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Embodied Menopause out now

Embodied Menopause front cover

Order your copy of Embodied Menopause now

Reviews:

“All menopausal and peri-menopausal beings, and those who live and work with us, should read this book. Sharing a cyclical, non-linear and deeply embodied approach to this major life transition, Embodied Menopause is a breath of fresh air in the stifling chambers of mainstream approaches to menopause. Charlotte and Leo’s book is a welcome call for self-compassion and body-literate wisdom as we navigate the magnificent opportunity for evolution that is Menopause.”
Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, author and yoga therapist

“Part science, part sanctuary. While the world tells you to push through or stay forever young, this warm, inclusive book offers a radical third path, one grounded in a profound understanding of the body, that meets you exactly where you are and walks you into transformation.”
Kate Codrington, author and menopause mentor

“If you have a gut feeling that menopause is more than a disease process, this book is for you. Charlotte and Leo offer much-needed support for women navigating menopause. Use this book as a guide, a map for your journey of maturation and healing through an embodied menopause.
Jane Hardwicke Collings, author, teacher and menopause educator

“A compassionate and deeply insightful guide by two knowledgeable and gifted practitioners. Blending science, somatics, and accessible practices, it offers both an invitational roadmap through the menopause and a springboard for self-exploration. I only wish I’d had a resource like this during my own menopause transition.
Liz Oppedijk, Accessible Yoga Teacher and yoga therapist, lecturer

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Autumn events, holidays & book launch

Embodied Menopause front cover

Sept 20 Perimenopause: A Spiritual Portal with Kate Codrington (this is FULL but do join the waiting list as there’s sometimes change)

Sept 28 Turkish yoga holiday at Grenadine Lodge – there are still spaces for some spontaneous autumn sun, sea and rest.

Oct 8 Drumroll please… PRE-ORDER Embodied Menopause my new book with Charlotte Watts. We can’t wait for you to read our narrative-shifting companion to this transitional shift!!!!

Oct 10 Learn Thai Massage & Sauna at Lunawave – a great opportunity to learn some shareable skills but also a taster for…

Feb 20: Mudita Therapeutic Thai Massage Training begins. 200hr+ in-depth course for bodyworkers/massage practitioners/healers.

Nov 11: Join me for 10 days yoga holiday in Kerala!

Nov 29: Book now for Winter Dreaming seasonal yoga day retreat at Barcombe Village Hall

May 4 2027: And plan ahead, come with me on yoga holiday to Kissamos, Crete,

This week’s classes are abridged as I’m off for a few days:
Tues 9.30am at boulderbrighton
Weds 7.10pm at intentionalfitnessbrighton
(All other classes resume after bank holiday, see full class timetable)
And I’m taking bookings for massage from September 7.

In the meantime, move with curiosity and love, play intentionally, rest well and challenge systems of oppression with even the smallest of everyday acts of love, community and rebellion,

Leo

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Mudita Thai Massage training

I’m delighted to invite you to my new Therapeutic Thai Massage training school, which begins in February 2027. I’ve been working (as much as extreme heat will allow!) behind the scenes to prepare a really exciting, challenging, deep and rigorous programme, which I will deliver over 6 monthly weekends, with online theory webinars (so all in-person time is hands-on), 1-2-1 tutorials and then time for case studies to refine and practice, followed by a final observed practice where you will receive really useful feedback and a qualification that feels rigorous and well earned. Unlike so many courses I’ve been on, you will have plenty of opportunity to practice, practice, practice: so while there will be loads of really effective techniques to learn, it’s not just a big info dump and then you’re churned into the world with no real confidence.

My aim is to help you to become a really, really good practitioner, with skills and self assurance to treat complex bodies and do real good in the world. I will be sharing decades of study and learning generously with you; and you will also be in a room of existing practitioners and body workers who also bring great skill and perspective. It’s going to be really great and I’d love you to join me.

Find out more or get in touch if you’d like a chat to find out if the course is right for you.

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Menopause is not the problem!

Just to clarify… the majority of symptoms we experience during perimenopause are exacerbated by stress. Stress is caused by a patriarchal, capitalist society that extracts from us all, creates an endless cycle of ‘deficiency’; from your hormones, to your looks, your body, your age, your rate of productivity – which needs to be mechanical, robotic and unwavering as you endlessly strive to be and have more. This system is the same that extracts endlessly from the planet.

Midlife and planetary ‘break down’ are interwoven; the rage and fire of menorage are like the summer heatwaves that shout with no uncertainty ‘STOP!’

The system is broken, not us! Medication won’t ‘fix’ this!

If you’re tired, angry and feeling all the emotions and physical dissonance that come alongside a massive biological shift in the context of a broken world, it’s time to rewrite the narrative.

Perimenopause: a Spritiual Portal is on 20 September with me @centredspace and the marvellous @kate_codrington at Barcombe Village Hall.

We’d like to offer you shelter from the noise and distraction of the toxic culture around ageing and menopause to find clarity and the map for your path to Elderhood. Because the world needs us in all our messy glory right now, to stand up with the wisdom of matriarchy for a new age.

We’ll make the space and share the tools to compassionately explore the liminality of the pause as a gateway to profound personal and societal evolution.

Early bird offer ends July 31 and there are cheaper options if you come with friends, because community is key.

More info and booking

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Are you feeling your energy shifting yet?

I’ve been thinking about the whole ‘new year, new you’ thing beyond January 1. There are various traditions which mark ‘newness’ at different times – from the Celtic Imbolc on Feb 1, and Spring Equinox on 20 March, the Chinese/lunar new year on Feb 17, your birthday… All of these surely point to variance and process; there is no one ‘right time’ to start if we remember that we are part of continuum, cycles within cycles of existence rolling on and around. Take this a step further and question, do we even need ‘newness’?

