Direction Scotland

12/09/2025

Take Me to the River 🌊✨

Last night was something really special – the launch of Take Me to the River at Soul Water Sauna with Jackie and Vicky. 💫

I was lucky enough to share in a beautiful Take Me to the River Meditation, and it felt like such a blessing — a new beginning, a rise, a flow.

This incredible book is filled with inspirational stories and poems that lift you up and remind you of the power of nature, community, and creativity. 🌿💙

I left feeling so grateful, so connected, and so inspired.
👉 Go read it. Go buy it. Let it light something in you too. Check out

05/09/2025

✨ Last night on the Portugal Nature Embrace Retreat something truly special unfolded.

Poetry has been a gentle thread through our days here — offering depth, reflection, and even guiding us into meditation. Words can open doors inside us that we didn’t even know were waiting.

After dinner, each of the women gathered and, with such courage, chose a poem from ’ Wild Hope. One by one, they read aloud. Brave voices. Open hearts. It was moving to witness.

This is the beauty of retreat life — creating a space where women feel safe enough to take risks, to be vulnerable, and to find themselves more deeply aligned with their own hearts.

One poem in particular touched us all, and I’d love to share it here:

⸻

JOY (by Donna Ashworth, Wild Hope)

Joy does not arrive with a fanfare
on a red carpet strewn
with the flowers of a perfect life
joy sneaks in
as you pour a cup of coffee
watching the sun
hit your favourite tree
just right

and you usher joy away
because you are not ready for her
your house is not as it should be
for such a distinguished guest

but joy, you see
cares nothing for your messy home,
or your bank balance
or your waistline

joy is supposed to slither through
the cracks of your imperfect life
that’s how joy works

you cannot truly invite her
you can only be ready
when she appears
and hug her with meaning

because in this very moment
joy chose you.

⸻

💫 No pressure at all, but if you feel a nudge to join us for next year’s Azores Portugal Retreat, send me a message. We can have a free discovery call to see if this might be the space your heart has been waiting for.

✨

03/09/2025

What if your life was slightly easier, you stopped rushing around and your were happier? What if?

There’s a misconception that retreats are just holidays with yoga and meditations. On my retreats there is something far deeper.

My intention is to show women how they can make fundamental life changes to their tolerance, their identity and how they see themselves

A holiday often still asks us, as women, to keep serving. To cook, to clean, to organise, to hold everyone else’s needs. That role in society is so deeply woven into us—caring for children, elderly parents, friends, communities and that we often place ourselves last.

Here, on my retreats, that story changes.

🌸 The First Day in the Azores, Portugal… 🌸

We arrive, we’re welcomed with turmeric and ginger shots, we step into a luxury space held by nature, eco built with such care and attention to provide everything a retreat needs to be and more. And for once we don’t have to do it all. No shopping lists. No dinner, lunches, breakfast or even beds to make. No dishes to tidy.

Instead, we receive continuously And though receiving kindness can feel difficult, even uncomfortable initially until we realise the power it is because it is also life-changing. It’s a game-changer and game changing is why my retreats are so special, so unique.

Because when we allow ourselves to be nourished, something profound happens:
✨ We restore the energy and patience we thought we’d lost.
✨ We feel more content, more alive.
✨ And from that place, we can give again with love, not depletion.

This is why my retreats matter to you, your loves ones and the way you live your life. They’re not just for us they ripple outwards. They change the way we live, love, and lead our lives.

All activities are for all level and are all optional.

Day one, and already, the shift has begun. 💫

Be the first to find out all about our 2026 retreat dates, locations, early bird offers,
free gifts and more (no obligation to book). https://lnkd.in/e8ueaJ2u Or message me

02/09/2025

✨ 24 Hours in Lisbon ✨

There’s something truly magical about the first 24 hours together. Before we even step into the wild beauty of the Azores, we get this little adventure in Lisbon — a build-up of excitement, a spark of wonder, and a taste of joy to come. A chance to wander cobbled streets, savour pastel de nata still warm from the bakery, maybe share a glass of vinho verde at sunset, or a cheeky cocktail after a dip in the rooftop pool (Yes I did this! 🍸🧜‍♀️

It’s never about rushing from sight to sight. It’s about those first conversations over coffee, laughing at our shared quirks, and finding common threads in the most unexpected ways.

For me, it’s so important to create a space where women feel safe, seen, and celebrated — and that always comes with a touch of lightheartedness and fun especially in the first day so we can connect with people in a more relaxed way.

I know for many women, joining a retreat with strangers can feel a little nerve-wracking (I’ve been going on retreats since I was 20, so I really get it). This is why I always make sure we have this time because when we’ve strolled Lisbon together, shared a meal, or swapped travel stories, something shifts. We stop being “new faces” and start becoming our group.

It’s more than connection — it’s the beginning of friendships, the kind where you can belly laugh until your cheeks hurt, or sit quietly side by side and feel completely at ease. That’s the wonder of my retreats. The retreat itself begins in the Azores, but the magic? That starts right here. ✨

Be the first to find out all about our 2026 retreat dates, locations, early bird offers,
free gifts and more (no obligation to book). Message me or link https://mailchi.mp/direction/retreat-interest

29/08/2025

✨ Just keeping you in the loop about some adventures and fun times coming up ✨

The money raised from our sauna and one day retreats support people to access counselling who may not be able to afford.

