Am delighted to be sharing this interview with the fantabulous Dr Emma Bede. We met online when we were both presenting at Online Events’ Living and Working with Neurodivergence Conference last year and she is SUCH a joy.

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Here are some of my favourite quotes from our conversation:

“These are the structures I need to have in place. I think as someone with ADHD, I think if I think of that as like, ‘Come on, you’ve got to do this every day for the rest of your life,’ I just get angry.” ~ Dr Emma Bede

“I’m not very good at forming habits. Things don’t become autopilot except for the really unhelpful things. I played Candy Crush once and I’m going to play it every day for the rest of my life. But for the helpful things, I’m never on autopilot, you know, I always need the reminders, the prompts, the visual cues, the apps, the habit trackers. But I’ve been gradually adding more and more things.” ~ Dr Emma Bede

“I can’t do all of those things every day, but they go in waves and I’m getting better over time at noticing, oh, I’ve skipped a few days of this actually. And I quite kind of miss it and I want to come back to it. I want to feel how I feel when I do that thing and that might mean that I give up on something else a little bit.” ~ Dr Emma Bede

“I’m saying to other people, ‘Well, that’s OK. That’s how your body works. That’s how your brain works. Let’s find a way to go with that. Let’s find a way to go with the rhythm of that.’ And then to walk out of the room and swear at myself for doing the exact same thing? You can only sustain that for so long.” ~ Dr Emma Bede

“If you’re holding a screwdriver in your hand and everyone else is holding a spanner, you can sit there for years trying to use it as a spanner and it’s not going to work. But then you go, ‘Do you know what? This is a screwdriver. I cannot do the things that those people can do with their spanners, but screwdrivers can do amazing stuff. I’m going to go do some of those things!’” ~ Dr Emma Bede

JOURNAL PROMPTS

As you watch or listen to our interview, ask yourself:

Let me know in the comments or by email – eve@selfcarecoaching.net

le grá (with love),

Eve

CHAPTERS

0:00–1:54 Self-care without punishment: the paradox of acceptance and change

1:54–5:13 Welcome and introductions: Dr Emma Bede

5:13–13:02 Ideal vs actual self-care: ACT, gentleness, and finding a rhythm that works with ADHD/autism

13:02–20:06 Self-acceptance, perfectionism, and “acceptance permits change” (including the screwdriver metaphor and RSD moment)

20:06–28:21 Support systems and boundaries: co-regulation, humour, cats and spotting capacity before meltdown

28:21–33:06 Healing your Younger Self: reassurance, being more of you, and not being a “tribute band”

33:06–35:35 Where to find Emma, book mention and closing notes

LINKS

Emma Bede’s website:

https://www.willowpsychology.co.uk/

https://thefeelbettereverydaypodcast

for all episodes and more information

https://selfcarecoaching.net

for free resources (including Míle Buíochas Mondays), more...

GET YOUR FREE POLYVAGAL-INFORMED JOURNAL PROMPTS HERE

If it hadn’t been for the immediate pain relief from the endometriosis, I’d have run a gazillion miles in the opposite direction from yoga, breathwork and meditation. Back in 2001, I didn’t understand about the impact my trauma history had on my capacity to feel safe around other humans, let alone my differently wired brain and extra sensitive nervous system.

I’d adore elements (was getting up for 6.30am classes in London at one point) but be full of angst – which I blamed myself for – around many other seemingly inevitable parts of every class (e.g. other people’s feet waaaay too close to my face when I struggled with even my own feet being so close).

In this episode, I share some of my yoga glimmers as well as triggers and ideas – using the Feel. Love. Heal. framework – to help you give yourself the chance to experience calm and ease as you build strength, resilience, flexibility, focus, stamina, balance and reconnect with the peace and joy that are your birthright.

JOURNAL PROMPTS

As you watch or listen to this episode, ask yourself:

What do I hate about yoga, meditation and breathwork?

Might there be ways around it?

To get the benefits without wanting to run a gazillion miles in the opposite direction?

What do I LOVE about them? In the moment? For minutes, hours and even days afterwards?

What will you do differently (with your self-talk and communicating your needs and wants to others) as a result of watching or listening to this episode?

Let me know in the comments or by email – eve@selfcarecoaching.net

And if you’re feeling sad reading this because you can’t think of anything that supportive, let it be a cue to encourage you to be open to more of it in 2026 and beyond.

