The Kay Manby Podcast - Guided Meditations and Gentle Conversations – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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Today, I’m joined by someone whose teachings have deeply shaped my own path — author, teacher and martial artist Mimi Kuo-Deemer. From Beijing rooftops to English meadows, from the Shaolin Temple to Zoom classes during lockdown, Mimi’s journey weaves together Qigong, Taiji, Buddhism and embodied philosophy with grace and authenticity.

We explore what it means to live a life of practice - one rooted in balance, humility, and connection. Mimi opens up about the loss of her mother, the medicine of movement, and the joy of learning from masters like Liu Xuyang, Matthew Cohen, and Martin Aylward. We talk about lineage, grief, creative expression, and what it means to show up with kindness for ourselves and others, even in the hardest seasons.

Mimi’s wisdom is deep, grounded and playful - an invitation to meet life fully.

In this conversation we touch on:

• How Qigong and internal martial arts became Mimi’s life’s work
• Lineage, destiny and finding the right teachers
• What the body remembers — and how we gently change it
• The dance between grief and growth
• Practising in rhythm with the seasons
• Why playfulness is the fastest route to nervous system change
• Mimi’s daily rituals and how she balances quiet with service

Mimi refers to:
Martin Aylward, Master Huang Ping, Shifu Liu Xuyang, and Sifu Matthew Cohen.

Connect with Mimi:
📘 Books: Qigong and the Tai Chi Axis (2018), Xiu Yang: Self-Cultivation for a Happier, Healthier and Balanced Life (2019)
🌐 Website: www.mkdeemer.com

📺 Online Classes: Amazon Prime, Commune, Movement for Modern Life, Yoga and Fitness TV, Vimeo, and YouTube
🧧 Lineage: 6th Generation Lineage Holder in the Liu Fengchun tradition of Baguazhang
🧘 MTI accredited teacher | Authorised Insight Meditation Teacher | SYT | E-RYT | YACEP

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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In this episode, I sit down with the wonderful Gilly Charters - someone deeply rooted in her local community and even more deeply rooted in her Quaker faith. Gilly has been a teacher, a probation officer, a volunteer with mental health charities, a musician, and a proud grandmother. She’s also stood as a Green Party candidate, bringing her values of integrity, peace, and environmental care into the public space.

Together we explore what it really means to live as a Quaker - not just on Sundays, but every day. Gilly shares the story of how she first encountered Quaker silence as a child, what the "inner light" means to her, and how silence, simplicity, and kindness have shaped her life’s path.

We also talk about justice, music, activism, and how her spiritual journey has supported her work with vulnerable communities. This is a conversation about stillness, strength, and how living your values quietly can echo far and wide.

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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In this heartfelt episode, I’m joined by Jules Cooper - yoga teacher, gong therapist, Akashic Records reader and mother of four. Jules shares her story with openness and grace, beginning with life as a footballer’s wife and unfolding through the unimaginable loss of her son, Finn.

We speak about motherhood, grief, spiritual awakening and the healing power of sound, energy and community. From tearful moments in Shavasana to life-changing retreats and unexpected guidance from spirit, Jules’ path is a testament to strength, surrender and sacred transformation.

This is an episode about holding space when you’ve walked through fire. About rebuilding from the heart outward. And about how sometimes, our deepest pain can become the root of our most powerful purpose.

Connect with Jules Cooper:

• Facebook: Jules Cooper Yoga Teacher Gong Therapist Reiki and Shamanic Healing
• Instagram: @julescoops13 – Portal of Alchemy with Jules
• Acorn Wellness Retreat: www.acornwellness.co.uk
• Yogabomb Workshops: www.yogabombyork.com
• Retreats with Kay: Joint events at The Acorn Wellness Retreat and The Tree Relaxation Retreat on the North York Moors

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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In this special solstice episode, we honour the longest day of the year with a guided meditation to help you reconnect with light, inner power and the quiet strength of the heart.

Through gentle breath, radiant visualisation and affirmations, you are invited to explore your own inner sun, the sovereign centre of love and personal power, and set heartfelt intentions for the season ahead.

Let this be a sacred pause. A place to rest, renew and rise into the light of your fullest self.

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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The Gift of Kalkan - A Guided Journey into Stillness and Beauty

In this episode, I share a quiet reflection inspired by an unexpected invitation to the coastal town of Kalkan, Turkey - a place that reminded me how healing it is to pause, to breathe, and to simply be.

