WOMEN’S CIRCLES

Women’s circles are a safe space of curiosity, community and connection at the most essential level of our shared human experience.

What is siting in circle?

Women have gathered and sat together in circle for hundreds of years. 

A circle is an intimate space, free of judgement or expectations. It is a space to come together without the need to ‘do’ anything; to simply talk and be together, to be held in community. It’s a space where we can bring our joy, our pain and all the shared messiness of motherhood. 

In a listening circle we practise actively listening as well as being actively heard. As simple as it sounds, circles fill a deep need we have to sit in shared spaces of connection and sisterhood, without giving or receiving advice. They can be an extraordinarily transformative experience, exploring our thoughts and feelings with others and listening with presence and compassion. 

craft and chat mothers’ circles

  • Craft & Chat is a monthly women’s circle for mothers in South London. We gather from 10:15 - 12:15 at The Green Community Centre, Nunhead (SE15 3QQ)

    February 10 - Jesmonite and chat
    Jesmonite is a versatile eco-resin that is used for casting in moulds. Solvent-free and safe to use, we’ll be learning how to create a coaster, candle holder or trinket tray.

    March 9 - Gold leaf & gilding
    We’ll learn how to wet sand, use gold leaf or gilding. Bring your finished pieces from the last session or I will provide something to practice on and take home.

    April 20 - Embossing
    Learn a hot stamping method to create a 3D card.

    Join one session or all three at a reduced price. No previous experience necessary!

  • If you would like deeper, more meaningful connections.

    If you crave being seen and heard, beyond your mothering duties.

    If you would like to find your own voice, away from the external noise and pressures.

    If you would like to learn something new, and enjoy the benefits of creating something with your hands. Using our hands can help us be present and notice the stories and feelings running in our head.

    Or if you just want to have some time for yourself, to re-discover what you like doing, to rest away from children, to pause the demands of daily life. Then join us at Craft & Chat!

  • Craft & Chat is a women’s circle for mothers at any stage of matrescence.
    Whether you’re parenting a toddler or a teenager, we all benefit from a space to talk openly and be listened to without judgement.

    Babies in arms are welcome.

  • The circles don’t have a theme, but I may introduce some ideas relating to motherhood or parenting such as:

    Mum rage
    Re-parenting
    Matrescence
    Emotional load

    You are welcome to share your own experiences around this theme or anything else that comes to mind.


    Crafting will allow us to access a state of flow and chat more freely without holding back.

  • Investment for one circle is £34. Book all three circles for £90.

    The price of each circle includes all crafting materials needed to make something to take home.

    It also includes a hot drink and refreshments (a light breakfast).

What happens at a mothers’ circle?

  • Mothers’ circles are a sanctuary where our voices weave a tapestry of wisdom, healing and sisterhood.

  • We will make something different for each circle. You do not need to have any experience crafting or making things or identify as being “creative”.

  • We usually begin with a crafting activity. This allows us to relax by focusing on a creative task, spend some time making something with our hands while having a hot drink and some nourishing food.

  • We then sit together in a circle and introduce ourselves, bringing our focus to the present moment and acknowledging our intention and commitment to being here.

  • I will introduce you to the circle guidelines and invite you to stay present with the sharing knowing that everything shared in a circle stays in the circle.

  • I will then invite you to share whatever feels most alive in you. In a circle we try to quieten down the “shoulds” and the shame and we have a chance to be heard and witnessed with whatever wants to be held.

  • You may feel emotions bubble up. There may be tears, you may resonate deeply with other stories shared. We will listen with empathy and allow everything that is present to be present; tears, joy, laughter, anger or frustration can flow where needed.

  • We will connect with each other through our shared  experiences.

  • We will close the circle with a grounding practice and you will leave feeling nourished, supported and like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. 

  • I loved simply having some time to myself, getting creative and letting my mind wander.
    I also loved discovering all the common threads us mothers have running through our lives and it's wonderful to openly share and not feel alone in our experience.

    Charlotte

  • The Mothers' Circle gave me (much needed) space and time for me. Maru creates a warm and generous space to share experiences. Sharing with other mothers encouraged me to reflect on my own experiences, and my experience of motherhood, and not feel so alone. Thank you Maru for your time and energy, creating these meaningful spaces.

    Becky

  • Aware Parenting has changed the way I parent and improved every aspect of my relationship with my child. A big factor in that has been understanding the centrality of my own mental health journey and personal development.

    However it can also feel lonely practising a parenting approach which isn’t mainstream and so attending Maru’s circle has been really supportive and beneficial.

    Maru is an experienced and thoughtful facilitator and is skilled at holding space for complex feelings, so that everyone feels heard. By grounding each session in core principles, I also left each session with a greater depth of knowledge about Aware Parenting.

    Jane

This offering is for you if 

  • You identify as a mother, whether biologically, by adoption, a stepmother or other - at any stage of mothering (from the toddler years to teenagers and beyond).

  • If you would like to experience being seen, being heard and being listened to with compassion.

  • If you would like to try something new - whether that is sitting in circle or a new craft!

  • If you’re longing for connection. Through laughter, tears and making we’ll create a community to hold our stories and leave feeling refreshed.

  • You are open to a new experience of gathering in circle even if you’re new to circles and not quite sure what to expect. (I am there to hold everyone’s experience and will be checking in with everyone after each circle).

who am i

I’m an Aware Parenting instructor and a mother of 2 young children. I have found parenting an equal mix of eye-opening, awe-inspiring and confronting.

