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Blog Pre-natal and pregnancy

How a birth can become a healing; a personal story.

In 1999, when I gave birth to my first child who was inconveniently posterior I pushed myself  through a 36hr labour with zealous determination. If anyone has ever experienced a posterior labour they will know that the pains are relentless, often not the kind that feel productive.

From the outside looking in, I had the birth that I wished for, a ‘natural birth’ at home, with excellent care from my partner and the midwives involved.  From the inside though I took months to recover.  I drove myself so hard. I forgot that there was even a baby coming at all, that it was about love, about my partner, and becoming a mother. With the intensity of the pain, I lost my softness and galvanized myself like steel. As long as my son’s heart-beat was traceable, I just had to see this through. I heard people whispering in the kitchen, wondering about my stamina which enraged me enough to fight on!

But why the battle though?  I see now that this ‘ battle’ was about  triumphing over my own birth. Proving to the world, that I could birth MYSELF naturally. Whatever it took, I was NOT going to falter. On and on to the same music while everyone was collapsing. I was a lone warrioress. As well as forgiving myself, as I totally depleted myself in the process, I have to fully forgive and embrace some others as well. 

I was sixteen when my mother first told me how I was born. She looked away from me as she told me that she had had to have an emergency c-section with my brother. The longitudinal incision was life-saving as he was overdue and the waters had broken a week before. Eighteen months later when it was my turn, it was decided that it would be safer to open up the same scar. As a theatre sister and doctor’s wife, my mother told me she felt ashamed and humiliated about the way the ‘babies had to be born.’  She would have known the nurses and doctors, as friends and colleagues, which would have added to her embarrassment. She spoke of feeling a ‘failure as a woman’. I was angry and disturbed that my birth was linked to such feelings. We fell silent and as she turned up the volume on the television,  I felt as though I was drowning in failure and shame.  Sadly at this time, I wasn’t mature enough to offer her any comfort; I became the baby who was lost and disconnected. 

Many years later in 1990 when I began exploring the lasting impressions that our own births can have on us, I began to see how my early birth impressions were influencing my life, relationship with my mother and others (see this blog post). It was nearly as though I was wearing my birth story on my t-shirt and I wanted the world to rescue me! 

So although I am very proud of my son’s birth, there is a piece missing. I wasn’t even holding my son when I called my mother straight after the birth…I just wanted her to hear that women’s bodies can give birth naturally, that they are strong and designed for this. In that conversation I felt as though I was helping her heal some of her unresolved feelings.

As with all of these things there are layers and little did I know at this point that I would have to face an even bigger challenge in the postpartum phase. Back then I thought it was all about the birth, the event, the achievement. *See my blog on Post-partum care.*

So thank you fellow warriors for reading thus far and yes, of course I need to fully honour how transformative my son’s entry into the world really was. To complete the story, I want to firstly pick up my son and reclaim my softness as I hold him tight. I’m sorry I had to be so steely hard but we did it together! I want to fully honour my mother too and forgive myself for rejecting her when I heard about her feelings of failure. 

My mother and my first born

It can be a wonderful thing for birthing  parents to write their mothers a letter. This is mine.

Dear Mum, (Geraldine)

Today I want to celebrate your bravery. You told me so many times how you hated to be on ‘the receiving end’ of  hospitals, even though by all accounts you were an incredible theatre sister!  You lived through the death of your young brother, a war, an emergency c-section and a thousand challenges. I can only imagine how terrified you must have felt during my brother’s birth and then having to face into mine too. The big scar once again, feeling so on show, it must have been your worst nightmare. 

I am so sorry that you had no one to listen to you and help you after you gave birth.  Carrying those feelings alone must have been so painful for you, no wonder it felt so hard for us to laugh and fully connect. I see now that it was your feelings of failure and shame that I wanted to push away; not YOU. 