These are all beautiful opportunities to:
• Connect with other like-minded women 💫
• Enjoy nature, movement, and stillness 🌿
• Take a little time to restore and recharge 🧡

Here’s what’s on the horizon:

• This Sunday (Portugal) – Nature Embrace Retreat 🌊

• Fri 12 Sept, 9.15am – Wild Warrior Wild Swim, Meditation + Hot Sauna (Granton)

• Fri 3 Oct, 9.15am – Wild Warrior Wild Swim, Meditation + Hot Sauna (Granton)

• Sat 4 Oct – All-day Coastal Adventure Day
• Women’s Circle ✨
• Pittemweem tidal pool swim
• Guided walk + meditations along the Fife Coastal Path (Pittemweem → Anstruther)
• Fish n chips and Cellardyke tidal pool swim 🌊
• Thurs 5–Sun 8 March 2026 – Wild Compassionate Warrior Retreat (early bird prices + easy payment plans available)

Links in bio and here-
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-warrior-women-wild-swimming-hot-sauna-embodiment-by-the-sea-tickets-1002300266077?aff=erelexpmlt

24/08/2025

20/08/2025

Sometimes Wild Warrior Women is about coastal walks, wild swims, poems, meditations, women’s circles, home baking, and those deep conversations where women feel safe, seen, and held. 🌊🍰✨

And sometimes, it’s simply about coming together in other ways — to share a meal, to be inspired, to grow. Over the past few months we’ve gathered to see Dr Rangan Chatterjee, today it was Donna Ashworth, and soon another event awaits us. These moments remind us that connection and self-growth don’t just happen in the wild places — they happen anywhere our women gather with open hearts.

It was such a joy to meet Donna today, and I’ll leave you with her words that touched us all:

“Be strong, be kind.
Listen hard, laugh lots.
Tell the truth but keep the secrets.
Take the love you shared with me and spread it out with gladness
my life will not have been in vain if you can fight the sadness
Take the love my darling it’s yours to carry on
grow that love forevermore and then I won’t be gone.” 💫

We’ve got some beautiful Wild Warrior Women gatherings coming up, and we’d love you to join us. 🌿✨ Our Portugal Nature Embrace Retreat begins on 31st August, and closer to home we have Wild Warrior Women on 12th September — with sauna, mindful compassion practice, poetry, home baking, and our women’s circle. There’s also a one-day retreat, Wild Warrior Women Go on Adventure, on Saturday 4th October.

Every single event helps raise money to support those who can least afford counselling and psychotherapy. 💛 You can find us on Eventbrite, Facebook, Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at direction.org.uk.

Here’s the Eventbrite link for our next event: Wild Warrior Women – Wild Swimming, Hot Sauna & Embodiment by the Sea 🌊🔥🌸. Link@in Instagram bio and here-

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-warrior-women-wild-swimming-hot-sauna-embodiment-by-the-sea-tickets-1002300266077?aff=erelexpmlt

10/08/2025

Not Just Sauna, Not Just Swimming – This Is Soul Work for Women

In a world where professional women often carry the weight of many roles—leader, caregiver, partner, friend—it’s rare to find space that genuinely restores, reconnects, and re-energises us.

That’s why our Wild Sauna & Sea events are different.

It’s more than a moment of wellness. It’s a powerful women’s circle by the sea, combining wild swimming, sauna, mindfulness, and soul-touching poetry. It’s a space for real connection—not just to each other, but to nature, to ourselves, and to the life we want to lead.

link here under events- https://linktr.ee/directionscotland and in our Instagram Bio

Women leave feeling safe, grounded, energised, and seen. One woman recently shared that after battling fatigue all week, she left feeling the most alive, clear, and focused she had in days—ready to return to work and family with renewed strength.

It’s not just a feel-good escape. This is deep, embodied restoration—where poetry, compassion, and presence help us realign with what matters most.

✨ All proceeds go towards providing free counselling for women in need.

Upcoming events:

• Nature Retreat in Perthshire – Sat 16th August (walk, wild swim, forest bathing, poetry)
• Sauna Circle at Portobello Beach – Thurs 21st August (evening)
• Compassion in Action: Yoga, Meditation & Wild Swim Gathering for Gaza- Fri 22nd August
• Granton Morning Sauna – Fri 12th September

03/08/2025

Wild swimming is brave. So is coaching.
And at Wild Warrior Women, we combine the two.

What looks like a cold-water dip on a Scottish beach is, in truth, something much deeper:
A space where women come to reconnect with nature, themselves, and each other — through courage, compassion, and community.

We meet in places like Portobello Beach.
We walk barefoot. We read poetry. We swim wild.
We explore themes from Buddhist psychology, mindfulness and compassion — awareness, letting go, resilience, commitment.
And we do it together, in sisterhood.

Every swim helps fund therapy for someone who otherwise couldn’t afford it.
This is what I call "pay it forward compassion."
It’s powerful, healing, and deeply human.

As a psychotherapist and mindful compassion coach for over 30 years, I’ve seen what nature — and water — can do.
I once took a man with severe depression into the sea. He’d been struggling with suicidal thoughts. That swim marked a turning point. Today, he’s alive, thriving, off antidepressants — and still swimming.

That’s the heart behind Wild Warrior Women.

It’s not about performance or perfection.
It’s about being brave enough to feel again.

🎥 Here’s a short video that captures the spirit:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4odGhGZya8
📅 Next event:
👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-warrior-women-wild-swimming-hot-sauna-embodiment-by-the-sea-tickets-1002300266077?aff=erelexpmlt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4odGhGZya8

Let’s make waves — for ourselves, and for others.