Body, Birth & Postpartum support with Joelle

Bio

I'm 38 and was born in a hippie commune called Hill House in Bristol. Interestingly, one of the families living there had one of the UK's first water births, using a plastic fish pond in their living room, making national headlines. After that, my family moved around, living in Yorkshire before settling in Dartington, Devon. I later returned to Yorkshire to complete both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds. Over the following 15 years, I built a career inspired by that training, working across dance, yoga, massage, photography, filmmaking and illustration. Alongside this, I also worked in childcare, both privately and within schools. Later, I specialised in pre and postnatal yoga with Birthlight before becoming a mother to my two sons, Kit and Zac. Motherhood has been both the most humbling and empowering experience of my life, deepening my understanding of birth, recovery and matrescence, and inspiring me to support growing families through this extraordinary transition. Since then, I've trained with former Doula UK Director Leila Baker (Side by Side Doulas), Michele Misgalla (Spinning Babies), Molly O'Brien (Biomechanics for Birth, Optimal Birth), Suzanne Yates (Pregnancy & Postnatal Massage), and Leah Lewin (Free From Harm), deepening my understanding of birth physiology, bodywork and navigating today's maternity system. Looking back, what once seemed like an indirect path now feels deeply purposeful. Each experience has led me here, allowing me to weave together movement, touch, creativity and compassionate support in my work with people through matrescence and bodywork.