I am sorry too that when I cried so hard and so long as a baby, that you thought I didn’t want your milk.  That must have been soul-destroying especially when you were feeling so vulnerable. I know now that I was  angry that I was dragged out when I wasn’t ready and I didn’t understand why it had to be like this. It wasn’t about you at all. I know now that I was crying and crying to build connection with you. I am so sorry that I must have added to your feelings of inadequacy.

Today I thank you for doing your very best with the support that you had. We lived though that birth together and because of that you will always be by my side in my work with mums and babies. You were always brilliant with babies so calm and strong. I know that those feelings of shame and inadequacy didn’t start with you and not one bit of it was your fault. I am strangely proud of all that happened between us and when I picture your scar, I feel it on my own body too, as a badge of honour. I have even imagined that scar to be like a gorgeous amethyst crystal cave, a magical portal I had to come through in order to discover my own calling in life.

I am flooded with gratitude, I will never turn away from you again. Thank you for showing me the bridge back to you and for helping me soften more and more as a mum with my own growing family!

Your loving daughter, Sara

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Blog Pre-natal and pregnancy

Five tips to ensure that you have the birth you want.

Planning for a safe, positive and powerful birth.

Medical technology allows pregnancies to be more closely monitored than ever before. Although it brings parents reassurance and sometimes  identifies the need for essential lifesaving care, it also comes at a price. Screenings offer a certain kind of  knowledge, a knowledge that must,  I believe, be complemented  with birth preparation that builds confidence in a woman’s  own capacity to have a safe, positive and powerful birth.   Babies have been born safely for millenia, in all kinds of circumstances. Birth is, after all, a natural  and not a medical event.

In a culture where medicalised birth is the norm, it is easy to hope for the best and unwittingly hand over the responsibility to others.  When speaking of a ‘natural birth’ some consider any vaginal delivery to be natural, regardless of whether there was an induction, an epidural or another intervention. Others consider childbirth to be natural only when there is no medical intervention at all. A low-risk mother will have the option to attempt to have a ‘natural unmedicated birth’ whilst other options will need to be discussed with high-risk mums. Although there is no right or ‘wrong’ birth, it is a topic well worth exploring beforehand. 

Each couple will have their own ideas of what a safe, positive and powerful birth might be. In another blog I write about how our own birth  experience can influence our confidence and belief  in ourselves in many areas of our lives. ( See blog Giving birth to the mother you want to be).

Knowing your body is key to planning the birth you want
Receiving a massage from a friend helped me BE with the pain.

Five tips for a safe, positive and powerful birth

1. Inner Knowledge and preparation is powerful. The more you know about the physiological,  psychological and emotional aspects of labour the better. When facing the unknown it is reassuring to know that most women encounter predictable crisis moments when they loose confidence and need support. You are never alone! ( See my two part blog  Being With Pain in Childbirth Part One and Part Two).

2. Writing a birth plan with a healthcare professional  is one way to spell out your preferences and to  focus on significant choices that  you may need to make at each stage. You might even be able to predict what you will find hard.  Even though some labours just don’t go to plan, by choosing to stay connected and in touch with your baby, you are still having what I believe to be a  safe, positive and powerful birth. With good support  you will make the best decisions in the moment.  Requesting  a mobile rather than a static fetal heart monitor is one example of  maintaining agency in a medicalised environment.  Even if interventions are needed do your best to stay connected with yourself, your partner and most importantly with  your baby.

3. Stay as active as possible before the onset and during labour. Knowing your body and how it likes to stretch and be eased will help both your mind and body. Notice what helps you feel loved and seen by your partner? What will give you a boost when you need it?  Your own body sensations can be very anchoring throughout labour. Dont avoid them!!

4. “ Just say YES”!  To the sensations and emotions…  Birth is a marathon and although many couples feel shy about bringing someone else into their circle, a specially trained birthing partner or Doula is invaluable.  Notice old habits that creep in like ‘I don’t want to bother anyone’,  “ I don’t want to be seen, I’d be embarrassed…” or “I have to do it all myself.” The support is for you and your baby. Your baby senses how much easier it is when YOU can learn to receive. 

