About Me

Oh, hey there, I'm Samantha, and I am here to change the conversation about being in a body that bleeds!

I am on a mission to dismantle the stigma and taboo that surrounds menstrual cycles to help women and people with periods unravel the mysteries of their cyclical nature. So they can feel liberated by their bodies rather than blindsided by them. And how do I do that?

I offer Menstrual Wellness Workshops to progressive companies to elevate company culture and create an environment your staff would hate to leave!

AND I run Root & Rise, an on-demand Cyclical Yoga Studio that delivers practices designed to work in rhythm with the natural ebb and flow of each cycle phase.  So how did I end up here?

In July 2020, my world was changed forever.

👉 I learnt that my menstrual cycle was MORE than just my period!

But let's backtrack a bit….

You just don’t know what you don’t know! And that was sadly the case for me and my menstrual cycle.

😩 I was happily living in the dark (except I was miserable)
😩 Going about life without periods (because I'd had 3 rounds of a coil)
😩 Living in my masculine energy (aka a one-way ticket to burnout town)

I never thought about my cycle, periods, or my body! I treated it like a meat suit along for the ride!

➡️ I got frustrated by it when it didn't do what I wanted it to
➡️ Betrayed when my legs failed me, and I couldn't run as fast as I wanted to.
➡️ And blindsided by the many waves of emotion that sucker-punched me regularly.

It's safe to say I was living in total disconnect from my body!

 

⛅ And then YOGA entered my world!

It took about 3 classes before I was OBSESSED.

I like to refer to Yoga as a gateway drug!

(It's just a class now and then, and then the next thing you know you have crystals coming out the wazoo and singing bowls in every room!)

Because over time -

👉 I started to think about my body differently, rather than it just being a meat sack I carried around.
(And that I openly criticised and hated)

👉I started to be mindful of how I chose to move my body.
(rather than beating it into submission, yeah coz that always worked)

👉 And I started to be mindful of what and how I ate.
(A biggie for me after years of eating disorders)

And I started to become curious about what other secrets it held?

6 years after my yogic discovery I thew caution to the wind, quit my job, packed my bag, and flew to Portugal to do my Yoga Teacher Training with The Sacred Fig (amid the pandemic might I add)

During my yoga teacher training, we learnt about Ayurvedic cycles, and the menstrual cycle was one of them.

Shockingly at 38, this was the first time I had ever heard them referred to as anything more than just a period. You better believe I felt like I’d been hit by a lightning bolt. (And rather ashamed this information had eluded me) 👉 What are the Seasons of the Mensural Cycle?

I came back hungry for more knowledge.

 

By Dec 2020 I was obsessed, and I had made a decision....

 I never wanted any other person to feel as lost and blindsided by their body as I had been!

👉 The days when I betrayed myself and beat my legs for not being able to lift, run and endure as much as they had the week before.

👉 The days at work when all focus and clarity dropped off a cliff and I mentally went from being like a slice of Granny Smith (zing) to being like soggy forgotten cereal.

👉 And worst, the wobble days that came out of the blue and sabotaged my efforts at happiness and had me questioning if I needed antidepressants.

I wanted to help my clients feel at home in their bodies rather than feeling betrayed by them.

 

So, I followed my intuition and found a Cycle Coach facilitator training with Claire Baker at Cycle Coach School, and didn't hesitate to sign up. I just knew I had to share this with the world.

There are so many gaps in the education system, and I believe women and people with periods have a right to this knowledge!

Because it's NOT just knowing when your period is going to arrive.

➡️ It’s a 365-day-a-year awareness.

And that’s when Root & Rise was born!

Root & Rise Yoga Studio

My own body has been one of my biggest teachers, I walk my talk and live what I preach. So much of what I am able to share has been informed by my own experiences.

So, I took my passion for yoga and mindful movement, blended it with my newfound cyclical knowledge and created a one-of-a-kind virtual yoga studio. Except it's not just yoga...

It's an online platform that continues to help its members learn and connect with their body's natural rhythms and inner wisdom.

➡️ So instead of beating yourself up, you can move with mother nature to build an intelligent practice that aligns with your energy.

