erupt out. Like, so like, I'm so grateful that I had dealt with a lot of my stuff before and it's still, you know, we've still got layers. We're very, very big onions, aren't we as humans? You know, there's loads of layers and every time you think, all right, I'm healed now, another layer comes and you're like, no, no, no. Something else was there that I'd forgotten about.
Holly Lamb (11:21.39)
100%.
Holly Lamb (11:27.938)
and
Holly Lamb (11:34.67)
I'm
Emma (11:39.864)
But if you're one of those people that have been pushing all that stuff down, it's gonna come out because it has to. You can't keep pushing it down with all the other stress and everything else that's coming up as well.
Holly Lamb (11:43.33)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (11:53.334)
Mm -hmm. And that's why I always bang on about self -care is so important and the amount of women that don't even understand what self -care means or what it is. And it's not going off for a spa day. I mean, that is self -care, but it doesn't have to be that. Yeah, exactly. That's great. If we could all do that once a week, that'd be fab. But it can just be alone time with yourself, having a coffee, having a cake, going for a walk, just little things that are going to improve your mood, basically.
Emma (12:06.668)
That's what I eat.
Emma (12:11.297)
Wonderful.
Emma (12:23.67)
I just think it's, we've been told we're not allowed to prioritize ourselves, that prioritizing yourself is selfish and that somehow that you shouldn't do it and actually you should put everybody else first. And I'm always trying to give the message that actually if you prioritize yourself and you take care of yourself and you're the best version of you, that makes your whole life and everybody around you better anyway. Because when you're tired, when you're stressed, when you're in pain, when you're not well,
Holly Lamb (12:28.012)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (12:34.477)
Mm
Holly Lamb (12:44.971)
Yeah, exactly.
Holly Lamb (12:49.973)
Mm -hmm.
Emma (12:50.826)
you're not always the best person to be around, like you can be cranky, I'm really short tempered, know, all these, whereas actually if I've taken the time for myself and I've really sort of thought about what I need and taking care of my needs, I've got so much more to give other people. And it also ripples, it, to other people in your life, because they're like, I know you're doing that, like, can you tell me a bit, what does that look like? could I do a bit of that? I've snuck in.
Holly Lamb (12:54.316)
No.
Mm
Holly Lamb (13:06.699)
Mm, yeah.
Holly Lamb (13:16.745)
Yeah.
Emma (13:18.312)
People start to think and talk and they come and ask you and it's really lovely that.
Holly Lamb (13:22.594)
Yeah, it's just starting the conversation, isn't it? And if you work on you, then that's going to improve everyone else around you as well. Because like you said, the ripple effect and it goes out. And I love the analogy of, you know, if the plane's going down and the oxygen mass comes down, what do you do first? You put yours on first in order to help other people. And it's the same with menopause.
Emma (13:24.504)
Yeah.
Emma (13:33.684)
No. No.
Emma (13:41.922)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, totally. Yeah, there's a quote that keeps coming around to me that has been really important. I've been really trying to sort of prioritise with people is if you don't, if you don't prioritise your wellness, you'll have to make space for your illness. And that is, that's always been really powerful to me because that has been my experience. If I don't take care of myself, I get run down really easily. I get ill. I'm in pain and I'm like, right, no, that's no good. I need to go back to.
Holly Lamb (14:00.564)
Yes!
Holly Lamb (14:05.624)
Mmm.
Emma (14:15.852)
Right, we need to make sure I'm eating really healthy, prioritizing my gut health, moving my body, taking rest when I need it, meditating, you know, all these, and I have all these tools, but sometimes you think even as a practitioner as you do forget sometimes, now sometimes I'll be like, actually I haven't done any self reiki this week. that's why I don't feel quite myself, right? Let's just do some reiki on myself. Let's just, like all those little tools. And I'm lucky I have loads of tools that I can use, but everybody can sit quiet for five minutes and just take some breaths.
Holly Lamb (14:41.059)
Yeah.
Emma (14:45.346)
We've all got that ability.
Holly Lamb (14:46.617)
Yeah. Hmm. 100%. And it is super simple to do these little techniques. And that's what I always focus on, like nervous system regulation, because if you are chronically stressed or just stressed in any capacity, having these nervous system regulation tools at hand, you can then bring your system back down. And the best way I've found is to do a little morning ritual so that you're preparing your body for the day.
