Geraldine Hennessy: So today we welcome Noreen Roche from a Epona retreat centre in Rathcormac. You’re very welcome, Noreen.

Noreen Roche: Thank you for having me.

Geraldine Hennessy: Could you introduce yourself and the opponent retreat centre for our listeners?

Noreen Roche: My name is Noreen Roche and I am a transformational equine reiki therapist, energy healer, retreat host, and also an animal reiki master and teacher.

So Epona is situated in Rathcormac, which is North Cork. It’s 13 acres of land, trees and my horses and animals.

All I can say is that it’s a peaceful place where people come and reconnect with themselves. That’s either just sitting under my yew tree, which is a thousand years old, or my oak trees, which are there in the land since the year dot, I don’t know how old they are. They’re about 200-300 years.

And it’s just really about connecting with themselves. And holding that space at Epona for them to reconnect with themselves and find their way. Okay. Sometimes. Yeah.

Geraldine Hennessy: And what inspired your unique path to becoming a transformational equine therapist and animal reiki master teacher?

Noreen Roche: Well, Geraldine, I’ll tell you, I was brought up in place in Limerick in a farm.

So we had horses and we had loads of animals, a dairy farm as well. So we had cows and cats and dogs, everything around. I left home at 18, but before that I used to ride horses, and one day my horse actually ran away with me, so I never actually got on a horse again after the age of 13 and never wanted to see one ever again.

So, going on my journey, we arrived in Epona 17/18 years ago. I was doing my energy work, I was doing reiki, I was qualified as a reiki therapist practitioner, and I was doing that at Epona. And one day somebody came in looking for healing, you know, doing the reiki. And they had a foal who was very sick and who was actually dying and it was a thoroughbred.

So it was their bread and butter for the winter. And she asked me would I come and meet her husband to look at the foal and just to do it with the foal and the mare.

So off I went. Not afraid of going into farms, you know,

Geraldine Hennessy: it’s in your background

Noreen Roche: I was brought up with it, you know, but I was facing my biggest fear.

I had left that horse behind me. Thought, never again am I sitting foot around these animals. They’re powerful. So I spent four days working on this foal with the mare and the owner, and it actually transformed my life.

Geraldine Hennessy: Gosh. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: We transformed the foal-it lived. But the learning was that, the wisdom of the animals while I was working with them.

Oh my God. I stood outside the stable door. I didn’t even go inside, but I sent my love and I connected with the owner to see where he was coming from. And he was so anxious about what was happening ’cause this foal was his bread and butter.

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah. The repercussions in front of him.

Noreen Roche: That actually, the whole sense of being present with the animals was gone out the window.

So I brought him back, grounded him, grounded the mare, grounded the foal and reconnected the four of us together. And it was just truly just connecting with each other. And just listening. And that’s all we did. We stood in silence a lot of the time. So then on the last day, he opened a stable door and he said, you can go in.

And I’m there going, yes, I can actually, yeah. Because I’m not afraid anymore. Yeah. And I went in and I laid down beside the foal and the mare was there. Massive horse beside me. I laid down beside the foal and I connected with it. That was the start of my journey of where…. And I started working with thoroughbreds for two years in that stable.

So it’s like every three months I was called in, everyone was, oh, all over the shop.. And just bringing them and grounding them down.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

Noreen Roche: And I knew this was my journey then.

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: And then I got my own horses because I knew there was something in it that was life changing for that person and for me, but I needed to do it for myself as well. So I was brave enough. I faced my fears. And my husband bought me a beautiful Palomino foal which was born across the road. So there was the universe guiding me, literally going there was my horse. Yeah. And Ruby, the mom was there too. And the guy brought over the two into our 13 acres.

Which was ideal for it. But when we bought Epona we just bought the land to build a house and just for my husband’s business and kind of rented out the land to the local farmer. But actually it was meant to be.

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah, absolutely.

Noreen Roche: So the two arrived and then I just found, you know, on my journey with them was that they were mirroring me.

And I could see the changes within, and I could see my habits and behaviours right in front of me. So I spent five years literally sitting in front of my horses out in the field watching my own behavior and watching them. Okay. And they were mirroring that back. Okay. And that reflection, and that’s where I learned how to listen inwardly to actually what was going on with me.

Okay. And then to see it, because the horses have seven times our vibration, our magnetic vibration. So, they can feel it seven times more than what I can feel. Okay. So I had to learn that from my own, you know. And then to start working with clients, I needed to be able to ground them before entering the field with a horse.

Because sometimes when you see somebody, inwardly, they can suppress it. And they can be all perfect in front.

Geraldine Hennessy: Perfect. Yeah. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: But when you get out into the field and you see the horses running around in fight or flight, you’re going, oh my God, what’s going on internally with this person.

