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Medicine for the heart. 

The place where expansion meets deep holding.

The embrace of softening into truth. 

Connection to life’s poetry and mystery. 

6 months of journeying.

Will you join us?

We are living in urgent times where the world can feel a hostile, overwhelming and challenging place to live.

Many of us are holding complex questions about how we relate to ourselves, our communities and the wider world. 

Our bodies and souls are tired. 

Our nervous systems are frazzled. 

We need space to breathe. 

Space to connect to our essence. 

Space to recalibrate and reorient to hope and beauty. 

Space to allow our fullness of emotion to be present. 

Tender is a 6 month Circle Journey which will hold space for you to reconnect to your essence, navigate complexity with grace and emerge with the tools and experience to give you access to a life-changing sense of inner-strength and connectedness.

IF YOU HAVE EVER FELT...

…that you spend your life giving to others and that you need time and space to fill your own cup. 

...that you have tried every type of self development going - and perhaps even work in the healing arts - but have never found the ‘answer’- you still regularly feel depleted, stressed & disconnected. 

…that you ‘should’ be living a calm, connected life by now, given all the work you have put in…

You are in the right place. 

Tender is your access point to allow your relationship to self to deepen slowly, at its own pace, with great reverence and great care. It is an access point to finding the tools to support you through the most challenging of times. It is an access point to feeling the ways in which we can allow ourselves to be held by others if we open ourselves to it. 

This is for those who feel everything deeply - who see life as a great poem and a great tragedy. It is for those for whom living from an open heart feels so rich and yet so vulnerable. It is a space in which to exercise the capacity to live from that open hearted, tender heart, whilst developing the tools to hold yourself through it.

The backbone of this programme is Circle. An intimate, guided space in which you can share, be held and allow yourself to experience the potent experience of having a space which will hold you over 6 months, a place to catch you, a space to land, a space to beat a steady drum through Autumn and into Spring. Our work will be supported by a nervous system practice from Trauma and Nervous System expert Claire Rother. This will form part of your home practice, a commitment you make to yourself to shift and integrate at a nervous system level.

Read the words on this page, see how they land in your body and soul and if you feel the pull to join us, you can book a call to explore.

You are in the right place if…

• You are open hearted & soulful but feel exhausted, disconnected & in need of rejuvenation. 

• You are passionate about being the change you want to see in the world, but often feel too overwhelmed or depleted to take action. 

• You are a kind, giving being who spends their life holding space for others and know that what you need most right now is a space to be held yourself. 

• You are not afraid to go deep and do inner work: you know that the path to finding new levels of aliveness and inner certainty is full of ups and downs.

• You want to tap into your tender, powerful, feminine and intuitive power. 

• You recognise the value of gentle yet potent spaces and are willing to enter a container which is as much about ‘be-ing’ as it is about doing. 

• You want to cultivate the confidence that comes with having a group that sees your essence, accepts it and celebrates it. 

• You want to move through 2023 feeling empowered to live from a place of a connection to your tender, open and deeply connected heart.

WE INVITE YOU TO IMAGINE

How would life feel if you...

• Had the confidence to live life from your most tender, true and aligned place. 

• Had a robust set of nervous system practices to tap into deep calm, confidence and intuition in your work, personal life and play - without needing to take yourself off to meditate. 

• Had a community of women who have seen you as you really are, accepted you and allowed you to meet your true self.

• Had an increased capacity to navigate the highs and lows of life & be with it ALL.

• Had a toolkit of simple yet potent practices to allow you to drop into a feeling of safety, connection and calm within your own body wherever you are; at work, with your children, in moments of conflict and moments of joy. 

• Gave yourself the time, space, nourishment and commitment to reorient your life towards beauty and truth.

our unique approach…

For those of us who are willing to have a tender relationship with life, it is a path that so often we feel we walk in isolation. There are so many contexts in which this is both beautiful and necessary - but the invitation here is to allow us to experience the exploration of what is tender, what is true, what must gently be examined within us in community. 

So many programmes sell unattainable promises and do not acknowledge the complexity of what it is to be human. They lead with promises of rapid transformation and growth & sell ideas of perfection that are at odds with the reality of the human experience. They do not acknowledge that we cannot ‘love and light’ our way through life.

Tender takes an approach that is radically different. This journey is one which recognises that transformation and change is a subtle and often slow process, that will unfold differently for everyone. We do not make false promises. We do not invite you into a vision of your life which is at odds with the reality of your daily experience. 

Instead, we acknowledge that being human is complicated, complex and invite you to learn to dance with the deepest and most challenging complexities. We create space for the full spectrum of emotion, from anger & hurt, to elation and celebration. We invite you to enter a space where you can explore the polarities of your emotions, not only seeking pleasure, creative fulfilment and leaning into the highest vision of yourself, but also allow you to be with the pain, the conflict, the challenges life throws at you. And underpinning that work, you will be guided by our nervous system expert Claire Rother so that you have the tools to emotionally self regulate in any moment, so you can better cope with life’s challenges and enjoy its highs more fully.