Read more on Substack, for some gentle practices and enquiries into how you meet (and if you need, newness)…

Kate Codrington (author of Second Spring) & I also had juicy chat about how a gentler start to the year (whenever you feel you’re ready) might look… Watch video

On Receiving
March 29; 10-4pm, at Barcombe Village Hall, with Leo and Kate Codrington
Part of Kate and my ongoing discussion as colleagues offering symbiotic therapeutic work is how caught up in constant doing we are all conditioned to be. When this meets perimenopause, a perfect storm of physical and emotional exhaustion, shifting hormones and social conditioning can lead to dramatic burn and fall-out. And at this time, more than ever, being on ‘people pleasing’ and ‘serving others’ mode might need a radical overhaul. But what a challenge!

In this day retreat, we will explore embodied practices to unpick and unravel deep-held patterns that sabotage our ability to receive, and which can inhibit us from healing and evolving at a time in life when we need to gather in resources to support a huge and vital transition.
MORE INFO & BOOKING

Would you like to become a therapeutic Thai practitioner
Coming 2027, at Gather Brighton
I’m very excited to let you know that I will be offering an in-depth training in the therapeutic applications of Thai massage in 2027. This will be a small-cohort, deep dive for anyone who would like to explore the incredible potential of this discipline, either in addition to existing bodywork skills or as a standalone practice. I have been busy writing and developing the course, which will be a mix of online and in person training over six months, leading to a professional diploma.
Register your interest

Leo x

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New year, new timetable

So, welcome to 2026, heading into the Full Wolf Moon (she’s a beauty!).

This is a quiet time of the year, not one to make bold shifts (who has the energy right now, wait for Spring!)

So let’s orient, first: how do you feel, what’s going on for you right now? Listen in to body and breath and ground, tune inwards before considering movement. Then consider what moves you: community, people, values… this sets the scene for any intentions, which should align with these. Think gentle, symbiotic shifts rather than goal-focussed achievements.

You might play with intentional affirmations such as:

I will shape my year with care and intention rather than pressure
I notice, allow and accept what support I need
I find and adapt to my own rhythms and pace.

To support you in compassionate, intentional living throughout the year, yoga drop-ins offer community connection, a space to ground, a touchstone and regular, gentle reminders of practices that can support your bodymind.

The Monday Hanover class will no longer run, but instead we will meet 6.45-7.45pm on Tuesdays at Lunawave

New class timetable

I also have some wonderful workshops coming up to ease you through Winter and into Spring:

Learn Thai Massage + Sauna, January 11
Emerging Into Imbolc, with Lou Thomas, February 1
On Receiving; Menopause Retreat, with Kate Codrington, March 29 & April 26, 2026
Dalyan, Turkey, Sept 28-Oct 5 2026, with Charlotte Watts
Kerala, India, October 31 – November 10

And you can book in, as usual, for therapeutic Thai massage and 1-2-1 yoga.

Let’s start the year intentionally together,

Leo x

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Winter class dates & practices

Here we are approaching Winter Solstice, the darkest night of the year. It can be an artificially busy time that feels out of sink with the natural drop in energy – less light means more of the ‘darkness hormone’ melatonin; an invitation towards more sleep. More dream time to tune in to the subconscious realms, shadow and space.

The portal, or 12 Sacred nights of Yule, starting the night before Solstice, celebrated across Celtic and Northern European cultures, offers up the invitation that may resonate more than some of the more modern (and often consumer-driven) constructs. Lighting candles, opening doors (actual in your home, as well as through your breath, spiritually accessing a deeper consciousness and openness, greater clarity) connecting to the cycles of life, death and rebirth in nature, deepening meditation and your connection inwards to stillness, storytelling and seeding intentions (not yet bringing to fruition) are all gentle ways we can connect to the inseparable nature of all things.

Read more about Wintering and Seasonal practices to explore at this time of year over on my Substack.

And join me, in person, or online over the next couple of weeks. I also have gift vouchers available and retreats here in Sussex, in Turkey and Kerala next year to set your intentions on.

Wishing all beings peace and freedom from suffering for 2026,

Much love,

Leo x

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Leaning into Autumn

After Samhain, last week, traditionally the last harvest before Winter, we move into the darker months. This festival, and time of year, offers the opportunity to tune in to the liminal space, between the life and fruitfulness of summer and the inevitable ‘death’, the letting go of autumn/winter, reflecting nature’s cycles.

So, it’s beneficial to take time to reflect as you transition. You might notice how your energy shifts with the changes in light and temperature, how your body adapts and responds (or not?). Our culture can be so misleading in its impetus to be constant in our levels of doing, even giving the sense that we should be constantly ‘growing’, whether that’s financially or emotionally. We all need time to winter, to regroup, stop, and allow rest and healing in order to evolve in Spring and Summer.

I’m leaning into more restful practices right now, as I’ve just handed in the manuscript for my next book, Embodied Menopause (out next year, can’t wait for you to read it!) which celebrates and brings gentle attention to the Autumn/Winter of Peri- and Menopause. 

On November 30, why not join me for a day of real retreat? Dropping into these slow-moving, restorative and reflective practices that will allow you space to be quiet, reflect and notice what you need now to resource yourself for Winter. Retreating into Winter, 10-4pm, at Barcombe Village Hall includes an incredible vegan lunch from Lynne at The Vegan Experience, herbal teas and snacks. More and booking

Review from last year’s event: “A warm nurturing space with guided visualisations, meditations, journaling, affirmations, tapping, somatic movement and Yoga Nidra all wrapped up with love. It was a blissful, restorative space which gave much needed rest for the body and soul. If you get the opportunity, do it!” Jane