And then if you're feeling stressed throughout the day, whatever it is, work, family, whoever, you can bring yourself back to the breath and you can bring yourself back to the present moment and the internal world rather than focusing on the external world.
Emma (15:27.438)
Absolutely. One of the loveliest compliments sometimes that people that I work with say to me is, when I do my breaths, I hear your voice in my head. I'm really sorry that all you hear is my Yorkshire accent in your head. It was like a really lovely compliment.
Holly Lamb (15:33.975)
No.
Holly Lamb (15:42.101)
It is, it's nice, isn't it? Because like in that moment they're thinking, I remember what Emma's told me and I can do this. 100%, yeah, I love that. Yeah, I mean, the nervous system regulation has been such a massive part for me and it's really helped me get to the place that I am now that I use them not as much as I used to because...
Emma (15:50.156)
Yeah, I can,
Holly Lamb (16:06.902)
I'm in such a grounded place and especially more so now that I've been tapping more into the cycle work and using that as a guide for tapping into my own intuition. Because as women, we are really connected to source our womb, know, we birth womb, we birth life into this realm, not.
Emma (16:15.48)
Thank you.
Holly Lamb (16:29.717)
not always metaphorically, you know, spiritually ideas, whatever it is, and then connecting back to that space has been a massive game changer for me, especially someone going through early menopause who isn't going to conceive and have children, but I'm able to birth ideas into this world. And I really want to connect women back to their spiritual practice, which is the menstrual cycle.
Emma (16:54.998)
Yeah, definitely. And I've found a really, I've been on a really well journey the last couple of years of just connecting back to my feminine energy, actually. And think that's a big part of it for me. It's just, I'd slipped so far into the masculine to sort of do the corporate work that I was doing. And I'd always been out like pushing myself and doing, doing, doing, doing, doing, doing, doing. And then actually over time, I've been realizing like, actually, I just needed to be, I just needed to come more into that.
Holly Lamb (17:03.182)
Hmm.
Emma (17:24.204)
being really feminine. My left side's always, I always get my injuries on the left side because my left side's been blocked for so long. Left ear's blocked, my left nostril's always blocked and I'm like, right, I need to step back into this feminine energy and just be a bit, just have that calm and be in more flow and less worried about doing, doing, doing and just being, being,
Holly Lamb (17:30.37)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (17:39.182)
Mmm.
Holly Lamb (17:43.438)
Yeah, a hundred percent, but it's, that's how this world is geared. It's not geared to women living cyclically, it's geared to men and their 24 hour cycle. So it's about doing the 1 % that you can in order for you to be able to honor your cycle, honor your menopause journey, whatever that looks like.
Emma (17:46.804)
society. Yeah, it is.
Emma (18:03.874)
Yeah, it's educating people as well, isn't it though that that's okay and it's actually important and not just women, men as well.
Holly Lamb (18:09.772)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's actually since my husband understands more about the cycle and where I'm at, because I've got a really good app called Stardust and you can have your partner on there as well. And they can check in to see like what day you were on. And it gives them a little bit of information. So he kind of understands now that if I'm a little bit irritable, I'm probably my luteal phase and I'm probably going to come on my period soon. So.
Emma (18:25.066)
nice.
Holly Lamb (18:38.606)
But he, you know, he gets that more. So having that conversation, having that understanding, and especially when going into perimenopause, having those conversations are so, so vital to keep relationships happy.
Emma (18:50.988)
Definitely. Yeah, because one of my main symptoms is brain fog. I've always been the person not just in my relationship, but in my family, in my friendship group who remembers everything. Like, so everybody always relies on, I'm a woman remember this and I literally my brain's full. I can't remember anything. And if I do remember it, I've probably remembered it wrong actually now, because it is a bit of a nightmare because I've been the wrong days, times, all sorts of things. And I've learned now I have to write everything down. It all has to be in my calendar and I'm all right.
Holly Lamb (18:55.33)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (19:01.772)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (19:09.859)
Yeah.
Emma (19:18.946)
But I used to be able to hold all that information in my head, not just for me, but for others as well. And now I'm like, no, it's not fair. It's just not fair. I literally can't do it. But if you want to know the lyrics to a 90s song, I've probably got that in there still.