I believe that women need safe, respectful and trusting spaces to come together in community, to explore our inner world and gather in connection and sisterhood. We have always needed this. It is primal and innate. 

I know that having someone listen to whatever I’m going through without judgement nor advice, is what makes this journey feel less daunting and I am committed to creating compassionate spaces where women can gather to experience for themselves the resourcing that happens in a circle.

Like many, I long for the community and village we are lacking and these circles aim to provide just that, which is why we sit with the same group over 4 sessions. 

If mothering has taught me anything it is that most of the hard work in parenting is shining a light on ourselves, our past wounds and how they affect our day-to-day when looking after children. In circle we can do this together.

why join this circlE

When we gather in circle with other women, we can receive the compassion, understanding and love we at times find hard to give ourselves. 

By speaking freely and without being interrupted, we often uncover thoughts, stories and feelings we weren’t aware of. We often stumble upon the solution to a problem we were struggling with.

In a mother’s circle we can acknowledge how hard it can be when we have experienced difficult or traumatic childhoods ourselves. Or simply when we are trying to break cycles and do things differently for our children.

We can share the mothering load by speaking about it and bringing our most powerful tool; presence.

what makes this circle different

We will be making something new with our hands for each session. Each circle we’ll explore a new craft and take something home.

Maru is an experienced circle facilitator and passionate about unpicking patriarchal motherhood.

aware parenting mothers’ circle

  • This is a circle of 4 sessions running fortnightly, an Aware Parenting virtual village. It is a space for listening and support.
    Showing up as the parents we wish to be and parenting differently to our parents, friends and culture can feel extra hard and lonely. Circles are a medicine in today’s world; they offer us new spaces of connection, reflection and a chance to allow ourselves to be seen, heard and supported in all that we do and are.

  • Who are familiar with the ethos of Aware Parenting.
    (Whether you’re a newcomer to Aware Parenting or have practised AwP for years, this circle is for you).

    Care about holding space for their children’s feelings.


    Are feeling isolated in how they parent.


    Are unsure if what they’re experiencing is common or normal.


    Want to feel supported by other parents who understand this approach.


    Committed to raising children in respectful and compassionate ways.

  • Have a regular space to share with other like-minded parents.

    To be heard and held in a supportive space.
    To feel more confident in how you are parenting.
    And reassured that what they’re going through is normal and common.
    To understand how the Aware Parenting theory works in practice and for different families.
    To create more space in yourself by expressing your feelings, and uncovering patterns of thinking. So you can in turn be there to hold and listen to more of your baby’s or children’s feelings.
    Explore your childhood wounds and how they show up when you parent.

  • Each circle will have a different theme based on Aware Parenting such as:

    Sleep (yours & your children)
    Mum rage
    Re-parenting
    Tears & tantrums
    Aggressive behaviour
    Attachment play
    Loving limits
    Control patterns
    Trauma & mini-trauma
    Birth trauma

    As an Aware Parenting Instructor, I will introduce each theme before opening the space for sharing your own experiences and understanding around this theme.

When & where:

The next circle will run every 2 weeks on Wednesday evenings online via Zoom

Dates

Wednesdays from 20:00 - 21:40 pm

Next circles: From January 2024

Investment:

£99 for all 4 circles 

why join this circlE

When we gather in circle with other women, we can receive the compassion, understanding and love we at times find hard to give ourselves. 

By speaking freely and without being interrupted, we often uncover thoughts, stories and feelings we weren’t aware of. We often stumble upon the solution to a problem we were struggling with.

In a mother’s circle we can acknowledge how hard it can be when we have experienced difficult or traumatic childhoods ourselves. Or simply when we are trying to break cycles and do things differently for our children.

We can share the mothering load by speaking about it and bringing our most powerful tool; presence.

what makes this circle different

By joining these circles you get access to the knowledge and experience of a qualified Aware Parenting instructor. As well as the experience of other parents who have been or are going through the same things.

If you join an Aware Parenting circle there is always space at the end to ask any questions relating to the theory and practice of Aware parenting, listening to feelings, attachment play, etc. 

This offering is for you if 

  • You identify as a mother, whether biologically, by adoption, a stepmother or other. 

  • If you would like to experience being seen, being heard and being listened to with compassion 

  • You’re able to join the 4 circles. (We will sit together with the same group of mothers for each session, creating community, a shared knowledge, and caring for each other’s experiences).

  • You are open to a new experience of gathering in circle even if you’re new to circles and not quite sure what to expect. (I am there to hold everyone’s experience and will be checking in with everyone after each circle).

  • “The Mothers' Circle gave me (much needed) space and time for me. Maru creates a warm and generous space to share experiences. Sharing with other mothers encouraged me to reflect on my own experiences, and my experience of motherhood, and not feel so alone. Thank you Maru for your time and energy, creating these meaningful spaces.”

    BECKY

  • “Maru’s mothers' circle was my first experience of joining a women’s circle and a lovely introduction. I definitely found that the opportunity to unload some of my own ‘stuff’ helped me to be a much less reactive and more present mum and Maru’s guidance and knowledge was invaluable. I highly recommend joining whether new to or seasoned in aware parenting.”

    SOPHIE

  • “Our sessions together gave me the time and space I needed to talk about, explore and listen to the ways Aware parenting can support my child, but also myself. I really felt held and supported, knowing we were all here for ourselves. Maru was brilliant in creating and facilitating a safe space to explore and unpick the emotions that we sometimes aren’t aware of or didn’t quite know how to respond to. I finished the sessions knowing that we were doing the right thing for our family unit.”

    CANDYCE