We are learning to allow the tenderness in. To access the parts of us so delicate, they feel they need to be held with extreme care. 

We are building our capacity and resilience for the road ahead. 

We are on our knees as a student of life. Hearts open. Palms upturned. Willing. 

These are not quick fixes, but slow, radical and sustainable tools for life.

Tender offers radically simple but hugely potent framework for transforming your relationship to your inner landscape and external circumstances.

My Story; how Circles have changed my life...

by Gemma Brady, Founder of Sister Stories and your guide on this journey

The very first time I attended a Women’s Circle I could barely open my mouth to speak, and when I did, I was completely paralysed by nerves. But much more than that, I was emotionally and physically depleted, with a sense that life was heavy, exhausting and just “too much.” 

Through stepping into the transformative space of Circle, where there is no pressure to do, or be anything, I have seen life transform in front of my eyes. I have spoken on stages, led workshops for 500 people, gained a much clearer sense of who and why I am… But beyond these external markers of success, something much deeper has shifted.

I no longer expect life to be perfect, I no longer seek to ‘fix’ & control everything & I have a much deeper capacity to be with all the complexities of life. To sit in a position of curiosity, of possibility with a matured capacity to hold space for the difficult things in my life, as well as chasing the wonderful highs. 

When I started holding Circles in 2017, I did so because I had an inkling that others might benefit from this kind of experience. Four years later & having sat with hundreds of women I am convinced: 

This work changes lives. 

Each time I hold a group space like the one I am offering to you now, I am dazzled by the transformation that occurs in a container that is so simple. 

We come together, we Circle, we share, we reflect. 

And during that process of bringing ourselves, our curiosity and our commitment, something extraordinary happens. 

It defies words, almost.

Those who are drawn to this space don’t quite know what is calling them to it, but once they enter it, a deep knowing emerges. They feel why the yearning was there. 

This journey is about allowing yourself to commit to the experience of having a deep space held for you and being willing to tend to your inner landscape with curiosity and love.

There are layers within each of us to be unpeeled that can only occur in the safety of a group where trusted bonds are being formed and a path is being walked together. 

These Circles for me have become a gateway to greater courage, compassion, friendship and inner transformation. When the moment comes to step into this experience, there is a sense of having found something one didn’t even know was lost. If this invitation ignites something within, I encourage you to listen.

After years of holding and attending Circles, I felt much more sure of who I was and within Circle, connected to a version of myself that was powerful, whole, full of magic and possibility. But it felt, somehow, that my body was not on board. My nervous system was holding onto an old, high-adrenaline, flighty energy which left me feeling ungrounded. 

I came across the work of Claire Rother and it was like my whole system did an exhale. I worked with her 1:1 and in her Vibrant Woman Method programme for healing trauma and regulating the nervous system and it was like I’d found the missing piece of the puzzle.

For the first time, we are combining the power of women’s Circles with a nervous system support programme from Claire. This potent marriage will give you a set of tangible tools to support your life in every area from self to community, work and relationships. 

Let this journey take your hand...

As we turn inwards from the dark days of Autumn and Winter, we invite you to undertake a powerful journey of mind, body, soul and heart.

You will be held in an intimate, nourishing and transformative container from October to March, giving you the community, stability and space that you are yearning for. With trust and devotion, we will gather twice monthly, each time we meet, dropping down a layer into deeper connection with ourselves and the group, forming relationships and bonds that will continue far beyond our time together. 

Across the 6 months, you will receive fortnightly nervous system and somatic practices from Claire Rother to give you the tools to integrate your work in Circle and reconnect with your body, undo chronic patterns of self-neglect, burnout and hyperproductivity and experience greater health and aliveness. 

This space is precious and rare. 

We combine the tender, spacious and radically potent space of Circle with a robust framework of practices to support your body and soul to integrate what emerges from you.

This is not a group coaching programme; the transformation goes deeper than that. In this space, we connect more deeply to ourselves as individuals but much more than that, we become connected to the collective, to the ways in which community can nourish us and in turn, how we can be enriched and enlivened by supporting others.

This is an extraordinarily powerful combination of modalities that allows us to transfer some of the magic, the connection and the coherence we feel in Circle to our everyday lives.

But let’s be clear; this is not a programme which will feed your need for adrenaline and the high of being in a ‘peak experience’ self development container. That is not how we work. We go slow. We go steady. We go DEEP. We are looking to drop down to the layers we often cannot see.

