My Self, Our Earth
Vegetables in a silver bucket with the Gentle Co Logo

Welcome to The Gentle Co. I have created this space to support you to gently explore, discover and transform your life in a way that feels authentic to you.

I am a Counsellor, EFT Practitioner, Breathwork and Meditation Teacher and Clinical Supervisor. You may wish to contact me for support with your personal journey or you may wish to engage with the resources and inspiration I will be offering with my recipes, activities and garden blog.

My passion for living gently came from my own burnout and subsequent diagnosis of ME/CFS and also my growing concern that what was happening to me was happening to our Earth. Through the following years I have learned that my own healing meant stepping out of a system that was putting enormous strain on me and nature. Learn more about my story.

Welcome to The Gentle Co. I have created this space to support you to gently explore, discover and transform your life in a way that feels authentic to you.

Upcoming Events

Dunston Village Hall
Jan
Mon
05

Winter Wellbeing

Available Spaces: 9
6:15 pm - 7:30 pm
Price: £45
This 5 week course will offer breathwork, meditation and somatic exercises to help you to attune to your body, rest deeply and find alignment with the season. Weekly for 5 consecutive weeks.
Dunston Village Hall
Jan
Sat
17

January – Gathering

Available Spaces: 13
10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Price: £18
This gentle approach to the New Year rings our body into safety, helping us set our New Year intentions from a place of love and ‘enoughness’
Dunston Village Hall
Mar
Sat
07

March – Gathering

Available Spaces: 14
10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Price: £18
Spend a lovely Saturday morning with our community, learning gentle practices to support your nervous system to move into rest and safety, letting go of life's stresses and demands.
Dunston Village Hall
Mar
Sat
28

Sing Breath Belong

Available Spaces: 19
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Price: £50
Anand and Tom are joining us again to celebrate Emergence as we move into Spring - there will be more details to come but it will be a full day with a shared lunch and build on our last event and be suitable for those who didn't come along last time. You can choose to pay between £40 and £50
Dunston Village Hall
Apr
Sat
18

April – Gathering

Available Spaces: 14
10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Price: £18
Spend a lovely Saturday morning with our community, learning gentle practices to support your nervous system to move into rest and safety, letting go of life's stresses and demands.
Dunston Village Hall
May
Sat
16

May – Gathering

Available Spaces: 14
10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Price: £18
Spend a lovely Saturday morning with our community, learning gentle practices to support your nervous system to move into rest and safety, letting go of life's stresses and demands.

    Choosing therapy

    It can be really difficult to decide who to engage with for therapy and so I offer a free half hour session by Zoom where we can get to know one another and discuss your needs and goals to see how I might help. There is no obligation to go on to take up therapy it is just an opportunity to say hello.

    If you decide to take up therapy, at the moment I mostly work via Zoom, but I also offer therapy sessions in nature so we can walk or sit side by side in an outside space offering you the therapeutic effects of nature while we work.

    Learn more about therapy
    Wooden Pathway

    Join our Mailing List

    If you would like to be contacted about our future courses please complete the details below.
    This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    What I offer

    Image
    Joanna Waddell
    BA Hons, Dip Couns, MBACP

    I believe that you are the expert in yourself. Sometimes we can become lost, conflicted, confused, and troubled or we may have unexplained symptoms and pain. In these times it can be helpful to enter into a trusting, supportive therapeutic relationship where you can expect me to offer my full authentic presence, empathy and acceptance.

    I offer an integrated approach; offering you the core values of traditional Person-Centred Therapy blended with the most up-to-date therapeutic modalities of Therapeutic Coaching, Emotional Freedom Technique, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Hypnosis. This means I can offer you a holistic approach engaging your mind, emotions, body and spirit (higher self/purpose) in your healing. 

    The Gentle Garden

    Throughout my life gardens have been a place of beauty, adventure, relaxation, growth and connection. When I became ill with ME/CFS my garden was a vital source of rest, presence, beauty and healing. The garden and particularly my vegetable plot became a metaphor for My Gentle Life. I have grown to understand myself as part of nature, if nature thrives then I thrive, if the garden is abundant so I have abundance in my life. We resource one another. You can see some of my pictures and learnings from my little plot here on Instagram.
    Butterfly on Flower
    The Gentle Co Instagram

    The Gentle Kitchen

    Part of my journey has been living authentically to my values and that for me has meant I no longer eat meat, I’ve cut down my fish and dairy and I grow my vegetables, eat seasonally and reduce my food waste. I also try to share and swap produce with my neighbours and friends and hope to build this into a bigger community based project. Here I share my favourite recipes that my whole family enjoy. I am in no way getting this ‘right’ or at ‘the finish post’. Part of living Gently for me is to let it be a journey, let it be about abundance and joy. This is not a journey about giving things up, having less or feeling guilty. It is about joy, connection and abundance. Do engage with me on Instagram - I’d love to see your recipes and ideas.