5. Last but not least remember that from the moment of conception you are in relationship with a human being that instinctively knows how to birth!  Babies rehearse their moves in the womb and have a whole-bodied sense of how to birth! We are not as in control as we may like to think. It is their birthday after all, their ‘opening night’, their first performance!!  Did you know that babies actually initiate labour? 

 In Pregnancy and pre-natal sessions, I support parents to build confidence in their bodies and understand the babies’ perspective. Building trust, self-compassion and communication with our babies as well as with any others we intend to birth with, are the cornerstones for a safe, positive and powerful birth.

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Blog Pre-natal and pregnancy

What are the most important things to remember in pregnancy?

Once we have actually become pregnant, (which may have been extremely challenging in itself), we tend to be eager to look outward to learn about our pregnancy, to know about how our baby is growing  and what to expect at every stage. Although it can be reassuring to look at apps and books and compare notes with others,  it is easy to  become disconnected and overwhelmed. Pregnancy is a  heightened state, with less filters.  A time when you may just not be able to ‘do it all’! Watch out for those busy speedy feelings and see if you can take a breath and slow down! Click here for CALMS PDF for simple relaxation for new mothers and mums to be.

What are the most important things to remember during pregnancy? 

Remember – From conception on, you are in a total sensory relationship with your baby. The circuitry of your baby’s brain, their personality and their capacity to cope with stress is influenced not just by genes but by you, their first environment.

Remember – You are your baby’s first home. In the same way that a plant flourishes in an optimum environment, by seeking out good support, you and your baby will develop and thrive for many years to come.

Remember – Being pregnant is both a huge responsibility and joyful opportunity to gather layers of support around you and even to address some of our own unmet needs.

As soon as a pregnancy is announced mums are bombarded with advice and suggestions from all directions. Everyone has their stories and opinions. It can feel as though your little bump is publicly owned! You are ‘in the club’ and as a new member you get exposed to the highs and lows of other people’s pregnancies and labour stories. It can feel as though it is less about YOU and more about their need to tell someone about their experience! Support during your pregnancy is very different from advice!

So what do YOU need to nurture yourself, your baby and your own innate knowing? In the Prenatal Pregnancy and Birth sessions that I offer, I encourage couples to explore how they can create the most nurturing environment  possible. This isn’t about wrapping ourselves up in cotton wool but about being self-reflective, remembering our fun side and our own inner knowing! We can ask ourselves …

Do I really need more information or more encouragement? What would help to build trust and confidence in your own body? Some movement,  positive touch, some good company? Some laughter? 

Contact me to find out more about simple ways to deepen your  connection with your baby and your  partner. Until we meet try simply resting together,  breathing and reflecting on this miracle of life inside of you.

Contact Me

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Adults Blog

Healing the Mother Wound

For some of us it takes a lifetime to come to terms with our very first relationship. Our feelings about our mother can hold the key to our life outlook and habitual feelings. Through no fault of their own our mothers may not have been able to connect with us in a way that we needed. 

Fraught with confusion, this relationship may feel tense, distant,  dutious, angry, needy, or as though WE had to take care of THEM  from very early on. Or perhaps you are one of the lucky ones who managed to mature alongside your mother with mutual respect and kindness. I include my mother Geraldine’s  picture here as her ancestry  is the reason why I HAD to come to Ireland.   In time I want to share the story of how her death was the final jolt that urged me to return to therapeutic work.

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Babies Blog

Do babies remember birth and why does it matter?

We are parents from the moment of conception..

The field of pre and perinatal psychology  has been pointing to the  consciousness of babies since 1980’s and before.  APPPAH, (The Association for Prenatal and Perinatal health ) emphasises that when society fully recognizes that babies are capable of feeling, learning, remembering and communicating before, during and after birth, this will dramatically change the ways in which we connect and interact with babies during pregnancy, through the birth process, and throughout infancy.

