The Soft Ground: A Somatic Therapy and Meditation Blog for Women and Mothers

The Soft Ground is a place to pause, soften, unfurl and come back to yourself.

Here you’ll find somatic therapy reflections, nervous system education, body-led meditation practices and embodied motherhood writings for women and mothers moving through postpartum, anxiety, overwhelm and life’s tender transitions.

These words are for the wild, beautiful, slow and emerging places where the body asks to be heard and something within you begins to shift.

Find my more personal musings and writings over on Substack

Why Can’t I Meditate Anymore? A Nervous System Perspective for Women

Meditation can feel very different across a woman’s life. What once felt grounding or spacious may begin to feel flat, agitating or out of reach as stress, hormones, grief, caregiving, trauma or major life transitions shape the body and nervous system. This piece explores why that happens and how practice may need to change with more gentleness, safety and respect for the body.

Read More
Lauren Howe Lauren Howe

Mothering as a devotional practice

A personal reflection on mothering as a devotional practice, the invisible labour of raising children, and why mothers need less fixing and more space to tell the truth about exhaustion, care, and the hard seasons of family life.

Read More
postpartum, Somatic Healing Lauren Howe postpartum, Somatic Healing Lauren Howe

The evolution of this space: why I am now offering body-led sessions for all women

I’m expanding my work to support all women, not only mothers. While I still offer my 4-session nervous system program for mothers, I’m now also offering private body-led sessions for women in all seasons of life who are navigating anxiety, overwhelm, life transitions, or a longing to feel more connected to themselves.

Read More

IVF can be an unspoken trauma, even when it brings a baby

IVF can leave a nervous system imprint that doesn’t disappear once you become a mum. This personal reflection explores powerlessness, grief, medical mistreatment, and the pressure to be “only grateful”, and why so many mothers carry IVF into postpartum in ways that are rarely spoken about.

Read More

Why “Just Relax” Doesn’t Work When You’re a Mum

Being told to “just relax” can feel frustrating or unreachable for many mothers because stress in motherhood is not a simple state of mind. Research shows that ongoing stress affects the nervous system, emotional regulation, and attention, and is shaped by real demands such as mental load, disrupted sleep, and emotional labour. Relaxation practices can support wellbeing, but lasting ease comes from approaches that honour the body, nervous system, and need for connection over time.

Read More
Nervous System & Regulation Lauren Howe Nervous System & Regulation Lauren Howe

Twin Motherhood and the Nervous System - Why So Many Mums of Multiples Live in Survival Mode

Twin and multiple motherhood places unique and often invisible demands on the nervous system. From pregnancy and birth through to sleep deprivation and constant caregiving, many mums of multiples live in survival mode without understanding why. This compassionate, somatic reflection explores the nervous system impacts of twin motherhood, the hidden grief and loneliness many mums carry, and how coming back to yourself happens slowly through safety, nature, breath and being met.

Read More

I Didn’t Realise How Much Motherhood Would Pull Me Out of My Body - A personal reflection

Motherhood can pull us out of our bodies in ways we never expect. From birth trauma and sleep deprivation to constant nervous system activation, many mothers live in survival mode while quietly wondering where they went. This personal, somatic reflection explores how early motherhood disconnects us from ourselves, why this makes sense through a nervous system lens, and how coming back into the body happens slowly, gently and in relationship. A compassionate read for mothers who feel foggy, vigilant, lonely or not quite themselves yet.

Read More

When Motherhood Feels Lonely and the Feelings Feel Too Big

Motherhood can feel deeply lonely, even when you are never actually alone. Big emotions like overwhelm, rage, grief, guilt or numbness are not signs that something is wrong with you, but signals from a nervous system under pressure. This article gently normalises the emotional intensity of motherhood and offers a somatic, body-led perspective on how to meet these feelings with kindness rather than fixing. It also introduces a supportive Insight Timer course created for mothers who want simple, grounding practices they can return to in real life.

Read More

Can AI Replace Human Connection When I’m Struggling?

This blog explores why more mothers are turning to AI tools like ChatGPT for emotional support, and what this reach may be pointing to beneath the surface, including loneliness, shame, and a lack of relational care. While acknowledging the comfort and accessibility AI can offer in moments of overwhelm, this piece gently names the limits of technology when it comes to deep healing. Through a somatic and nervous-system-informed lens, it explains why our deepest wounds are formed in relationship and therefore need to heal in relationship too, highlighting the essential role of embodied presence, co-regulation, and human connection, particularly in motherhood.

Read More

“Why do I struggle to implement parenting advice? Shame, silence and the nervous system in motherhood”

So many mothers quietly carry this question, especially when they lose their temper or can’t live up to the “gentle” or “conscious” parenting ideals. This blog explores how shame and silence after hard moments keep your nervous system in survival mode, and how societal pressure, lack of support and old wounds all play a role. Instead of perfection, you’ll be invited into something softer: connection, nervous system awareness, and the courage to tell the truth and repair.

Read More