January Newsletter - A Season for Gentle Holding
Jan 15, 2026 12:01 pm
Hi !
January often arrives with a lot of noise. New goals, new habits, new versions of ourselves, all expected to begin on 1 January, as if winter weren’t still asking us to slow down.
But nature tells a different story.
In the depths of winter, the work is quieter. It’s about conserving energy, repairing tissues, building reserves, and staying warm, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Seeds don’t sprout yet; they rest. Roots grow unseen.
This month, I invite you into a gentler January, one of holding, nourishment, and deep support, especially for your gut, your minerals, and your nervous system.
🌿 Blog Post of the Month
Gut Dysbiosis and Iron Deficiency: What You Need to Know
Most people think iron deficiency is simply about not eating enough red meat or greens. But as this month’s blog explores, iron absorption is deeply connected to gut health.
When the gut microbiome is out of balance, even a diet that looks “perfect on paper” may not be enough. Iron regulation, transport, and absorption depend on healthy digestion, stomach acid, and microbial balance.
This article gently breaks down how dysbiosis interferes with iron status, and why rebuilding gut health is often the missing link.
🎧 Podcast of the Month
Kidney Transplantation Journey with Nikkita Frazier
This month I’m sharing a deeply human conversation with Nikkita Frazier.
Nikkita discovered she had kidney disease while pregnant with her youngest child. In this conversation, we talk about her journey, the emotional, physical, and practical realities of living through illness, pregnancy, transplantation, and recovery.
It’s a reminder of the body’s resilience, the importance of support, and the long, often unseen paths people walk.
🍲 Recipe of the Month
Winter Beef & Bone Broth Stew for Bones and Cartilage
This deeply nourishing stew is rich in collagen, gelatine, minerals, and fat-soluble vitamins, exactly what the body needs in winter to support joints, bones, and connective tissue.
Ingredients (serves 4–6):
- 1 kg grass-fed beef shin or chuck (2.2 lb)
- 1–1.5 litres homemade beef bone broth (1.5–2.5 pints UK / 4–6 cups US)
- 2 tbsp beef dripping, butter, or ghee
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 parsnips or turnips, chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- Optional: a splash of raw apple cider vinegar to help extract minerals
Method:
- Heat the fat in a heavy pot and brown the beef well on all sides. Remove and set aside.
- Gently sauté the onions until soft, then add garlic and tomato purée.
- Return the beef to the pot, add vegetables, herbs, and bay leaf.
- Pour over the bone broth, ensuring everything is just covered.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook on very low heat for 2.5–3 hours until the meat is meltingly tender.
- Season to taste and serve with fermented vegetables on the side for digestive support.
This stew is even better the next day, just like most healing foods.
📖 Book of the Month
Grow, Cook, Nourish — Darina Allen
This book is a quiet treasure.
Darina Allen brings together growing, cooking, and nourishing as one continuous cycle, rooted in seasonality, simplicity, and real food traditions. It’s not just a cookbook, but a philosophy of eating that respects the land, the body, and time itself.
Especially in winter, this book reminds us that nourishment isn’t about perfection, it’s about attentiveness, warmth, and choosing foods that truly sustain us.
A beautiful companion for slow kitchens and thoughtful meals.
🧘 Meditation of the Month
Returning to Calm
When life feels heavy or unsettled, the nervous system doesn’t need pushing — it needs gentleness.
This short meditation offers a soft landing. Through breath and compassionate awareness, you’re guided back into your body and into a sense of inner safety, without needing to fix or analyse anything.
Perfect for winter days, emotional fatigue, or moments when you simply need to feel held.
It is not yet approved for InsightTimer, so I cannot share the link for that yet. Therefore, just the YouTube link this time.
✨ Reflection for January
Winter asks us different questions than spring or summer.
Where can you soften instead of striving?
What feels supportive rather than demanding?
Which parts of you need warmth, rest, or reassurance?
Sometimes healing happens not through action, but through allowing.
🌙 Question of the Month
What would it feel like to fully honour winter, in my body, my rhythms, and my expectations of myself?
Sit with this gently. There’s no rush to answer.
🌸 Curious about working with me?
If you’re longing for steadiness, deeper self-connection, or support in navigating your inner world, I’d love to meet you. Coaching offers a gentle, grounded, nourishing space where you can explore what’s going on beneath the surface.
You’re warmly invited to book a gifted conversation, a chance for us to talk, explore, and see what support would feel good for you.
🌱 Something New Is Coming…
There are things quietly taking shape behind the scenes.
One path is nearing completion, shaped by gentleness, safety, and deep respect for women who have walked through experiences that changed them. It has taken time, care, and listening… and it’s almost ready to be held in the world.
Another is growing steadily, layer by layer, rooted in digestion, nourishment, and rebuilding from the inside out. There’s no rushing this one. It’s being built the way strong systems always are: patiently.
For now, these are just whispers.
But if you feel a quiet sense of this might be for me, trust that feeling.
More will be shared when the time is right.
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