Exhale Acupuncture

04/09/2025

💫 The BIG Fertility Walk & Talk – Wallingford, Oxfordshire💫

Are you trying to conceive and feeling a little isolated? Why not come and join me for a gentle walk and natter along the Thames on Sunday 12th October at 10:30am. (sign up is essential to join - link in bio)

These walks, hosted by the amazing Hannah Pearn team across the UK, are designed to bring together women who are TTC and create space to connect with others who truly understand.

✨ Maybe you’re surrounded by pregnancy announcements.
✨ Maybe friends with children or well meaning family members tell you to “just relax” or “go on holiday and it will happen”
✨ Maybe you’ve pulled back from people you care about to protect yourself.

If that resonates, this walk is for you♥️

I’ll be leading the walk in Wallingford, Oxfordshire - you’re welcome to chat, ask me questions, or simply enjoy being alongside others who ‘get it’. Afterwards, we’ll head for a quick cuppa and more conversation (if you fancy it).

🗓 When: Sunday 12th October, 10:30am
🔗 Sign up: Link in comments

Hope to see you there!

Big love,
Catherine xx

16/07/2025

🗞️News Alert!!
In our overcrowded inboxes - why not make space for one more ping??

💚In Sync is a monthly letter designed to help you feel more grounded, more nourished, and yes… more in sync.

✅ If you’re navigating fertility, perimenopause, or just feeling out of rhythm with your body, this is for you.

✅ No overwhelm, no pressure, just thoughtful support

 Ready? Sign up via the link in bio 💌
Big love, Catherine xx

26/03/2025

Something I heard on the radio the other day stayed with me and I have thought about it often since...

‘I may not have held you in my arms, but I’ve held you in my heart.’ ♥️

Those words really hit deep on my drive to the clinic, sad yet comforting in equal measure 💚💔

Thank you to for sharing this ‘pause for thought’ from on March 6th. She spoke so beautifully about the coexistence of joy and sorrow on Mother’s Day - a reality for so many, especially those who have experienced pregnancy loss.

If this resonates with you, just know you’re not alone. I hold space and hope for anyone who is going to find this day a little (or a lot) more challenging. Sending love, Catherine ###.
(hear it on BBC Sounds https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kz5s0v)  

03/03/2025

✈️ What a weekend!! sharing time and space with fellow (soon to be certified) fertility coaches at the future fertility show in Dublin. 

Great to be surrounded by those who all hold the same passion for womens health and fertility - sharing and learning to help those we see in clinic optimise their chances to reach their goal of creating healthy humans🧡. 

I strive to provide a top notch service to those I treat with acupuncture and fertility mentoring💚. Continued learning and keeping up with new trends in a collaborative way is what keeps me feeling confident that I be a pivotal part of someone's path to parenting. 

We can never know everything and that is why working collaboratively and having a powerhouse 'hive-mind' team who I have strong connections with is so important to my practice  .co.uk   and  ❤️❤️❤️

27/02/2025

"They are living this life for the first time too". ❤️

These were the words spoken by a 17yr old woman I was treating. I must admit it stopped me in my tracks for the emotional maturity within this phrase and how it is so relatable to the kindness we can show to ourselves aswell as others.

I have been thinking about how we are all navigating this life for the first time—learning, stumbling, growing. There is no perfect script, not within us, not our partners, not our families, not even the doctors and specialists we turn to for support.

This is especially true on the fertility journey. Emotions are raw, the unknowns are overwhelming, and it’s easy to feel like we should be handling things better or doing more. 

But what if we offered ourselves the same grace we’d give a friend? What if we softened our expectations of ourselves and of others too?

That comment from a well-meaning relative, the friend who doesn’t fully understand, the partner who says the “wrong” thing—it’s not always about insensitivity albeit bloody annoying. Sometimes, they just don’t know what to say. They’re learning, just like we are.

So let’s take a breath and remember: We are all living this life for the first time. Be gentle and kind with yourself. Be patient with others. We’re all trying to find our way. 💛✨

If you are on your fertility journey and TTC is seeming trickier than you imagined, why not book in with me for acupuncture and a deep dive into what is happening for you? DM me with I'M READY and I will be in touch to get you booked in.

           
  
                   

02/01/2025

22/11/2024

Wow, If someone had told me a few years ago that I'd make an appearance on the podcast 'don't tell me to relax' hoted by I would have had a right giggle!!