Through soft storytelling and gentle visualisation, I invite you to walk sun-warmed cobbled streets, breathe in the scents of jasmine and rose oil, and feel the kindness of strangers and the wisdom of slowness.

This isn’t a travel story. It’s a meditation on presence, peace, and the beauty of unexpected stillness. Let this episode be a gentle reset - a return to yourself through scent, sound, colour and calm.

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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The Rainbow Within - A Chakra Meditation for Balance and Renewal

In this second episode of The Kay Manby Podcast, we explore the beauty and symbolism of the rainbow - as hope, as harmony, as a bridge between the physical and the spiritual.

Through gentle storytelling and guided meditation, you'll be invited to journey through the seven chakras. Each colour and centre brings a message of grounding, creativity, empowerment, love, truth, intuition and connection.

Blending myth, poetry and presence, this meditation is a soft return to balance — a reminder that, like the rainbow, you are whole, vibrant and made of light.

Let this time bring you back to yourself.

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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Episode 1: Relax and Restore - A Gentle Journey to Inner Peace

Welcome to the very first episode of The Kay Manby Podcast.

In this opening offering, I share a little of my story and the journey that brought me here - from deep loss to the healing power of stillness.

You’ll then be guided through a peaceful meditation designed to help you settle your body, soften your thoughts, and return to the calm that lives within you.

This is a space to rest, to breathe, and to remember that you are held. Let this be a gentle start or end to your day. Or simply a pause in the middle of it all.

You are warmly invited in.

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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In this deeply grounding episode, Kay invites you to journey into the heart of the Lake District — a landscape of still waters, ancient hills, and poetic spirit. Inspired by the words of Dorothy Maclean, John O’Donohue, and Wordsworth, this episode is a gentle exploration of balance, belonging, and the timeless bond between the human heart and the earth itself.

Through vivid imagery and calm narration, The Earth Within – A Journey guides you to reconnect with the natural rhythms that live within your own body — your breath, your heartbeat, your clay. It’s a soulful reminder that we are never separate from the world around us; the earth moves through us as we move through it.

Find your stillness, breathe with the land, and return home to yourself.

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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Today I’m joined by the radiant Ali Mortimer - global life coach, speaker and guide for women ready to reclaim their joy. Ali’s story weaves together threads of high-flying corporate success, deep personal loss, and the transformative power of choosing love.

We explore burnout, body image, grief, feminine leadership, and the courage it takes to rebuild your life from the ground up. Ali shares her “joy list,” a deeply personal story of rising through challenge, and how the teachings in A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson helped guide her.

We also talk about the incredible Karen Heras-Kelly — a soul-led leadership coach whose presence and work has influenced us both.

This conversation is filled with heart, humour, and hope for anyone navigating change or looking for permission to begin again.

Connect with Ali Mortimer
🌐 Website: www.alimortimer.com

📷 Instagram: @alimortimer_thejoycoach

💼 LinkedIn: Ali Mortimer

Mentioned in this episode
📖 A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson
🌹 Karen Heras-Kelly: www.karenheras-kelly.com

📷 Instagram: @karenheraskelly

🎙️ Say it Sister with Karen and Lucy
💼 LinkedIn: Karen Heras-Kelly

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏

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What Happens When You Let Go of the Shoulds? A Gentle Conversation with Dan Peppiatt

In this special episode, I’m joined by teacher, thinker and seeker, Dan Peppiatt. We talk about what happens when we stop striving and start listening - not to the noise of the world, but to the quiet, honest voice within.

We explore the winding path that led Dan away from traditional yoga teaching and into a more intuitive, playful relationship with the body and spirit. Along the way, we touch on the meaning of presence, why stillness can feel unsafe, and how we might begin to trust ourselves again.

This is not a conversation full of answers. Instead, it’s an invitation to unlearn, to soften, and to return - gently - to what truly matters.

Let this be a moment to sit with your own truth. Brew a tea, take a breath, and come join us.

If you’d like to explore more of Dan and Gemma’s work, CLICK HERE - they offer a range of Yoga Like Water courses and trainings. These include:

• Meditation Teacher Training (online and in Cornwall)
  
  
• Pregnancy Yoga Teacher Training (online and in Cornwall)
  
  
• Breathwork Immersions (online and in Cornwall)
  
  
• Meditation Retreats (Cornwall and online)
  
  
• Specialist trainings in mindfulness, yoga nidras, and embodied practices 

Visit their site to learn more and see which offering might support your path.
yogalikewater.com

I would be so grateful if you could buy me a coffee using THIS LINK. This helps me fund the podcast and keep it going 🙏