IN the 1980’s Harvard trained psychiatrist Thomas Verny, who later  founded  APPPAH,  published  the ‘Secret life of the unborn child’.  He pointed to research that proved what parents and babies have instinctively known for generations… pregnant women and their unborn children can sense each other’s thoughts and feelings; 

“ Early experience from  conception on, materially affects the architecture of the brain.   From the journey down the birth canal to afternoons at the park, a child will register every experience in the circuitry of his or her brain.. …     

..” Everything the pregnant mother feels and thinks is communicated through neurohormones to her unborn child…  the nicotine and alcohol…anxiety and depression or maternal stress alters the wiring of the brain and nervous system

Dr Allan Schore, a Senior Neuropsychologist speaking on attachment, states that we literally download our nervous system from our care-givers.  These insights should elevate prenatal care and  the support of pregnant mothers to the highest priority.  Physical and emotional wellbeing of pregnant mothers directly impacts the wellbeing of their babies, protecting this special period for parents is one of the most significant ways we can influence the wellbeing of our society.

Birth is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us and identifying our own Pre and perinatal imprints offers invaluable insights into our ways of being in the world.  Parenting, that starts in the womb,  is a unique opportunity to support the development of a caring and compassionate human being.  A positive womb and birth experience is every baby’s birthright and creating a healthy womb, helps to create a healthy world

 (  For research papers see APPPAH website) ”…

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Adults Blog

( I can’t get no..) Satisfaction

Reaching a state of satisfaction and wholeness for us as human beings is no small thing. The Buddha reminds us that it is part of the nature of being alive to experience life as too hot, too cold, too full or too empty. Whether we are talking about a work schedule, a social calendar or our bellies, or even our metaphorical glass, finding that sweet spot where we can be powerfully present and yet able to rest in relation to ourselves and others, is a moment by moment aspiration for each one of us.

Seeing the value of coaching or some personal therapy is becoming widely recognized. We develop in relationship to our caregivers from our earliest beginnings. Although ‘society’ may tell us that doing it all alone and being super independent is the ideal, it is clear, especially in these times of Covid, that none of us are designed for social isolation. We need and deserve reflection, validation and compassionate connection. In order to thrive I believe we need to give as well as to receive. In that process of offering something of ourselves to others we feel restored and satisfied. Contact me to arrange a free call. The Craniosacral work that I offer both online and in person, is body centred and supports the core of our nervous system. Life can be fragmenting in a million ways; when we return to a calm relational state with another heartfelt human being we can relax, rest and recalibrate and find our own impulse towards a multitude of personal goals #covid19support #therapy #mindfulleadership #anxietyrelief #beingthebestyou#

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Adults Blog

Helping women re discover their stillness and authentic spark

As we approach International Women’s Day closely followed by Mother’s day itself, I wanted to reach out to all those that may have been alarmed by the preliminary reports of stillbirths and some rare complications being associated with Covid 19. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/0304/1200855-coronavirus-ireland/

Although these complications are extremely rare, this news may disturb us all whether we are pregnant or not. The impact on our most vulnerable population, I am including unborn children here as well as their parents, is not to be underestimated.

It is hard enough for mothers planning to give birth during a pandemic without unconfirmed information adding to their stress. 

In his book Pre Parenting ; Nuturing your child from Conception, Dr Thomas Verny writes “ human emotion and the sense of self originates not in the first years after birth but significantly earlier – in the womb. .. the journey down the birth canal to afternoons in the park, a child will register every experience in the circuitry of his or her brain.”

Parents are the baby’s extended nervous system. Neuroscience demonstrates that co-regulation begins at a cellular level from conception. Mums are a babies first environment.

Filtering or not filtering news will be a heated debate for another day and another forum. Right now as a community we all have a role to support and nurture our pregnant mothers. Whether we are well meaning work colleagues, grand-mothers or care professionals our presence and attitude can make a positive difference.

What can we do about it? 

* Normalise news ..focussing on facts rather than drama

* Fear begets fear. Parents to be need our positive support orientating to positive outcomes.

