Phlox Postpartum

Phlox Postpartum As your Postpartum Doula, I am here to ensure you feel supported, respected and rested in your postpartum period.

In motherhood, a narrow window of tolerance means your nervous system has a reduced capacity for daily stress. When push...
22/05/2026

In motherhood, a narrow window of tolerance means your nervous system has a reduced capacity for daily stress.

When pushed outside of this optimal zone, you can quickly tip into hyperarousal (fight-or-flight) or hypoarousal (freeze-or-shutdown), making everyday parenting challenges feel completely insurmountable.

đź’¨ Hyperarousal (Fight or Flight)
When your nervous system goes into overdrive, even minor inconveniences trigger an immediate, high-stress reaction

For some, this might look like:
đź“ŤQuick to Snap: Feeling intense frustration, rage, or irritation over minor things, such as a spilled drink or a whining child.
đź“ŤPhysical Tension: Clenched jaw, grinding teeth, shallow breathing, or a rapidly beating heart.
đź“ŤRacing Thoughts: An endless to-do list, chronic worrying, and difficulty shutting off your brain even when you have a moment of quiet.
📍Hypervigilance: Constantly scanning your child’s mood or the environment in a state of high alert, unable to relax.

đź«©Hypoarousal (Freeze or Shutdown)
For some, when your nervous system becomes so overloaded that it cannot fight or flee, it may conserve energy by shutting down

This could include:
đź”’Emotional Numbness: Going through the motions of parenting but feeling emotionally detached or unable to access warmth and connection.
🔒Brain Fog: Struggling to make simple decisions, forgetting words, or feeling “spaced out”.
đź”’Extreme Fatigue: A profound, leaden exhaustion that sleep does not seem to fix, often accompanied by a total lack of motivation.
đź”’Zoning Out: Escaping by scrolling on your phone or physically withdrawing from your responsibilities

❤️‍🔥The pathway to widening your window of tolerance can include asking for support, lowering the bar of expectation or adding micro-resets into your day.

❤️‍🔥In The Phlox Pocket Pause, a free WhatsApp Community, you will receive free mini breath practices and nervous system regulation tools to support you to widen your window of tolerance.

👉🏼Join via the link in my bio. I would love to see you there.

Just a Mum of two, making little decisions to slow down the pace of life for herself and her family 🫶Join me in the move...
18/05/2026

Just a Mum of two, making little decisions to slow down the pace of life for herself and her family 🫶

Join me in the movement đź’«





15/05/2026

A practice for you. A place to start.

Interoceptive awareness is the ability to notice, interpret, and regulate physiological signals originating from inside the body, such as heartbeat, respiration, hunger, and discomfort. It is foundational for managing physical needs, experiencing emotions, and maintaining overall well-being.

How connected are you to your body? This is the ideal place to start when considering how to reconnect to who we truly are.





A personal reflection.I have just spent 3 months in a Mother Energetics container with my teacher here is my biggest ta...
13/05/2026

A personal reflection.

I have just spent 3 months in a Mother Energetics container with my teacher here is my biggest takeaway…

This pace of life as a Modern Mother is not sustainable for my nervous system, and my guess is, it’s not sustainable for you either.

This pace is making my body feel like I am constantly under threat. It is Urgency Culture, taking over my true nature.

We live in a culture that rewards doing and urgency. We attach our self worth to output (often without realising it).

Underpinning this attachment to urgency culture is fear. Fear of not being enough, not doing enough, being perceived as not meeting expectations or doing less than.

Over time, our nervous system adapts to this pace and we live in a fight or flight response mode without even realising it. A constant loop of rushing and urgency with no opportunity to bring ourselves back into a regulated and safe internal landscape.

Working with Mums, encouraging them to rest while I am in their homes, I hear this all the time “I can’t rest during the day” or “My body doesn’t like being still”. I feel it too. This is a learned state, your body doesn’t feel safe in rest.

Unlearning urgency culture is a practice. We have to remind our bodies of our true nature and relearn that slow and still is safe.

Swipe through for the 3 ways I am practicing slowing down the pace of my life.

