The Mindful Living Academy

05/03/2025

When I was a vet in practice, the only time I truly switched off was during a long weekend.

With a two-day weekend, I’d finally relax by Saturday evening, only for Monday’s worry to creep in by Sunday afternoon.

I couldn’t switch off because I’d trained my brain to always be on.

I was constantly thinking about what might come through the door next, how I’d handle it, and which senior vet I could turn to if I needed help.

And just like slowing a car from 70mph, it takes time to slow down a racing brain.

I thought staying “on” made me ready for anything. But in reality, my brain never got to rest (hello, burnout 🙋‍♀️).

What I didn’t realise? Just like you wouldn’t speed through a quiet neighbourhood at 70mph, not everything in life benefits from being done fast.

😬 Rushing through consults meant missing things and making clients repeat themselves.
😵‍💫 Speeding through notes led to mistakes and wasted time fixing them.
😫 My fear of errors had me double-checking things I already knew were fine.

All that speed wasn’t helping. Yes, some moments in practice demand urgency (like that patient crashing under GA), but more often, I’d have benefited from slowing down and being more deliberate.

That’s what mindfulness has given me.

I don’t work in practice anymore (I’m a mindfulness coach and a veterinary education lecturer now), but learning to control my speed—choosing when to go fast and when to slow down—has changed everything:
🛀 I relax within 10 minutes of getting home instead of lying awake replaying the day.
💪 I’m more productive at work because I spend less time double-checking or fixing mistakes.
🕰️ I finish on time more often, so I actually enjoy my evenings guilt-free.
It’s created a cycle where I’m more focused, relaxed, and less overwhelmed—both at work and at home.

🥰 This is why I became a mindfulness coach.

I know how hard it is to slow down when you’re used to full speed all the time. And I know how much life changes when you learn to do it.

But here’s the thing: you wouldn’t say you know how to do surgery just because you read about it in a textbook.

You learn by doing it—by practising, making adjustments, and experiencing it firsthand.

Mindfulness is the same 😜

You can read about switching off. You can tell yourself to slow down. But until you experience what it actually feels like to unwind properly—without the Sunday scaries creeping in—you won’t know how to make it stick.

That’s what this retreat is for.
✨ Experience slowing down without guilt.
✨ Learn how to reset your brain quickly, so you don’t need a whole weekend to recover.
✨ Get a personalised plan so you can actually keep it going at home.

This isn’t just a weekend away - it’s the first step to feeling lighter, calmer, and more in control.

If you've ever thought you like the idea of mindfulness, but can't make it work for you - I'd love it if you joined us.

Head to my website for details and to book

Are you a hard-working perfectionist that's heard about mindfulness and wants to experience it for yourself? Maybe you know the benefits of meditating but can’t make it work for you? Or maybe you're already a fan of mindfulness and you're now keen to make it part of your life, ALL THE TIME? If so,...

09/12/2024

UPDATE: FULLY BOOKED, waitlist only.

Super excited to be hosting a Christmas workshop at Physio Flow Studio, come along to chat about enjoying more of Christmas-time with mindfulness 🥰

09/09/2024

Does anyone here still use Facebook?!

I'm doing all my writing over on Substack now

It's THE NICEST social media platform ever 🥰

If you're fed up of feeling "eurgh" when you realise you've lost an hour of your life to doom scrolling, but still want something to read in your spare 5 mins, come on over 🙏

Link in comments ❤

Ps. Photo from a BANGING wedding on the weekend.

Old Me would never have had the confidence to wear this. Let alone pose in it.

Mindful Me felt like fire 🔥🔥🔥

12/07/2024

Today I'm going on a 48 hour silent retreat.

Yup, totally silent.
Nothing to do except
- 3 meals a day
- meditate
- sleep

And 1 hour of talking to a mentor once a day.

I used to think silent retreats sounded like a form of torture.

Why sit with my own thoughts for any length of time, let alone for days?!

I knew what’d they’d say.

“This is stupid”.

“Why can’t I just talk to someone”

“God I’m pathetic it’s been 5 minutes”

“What is wrong with me?!”

“There’s nothing wrong with me, this is hard.”

“This is stupid.”

But that was 8 years ago.

Turns out people can change.

You CAN train your brain to go more slowly.

You CAN learn to turn off the internal monologue.

You CAN become that calm and peaceful person.

Even if it feels a million miles away right now 🙏

So while going on retreat right before my podcast isn’t ideal, (I like to be around to answer questions etc), it’s ended up this way.

And I hope it’s an example of how much you can change

If slowing down your mind IS something you want to do, I really hope you sign up to the SOAR podcast next week - details via the link in my bio.

I’m signing out for the weekend.

Any questions - I might get to them Sunday evening, but in all honesty, I might not.

But I WILL reply, when I get back to working on Monday.

And I’ll be a better coach, mum, wife, friend, colleague, for having taken this time totally for myself.

And I’d like to remind you to do the same - take some time for you, away from work this weekend. I promise the world won’t end.

Sending you all lots of love,

Lucy x

08/07/2024

OR for those of you that want to experience it for yourself (why read a book about swimming when you could jump in the sea and learn first hand?), come to one of my Mindful Living Retreats.

