Ok..Wow Health Stopped Everything.

Hey darling,

Let me give you the full story…

*make sure you scroll to the end, it’s important.

I’ve been offline.
Out of office.
And honestly? Out of fcking action.

The last few weeks have been rough: physically, emotionally, energetically.

Slowing down (which felt like a rebellious act in itself) seemed to give my body full permission to bring everything to the surface.

Like it had been waiting for me to pause…
And the moment I did
Bam.

Low energy.
Grief.
Sadness I couldn’t name.
A total full-body “no.”

Not just a cold or a flare-up.
But a deep, heavy depletion.
I felt like 3% Mary-Anne.
And 3% me doesn’t want to get out of bed, doesn’t care what’s next, can’t find the fire.
And if you know me… you know that’s not my operating model.

💫

Here’s the truth I hadn’t shared (because I wasn’t ready until now):
Since leaving the UK over a year ago to travel, I’ve been in go-mode.
Business. Brand. Building.
Running Firebelly 24/7.
Barely taking a breath, let alone a break.

I told myself it was freedom.
But it was also a kind of survival.
And Burning Man — ironically — was the first time I actually stopped.
Fully switched off.

No signal. No Slack. No service.
Just me. My body. The truth I’d been outrunning.

The contrast between last year’s Burn and this year’s Burn?
A full year of pushing through the whispers.
Ignoring the tight shoulders, sore neck, aching nerves.
Thinking rest was optional.
Thinking I’d handle it after the next launch, the next flight, the next win.

And then I got back from the desert…
And everything crashed in.

Bloodwork off.
Nervous system overloaded.

Spine off balance and pushing into my nerves.

Some female health stuff that’s still being investigated.
And a body that refused to keep pretending it was fine.

🌊

I went offline.
Not to be dramatic.
But because I had no other choice.

And I did it alone.
On the other side of the world.
Far from family.
Still trying to keep my business alive as a solo female founder.

Hard mode.
But also, holy fck.

Healing mode.

The kind where you can’t hide behind work.
Where you face what your body’s been holding.
And you finally stop betraying yourself in the name of productivity.

✨

There’s a version of me — even just 3 years ago — where this season would have wrecked everything.
No team. No support.
No space to fall apart.

But not this time.

My team held it down.
The business kept moving.
And I got to rest.
Not because I earned it.
But because I fcking needed it.

And now,
I’m re-entering.

Not with a bang.
Not with a content calendar.
But with presence. And softness.
And a hell of a lot more respect for my body than ever before.

🩷

OFH (Optimising For Happiness) is coming back… but not daily.
Not forced.

It’ll land when it’s ready.
Like this one did.

Because honestly?
I’m kind of done pretending that consistency matters more than truth.

Let this be your reminder (if you needed one):

The Body Keeps The Score.

Health is wealth.
Not just the physical.
Mental. Spiritual. Emotional. Energetic.

Take real care of yourself, love.
Not someday.
Now.

*If you only read one part of this newsletter, let it be this. 

Next time you’re standing in front of the mirror…
Don’t rush past her.
Don’t glaze over.
Don’t scroll through your mind like she’s a to-do list.

Pause.

Take a few deep breaths.
Start from the top of your head,
and scan all the way down to your toes.

Where is your body whispering?
What have you been ignoring?

The little aches.
The tension in your shoulders.
The hormones out of whack.
The flare-ups you keep pushing through.
The exhaustion you’ve normalised.

They are not inconveniences. They are signals.

Please don’t wait until your body has to scream to get your attention.
Don’t do what I did.
Don’t wait until it all crashes at once, and you’re clawing your way back from rock bottom.

The battle to recover costs so much more than the choice to listen early.

Tune in.
Tend to her.
She’s been carrying you this whole damn time.

🌙