Holly Lamb (19:21.772)
Yeah. Yeah.
Holly Lamb (19:27.616)
Where's it gone?
Holly Lamb (19:35.534)
Absolutely, any steps, my skills, I'm there, I can do it. But what's happening tomorrow, not a clue.
Emma (19:40.982)
No.
Holly Lamb (19:43.214)
And it's so true. And it's funny, because when I speak to, obviously, because I'm younger, when I speak to women that are my age, they like, they just don't get it. But once you're in it and you can find the humor about it, because otherwise you'll have a fucking meltdown if you don't find the humor in it. I know you've got to, 100%, because otherwise.
Emma (19:59.43)
you've got to, you've got to laugh at yourself. I went through, I turned up at the beauticians for a pedicure a few weeks ago and she looked at me and she was like, we haven't got you down. I was like, no, I booked it online. I've definitely booked it. It's at six o 'clock. She was like, she's like, let me check again. And she was like, I can't find it. I was like, I've got the email. So I got the email confirmation up and I was there on the second and I booked it for the 30th.
Holly Lamb (20:25.794)
Wow, so yeah, you were...
Emma (20:26.702)
I was nearly a month early! She was about 22 and she just looked at me and I was like, it'll come to you, don't worry. I'm sorry. It wasn't even close by, I've driven like 45 minutes away for it and I was like, my god.
Holly Lamb (20:29.326)
Can you fit me in?
Holly Lamb (20:37.098)
you okay? Like are you okay? I'm like yeah I'm fine.
Holly Lamb (20:46.99)
no. yeah, we've all done that, absolutely. But yeah, you do have to laugh in those situations otherwise. Yeah.
Emma (20:52.824)
There's nothing else you can do. that's because we're not at that high level of stress, because that's where you see women having a complete meltdown. And you do see it. I have seen it in and been in spaces where women are, I can see that it's just, they were so stressed anyway. And then something just silly, like we've just laughed about it, but it's actually quite embarrassing. It could be really embarrassing if you weren't able to, I'm sorry, I've been a bit of a knob there. just, I'll come back in a moment.
Holly Lamb (20:58.039)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (21:09.294)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (21:20.098)
Yeah, not even the day before, like a full month. A full month.
Emma (21:21.646)
No! It was four weeks, it was four weeks in a fan -signed book. I'd only booked it the day before as well, that was the worst bit.
Holly Lamb (21:30.4)
God. well, nevermind. So if women, when women working with you, if they were kind of at this like stress, this high level stress point, what kind of things are you gonna help them do in order to bring that down to a level?
Emma (21:49.132)
I normally start with breathing, really consciously breathing and really trying to come into the body. Because sometimes I find when people are really stressed, they don't feel confident to like sit and close their eyes and things, but actually we can take some breaths together and just calm the nervous system, really focus on grounding, being aware of the floor, really bringing yourself down and being aware of your body. Because a lot of the time I find that when you're up here,
Holly Lamb (21:51.0)
Mm.
Holly Lamb (21:57.133)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (22:03.662)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (22:13.293)
Hmm.
Emma (22:17.698)
You're just not, you're not in your body. You're not, you've got no idea what's going on. So starting with really just breathing, which sounds really basic, but I think it's so important because you're just not aware of it. But we've also got a lot of different techniques that you can use in with the breath that actually are so helpful to just calm you down. And I really simple that you can just take away. So I would start with breaths. If people are willing to some movement and some yoga, some gentle yoga is always really helpful. And I'm actually trained.
Holly Lamb (22:24.174)
Hmm
Holly Lamb (22:36.369)
Yeah.
Emma (22:47.094)
a Merin impulse yoga teacher, is really helpful. So bringing together all the sort of wisdom from the yoga history and all the lineage that we have and bringing that all together into actually what does that mean and how can we help with some of the symptoms. So breath is big part of that movement, but rest. So if someone feels able to, I would set them up in a restorative and either leave them to rest or.
Holly Lamb (22:49.582)
mindset.
Holly Lamb (22:53.858)
Mm
Holly Lamb (23:00.76)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (23:04.546)
Hmm.
Emma (23:13.134)
talk them through like something like a yoga nidra so that they've got my voice the whole time so that they just not because sometimes I find people they've got a really busy if they've got a busy mind they need you actually to continue talking in order for them to just Have to rest and then ten minutes in I hear them snoring. I'm like right you're alright
Holly Lamb (23:17.154)
and then.