Fast forward and here I was, I have listened to this podcast every week so to be invited on was both super scary and exciting! Today was a first for me and to do it alongside this super group of ladies who are passionate about women's health and fertility was fabulous!

Being a part of the affiliate team has been such fun and the support the entire multidisciplinary team give to each other is so valuable to both me and my clients! We really are better together ❤️❤️

08/11/2024

This is my final post to mark Fertility Awareness Week, (I'm taking the weekend off for my nephews 18th...how did he get so old??) 

I was going to talk about the benefits of acupuncture for mental health and fertility,   but after having a convo with a client about how the term 'Trying to Conceive' is not inclusive for the number of ways that people grow their family - I found myself in deep thought.  

She is absolutely right and it got me thinking about using the phrase 'trying for a baby' or even 'trying for a child' instead as that is the end goal right?  This terminology seems more inclusive.  'Trying to conceive' , may be triggering for those who suffer from recurrent implantation failures, ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages whereby conceiving is not actually the issue or where donor eggs are being used.

It has really highlighted to me the importance of how we use language and how it is interpreted. The path to Parenthood and Motherhood is so much more involved than 'TTC' and I for one am going to try to be far more mindful of this in the future as we help build awareness of fertility struggles. Big love, Catherine xx

06/11/2024

🙏 I had a conversation last week with a client and she talked about hope and that having hope is what makes us human.  I have found myself thinking about this over the last week and in yesterday's post I described the wall of protection that we so often put up in the hope that any bad situation will not hurt so much.

I have mixed feelings about the benefits of trying to prepare ourselves for the worst, because if the worst happens, all our preparation for it not hurting goes out the window and it still bloody hurts. 

So, is it better to give yourself permission to feel the hope for a positive pregnancy test? or feel the connection and love for your baby you are worried won't survive?🙏

We are all different and we need to do what is right for us in each moment....For me and what stays with me, even to this day, is that it was better to have had that hope and to have had that connection, than if I had had nothing at all.
Catherine❤️

             
     
      
          

05/11/2024

TTC can feel like an emotional rollercoaster. The anxiety, grief, wishfulness, frustration and disappointment can weigh heavily on mental health. 

The body can play tricks on you making you believe you might be pregnant and you become hyper aware of every twinge, every change in symptoms from one month to the next. 

Then over time you build the wall of protection around your heart in the hope that it won't hurt when your period comes, or the IVF cycle wasn't a success or yet another miscarriage. 💔 

I hold space for so many women who experience these emotions.  Unless a definitive cause for infertility is found, there is always hope for a successful pregnancy or perhaps a conscious decision is made for a different vision of life ahead, either way the path is not always straightforward or easy. 

I deliberately choose to not share the positive pregnancy stories on my social media as I don't want other clients to feel triggered in any way.

Please know that It’s okay to feel all the emotions, and it’s essential to give yourself permission to feel your emotions. Let’s make space to talk about the mental health impacts of fertility struggles this week. You’re not alone. ###

           
     

   
         

04/11/2024

As a fertility acupuncturist, I’ve seen how understanding fertility can bring such clarity to anyone on their fertility journey.

This week, my goal is to post every day to help raise awareness about the challenges so many face when it comes to trying to conceive.  Both the causes and the emotions attached to it are so multifaceted and often all encompassing...so this week, let's talk.

Whether you’re just starting or have been on this road for a while, you’re not alone and we really know how sh*t it can get. 

For anyone on the fence as to whether acupuncture can help them, why not book in with me for acupuncture or a free discovery call? DM me with I'M READY and I will be in touch to get you booked in. Big love, Catherine 💖

         
     
 
   
           

03/11/2024

🍁OMG who else is feeling the effects of these darker evenings?

Almost everyone I am seeing in the clinic is feeling lower in energy. 

💚This is such a natural transition as we head towards wintering and becoming yin.  We should not expect to continue as we were in the Summer season which is outward and yang in nature. 

🍂Now is a time in the season for us to embrace the change and really listen to what our bodies need.  Who needs the GUILT FREE REMINDER to get cosy, have warm baths, read lots, nap lots, keep warm (wear socks and a scarf), keep some of your diary clear to rest and have 'me time' and eat warm nourishing foods?

💛Try to conserve your Qi, this will help all the systems in your body including your immune system and may help support fertile health.