48 hours to switch-off AND the strategies to carry the feeling into your life.

Plus my MINDFUL ™ system that will get you enjoying the little moments in life, before any more time whizzes by.

Dates and booking for both via the link in my bio.

05/06/2024

Hi lovely people 👋

I want to drop a little intro here incase you've stumbled across my corner of the Internet 🤗

If you don't know me, hiiii, I'm Lucy, a veterinary surgeon turned mindfulness coach 🩺🧘‍♀️

I didn't think mindfulness worked for people like me

People with real jobs, with real causes of stress (make a mistake as a vet and an animal might die…)

And then I read a load of scientific papers on how meditation and mindfulness could change your life

I gave it a go

And nothing changed 🤦‍♀️

Maybe you've experienced that too?!

Maybe you’ve tried meditating but you can't understand how that helps you to be more focused, or to fly through your to-do list in half the time and enjoy doing the washing up 🤷‍♀️

Well I kept meditating (stubbornly) for almost 2 years, determined that I'd see the differences I'd read about in scientific studies

But nothing changed until I went on a retreat and actually *experienced* living mindfully

I realised it was possible to look forward to my day, even if I was fully booked from 9am-7pm

That I could go to bed feeling proud of myself every day, even if my boss told me something I could improve on (sandwiched between ten positive things that Old Me wouldn't have heard)

I realised I could learn to stop overthinking every.single.little.decision and that it wouldn't result in a minor (or major) catastrophe (and spoiler alert - it actually made them less likely 🤯)

But while I learnt a lot on those retreats, I could never make the feeling last for more than a few days once I got home

Which is why I set up The Mindful Living Academy

To teach other hard-working perfectionists actually HOW to live mindfully, day in, day out, so you enjoy the wonderful life you've built for yourself

And how to do it in less than 10 minutes a day (I know you're busy)

Now social media isn't really my thing any more

But I send emails once or twice a week covering topics like how to be switch off as soon as you finish work and enjoying your evenings without guilt about your work inbox.

If that's something you want in your life, head to the link in my bio and sign up RIGHT NOW before you forget 😉

I look forward to seeing you there 🥰

29/04/2024

Missing regular mindfulness posts? Want more inspiration on how to enjoy more of life?

I might be quiet here, but check out my blog via the link in my bio 🥳

Sign up to mailing list to get the next one direct to your inbox 🥰

11/03/2024

Popping back here to say that I won’t be returning 😮

At least not in the way I was before

See since not being on social media, I’ve noticed three things

📚 I have much more free time to do stuff I actually enjoy, like reading and writing
🥰 I’m much kinder to myself, now I’m not (virtually) surrounded by unrealistic expectations that encourage us to set impossibly high standards for ourselves
🎉 As a result of the above, I’m much happier

Sometimes you can’t realise how much something is affecting you, until it’s not

A bit like when you take off a slightly too-tight pair of jeans at the end of the day and slip into some pjs; it suddenly feels SO much better

I knew that social media could be a time-drain and that I had to be careful to not compare myself to other people here

But I also enjoyed various aspects too; the conversations, the genuinely inspirational people I follow, seeing photos of friends

Maybe you resonate?

For me, now I’ve seen life without social media, I know I’ll be a better mum, wife, friend, coach if I don’t return

Which created a problem

See if I didn’t have a business, that would be it, I’d leave social media 🤷‍♀️

But it’s the main way I meet new clients…

My mind started telling me I “couldn’t” leave 🤪

But I don’t want to go back to wearing that too tight pair of jeans

I’ve been researching and speaking to other coach friends and I’m going to try something different

It’s SCARY

But, as I’ve said so many times before, mindfulness lets me trust myself, even when I don’t have all the answers

So before I go, two prompts for you

1️⃣ HONESTLY how does social media make you feel?

Is it serving you? Is it how you want to spend your time and energy? If yes, great! If no, why are you still here?

2️⃣ If you’ve enjoyed my content, found it helpful and want to continue hearing from me, head to the link in my bio and join my mailing list 🔥

And if you're interested in coaching - send me an email!

That’s it folks!

A MASSIVE thank you for all the lovely conversations I've had with people here

I hope they’ve helped bring a bit more mindfulness, and with it a bit more joy, into your life 🙏

Please do keep in touch 🥰

15/12/2023

[Lucy's Life Lessons] Why I'm taking 3 months off

Lovely people, I am SO excited for this!

See I have about 10 posts ready to go on how to enjoy Christmas despite an overwhelming to-do list, how to sit back and release the perfectionism when you want a day to go well...

And I even wrote a whole free masterclass on finding happiness, with advert slides and everything

And I haven't been posting them 🤷‍♀️

Why?

Initially I told myself I didn't want to get overwhelmed

But in all honesty, I've been busier than this before

So I asked myself some hard questions

Because sometimes the reason we give for doing (or not doing) something is actually just an easy answer

We say we don't have the time, or we can't afford it, but actually we just don't want to

(How often have you told a friend you were busy because you wanted a quiet night? Or said you couldn't afford something because you'd rather put the money towards a night away?)