And that’s where the life changing is.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

Noreen Roche: Is for people to actually see that in front. I’m not telling them. They can actually see it for themselves.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

Noreen Roche: And that’s the challenge for me. Okay. And that’s why I’m drawn to it. It’s different with every client, and I love to be challenged.

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah.

Noreen Roche: In my life.

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah.

Noreen Roche: So every day is different.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

And just bringing back to that initial encounter with that foal in that stable, when you went to the foal had you any concept of what it was going to do to you or just said, let’s just do this. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: Yeah. I think what was going on in my head, Geraldine, I was open for change and opportunities.

I knew that when we bought Epona with the land and nature, things were erupting for me inside. And I think, you know, when you’re working with something and you know, and the land and the trees, and I didn’t realise at the time they were actually nudging me. This is your gifts. Yeah. You know?

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: Because I used to sit under my yew tree with my children. And they were climbing it, you know? And I was sitting there and I’m going. Oh, wow. This is beautiful. But actually, what am I going to do with my life? You know, I can’t sit under a Yew tree with my children, you know? They’re going to leave.

Yeah. And here I am, you know? And I think now looking back, the yew tree, because it has a vibration. Everything has a vibration. It was nudging me to go, you know, this is actually going to be your life path, with nature, working with animals and with the land. So for me, that nudge to go and see that foal.

It was there. Okay. It was always there. With animals.

Geraldine Hennessy: It was meant to be.

Noreen Roche: Yes, it was. Okay. Yeah. So…

Geraldine Hennessy: And what is the core mission of Epona retreat centre and how does it aim to help clients disconnect from daily stresses?

Noreen Roche: So I suppose the heart of Epona is about creating a sacred space. And that’s the most important thing.

And it’s with the land, it’s surrounded with trees. We’ve got hawthorn trees, we’ve got oak trees. So everything is like literally closed in . And we have… and my horses, of course. Yeah. My dogs. Yeah. But I suppose what it is at Epona is it’s about letting go of life’s pressures.

You know, and opening your heart, and that’s what animals do for you, is literally opening your heart to actually see what’s inside there. And letting go of, you know, and surrendering really. So for me, I suppose it’s helping people to breathe and to feel into what’s going on inwardly.

And that’s all about reflection. So when they spend time with me, they’re reflecting all the time and seeing what’s, yeah, going on inside in their heart. I bring it from their mind down into their heart and opening that heart centre.

Geraldine Hennessy: I suppose if they come to you initially, they’re obviously open to the changes.

And then it’s just about you just giving them the space just to open themselves up.

Noreen Roche: Yes.

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah. Yeah. And reflect, yes.

Noreen Roche: Yeah. And feel into their inner voice. And it’s like going, oh, wow. Because I work very much, you know, authenticities kind of the word all the time, but I do really work on not fixing somebody.

It’s about just being holding space for them to be still okay. And actually to feel, you know, and it’s so important, you know, and I even find it myself because, you know, I was always hyper, you know, there was like. What’s next? What’s next? What’s next? Like, yeah. Oh my God. You know, sit still.

No. Noreen, you’re lazy. Yeah. And that’s my habit, my behaviour. And that’s my mother. I know that, you know, ’cause she was always a goer and if you sat still and read a book, it’s like, get up. You have to get up and go. So for me, sitting still was like, huh. And then feeling the energy. And that’s where I know when I’m working with people, when I get them to sit still, I’m there with them.

I know what they’re going through.

And I can help them go through it with them. You know, and hold that emotion for them. And the same with the horses when they’re out with them. And that’s kind of where my equine therapy is like when you’re out there with them, I’m holding space .

What I am is really is I’m the messenger for the horses. Okay. They communicate with me intuitively.

And I can communicate to you then through them.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay. Okay.

Noreen Roche: And

Geraldine Hennessy: Holding that space for you. Yeah.

So just talking there about the equine therapy, for those new to it, could you explain how the equine therapy works?

Noreen Roche: Yeah. So. It is non riding. So anyone can take part in it. ‘Cause a lot of people think that, you know, you have to ride the horse around and it’s like, no, no way. So it’s working on the ground with the horses. What I do first is because, you know, we come with this expectation, you know, and then, you know, it’s like me today and coming with this excitement.

I had to ground my energy before I came into the room. Yeah. You know, so I take people on that journey of grounding, you know, we. Go to the trees, we, you know, do a little bit of tai chi, do reiki on them, and then when they’re feeling at one, when the heart is actually in coherence with the horses that’s where the healing takes place.

And that’s where they can connect out in the field. Otherwise I would not take you out in the field unless you’re actually a coherent with yourself. And with the horses, because if we did, it’d be, you know, fight or flight or the horse would be running around the field. Yeah. So I’ve learned that at the beginning.