*Slow down and listen with an empathetic heart to mums to be. Wild often unfounded fears are a natural part of pregnancy. Don’t add to them.

* Research has shown that talking to our babies in Utero, taking moments to bond pre-birth and doing all we can to calm and settle ourselves as parents has multiple future benefits.

* Mums should be encouraged to seek out support, to connect with other mums and friends.

*Being in nature, walking, breathing, stretching and moving will help each one of us counterbalance stress.

March is the month when APPPAH ( Association for prenatal and perinatal psychology and health) is hosting a summit on the science of prenatal bonding . 

Here are links to a recent article ECHO https://www.echolive.ie/business/arid-40223291.html

I work as a Craniosacral practitioner with parents both pre and post-natally to create an environment of physiological and emotional calm. I also offer a free weekly online zoom call for mums to be and new mums called Mothering YOU.

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Adults Blog

How Craniosacral therapy helps settle nervous systems

How Craniosacral therapy helps settle nervous systems.

With anxiety, depression and stress on the climb, have you ever wondered how you can better manage your reactions to life’s challenges and stressors? With awareness we can track our emotional roller coaster states and become more effective, mindful, and joyful during the day. Learning to map our nervous system has a positive long-term impact on our overall health .

Our nervous system forms as early as three weeks in Utero. It is a highly tuned sensory system that is designed to check for safety. We literally download our mother’s nervous system and continue to be influenced by the whole family environment in our formative years. If our mother was highly strung for example and didn’t have enough support, we may have a ‘short fuse’ as well.

As we notice our states, it is vital to be compassionate with ourselves. None of this is our or even our parents fault, we have all come with our own unique challenges and circumstances.

Looking more closely at the autonomic nervous system, most of us learned in biology about our “fight or flight” and “rest and digest” responses. In 1994 however, Dr. Stephen Porges, discovered that although some aspects of the nervous system are instinctual and ‘automatic’, there are other aspects that we can influence and learn to accentuate. Most critically he points out that we can settle and soothe our nervous system best in pairs. We are social beings and are literally wired to connect. When we are with a person who is stable and calm it will be much easier for us to relax as well. This is one of many reasons why the Craniosacral approach that I offer is so effective.

Dr Porges discovered that our vagus nerve, referred to as the wandering nerve in Latin, is one of the longest nerves and is a cranial nerve that originates in the brainstem. It innervates the muscles of the throat, circulation, respiration, digestion and elimination. During Craniosacral treatments I often make contact with areas that relate to the vagus nerve as it is the major constituent of the parasympathetic, ( rest and digest), nervous system. Over 80 percent of it’s nerve fibres are sensory, relaying changes about the internal and external environment to the brain. This feedback is critical for the body’s homeostasis. Craniosacral work is safe and reassuring for the nervous system. When offered by a calm practitioner, the clients system will melt and settle into a peaceful state.

How do these states feel in our body?

We can view our three nervous system as a ladder with three sections. Top middle and bottom. When we are in locked in a stressed or potentially anxious state, we loose or capacity to be curious and empathetic. We are like a rabbit in the headlights and are not able to regulate our attention and focus.

First, in the middle, our “fight and flight” response is our survival strategy, a response from the sympathetic nervous system. If you were going to run from tiger, for example, you would want this response to save your life. A fight response can be prompted by a sudden sound, an unexpected pressure or demand of some kind. It can stimulate anger, rage, irritation, and frustration. During a flight response, we experience anxiety, worry, fear, panic and a feeling of literally wanting to get out of a place. NOW! . Physiologically, our blood pressure, heart rate, and adrenaline may increase and our pain threshold and capacity to digest will decrease.