TENDER: All the Key Details

This programme will begin on the 29th October 2023 and be held on alternative Sunday evenings.

The gatherings last between 90 mins and 2 hours. Each group has different rhythms, different needs and although this journey has a robust framework, we also listen carefully to the needs of the group and ensure that your needs are tended to - leaving space for fluidity. These calls are not recorded; we ask you to make the commitment to join live.

All the nervous system practices will be offered as recordings for you to keep as a lifelong resource. You will receive one practice each fortnight to sit with daily, so you can develop a slow, sustained practice over our time together.

The transformation of this journey does not end at 6 months: its power lives on, creating ripple effects in your life long after the final Circle has closed.

The 6 month format of this journey is designed to allow more intimacy, depth and spaciousness, underpinned by the far-reaching benefits of the nervous system practice.

If you feel the call to join us, please listen. You can book a call with Gemma to explore that yearning. We do not believe in selling the journey to you, we hold a space for you to feel into what you need now & whether the journey is for you.

Full information on the Pillars of Transformation and Pricing is below.

THROUGHOUT THIS JOURNEY YOU WILL BE GUIDED THROUGH OUR KEY PILLARS OF TRANSFORMATION

Pillar 1: YOUR TENDER HEART

• Learning to use radical vulnerability and connection to tenderness as a tool for deeper connection & confidence  

• Expanding your capacity to connect to truth and make decisions from a place of deep alignment 

• Learning powerful listening: how to be a more generous listener and how to receive the gift of being listened to 

Pillar 2: NERVOUS SYSTEM CURRICULUM

• A comprehensive 6 month programme of somatic practices to support your nervous system throughout your journey

• Our nervous system expert, Claire, will teach you to expand your capacity to cope with all life throws at you so you can not only feel calmer and more connected day to day, but are able to live life from a place of feeling well-resourced and alive 

• You will receive a library of home practices to support you throughout the 6 months and beyond

• You will learn to find calm & connection within a matter of seconds using these powerful tools

Pillar 3: Ancestral Storytelling: Weaving our Stories of Belonging 

• Guidance on exploring your own ancestral line

• Powerful storytelling ceremonies to harness the power of ancestral connection

• Illuminating shared experience which deepens our capacity to embrace the diversity of this world & challenge our subconscious judgements about others

• Standing on the shoulders of ancestors: what is my legacy? How can I create the kind of future I would be proud of?

  
  Pillar 4: The Sacred Medicine of working with challenging emotions & asking powerful questions 

• Working together to ask difficult, necessary & life-changing questions with gentle compassion

• Embodied practices to alchemise anger, fear and other powerful emotions into feelings that we are comfortable with & help us live more fully into who we really are

• Developing radical honesty about what you are being called to do with your life

• Powerful journaling prompts & mediations to integrate your Circle experience

Pillar 5: WORKING WITH GRIEF, ANGER & JOY

• Expertly guided workshops to help you to harness the power of those potent emotions, allowing them to be part of the spectrum of your life as part of healthy self-expression

• Embodied practices to alchemise anger, fear and other powerful emotions into feelings that we are comfortable with & help us live more fully into who we really are

Pillar 6: Ceremonies of Celebration 

• Being witnessed and celebrated by the group like never before: the group will see in you things you don’t see in yourself 

• The life-changing experience of being witnessed and celebrated in your wholeness 

• Radical reconnection to your own life force as a tool to help you on the next phase of your journey 

• Reflections on your progress over the transformative 6-month journey you have been in. 

MEET YOUR MENTORS: GEMMA BRADY

Hello, I’m Gemma Brady & I’m the Founder of Sister Stories, a global movement of women’s Circles which facilitate spaces for brave sharing, deep connection and the healing power of storytelling. 

All my work is centred around this core belief: stories are healing, transformational and when we connect to the ancient act of ritualising storytelling, doing so will fundamentally change us.

I have spent 13 years making award-winning documentary films for television from the BBC to Channel 4 and am a trained Narrative Therapist and a Certified HeartMath Coach. 

Sister Stories started as an experiment in my living room and has grown to an international movement, allowing  me to hold hundreds of Circles across the world and to train hundreds Circle Facilitators from the UK to the Philippines. It has, without a doubt, been one of the richest, most rewarding journeys of my life and for those who step into the Circle, I offer a gentle yet transformational experience that moves mountains within the soul.

MEET CLAIRE ROTHER

Claire Rother MSc is a somatic practitioner, nervous system expert, trauma coach and integrative health specialist with over 10 years experience working with women to help them heal, grow and improve their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

She has been a mentor of mine and I have found her work so transformational I have invited her to be a Teacher in my Facilitation Training and now, your guide on this programme. Claire will be providing a library of specially commissioned content to support the emotional journey you will go on in each Circle.