The membership delivers a new practice each week, each one designed to work with a different phase of the cycle. So that you ALWAYS have a way to move with your body in a way that feels GOOD.

🩸 And it now includes access to Cycle Design, an all-expenses paid deep dive into your cycle through the magical medium of journaling!

Designed to work with your cycle, from day 1 of your period, you will receive an audio lesson straight into your inbox with a short journalling or thought prompt to help you understand each day, of every cycle phase in full technicolour glory!

 

It's been a wild ride the last 3 years and I have helped 100's to connect with the wisdom of their bodies to finally feel at ease in their own skin.

And now I am most excited as my business expands to be unapologetically challenging the status quo about menstrual wellness, particularly in the workplace.

Menstrual Wellness Workshops

Back In the days of my old 9-5 I vividly remember (more than once) walking to work with a heavy feeling. Trying as hard as I could to hold back tears stinging at my eyes, I wasn't sure what it was, OR why it was happening. But I knew I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders.

I managed to get through the door, 'crack facing' my way to my desk. (You know that fake smile thing you do when you don't want anyone to know you're dying inside)

I even managed to make it through a few hours. But by mid-morning, I couldn't hold it back.

I sat crying uncontrollably, I was mortified, and I wasn't even sure what was wrong, I just knew I couldn't be there.

My concerned line manager pulled me aside. I couldn't tell her what was wrong, I didn't know what was wrong! And she didn't know how to help me either.

So, she did the only thing she could and sent me home (rather than have me be an uncontrollable blubbering mess at my desk).

I felt totally betrayed by my emotions, overwhelmed, and completely lost. But what I didn't know, and wouldn't know for years to come...

...is that I was struggling with PMS!

 

🤔 It got me thinking...

❓How much more productive and engaged could I have been if I'd had the option to work from home during those challenging days rather than just being absent?

What if my line manager had been given a little menstrual wellness education? Would she have been able to spot it?

❓ And how much better would I have felt knowing that my workplace truly cared about my health AND provided the support I needed for my well-being and the progression of my role?

👉 And that is why I KNOW it's time for a change.

Because I am not alone in my story.

It's time for employers to recognise the impact of menstrual health has on their employees, and to create inclusive work environments that prioritise well-being.

By offering flexible work arrangements and implementing supportive policies, companies can empower their staff to navigate their menstrual experiences with dignity.

And without compromising their progression OR productivity.

👏 It's time to change the conversation.

That's why I am driven to help organisations dismantle the shame and taboo around menstrual cycles in the workplace. And to implement measures that ensure better menstrual wellness so that employees truly feel seen, heard, and respected. 👉 Get your Workplace Menstrual Wellness Checklist 

My services and solutions are all driven by my brand values -

Leadership: The courage to shape the future without taboo.

Integrity: Committed to my mission and walking my talk.

Compassion: Helping you to feel at ease in your body.

Unity: To stand with and be a voice for those in need.

Inclusivity: Making space for all human experience

So some things about me, hmmmm let's see…

🏄🏼‍♀️ I LOVE surfing! I'm as obsessed with it as I am with menstrual cycles and yoga!

🏊🏼‍♀️ In fact, I love all sea activities, I am a qualified scuba diver, and over the last few years, I've become obsessed with cold water therapy. Love a cold sea dip or at the very least cold-water shower, it makes me feel ALIVE and it supports perimenopause. 👉 6 Reasons to Start Cold Water Swimming

🏂🏼 I have worked 6 ski seasons across Austria and France and love to snowboard, I got pretty good at it one season too! Now I keep my passion for the snow alive with regular holidays. I like doing cold stuff, but I don't like to be cold haha

🏔 I've climbed up Mount Fuji and travelled to Japan, Indonesia, and Australia my soul is full of wanderlust and love to experience anything different from the way I live my own life.

Annnd of course, I LOVE helping the change-makers of the world to work in harmony with their hormones too.

🎉 Helping my clients have those Ah-haaa moments when they understand THEIR body and THEIR cycle, and watching them shift and create incredible change, just gives me the greatest joy.

Don't just take my word for it......