At the bottom of the ladder, (or at the top of our image), we have our most primitive pattern, a “ Shut down or freeze” state, which is called the dorsal vagal state. Like an animal ‘playing dead’ after a shock, we have gone into overload and our system has temporarily shut down. We can feel hopeless and believe that there’s no way out. We may feel depressed, conserve energy, dissociate, feel overwhelmed, and as though we can’t move forward. Physiologically, our fuel storage and insulin activity increases and our pain thresholds increase. Some of may overeat, drink, or do something to excess to pacify ourselves.

Lastly, our “rest and digest” is a response of the parasympathetic system, also known as a ventral vagal state. It is our state of safety and homeostasis. If we are in our ventral vagal state, we are grounded, mindful, joyful, curious, empathetic, and compassionate. This is the state of social engagement, where we are connected to ourselves and the world. Physiologically, digestion, resistance to infection, circulation, immune responses, and our ability to connect is improved.

As humans, we naturally shift through all the states. We may be in a positive state and then all of a sudden, due to a trigger, be in a frustrated or angry state, worried about what may happen next. Shocking news could swing us into complete overwhelm.

When we find ourselves lingering in fight or flight or the shut down/freeze state, that is when we begin to have significant physiological and mental/emotional effects. If we are consistently in shut down mode or the fight or flight state, we can have constant activation of our stress pathways also known as the HPA axis. ( Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis ), and we impact our stress hormones, sex hormones, our thyroid, etc. This stress will have significant inflammation effects on the body and overall health as well.

Like any good captain of a ship in a storm, it is helpful to have a map of the territory to guide ourselves towards calmer waters. Choosing situations that resource you and allow you to experience rest and relaxation, is fundamental for your health, effectiveness and happiness. No treatment intervention or professional help will be of benefit until your system feels safe and well from the inside out.

Mapping your nervous system? Get a pen and make a few notes and think of one word that defines each one of these states for you. For example, if you are in your Ventral vagal state, the rest and digest state, you could say that you feel happy, content, joyful. Etc. When you are in your fight or flight state you could use the words worried, stressed, overwhelmed, etc. In the freeze/shut-down state you could use the words numb, hopeless, etc.

Identifying the word that YOU correlate with each of those three states is vital so that you’re able to recognize which state you are in, recognize how it feels and help yourself get out of it!

Identify your triggers and glimmers.

Over time you will notice what causes you stress and triggers your fight/flight and freeze states. A cutting letter from your boss, an argument with your spouse, a death of a loved one, or even if someone cuts you off while driving, etc. IT is helpful to make a note of these triggers for greater self-awareness..

Glimmers are the things that bring you to that optimal nervous system state. It could be something as simple as petting a dog, a soulful connection with a friend, eye-contact with a loved one or something bigger like going on a holiday.

Here is Deb Dana’s Worksheet to Map Your Nervous System. https://www.rhythmofregulation.com/resources/Figure%206-1%20Triggers%20and%20Glimmers%20Template.pdf

Summary

Once you identify your unique experience of these stress states, you are on the way to taking ownership of what’s happening to your body, and moving back to a calmer mode. Ultimately, this is how we can begin to develop resilience. WE can respond appropriately to life’s challenges, go to that fight or flight state for a short period, and then return back to the more expansive state of social engagement. To truly enjoy life, returning to your state of safety where you are mindful, grounded, and joyful, is a practice. It can start with mapping your own nervous system.

At the core of this work is the understanding that humans regulate themselves better in groups and as pairs. That is one of many reasons why Craniosacral work is beneficial for lasting change. Do contact me to book a free call to discuss how I can help.

Sara Devoy has worked in the field of health for over thirty years and helps individuals and groups settle their nervous systems and recover their innate spark. Craniosacral therapy is a whole-hearted, approach to wellness that is used for physical and emotional conditions and as a health maintenance programme. Sara works internationally both on and offline. (00353) 87 – 2350900 ( Please text)

Sara Devoy MA  BCST

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Blog Services

Sara Devoy interviewed in the Echo

In a quieter place of being

Job title: Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist and Integrative Baby Therapist

Education background: BSc in Religious studies and Anthropology and MA in Visual Anthropology. Studying complementary therapies since 1991. Qualified Polarity Therapist, Biodynamic Craniosacral therapist specialising in Pre and Perinatal psychology for parents and children.
Hobbies: Swimming, theatre and walking.