Yeah. Because I have done that at the start. And as you said, it’s always, you know, we learn every day. Yeah. What I say to people is, it’s seeing yourself in the mirror of the horses. And this is where the change is. Okay. We’re out in the field and they’re holding space for you. And I allow them to open their hearts.

Everything is free, out in the field. The horses are in the present moment. So they will give you space. So they will stand over there and they might look at you. And then these emotions come up sometimes. It’s like the horse doesn’t like me. Yeah. You know, all of these little perceptions going, but actually it’s just more that your heart isn’t open to receive.

And then I nudge you to do that. I nudge you to open your heart, open your hands. We do a little bit of tai chi out in the field, and then all of a sudden the horse will come running at you. It can see you. Sometimes the horses can’t see you. And that’s where we are in our life, is we’re hidden and we don’t want to be seen.

It’s like a shadow. And all of these little things, reflections coming in as we’re out in the field and it makes them feel at ease then because they’re going, yeah, actually, you know what? I don’t feel seen at the moment, or I can’t find my voice. My voice isn’t there. And you know, and so we help them to open up that.

You know?

Geraldine Hennessy: And talking about the horses, how do your three therapy horses facilitate healing and personal development for your clients?

Noreen Roche: So I have three horses. So at the beginning I had two, and then we had a foal born on the land, Isabel. So Ruby is the mom of the two. So she’s a very grounding and nurturing.

So when she works with you, she’s helping you to ground your energy and to nurture yourself so that you know you can open your heart to love. And then my horse, Lizzie, she’s my Palomino, so she was my horse when I got her. So she’s golden. And gold is all about abundance and creating a manifestation for your life.

So she helps you to look deeper into what’s going on in your life. Your life purpose. So she helps you open up that energy. And Isabelle, she is eight. She is my spiritual horse. Okay. She’s black. Dark, very dark, but she opens up your senses and she goes really deep into the present moment to see where you are.

Just now, and bring you present and opening up your third eye, which is your intuition and your psychic abilities, but also is just more feeling into who you are in this present moment and where are you.

Geraldine Hennessy: And so do the three horses bring out different things so for the clients, is it ?

Noreen Roche: Exactly.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

Noreen Roche: So I could be, today I might need a lot of nurturing, grounding. My energy might be up there. So I need… so Ruby would come to my space. And she would be very grounding for me. Okay. And she would help me ground my energy.

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah. Okay. Okay.

Noreen Roche: And as you said, and if you came with the idea that I wanted, you know, if you were stuck on an idea.

Or you know, and you didn’t know whether, you know, say for instance for me, it was like, oh, should I take the Tai Chi course or whatever? And they always guide me. Okay. They always guide me. Yeah. And Lizzie was my manifestation horse to guide me to do this. I needed to Tai Chi to actually ground my energy.

And to hold the energy from myself and for my clients as well.

Geraldine Hennessy: Is it the horses themselves that dictate it? So like they’re the ones that will come up to the client. Oh right, ok.

Noreen Roche: Or they would send me messages. Or they would come to me, they would send me messages.

 Or I would tell a story and I’m going, why am I telling this story? But they would have intuitively sent a story to me to tell them.

Geraldine Hennessy: And what are the primary benefits individuals can expect from engaging with your equine therapies?

Noreen Roche: So I always find, right, when people come and they leave, they’re more at peace with themselves.

And they’re grounded and they’re connected with their inner self. Well, I suppose what I feel is that people can actually sit on their own. You know, they can go out and sit under a tree and not be like, oh my God, I’m sitting under a tree. Yeah. You know, and I love that because, I suppose, it’s just more educating people really on what’s all around them.

 We don’t have to be, you know, going off to, you know, Bali to find the beauty and that energy vibration. Yeah. We can find it in our own back garden. Yeah. You know, and if we just know when we educate ourselves in this therapy that we can actually be at one with ourselves.

Geraldine Hennessy: Or look for it and you’ll find it.

Noreen Roche: You wil, you know.

Yeah.

Geraldine Hennessy: And you offer various retreats. What is the overarching aim of these experiences?

Noreen Roche: So I have different retreats going on. So I suppose the theme for one of them is self love. One is rediscover your inner child and the other one is rejuvenating. So the aim is always to create a safe, sacred space for people to transform here.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

Noreen Roche: And these are weekend retreats I have. Or I have one day retreats as well. The weekend retreats are more intense. There are five people who stay with me, in the house, in my family home.

And feel the vibration of the animals all around and the trees. And I suppose what these retreats are all about is grounding people and giving ’em the tools that when they leave, they’re feeling into their authentic self.

You know, and going away with that energy. Yeah.

Geraldine Hennessy: And these group retreats, are they like for individuals who just so happen just to be in that group together? Or do groups of people come together to do it or…

Noreen Roche: No, they’re all individual.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

Noreen Roche: All individual. They come from all over.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

Noreen Roche: I have ’em coming from Scotland, London.

