About me …
I’m Issie (pronounced Izzy). I’m an Internationally Certified Life & Creativity Coach based in the market town of Bury St Edmunds in the UK.
I’m also a mother to my brilliant & energetic daughter, Rosie and partner to bearded Carpenter Richard. I’m passionate about helping women cultivate self awareness, self compassion & creativity to increase feelings of inner confidence & self worth. Over the years I have gathered an overflowing (& ever growing) toolkit of practices, creative & otherwise, that support me in my everyday life and I LOVE helping women to create their own unique toolkits, so that they too can live wholehearted, nourishing & fulfilling lives.
It is often said that, as coaches, we do the work of helping others with the very thing we struggle(d) with ourselves.…and that is exactly my story.
For years I battled with negative self talk, worry, overwhelm and a lack of self worth. My internal world was a hostile environment to roam, at it’s worst the negative voice in my head would say things like; ‘you’re rubbish/ useless/ too sensitive’, ‘no one will love you’. At other times it would flood my mind with rumination and worry; ‘…but what if this is the wrong decision’, ‘what will they think?!’ ‘I can’t let them down’…I could go on. I was living with this constant nagging voice reinforcing my belief that I was too sensitive, not good enough and that my worth was based on putting the needs of others first; being ‘the good girl’. Decision making was torturous and patterns of people pleasing, perfectionism and overthinking (everything) were controlling my life. It kept me small and stuck. I was exhausted, depleted, stuck in my head and disconnected from my needs, my body & my source of aliveness - the things that brought me joy.
CREATIVITY
Sustainable shifts started happening when I began reconnecting with my creativity. For 6th form I went to a school that praised academia. My timetable felt heavy with History & English, but pockets of my time were spent in the art department. This time was sacred to me. The art department with it’s smells, textures and creative possibilities was a sanctuary to me & I couldn’t get enough of it.
As I took the opportunity to draw, paint & play with clay I felt myself slowly come back to life - soaking up opportunities to sink back into my body and out of my busy mind. The relief was palpable. I had a source through which I could drop my shoulders, slow & deepen my breathing, feel relaxed, at peace and present. Creativity was my charger when my battery was low, nourishing, nurturing and fulfilling.
I was on track to study History of Art. It was what was expected of me. But I was struggling with History (despite my Dad being a Historian, oh the shame!) and I failed to get the grades I needed for my top University choices. This felt like a real blow. My inner good girl was devastated and ashamed. I’d failed; I was so stuck in my conditioning about what I felt was expected of me, I couldn’t see another way. I believed I was a failure. I believed my life was a failure.
Reflecting back now, I can see what I perceived as a failure was actually a re-direction. Lost and confused I turned to writing (& therapy!). Slowly I began to ask myself ‘what do I want to do?’ …it felt like the first time I had given myself the space & permission to consider it. I thought back to my love of the art department, how at peace I felt there, how I could feel my confidence grow as I explored new ideas and creative possibilities. Slowly the thought emerged…what if I was to study art instead of the history of it. What would that feel like? My body said it all - I felt fizzy inside, a nervous excitement; a string of lightbulbs holding ideas and possibilities began pinging on inside my mind. I knew I had to follow this feeling.
It didn’t lead me astray. 4 years of studying art were amongst the most fulfilling and joyous years of my life so far.
My confidence & self worth were strengthened by following the pull towards something that brought me joy, over what I felt was expected of me. It was the beginning of a new way of living for me; one where I started making moves towards living for myself rather than meeting the needs and expectations of others.
In the years that followed my creativity showed up in a variety of ways; writing, baking, sewing projects, knitting, decorating my bedroom/house, doodling in my sketchbook, painting, printmaking, embroidery …the thread that ran through them all was that I fell into a state of mindful flow. I was able to regularly take a break from the thoughts in my head. I felt more present, grounded, nourished and fulfilled. I felt like I was connecting with something deep within myself - the source of my joy & aliveness, away from the state of constant worry and negative self talk.
Over time I realised the key to the most relaxing creative projects were the projects that weren’t for anyone else; they weren’t made under pressure, they weren’t made with anybody’s expectation of what I ‘should’ create in mind, they weren’t for sale (though lets not rule that out completely!)…I was finding joy, nourishment and space from my busy mind in the simple act of making.
Taking time out from my busy life (& mind) built in moments of relief, a pause, a fresh perspective, and built resilience for when life would inevitably throw out challenges.
From this place of peace & presence I found myself able to slowly re-connect with my inner world. I was able to see myself as separate from my thoughts. Slowly I developed a healthier dialogue with them. I no longer tried to wrangle them into submission or pretend they didn’t exist (exhausting!) but instead acknowledged the thoughts, paused and offered myself comfort, reassurance and self compassion. The result was, my self worth grew & I was able to take steps forward in areas where I had been stuck for so long.
YOGA
This dialogue and connection with my inner world strengthened when, shortly out of University, I found myself in a yoga class. Finally, after years of telling myself ‘I was no good at sports’ I’d found a way of moving my body which made sense to me. I found my breath and through my breath I found stillness & space from my busy mind. I had found another source through which I could drop my shoulders, slow & deepen my breathing, feel relaxed, at peace and present.
Yoga & the benefits that it brought to my life (not just physically but on an emotional level too) were so compelling to me that in 2013 I started a 3 year yoga teacher training to deepen my knowledge of all things yoga. This is where I first heard about the nervous system and ways we can regulate it. It felt like the missing piece in my exploration of creativity and yoga & why I had been so drawn to them both; when my inner world felt turbulent they were my self regulation, the path back home to myself.
LIFE COACHING
In early 2018, I stumbled across a book called Yoga & Life by Becky Center. It was a book made up of several short stories written about the work of women working as yoga teachers (as I was at the time) and life coaches. It was my first glimpse into the intriguing world of coaching. As I read the stories I was struck by the transformational effect of coaching; the ability it had to hold a space for self exploration, a fresh perspective, action and accountability. I was suddenly hit by the same sensations I had when I decided to pursue art over history of art; full body tingles, nervous excitement and ideas & possibilities began pinging on like light bulbs in my mind. I knew once again this was a feeling that was worth following. Once again it didn’t lead me astray. A few months later I trained with the fantastic Beautiful You Coaching Academy. Now my wriggly (& often confusing) career path makes sense; as I have been acquiring the tools, lived experience and training to support women in a unique way through creativity, yoga & coaching.
Now, I am passionate about helping women who are caught up in patterns of negative self talk, people pleasing and perfectionism to find the unique tools that help them; to support them as they build in moments of rest and creativity into their everyday lives, cultivate presence & curiosity, and live a life with greater self awareness, self compassion and self worth.
To get a taste of the coaching experience you can read the praise that past clients have generously given HERE.
Please do reach out via EMAIL with any questions you may have or to book in a, no obligation, discovery call.
I can’t wait to hear from you!
Issie xx