Hi, I’m Ashley and I am here to support you to tend to your nervous system and open up the capacity to choose a different kind of joy.

join me .postpartum

We do live in a wild world. This list just scratches the beginning of what’s normalised but not normal. What else would ...
11/05/2026

We do live in a wild world.

This list just scratches the beginning of what’s normalised but not normal.

What else would you add?




This can be a really challenging truth to experience. The feeling of overwhelm can be so powerful it also brings in feel...
06/05/2026

This can be a really challenging truth to experience. The feeling of overwhelm can be so powerful it also brings in feelings of guilt for how you’re coping & what you have capacity for.

You’re not broken. You’re experiencing a very real Motherhood paradox.



The pathway back to feeling ourselves. It’s different for everyone. You might feel like it’s been so long since you felt...
29/04/2026

The pathway back to feeling ourselves. It’s different for everyone.

You might feel like it’s been so long since you felt good or felt like yourself, where could you possibly begin?

Quite simply, don’t start with an overhaul. It’s micro steps. One small action, one small choice, done daily, to build a habit. Slowly adding things over time.

It’s a change in pace.
It’s a change in expectations.
It’s looking within.

Ready to begin?



Caesarean Awareness Month Some thoughts from a Mama who’s experienced vaginal and caesarean births.People are often surp...
16/04/2026

Caesarean Awareness Month

Some thoughts from a Mama who’s experienced vaginal and caesarean births.

People are often surprised when I share that my second birth was an elective caesarean, after a really positive & powerful vaginal birth of my first baby.

My second babe was breech, and it was 2020, with lockdowns in full swing. The staff at RPA were incredible in discussing options for this birth and the choice was mine to proceed with a caesarean. When I went into spontaneous labour a few days earlier than the planned birth, I was given the option to try to proceed with a vaginal birth, which I appreciated so much.

The whole process was so calm. Minimal chatter from the team, lots of supportive words and acknowledgment of how I was feeling. We were able to experience immediate skin to skin and delayed cord clamping.

Having experienced both, and having a positive experience both times, I know the power of choices, being seen and supported and acknowledged each time is where the power lies.

My hope in sharing a snippet of my experience is to show it can be positive. To encourage you to seek support, ask questions, ensure your team see you and give you options.

I know not every situation lends its self to having time to make the choices you want to make & that can be really hard.

If you’re facing a caesarean birth I encourage you to think about what will make it positive for you and to share that with your support team.

Some ideas:

🤍 Ask for your special playlist to be on
🤍 Request minimal chatter from staff and positive affirmations only to you
🤍 If possible, pop your gown on backwards so you can experience skin to skin as soon as possible
🤍 Can the staff pop a warm blanket on your chest so it’s nice and warm for baby when they join you
🤍 You can ask the staff to delay any routine checks and vaccinations until you’ve had a chance to have skin to skin with your baby
🤍 If you and your baby need to be separated, you can request your partner goes with baby while you go into recovery. In this case, have your partner prepared to receive skin to skin with baby while they wait for you. 🤍 🤍 🤍 CONTINUED IN COMMENTS…

I find it hard to articulate exactly what it is that I do, beyond the household maintenance, newborn support and emotion...
19/03/2026

I find it hard to articulate exactly what it is that I do, beyond the household maintenance, newborn support and emotional care that comes with Postpartum Doula work.

This beautiful message from a client sums it up pretty well.

I count my lucky stars with every postpartum family I walk the journey with. It’s an absolute privilege to be welcomed into their newborn bubble & support this tender time.

Thinking about postpartum support? Stay chatting to local doulas and find someone who you connect with. It’s such valuable support & allows you a little more magic with your newborn babe.



Sometimes it’s foot soaks, deep conversations and facilitating sleep. Then there are the days that Mums just need someon...
21/01/2026

Sometimes it’s foot soaks, deep conversations and facilitating sleep. Then there are the days that Mums just need someone to snap their fingers and support the pulling back together of the home.

It’s always a pleasure to be able to do this ✨✨

Pregnant? I’m currently fully booked until May 2026, if you’re looking for postpartum support and would like a no obligation chat, pop me a DM, I’d love to hear from you ❤️





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