It can be uncomfortable to recognise the real reason behind something

Just like it can be uncomfortable saying to a friend "I'm really sorry, I don't want to go out tonight" (although side note, with practise it gets easier - I now rarely find this difficult)

And I realised, that being busy wasn't the real reason for me not posting - I actually just want a break 🤷‍♀️

I started coaching again when Matilda was just 5 weeks old and that was the right thing at that time for me

And taking 3 months off, is the right thing for me now

Doing "what's right" doesn't always make sense, and definitely isn't always easy

But I know that taking the time to rest, have unlimited time with my children and use my free time for me (rather than for coaching), will be better in the long run

And mindfulness let's me BELIEVE that, genuinely, rather than knowing it's true but not having the courage to actually follow through

So a reminder before I leave you for a few months

Where do you know something to be true deep down, but you're saying an alternative answer because it's easier?

And where do you know you need to make a change, but you're not trusting yourself to do so?

Sending you all lots of love and I hope you have a truely magical Christmas x

08/12/2023

5 signs you're not enjoying Christmas as much as you could be

1.The "fun stuff" just feels like a massive to-do list
I like to-do lists. They're useful. But when things that should be fun feel like things that need to be ticked off, something's a bit off

2. You're overwhelmed
There's too much to think about. Buying the presents. Thinking what to buy before you can buy them. Wrapping the presents. All the cards. The tree. Seeing all the people you only see once a year. Going to the Christmas Markets. Making the Christmas cake... So. Much. Stuff.

3. You're craving time on your own.
See above. You feel like the only way to "reset" is 24 hours on your own. Or a week tbh, but let's be realistic here

4. You're stressed about when to decorate the tree
Isn't decorating the tree one of the best bits of Christmas? If you're stressing about doing it, rather than looking forward to it, that's a massive sign you’re not enjoying the festivities that are supposed to make you feel good

5. You're looking forward to January so you can chill
And it's not that you don't love Christmas, it's just that it's a lot.
..

I have had SO many conversations with people in the last week saying the above things

This is your reminder to slow down, put boundaries in place and create a Christmas that feels good for you 🥰

Sending you all lots of love xx

24/11/2023

And I NEED to shout about this, because it’s ultimately what made me quit veterinary practice feeling like a failure, and it’s something I see in so many of my clients

They set the bar so high, they end up thinking “maybe I’m just not cut out for this”

And that's despite the fact many of my clients have worked their whole life to get to where they are now

And anyone else would say they were good at what they do 🤯

When we work together, we discuss how they’re wearing a giant pair of “I’m not good enough” glasses and they see everything through that perspective 🤓

Just like if you wore a pair of red tinted glasses, everything would look red

So even when they perform well, all they see is the small thing they could have improved 😓

The amazing thing about those pair of “I’m not good enough” glasses is that, just like the red-tinted ones, you can take them off.

And when you do, my clients start to genuinely and honestly see the areas they ARE good at

And because we’re not taking them off and replacing them with a pair that says “I’m amazing at everything”, they can honestly see the areas they need to improve too

If you’re fed up of waiting for the day you can do everything to feel like you’re good enough (ie. never), I promise there’s a better way.

And if you want support to make it happen, there's an amazing 50% off my one-to-one MINDSET coaching this week only 🔥

Want to know if it's for you? Send me a DM and we'll book in a free call to chat 💛

23/11/2023

When I first LIVED mindfully, I thought life had changed forever. And then it all came crashing down
 
I'd been meditating almost daily for 2 years but not a lot had changed

So I went on a mindfulness retreat
 
Five days later, I remember working a full weekend as a vet, seeing an emergency case I'd never seen before and staying SO DAMN CALM
 
Old Me would have been paralysed by indecision and panic. Not this new Mindful Me
 
I remember pausing to focusing on the present moment whenever it felt overwhelming and this feeling of "oh my god, this is so hard but I'm doing it! Finally!"
 
And then Monday morning, the feeling left me
 
And I could not for the life of me, get it back
 
The head nurse found me with my hands on my knees crying in the pharmacy as I struggled to work out the dose of an essential medication for an in-patient
 
I had less than 2 minutes to do so because my first appointment was due to start and the more I tried to focus on being calm, the more stressed I got
 
Over the next 2 years, I went on EIGHT of those mindfulness retreats

Exactly the same one, with the same workshops and the same meditations and even the same jokes. Each time it felt pressing a reset button.
 
And each time, after a few days or a week at most, the feeling would leave. And I'd have to work out how to get it back on my own
 
That's one of the reasons I set up The Mindful Living Academy

To teach you how to LIVE mindfully and give you the processes to make this part of your life all the time, not just for a few days (or hours) after a retreat or workshop
 
My MINDSET clients work with me for 12 whole weeks, which means when they finish, they often describe feeling like a totally different person
 
While in my workshops and TOOLKITs I'm giving you the tools to take mindfulness into your life, in MINDSET we're making it part of you
 
It's like the difference between going on a cookery course and learning some recipes versus being a highly trained chef who can create whatever dishes they want

And for Black Friday week it's got a massive 50% off

If you're ready to be the best version of you, send me a DM to book a free call and see if it's right for you xx