Holly Lamb (23:25.709)
Mm -hmm.
Holly Lamb (23:29.422)
Yeah, it's restorative yoga. It's just, love it. It's just literally like just go to sleep. Yeah, it's amazing.
Emma (23:36.142)
It's magic. Yeah. But I can set myself up like that for 10 minutes if I'm tired. Like on an afternoon, like today's a really good example on a Wednesday because I teach two classes in the morning and then I teach again at like 7 .30. So I've got a big gap in between and need to, energy needs to be as high for the people in the evening as they are for the morning. So I will always set myself up and have like at least 10 minutes with my bolster or with my legs against the wall. That's my favorite, legs against the wall and just lie there for 10 minutes and be like that.
Holly Lamb (23:42.221)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (23:59.469)
Mmm.
Holly Lamb (24:02.999)
Yes.
Emma (24:07.032)
close my eyes and that's enough. like just that little bit. doesn't have to be less one. Like if someone's got an hour or two hours to come, amazing. If they've got five minutes, you can still do something that was really helpful and really grounding and restful.
Holly Lamb (24:07.23)
Nice. Yeah, and that's all you need.
Holly Lamb (24:23.64)
Yeah, and rest is so important. And that's another thing that as women, we really do struggle with. And I think you can use the power of your cycle in order to help you rest because, know, when you're in your spring and your summer, like your ovulation phase, it's amazing. And we're all high energy and all that. And then once we're heading into our autumn and our winter, winter, we have to slow down. We have to rest. have to honor that phase.
Emma (24:39.842)
Yeah, I've lots of energy.
Holly Lamb (24:51.852)
Because if we don't, by the time we then get around again to ovulation, our energy levels have just completely disappeared. And when women understand the four phases and how to honor them, it becomes such a game changer.
Emma (26:13.326)
So one of the things I quite often say to women is think about a teenager and a lot of them have teenagers so that's quite an easy one. But like think about how much a teenager rests. My 14 year old nephew is like a sloth most of the time, like you can't get him up. But that's because of the hormonal changes that their bodies are going under. Our bodies are going through an equal level of hormonal changes but do we give ourselves that amount of rest? Do we allow ourselves? No, we don't. But actually...
Holly Lamb (26:22.527)
Mmm.
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (26:30.808)
Mmm.
Holly Lamb (26:36.631)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (26:40.578)
out.
Emma (26:43.266)
That's quite a powerful metaphor for me because actually look how much sleep and rest and it's not because they're lazy, it's because they need it. And they're at an age where they'll just give themselves what they need because that's all their life and their world is based on what their needs are, isn't it, when you're that age? But when you're in your forties, it's not like that.
Holly Lamb (26:44.909)
Yes.
Holly Lamb (26:49.89)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (26:59.936)
Hello.
Yeah, I mean, we've got more things to manage, but that's such a good metaphor to use. And I love that. I'm going to take that one. That's brilliant. That's so, and it's so true. Yeah. When you think about when you were a teenager, like you'd literally go to bed at like 11 and you'd sleep till 11 or 12. It's crazy. I know. Yeah, exactly. But yeah.
Emma (27:08.866)
Yeah, I do.
Emma (27:17.196)
Yeah. And then you still get tired when you get up. And you sit still on the couch, cool a couple of hours in the afternoon. But I don't think it's because they're lazy. I think it's because they need it because of all the changes the body's going through. And I really genuinely think that's how much sleep we probably need, but we just don't have the time to do it.
Holly Lamb (27:25.143)
Yeah
Holly Lamb (27:29.749)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Holly Lamb (27:35.382)
just, yeah, and then obviously throw in like, you are tired, but then when you actually get to bed, your mind can't switch off. So then it's finding those techniques and those tools in order to be able to switch your mind off. And then that's when a lot of the meditation and especially journaling I've found in the evenings, because I practice in menstrual cycle awareness and jotting everything down daily and then journaling my thoughts is getting everything out.
before I go to sleep and then I use the day and I go through the day and I think of all the lovely things that have happened because we're very good to go to the negative as humans. But if we actually focus on the positives of what's happened that day, then we're going to sleep thinking of all the lovely things as well.
