The Pod: A Circle for Carers
The Pod is a monthly session where people who are growing their families come together as a community to carve out space and time to process and reflect on our identities as they evolve, and to learn and practice activities together to support our mental wellbeing.
Join us to build community and to build a toolbox of resilience practices - both of which will serve you throughout your parenting/caring journey.
When and where we meet
We meet in the Pavilion at Flo’s in East Oxford one Saturday morning every month, from 9:45-12:15. [Show me the dates.]
Who it’s for
The Pod is for anyone, of any gender, who is growing their family, and who would benefit from space to connect with others and carve out some time for themselves. This is an inclusive space. Pregnant and postpartum people and their partners, people who are trying to conceive, hoping to adopt or foster, or anyone else planning to or already caring participating in the care of babies, children or young people are all welcome.
Lots of services cater just for pregnant folks or just for postpartum folks, and at Kindred we believe this is often appropriate and needed, but we also believe it is very valuable to break down this divide and create spaces where people can come together and build community across this line. We also believe that there are not many spaces cultivated for parents and carers who are not pregnant or who have not birthed their baby/babies to receive support and build community, and we want the Pod to help fill that gap.
What we do
9:45: Meet, chat, settle in - Make connections, sow the seeds for new friendships and mutual support, or just relax and settle in.
10:00-12:00 Activities:
Introductions circle (10 minutes)
Move & Breathe - We will do some grounding/nervous system regulating yoga and breathwork (20 minutes).
Creative Activity - We will do one of the creative processing activities drawn from the Maternal Journal Toolkit - this might be a collage, drawing or painting, or journalling exercise (1 hour).
Relaxation Exercise - We will take time to just rest, in a guided relaxation exercise (20 minutes).
Final checkout (10 minutes)
12-12:15: Chatting, goodbyes.
POD dates for 2026
September:
October:
November:
December:
-
The intention of The Pod is for it to be a space that is as child-free as possible, so as to give carers time away from their caring responsibilities where they can focus on themselves. If it is possible, and comfortable, for you to delegate the care of your small person or people to someone else, please do! If this is not possible and you would like to attend, please do get in touch to explore this with me. Small people are however very welcome to come in and out for feeds/cuddles etc as needed, without needing to arrange this in advance - though if possible it would be better if this could be minimised during the final 20 minute relaxation session.
-
That is totally fine! The sessions are designed to be inclusive and accessible. The exercises will be gentle, trauma-informed, and everything is optional.
-
That is totally fine. What is important is the process, not the finished work. The atmosphere is very relaxed and supportive.
-
Bring a notebook, pen, water bottle, and a yoga mat if you have one. I will have spare yoga mats so just come without if you don’t have one. Wear comfortable clothes you can move in (but no need for “sports” clothes).
-
I’ll give out handouts of the Move & Breathe exercises for you to take home which will be clear enough for you to follow at home between Pod sessions. I will also bring a number of other Maternal Journal handouts that you can take away if you want to do any more creative processing exercises at home between Pod sessions.
-
If you like you can join the Pod WhatsApp group to support building connections. You can also make your own connections with other participants and foster these between Pod sessions. If you are anxious or want support making connections please let me know and we can check in about what support would be useful from Kindred around this.
-
Yes! If you feel like you would benefit from the Pod sessions and community and are or have been a parent/carer then you are very welcome to come along.
-
Yes! They are a very intentionally inclusive, grassroots organisation with values very similar to Kindred’s. In their words their resources are deigned to “provide an inclusive and safe space for anyone who has experienced pregnancy, given birth, identifies as a mother or as a woman or non-binary carer”. At Kindred we have a wider remit and include all other parents and carers, so I carefully select resources from within the Maternal Journal toolkit to be inclusive for this wider community.
-
You can book a one-off session - there are three price-points:
Community: £15
Standard £20
Supporter £25
You can also book to come to 4 sessions within 12 months at the following rate:
Community : £55
Standard: £75
Supporter: £95
If cost is a barrier to you, please email me - I can provide up to 2 spaces for free in every session as long as enough people who are able to pay have booked to make this viable for me to do.
