⭕️ Dec - Wanstead Women’s Circle ⭕️

Women have sat in circle since ancient times, knowing there’s magic that arises when women gather.
Our circle will provide a nourishing and nurturing space for women in all stages of life to disconnect from the everyday and be deeply present in both sharing and witnessing women’s stories and wisdom.

Our circle is a space that allows you to go deep, to mine the depths of radical self-enquiry and come home to yourself.

Circles will run monthly on the first Sunday of every month from 5pm - 6.30pm.

All profits for these events will be donated to a charity which helps women in some way.

This month our nominated charity will be Wish. The only UK-wide, user-led mental health charity just for women, Wish was established in 1987 to provide long-term advocacy, emotional support and practical guidance at all stages of a woman’s journey through mental health – whether they are leaving hospital, Pr*son or a community. Wish also call for women’s voices to be heard at a policy level. Wish also launched the Women’s Mental Health Network, a project that seeks to give women with mental health issues in the UK a say in how services are run.You can find out more at https://www.womenatwish.org.uk/

While every circle is different, our circle is a place for women to gather and share whatever is arising for them. We will pass around a talking piece which allows the holder to share whatever is present for them, which is held by the collective of the circle. Our circle offers support, connection and community without offering any response or advice or trying to “fix you”.

No prior experience is necessary and even the quietest voices are welcome. You may feel drawn to share multiple times or not at all.

While many women find sitting in circle to be a ‘spiritual’ experience in the broadest sense, this is a non-denominational practice.

Dress comfortably and be ready to sit cross-legged on the floor with a cushion or bolster. If you require extra support, please let us know and we will happily assist.

Please note, this is not intended to replace any form of therapy or mental health treatment and is not run by trained medical or mental health professionals. If you are struggling please do seek professional help.

To ensure that our circle is a respectful and safe space we ask all attendees to adhere to the following guidelines:

1. PRESENCE: It is so rare in our world to be truly and fully present in anything we’re doing. We ask all attendees to honour the beautiful, sacred space that we have created by listening to those sharing with your full presence and attention and we hope that you will feel the benefit of how special that is when it’s your turn to share.
2. CONFIDENTIALITY: A foundational tenet of our circle is shared trust in its privacy and discretion. Everything shared in circle is confidential and should never leave the circle. Please never assume that just because someone has shared a story in circle that they are open to discussing it again outside of this space.
3. NO ADVICE: we are all guilty of trying to help or fix a situation when we someone we care about is struggling. However well intentioned our advice, sometimes we just need to get stuff off our chest and have it be held without agenda or judgment and that’s what this space is for so in our circle. Accordingly, when someone shares in our circle we won’t respond or give advice.
4. CARE + INTENTION: we are all coming from a rich tapestry of backgrounds and experiences so to the extent so we ask everyone to try and assume best intentions of everyone in the circle while at the same time acknowledging any privilege we are bringing to the circle by trying to choose our words with care and intention and by speaking from our own experience as much as possible.

Victoria is passionate about women’s health in the broadest sense and believes that by taking a holistic bio psycho social approach to women’s experience we can offer a new paradigm for women’s health.

Victoria discovered the magic of circle during lockdown, experiencing first hand the the alchemy that happens when women gather together and the power of the ancient practice of transmission of wisdom from woman to woman and has since trained as a circle facilitator with Sister Stories.

She strongly believes in the importance of witnessing and holding the whole of the human experience, including the darker, shadow side not just the edited highlights reel that our “Instagram” society encourages.

Alongside her day job in tech, Victoria is also a yoga teacher and certified menstrual health coach specialising in yoga for women and women’s health.

Host or Publisher Victoria Kennard