Emma (28:19.458)
Yeah. And even if you don't have much time, you can lie there and think about three things that you're grateful for that day. That doesn't take it in. You have to write them down. You could draw a picture or you can just think about it. Like just that having that gratitude in your mind as you're trying to sleep is really so lovely. And I love that because you talked about like a little ritual. Like, and you think that's really important to have these little stages of if you are struggling to sleep of
Holly Lamb (28:30.456)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (28:37.431)
Mmm.
Holly Lamb (28:40.77)
Yeah.
Emma (28:47.33)
going to bed at the same time, doing the same, know, like being really conscious of your skin. Because even if you haven't got time for self care, I'm sure you, most people put skincare on. So give yourself a little facial massage as you're doing it, or like really enjoy how lovely it smells and really try and be really present in that moment, even though it's something that you're already doing. that being that you can be mindful in tasks that you do anyway. You can be mindful when you wash up if you want to. You don't have to have new things in if you haven't got the time. I mean,
Holly Lamb (28:57.998)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (29:05.942)
Mm.
Holly Lamb (29:12.737)
Yeah, exactly, it's finding it.
Emma (29:16.812)
Wonderful if you can, but like having those little rituals and those little, that little schedule of how you do it. And if you do it the same, then your body starts and your nervous system starts to know, actually this is what I do before I relax. nice. Yeah. Put your phone away in a different room.
Holly Lamb (29:17.976)
Mm
Holly Lamb (29:31.816)
Yes. Phone away, no phone. Yes.
Emma (29:36.566)
I've started putting mine in a different room because I just, I don't want it in the room with me. It was, it doesn't help. And it, the blue light is really unhelpful for your sleep as well. So it's just like, yeah, no,
Holly Lamb (29:47.446)
Another room's good. I mean, our mind's always on aeroplane mode so that I don't get any notifications, but yeah, usually it's charging in another room unless I'm listening to something as I go off to sleep. But I try not to do that on my phone so that it's not there when you wake up. Especially if you can't sleep and then you're waking up in the middle of the night, the last thing you should do is look at your phone. Don't look at it. It's the worst thing. Yes.
Emma (30:02.414)
Mm.
Emma (30:11.714)
What I do do sometimes is I get up and I write things down. If I really have woken up and my mind is really busy, I'll get up and I'll write things down and like you're just saying like before you go to bed journaling, I will, because sometimes it's not even something bad that I'm thinking about. It's like, all of a sudden my brain decides to plan a workshop or something that I've been thinking about for months. And all of a sudden at three o 'clock in the morning, my brain's going, I've got all these ideas for this workshop. A really helpful download universe, thanks. Not telling me in the morning.
Holly Lamb (30:18.003)
Mmm.
Holly Lamb (30:28.223)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (30:36.711)
I know.
Emma (30:39.084)
So I just get up and I write it down and I'm like, right, I think I'm about to bed now.
Holly Lamb (30:41.998)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Cause that's sometimes when you get the most like intuitive nudges is when you're not expecting it. So like in the shower and stuff. have like notepads and things around that you can jot stuff down. Cause especially when, wow, yeah, exactly. Otherwise you will forget 100%. Cause using, using you like you're in an autumn and you're in a winter time. That's when you're going to start to get those intuitive downloads. And yes, you have to absolutely write them down. Otherwise they will disappear.
Emma (30:54.026)
I forget.
Holly Lamb (31:11.67)
Out of your head. See you later.
Emma (31:11.779)
Yeah. Or like, I'll post that and I'll go, I had an idea yesterday.
Holly Lamb (31:18.882)
Yeah, what was it? Like when I go shopping, I'm like, I have to literally write everything down, otherwise I'll forget. Or at least I have to write it down in the order, like I go around the shop as well. So that don't forget.
Emma (31:31.136)
When I do online shopping, so I do it on an app, so I walk around the house doing it and I still miss things and I'm long.
Holly Lamb (31:35.3)
Yeah, might just be just general.
Emma (31:41.228)
I didn't used to but I'm just like, that's fine. Yeah, and it's, yeah, there are worse things. Yeah, it's like, yeah.
Holly Lamb (31:45.366)
It's all part of the journey.
