Simply Soulful

23/02/2026

A space has opened up this Saturday at 12pm in Ballinameen 🌿

If you’ve been feeling like your system could do with a reset, I’m available for a one-to-one session - either Reiki or a Restorative Breathwork session.

You can book easily through the link in my bio (Calendly), or send me a DM if you’d like to check which would feel right for you.

23/02/2026

You know the simple nervous system things people suggest - name five things you can see, make your exhale longer than your inhale, feel your feet on the ground?

I’ve taught and shared these practices for years, and lately I’m appreciating them on a whole new level. When you’re properly worn out, it’s easy to assume the answer has to be something bigger. Something that feels like it matches the level of exhaustion.

But I’m noticing now that the body doesn’t need a big plan. It needs a signal. Something direct that says - you’re here. You’re in this moment. Nothing is chasing you. You can stop bracing for a minute.

Even something as simple as sitting with a warm cup in your hands can do that.

So if you’re feeling flat, wired, foggy, tired in that deep way, here are a few simple things that genuinely help. Nothing fancy, nothing you have to do perfectly:
• Look around and name five ordinary things you can see.
• Put both feet on the floor and press them down gently, then release.
• Breathe in normally, and let the out-breath be longer. Do a few of those.
• A low hum on the exhale, even just for a minute.
• Sit back in your chair and let it properly hold you for a minute.

Pick one. That’s enough for today.

I’m finding that the smallest things don’t feel “small” to the body. They’re little cues that add up. Little moments where you stop pushing and come back to yourself, even for 30 seconds.

And maybe that’s how it starts, not with a big overhaul, just with a few quiet signals… repeated. Telling your body it’s safe now…

22/02/2026

We’ve been taught that discomfort equals growth.

Push past your comfort zone. Do the hard thing. Feel the fear and do it anyway. If you’re uncomfortable, it must mean you’re expanding.

And sometimes that’s true.

But lately I’ve been asking a different question - is it fear… or is it overstimulation?

Because they can feel similar at first. Resistance, tightness, the urge to pull back. But they don’t need the same response.

Fear usually has a story attached to it - what if I get it wrong, what will they think, what if I fail.

Overstimulation is different. Sometimes it’s just your nervous system knowing the cost - this is going to take more out of me than I have today, I’ll need recovery time, I’m already at capacity.

Hustle culture doesn’t differentiate between the two. It assumes every “no” is avoidance.

For a sensitive nervous system, sometimes “no” is wisdom. Sometimes it isn’t fear at all. It’s information.

I wrote more about this in my latest Substack - Is It Fear, Or Is It Overstimulation? Link in bio. Photo by Matthew Stephenson

capacitymatters

19/02/2026

I have this funny habit. I’ll see a new organising app and I’m instantly intrigued, like a magpie - oh, shiny - and for a moment I’m convinced it’s going to bring order to my whole life. But then I open it and there’s the setup, and I can feel my system go, nope. Delete. Lists, tags, categories, routines… and I realise the tool that’s meant to create peace is asking me to work harder just to feel okay.

And that’s the bit I’m sitting with. I don’t think what I’m really looking for is a better system. I think I’m looking for a feeling - calm, clarity, a sense of being anchored in myself. When life feels full, control can look like comfort. But presence is a different kind of comfort, and it doesn’t require an app. It might look like three simple reminders on my phone, a cup of tea before I open messages, a few slow breaths before I move into the next thing. Small, human structure. The kind that helps me come back to myself, not manage myself.

I’d love to know - what’s one simple thing that helps you feel more anchored in your day?

16/02/2026

Today I was thinking about burnout and low battery.

About how a phone doesn’t panic when it’s running low. It switches into power saving mode.

It closes background apps, dims the brightness and stops running what isn’t essential. It protects the core functions so it can keep going.

So many women I speak to are running with every tab open.

Mothering. Caring. Working. Holding the emotional load. Planning ahead. Remembering everything.

No wonder we feel drained.

What if we treated ourselves like we treat our phones?

What if, instead of pushing through at 10%, we switched modes at 30%?

Power saving mode in real life might look like:
• Closing the mental tabs you don’t need today
• Dimming the brightness - fewer commitments, less input
• Turning off notifications - not replying instantly
• Putting a time limit on high-drain situations
• Protecting the basics - food, sleep, quiet, the simple things that help you feel okay again

Power saving mode isn’t weakness. It’s how you prevent full shutdown. If you’re feeling stretched thin this week, maybe it’s time to dim the brightness.

15/02/2026

I have a lot of excess stock at the moment that I need to sell in order to make room in Ola Gan Ora HQ!
If you want to grab a bargain I willbe posting all products on Wednesday 18th from 9am onwards, it will be while stock lasts so if you want something please comment on the photo & I'll keep it for you. All items can be collected but if you want items posted there is a flat rate of €6.
I will have soaps, room sprays, body oils, perfumes and foaming sugar scrubs for sale, all 1/2 price.

10/02/2026

I have a highly sensitive nervous system, so I’ve had to find my own way with self-care.

A lot of what’s usually suggested just doesn’t land for me, even when it’s well meant.

There are times when I’m still in transition - moving from sleep to wakefulness, from one part of the day to another, from noise to quiet. Going straight into journaling or silence can feel like too much, too soon.

For a long time, I thought that meant I wasn’t doing it properly.

What I see now is that some advice assumes you can go inward on demand. My system doesn’t always work like that.

Sometimes journaling sends me into my head.
Sometimes silence feels sharp rather than soothing.
Sometimes the “right” practice just adds strain.

So I don’t push through anymore. If my body tightens, I listen.

These days I keep it simple. I ground first, and go deeper when I feel more resourced. Warmth, repetition, gentleness.

I still live a spiritual life. It just doesn’t follow the template.

07/02/2026

A small truth from my own life - I teach meditation and offer Reiki, and I still get overstimulated.

For me, that isn’t a contradiction. It’s part of living with a sensitive nervous system.

Meditation isn’t about being calm all the time.
It’s about becoming familiar with your own inner weather, and learning what helps you return.

Sometimes the practice isn’t “relax.”
Sometimes the practice is “reduce input.”

Sometimes the most supportive thing you can do isn’t another technique. It’s fewer demands, less noise, softer light, food, water, and permission to land.

If you’re someone who finds traditional meditation advice frustrating, you’re not alone. A sensitive nervous system often needs a gentler entry point - something that actually feels doable.

If you have a sensitive nervous system, here are three gentle ways in:
• Eyes-open meditation - soften your gaze on one point for 60 seconds
• Sound anchor - rain/brown noise and simply return to listening
• 6 longer exhales - in 4, out 6

If you want more like this, comment MORE and I’ll share another little list.

02/02/2026

SECOND CHANCE SUNDAY

If you’ve ever been told to “send them to calm down” and it didn’t sit right with you — this is why.
Children don’t learn regulation through isolation. They learn it through connection. Through an adult who stays close, steady, and calm enough for them to borrow that calm until their own nervous system can catch up. This isn’t about spoiling or rescuing. It’s about building the brain skills that make self-regulation possible.

01/02/2026