Describe your job in five words: Soothing nervous systems — joy — vitality!

Describe yourself in five words: A tenacious heartfelt human-BEING!
Personality needed for this kind of work? Humour, flexibility, adaptability, kindness.

How long are you doing this job?
Formally, 2016… informally, since I was born!

How did you get this job? When I left school I travelled widely and had the good fortune to teach in Kenya for nine months. Of course, at 19 I learned way more than I taught. It was a humbling experience to observe the obstacles that students had to overcome to get to school. A few months in I started to wake up to the hypocrisy, school fees were sometimes waived for the girls in return for sex. On several occasions I had to help a girl who had ‘lost’ her baby. Here I began to see first-hand that what we ‘learn’ in life is only half the story. Being able to be calm in the most harrowing circumstances was essential.

I was entranced by Africa and wanted to find ways to deepen my experience of other cultures and beliefs. I studied world religions, philosophy and anthropolgy as my first degree which led me to work as a publicist for a specialist book publishers in London on Buddhism and Tibet. I enjoyed networking and selling translation rights at Frankfurt bookfair and regularly entertained authors and Buddhist teachers in our offices.

In my spare time, I became a founder member of what wras then Tibet Support group UK that had now become an international Organisation, Free Tibet. We campaigned to allow The Dalai Lama to have a political voice in the UK and eventually enabled him to speak in the
House of Commons about the Tibetan perspective. This was way back in 1988!

A lot of voluntary work, determination and knocking on doors got me some freelance radio journalism assignments and some exciting work in television research that involved travelling to USA. This spurred me on to do a masters in Visual Anthropology. I made my film for my thesis in Co Kerry.

Having completed my Masters, I took at a position as anthropologist for Body Shop International. I trained staff in Singapore, Malaysia and throughout the UK about the products and various cultures associated with the ingredients, for nine months. It was a brilliant experience and felt like a good cross-roads to follow my heart (literally) and come and live in Ireland in 1990. I commenced my first complementary health training in Polarity Therapy while based in Cork and set up my practice in 1992.1 offered stress-management programmes for VHI when stress was hardly a household word!

I enjoyed the freedom of working for myself and establishing a direct marketing business for Chinese health foods with my now husband John. I enjoyed my moments of fame on the Pat Kenny show and speaking to large audiences in Dublin and nationwide as a result.
Finally, becoming a mother for the first time wras a great triumph for me but learning to feed and take care of a wildly colicky baby was a steep learning curve for me — 22 years later, wrhen working with young families, I am deeply grateful for those experiences. So, looking back, I would encourage anyone to keep following their nose and trusting that eventually their choices will make sense!

As a young mother, I followed my husband’s career path for some years which evolved from the security of a position as a Biochemist in UCH to eventually establishing a successful organic farm in West Cork in 2002. Now’ with three young children, w-e worked harder than we w’ould ever admit to create our home and new farm. Our determination and passion was such that wre managed to co-found w hat is now Clonakilty Kindergarten. John and I poured ourselves into our vision for the farm and what wre wanted to create for our family.

After 15 years of working at markets and developing a wide customer base in restaurants, supermarkets and shops, I felt ready to deepen my therapy studies writh Craniosacral

I was ready to step away from the 365 of farming life to a quieter pace of being rather than doing!


Do you need particular qualifications or experience? Applications are open to all but those that establish a business usually have a range of life experience. Perhaps they have another therapy training as well. Anatomy and physiology exams are required. Patience and kindness are key.Describe a day at work: On clinic days I gather notes for clients, read them through and sit quietly before each appointment. It is important that I am as calm and unruffled as possible w’hen offering the work. If I have some personal stress in my life, it is important that I address it and seek additional supervision and personal therapy. Where possible, I aim to swim or get some time outside in nature in between or before wrork as I know that when I am invigorated, this supports my clients!