Holly Lamb (31:51.735)
Yeah, exactly. So I'd love to hear more about like the clients that you've helped and like some of the transformations and kind of where they were to where they are now.
Emma (32:07.488)
Ooh, that's a nice question. So I think a lot of the clients I work with come to me because they're either stressed or in pain. That's the two main ones that I get. And I think that's just because a lot of people are drawn to me because of my own personal journey. Like they come because they know that I understand that and that's really nice. It's just not necessarily, but it is really helpful. And that's where I tend to have the transformation of helping people to feel more confident in their bodies. So whether that's...
Holly Lamb (32:15.028)
Mm. Yeah.
Holly Lamb (32:28.974)
Mm
Emma (32:36.162)
taking rest and feeling or just actually being able to move and feel into their bodies and understand how to use their bodies in a more, I don't know what the word is, but like just engaging with their bodies really. So sometimes that movement can be really helpful because I'm really, what I like to do is like problem solve. So if they're like, I can't do this. I'm like, right, well, let's not say we can't do it. Let's find a way to make things work or to have an alternative and to do things in a slightly different way so that we can.
Holly Lamb (32:48.759)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (33:03.694)
Hmm.
Emma (33:05.154)
finds that in the body or let's just miss that bit out and do a different fit. Like it really, doesn't matter. Like this, none of these, none of these practices that I use are like right or wrong. It's all about finding your own pathway through. it's, so I find the most trust formations of people that work with me is they come back and they're like, I feel so calm. I feel so calm now. I'm like, that's nice. I'm very tired.
Holly Lamb (33:29.08)
Mmm, lovely.
Emma (33:36.16)
I feel like that's the main sort of feedback I get. I feel really calm, I feel really soothed. I'm like, yes, that's really nice. And I don't think it's necessarily that they don't have any pain, it's just that we're able to manage the pain more.
Holly Lamb (33:48.642)
Yeah. Yeah.
Emma (33:50.286)
And that's a really important element for me because I still, what, 16, 17 years on from when my back went, I still have moments of pain, but I know how to manage it. And I also am mindful so that I know what's caused it. Because most of the time it's something I've done that's caused me to be in pain. It's normally somewhere I've sat that was uncomfortable and I knew I was uncomfortable and I've just kind of sat there and like, no, it's all right.
Holly Lamb (33:57.619)
and
Holly Lamb (34:07.982)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Holly Lamb (34:19.117)
Yeah.
Emma (34:19.138)
So helping people to understand that, that actually a lot of the time, a lot of the time with pain, it's actually something that we can manage and we can live with, but in a really mindful way. We know what we're doing and what helps and what doesn't help.
Holly Lamb (34:32.738)
Mm -hmm.
Holly Lamb (34:36.224)
Yeah. And that's what it is. It's finding your own path with it. And I think that's maybe where people struggle because they're like, well, this person did this and it worked. I'm always like, but it might not work for you. And this is why, especially in menopause, it's even more vital to listen to the information.
Emma (34:40.269)
Yeah.
Emma (34:51.63)
Absolutely.
Holly Lamb (34:57.186)
take what resonates, implement what resonates and then see what works for you. Like intermittent fasting for me has done wonders, but for other women it's just like, no, it's not. Yeah.
Emma (35:06.52)
doesn't work for me because I have really low blood pressure so actually I get lightheaded and that's one of my other symptoms is I get dizzy spells. So fasting, no, I have to eat like every three hours. Like, yeah. Yeah.
Holly Lamb (35:10.808)
Yeah. Yeah, it's exactly. So it's completely different for different people. So it's taking what resonates and then using that to forge your own journey because all of our paths are going to be different because we're all here for different reasons and we all have completely different bodies and spirits. And yeah, I think that's when one -to -one coaching.
comes into its element because you can offer someone a similar thing that everybody else is doing, but then you don't see the results and you get frustrated. So that's why one -to -one for me personally is the only route if you want to really fix the issues that are happening in your body.
Emma (35:56.29)
Yeah, I know what you mean. It's difficult to do it. It is possible to do it in a group. And I've actually had some really powerful experiences within like women's circles with people in the perimenopause and the menopause talking about their experiences and what's helped them and actually just being able to bring women together and talking about it has been so powerful and actually heartbreaking and funny and you know, all the things.