LINKS

Moving into 2026 with Roxy Romaniuk: https://youtu.be/3fZVHL_4wzk

Community as Self Care (with Elizabeth Potts): https://youtu.be/ukjngIR6U_w

Book bonus videos: https://selfcarecoaching.net/book/

Míle Buíochas Mondays: https://feelbettereveryday.kit.com/f7f730d651

Trauma-informed and neuro-affirming yoga, breathwork and meditation: https://selfcarecoaching.net/services/yoga-and-meditation/

Endometriosis:

https://selfcarecoaching.net/?s=endometriosis

CHAPTERS

0:00–4:12 Introduction and recognising the benefits of yoga, breathwork, and meditation

4:12–8:43 Trauma-informed and neuro-affirming approaches and adapting practice to your needs

8:43–11:34 Sensory considerations, self-advocacy and embracing self-love

11:34–15:34 Community, co-regulation and giving yourself permission to experiment

15:34–20:16 Resources, support and moving further into 2026

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Do you like the idea of yoga, breathwork, meditation, but think that with your trauma history, hypervigilance, AuDHD (that’s autism and ADHD) brain, you simply can’t?

This episode will share some of the things that I use with clients and students, as well as the things that have helped yoga, breathwork and meditation really become a way which I come home to myself, rather than a way in which it often felt quite torturous.

Welcome to Episode 93 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast. I’m your host and producer, Eve Menezes Cunningham. I’m an author,...

Happy New Year! And welcome to Season 3 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast!

As we move into 2026, am delighted to share my (Eve Menezes Cunningham, author, podcast host, columnist, trauma-informed and neuro-affirming therapist, Self care coach and senior accredited supervisor – https://selfcarecoaching.net has more information) interview with yoga teacher, Roxy Romaniuk.

I adore her yoga classes and really loved our conversation and her honesty about moving through difficult feelings, emotions and situations by paying attention and moving them through her body with movement and journalling.

I know yoga students and groups have often called me serene (and that I so often feel anything but!) AND while I don’t know how Roxy feels on the inside while she’s teaching, I do know that she wouldn’t embody such serenity as a yoga teacher if she wasn’t doing all this inner work.

Nothing’s good or bad. Everything is simply information. But we all need support (compassion for ourselves as we face challenges, the courage to ask for help and support and community around us to offer it when we can’t ask).

JOURNAL PROMPTS

As you watch or listen to our interview, ask yourself: How might you make more space to process, reflect and work with ALL the feelings in 2026? How and where might you access support and that essential feeling of being held we all need in order to co-regulate and thrive? Maybe there’s a yoga class local to you where you feel able to exhale deeply and let go? Maybe a great friend or loved one you don’t have to mask around? A therapist or coach? Some other kind of relationship?

Let me know in the comments or by email – eve@selfcarecoaching.net

And if you’re feeling sad reading this because you can’t think of anything that supportive, let it be a cue to encourage you to be open to more of it in 2026 and beyond.

THE SOLE TO SOUL CIRCLE IS EVOLVING

Whereas before, the deeper dive exclusive content would go out on Wednesdays, this will now be an additional bonus for my Míle Buíochas Mondays newsletter subscribers (as well as the regular polyvagal-informed journal prompts and some of the things I’m most grateful for and delighted to share with you). If you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up for free at https://feelbettereveryday.kit.com/f7f730d651

And I’ll share more about the evolving Sole to Soul Circle soon.

Happy New Year!

Le grá (with love),

Eve

LINKS

@yogawithroxy

theyogaroot.org – check out their upcoming open weekend with free classes

CHAPTERS

(0:03) Difficulty expressing “negative” emotions

(2:07) Introducing guest Roxolana Romaniuk

(3:47) Ideal vs actual self-care through my Feel. Love. Heal. framework

(6:00) Small daily rituals and intuitive movement

(8:13) Expressing anger and difficult emotions safely

(12:21) Community, belonging, and collective care

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Do you struggle to express yourself when you’re feeling really sad or angry or hurt or any of the so-called negative emotions?

Today’s guest is an absolute delight and while she’s one of my favourite yoga teachers, I especially love what she shares about her own self-care in terms of giving space, making space for messy movement and expression.

I hope you love listening to her as much as I enjoyed talking to her and I’d also love to hear from you in terms of maybe the emotion you struggle most to process and what you’re going to do differently, what you’re going to try as a result of today’s episode.

Welcome to episode 92 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast and I look forward to hearing from you.

I’m your host and producer Eve Menezes Cunningham. I’m an author, columnist, trauma therapist, self-care coach and senior accredited supervisor specialising in ADHD and