Every fortnight you will receive a potent nervous system practice to support you in your journey. These practices are designed to be simple, powerful, and crucially, not to overwhelm you. Life is busy. We do not need more ‘to do’ in our daily lives. These practices form a simple part of creating a daily sanctuary for yourself to tend to your body and being with exquisite care over the 6 months and beyond.

GUEST TEACHErs

Throughout our programme we will be joined by a skilled, soulful and inspiring group of teachers who will offer their skill and medicine in support of your journey.

THE BENEFITS

There is a mysterious power in being ‘held’ in a women’s group of this kind. Women who have undertaken the journey have described:

• Increased confidence

• A deeper connection to self

• An ability to make bold, aligned decisions

• Deeper relationship to self and others

• Stronger boundaries

• A renewed sense of hope and creativity

• A feeling of true belonging

And benefits of Claire’s nervous system work include:

• Become more emotionally and physically resilient

• Manage the challenges of life without moving into a survival response

• Repattern our nervous system so we can feel safe to lead, expand, sell and receive

• Transform hyperproductivity and disconnection into greater flow and self-trust

• Being more in touch with our needs, our bodies and developing a tender relationship to ourselves.

• And so much more.

Commitment to this path will offer the opportunity for full body and soul transformation, if you enter the process with an open heart and willingness to commit to being present and active with the practices.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I won’t be able to make the calls live… Will that be an issue?

This is an experience with community and connection at its very core. We ask that if you choose to step into this journey, you attend the calls live, wherever possible. We extend grace & understanding when someone is not able to make a call- alot of life can happen in 6 months! But it is worth noting that calls are not recorded. We have found through experience that people share more deeply when a call is not being recorded and that the experience of the group as a whole is enriched. 

How large will the group be? 

The Circle will be intimate, the group will have limited spaces (no more than 13) so that everyone has the chance to be seen, witnessed, known and form connections.

I have never done nervous system work before- what will it be like?

This is subtle, slow work. You will receive a programme of pre-recorded home practices crafted by Claire Rother, with instructions on how to use these and the benefits. These will be short; often you will only need 10 mins a day to do these. The invitation across your time in Tender is to really commit to these subtle but powerful practices as a daily devotion to support your transformation and growth.

I’m interested in training to be a Circle Facilitator- will this teach me how?

This is not a training programme, it is a programme which will help develop your inner capacities to be with the complexities of life. Being held in a Circle of this length and depth is great preparation for Facilitating Circle spaces yourself. If you are also considering doing our Circle Facilitator Training Programme which begins in January 2024, we are offering a discounted rate for those who want to do Tender and the training programme. You can sign up for both programmes at a discounted rate. If you would like to request a payment plan for this option, this is absolutely possible; just email us here.

I am really interested in joining, but it’s not the right time. When will you be running the next one?

This is likely to be the only time we are running this journey until Autumn 2024.

My current financial situation prevents me from enrolling, are there payment plans available?

There is a 6 month payment plan available to assist with spreading the cost of this experience- if you would like to request a longer payment plan, please email support@sisterstories.co. 

As accessibility has always and continues to be an important value of Sister Stories, we have very limited pay what you can places for this programme which will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Please contact hello@sisterstories.co with details of your situation. We have a variety of different offerings at different price points throughout the year and the investment in this programme reflects the depth of journey, experience and expertise of the teachers and mentors and work it takes to deliver and sustain a course like this over 6 months.

I’ve never done anything like this- I’m nervous! 

We hear you! Sister Stories was founded by a nervous sharer, who wanted to create a space in which all voices could be heard, not only the loud ones. This journey will invite you to test out using your voice more than perhaps you naturally would gravitate towards, and that is part of its power. But you will never be pressured to share if you don’t feel comfortable. Your sovereign choice is the most important thing. We invite you to enter the process with a curious heart and the willingness to test the edges of your boundaries; it’s how growth happens.  

Do I have to tell stories? 

You absolutely do not have to tell a stories in our spaces. ‘Stories’ in the context of Sister Stories means sharing aloud as a means of better understanding yourself and the world you inhabit. The words shared at events sometimes take the shape of stories, sometimes are simply a feeling or reflection we want to share. Please don’t feel you can’t come if the idea of storytelling feels daunting- ‘stories’ is simply shorthand for coming together to share whatever words arise in the moment. In a Circle Journey, you will be guided through a combintion of themed sharing Circles, workshops, embodied practices and the nervous system programme with Claire which offers pre-recorded home practices.

Will there be people like me there?

Honestly? We don’t know! Each Circle Journey is unique and this depends entirely on who walks through the door. Experience tells us that Sister Stories attracts a diverse group of women ranging from ages 18 to 70 who are open hearted, inclusive and and ready to connect. We welcome anyone who identifies as female to our spaces.