Holly Lamb (36:05.218)
Hmm
Holly Lamb (36:21.454)
and
Emma (36:23.746)
But actually, I saw other women with a little light bulb going, my God, Well, I hadn't been able to articulate what I was thinking, that, you know, like, just that with strangers, it's always been with strangers. They've all not known each other before, but bringing them together and having those conversations has been so helpful for them. Because I think sometimes you feel like you're on your own and you're not like you said, you're not necessarily going through it at the same time as your friends. And even if you are, you're not having the same symptoms.
Holly Lamb (36:28.354)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (36:33.53)
Yeah
Holly Lamb (36:43.318)
Yes, massively.
Holly Lamb (36:48.172)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Emma (36:52.002)
So you feel a bit like on your own. actually being able to, even if everybody just goes, it's all different for all of us and we're all in it together, I think I found it really helpful and really powerful to enable that. But like you say, it's hard to have a very individualized conversation, but powerful to have a group, if you see what I mean.
Holly Lamb (37:11.19)
Yeah, exactly. If you're looking more for just kind of generalized support and then women coming together, women's circles, talking about what you're all going through is really powerful. But if there's like a specific thing that you really need guidance on, then that's when one...
Emma (37:24.204)
Yeah, yeah. So we feel like a specific wellbeing goal that some so like a lot of people will come to my courses, my workshops, my classes, my retreats, because they want something that they just want general, the people that come and work with me one to one is because they want something specific. And generally, was pain management, stress relief. It's sometimes diet and exercise. But generally, it is pain management and stress relief, I find. Which is
Holly Lamb (37:36.322)
Hmm.
Holly Lamb (37:40.876)
Yeah.
Holly Lamb (37:51.148)
Yeah, amazing. how, how the, well, God, yes, so, so powerful. How, how would people work with you? Like what, kind of things do you offer?
Emma (37:53.644)
How to fold.
Emma (38:04.13)
I've got quite a range. I've got a few things. I've got, I do what, if people want to work with me one to one, it's coaching or like one to one yoga or I do also offer like energy healing as well, which is one to one and we get individualized feedback and discussions around those. I've got like retreats and workshops that I do. I do, I'm doing a range of them, particularly focused on like rest and mindfulness and all those lovely.
Holly Lamb (38:34.242)
Hmm.
Emma (38:34.754)
deep healing grounding practices. And then I've also just launched actually last week, don't know if time's going so fast, I'm calling the rest and de -stress membership, which is a membership where people come together and they get, there's a portal with online, loads of online classes and information and like meditations and breathworks already recorded that can do whatever they want. They get a WhatsApp.
chat within that where everybody supports each other and I put in like daily inspiration and answer people's questions and things like that. And then we have a monthly class where we all come together online to practice restorative yoga together and everybody gets a monthly reiki healing as well as their head hits the pillow one night a month. So it's like a little membership where we all come together and it is literally focused on helping people to reduce their stress and take more rest. Because those are the two things that I just have always felt most, I do loads of other bits and bobs, but actually
Holly Lamb (39:12.686)
Hmm.
Emma (39:32.214)
rest and reducing stress are the two things that help me the most in my life and I have been really mindful and taking those times for myself is just so powerful and I just see so many women around me that I'm like, please just rest, please just take some time for you and that's so that I felt really drawn to just supporting them in that way.
Holly Lamb (39:45.793)
Aww, yeah.
Holly Lamb (39:51.63)
Yeah. that all just sounds beautiful. The membership sounds amazing in just a lovely restful place, which is what we need when we're going through menopause. 100%. Amazing. So you're on Instagram. What's your Instagram handle?
Emma (40:01.09)
Definitely.
Emma (40:07.074)
Wellbeing .with .Emma.
Holly Lamb (40:09.656)
Lovely, and I'll share all of the information in the show notes so people can connect with you and can reach out if they want to work with you, check out your membership and just have a chat.
Emma (40:21.41)
Yeah, I was like people ask me random questions and I love it. Yeah, definitely.
Holly Lamb (40:24.96)
Yeah, have a chat, why not? Amazing. Well, thank you so much, Emma, for joining. It's been fabulous speaking to you.
Emma (40:33.25)
Thank you, really enjoyed it, it's been a really interesting chat.
Holly Lamb (40:35.976)
thanks, Emma. And that's it for this week and we will see you all next week.
It's just.