If someone was to look at me working, they would say that I am not ‘doing’ anything. I may gently hold a person’s feet, back or shoulder and certain points on their head where I can sense the cranial rhythm. I am not transmitting energy or making something happen, instead I am creative a supportive environment that w ill allow the person’s own innate potency to establish the best balance possible.

Is your job stressful? How? Rate it on a scale of 1-10: It requires good self-reflection skills and the ability not to take people’s responses personally. Some of the material I hear is hard to be with. My work can become stressful if I get momentarily involved and try to ‘fix’ or problem solve. If I ‘think’ that I have to do something or get something ‘right’, I have lost the plot and the point of the wrork!

Best bits: Seeing the joyful light in a baby’s eyes when they feel felt and seen by their parents and feeling people’s bodies soften and untangle under my hands. I have also worked on a dying friend that was probably one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. Resting with her at the end of her life, trusting that nothing needed to be said and there was nothing to be done. Both of us deeply connected and at ease.

Worst bits: Knowing that some some clients won’t choose to come back and trusting that they will find alternative forms of support.
Advice to those who w-ant your job? Explore your own inner w’orld first. Face your demons and have plenty of craniosacral sessions before deciding to train. There are various schools with different approaches and strengths and it is important to find out the style that suits you.

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Sara joins the team at Stephen’s Wood Injury Clinic.

Sara has recently joined the team at Stephen’s Wood Injury Clinic. Carrigadrohid. Macroom. working alongside osteopath Neil O’ Grady, and owner of Stephen’s Wood Injury Clinic. Sara offers sessions for adults, children and babies.

For over thirty years Sara has been exploring how our earliest experiences and the way we are born impacts babies and adults alike.


“A Holistic Approach to Health and Wellbeing ”

A therapy for the times we are living in. What is Craniosacral therapy and how does it help? Most of us know what we could or should be doing for our health but many of us have been juggling a lot in recent times and may be feeling anxious, overwhelmed or exhausted. We battle away trying to get the formula right, generating even more stress! Craniosacral Therapy is a hands-on approach to wellness that developed from Osteopathy. Physical and emotional tensions unwind as our nervous system settles.

Muscular pain, headaches, sleep issues, shock, reproductive problems, ailments related to pregnancy, fatigue, stress, anxiety as well as colic and reflux in babies can all be helped. Treatments are used as a health maintenance programme or to benefit acute conditions. The body’s ability to heal itself is emphasised making it extremely non-invasive and safe. Ideal therefore for babies and during pregnancy.

Although it takes a series of sessions before your body can begin to feel the full benefits, clients speak of a ’sense of calm: a joyful stillness’ of a ’renewed sense of aliveness’.

Stuck areas get unstuck. In a typical session Sara gently holds the person’s head, lower back and feet as a way to let the nervous system relax. The emphasis is on optimising health.

Craniosacral Therapy for parents and babies

22 years ago like many parents. Sara paced the floor during sleepless nights in an attempt to settle her first-born. The birth was long, and feeding complications made it easy to fall into a cycle of self-blame.
Nowadays. Sara finds it a special privilege to offer sessions to pregnant mums and to new- born babies. She is grateful that her extensive training and personal experience asa mum of three, enables her to deeply empathise with both baby and parents.

Sara reminds us that:
’babies are way more conscious than previously believed. They remember their birth and want to express their feelings about it just like usl They tell their story through their gestures, body movements and cries. They are asking to be acknowledged, to be heard and understood. To be met as a full-hearted human being!”


In a gentle Craniosacral session, a baby or young child, often takes the chance to complete a part of their birth that was interrupted or rushed. However hard or easy the birth may have been. Sara maintains that it is never too late to slow down and listen to the baby’s story. It deepens the bond and helps everyone fully arrive as a family!


Babies love it when we:

  1. Slow down to match their pace
  2. When we get as much support as we can as parents
  3. Hold our babies skin to skin