A flight from London is €25.

Geraldine Hennessy: I know.

Noreen Roche: It’s cheaper to come from London than actually from Dublin.

Geraldine Hennessy: I know. Yeah. Probably easier.

Noreen Roche: From West Cork. Yeah. You know, so I’m laughing. Yeah. So they all come from all over. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You know, it’s lovely.

Geraldine Hennessy: And in your view, how crucial are equine retreats for supporting mental health and well-being.

Noreen Roche: Oh my God, this is huge. I mean, we live in such a world which is so busy. You know, and people haven’t got time to stop. I mean, I lived in London for years and when I go back there, I’m literally rushing again, and I’m going, Oh my God. Stop. You know? Yeah. So I think Ireland is becoming like that an awful lot now.

You know, we’re so busy in our lives, with our children and everything. They’re just so busy. It’s easy to disconnect from everyday things. So I suppose for me I help people slow down, the horses help you to reconnect and feel into the present moment, you know and connect again with nature.

Yeah. And just more at peace with yourself. You can do this, you can do this, you know, so it is very powerful. You see people coming into the space and leaving, going, wow, I didn’t realise this was actually here.

Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yeah.

Geraldine Hennessy: Quite transformational, so the difference between when they arrive and they leave.

Yeah.

Noreen Roche: Yeah. And I suppose what happens is when you are working with the horses is you’re working with the nervous system. You’re slowing down the nervous system. Also, you’re being present, you know, and you have to be present when you’re out with the horses. You have to focus.

Geraldine Hennessy: And like, like horses themselves, they’re so beautiful and so graceful.

Like up to this summer, I used to have a horse next door to me and I used to open the bedroom windows in the morning or the curtains in the morning, and there would be the horse and it would, it was almost like subconscious. I’d be like, it would only be maybe two or three seconds where I’d be looking at the horse.

And it’s just like this kind of peacefulness. Yeah. And then my neighbour told me that they were moving the horse to a different field. Like, oh no, I actually felt really sad. And she was like, she could see that I was kind of okay. You know, she felt a little bit upset by this, but you know, that’s life, it wasn’t my horse.

Yeah,

Noreen Roche: I know. Yeah. Yeah. I look out the window every morning and I see my horses and they communicate with me every day to just actually ground my energy and go, you know, and I was guided by them to do feng shui. So feng shui is in the land. So I teach the partnership with the horses. So that’s all about just listening and watching the actions of their tail swishing to the legs movement, to the ears movement.

Okay. So I literally spend 10 minutes in the morning going. Oh, what’s she’s saying to me there. Now I know, yeah. I need to do this. I need to do this. You know, so it’s lovely. Yeah. You know? Yeah.

Geraldine Hennessy: A grounding moment for you.

Noreen Roche: It is. Yeah. Yeah. And it’s to appreciate it as well, you know? They’re there for a reason.

Yeah. Okay. They’re there for a reason in our lives.

Geraldine Hennessy: And as an animal reiki master teacher, what essential wisdoms do you hope to impart to your students?

Noreen Roche: I always say to people, you know, when they come to Epona, it’s about being in the stillness. It’s not about fixing. And being and watching what’s going on around you.

Just really watching the wisdom of the animals. Okay. I love, you know, for the first, the Reiki one and two, I do it in the land. I get a lot, you know, people to come and work with me on the land and to feeling into that. And it’s, you know, going out in field and just sitting there and watching the animals.

I’m watching the trees, you know, the wind blowing, kind of going, oh, what’s going on? And what did I feel? And I suppose with people when they think of reiki is like they think of healing. You know, I’m going to heal you. You know you’re gonna be all better when I, but actually it’s, the person has to heal themselves.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay.

It’s not just a… it’s the process as such is it?.

Noreen Roche: It is a process. Okay.

Yes. And you know, we don’t work miracles, but when you actually sit with somebody and feel into their… with the animals and feel into their wisdom, they can actually teach you an awful lot when you’re doing this work.

Okay. Yeah. So it’s lovely.

Geraldine Hennessy: And your work helps clients visualise their direction in life. What methods do you use to help them step forward confidently?

Noreen Roche: So I combine my Tai Chi in Qi Gong, which is working out in the land. It’s energy work. I do creative expressions during my retreats and that’s just like artwork.

 And that’s just really quietening the mind, again. I do meditation, so I’d like to do one later. If that was okay. Just to show you. And also feedback from the horses and from the land. You know, and together we can all help each other. I suppose it is the intention of what you come with, you know, if you want to change something, habit or behaviour. We will give you the tools to actually help you to change that habit and behaviour, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Okay. If you can go away with the tools and if you can help people to meditate, and sometimes we say meditation, you know, we sit and listen to a meditation, 15, 10 minutes.

For me, my meditation in the morning is- taking my dog for a walk. And just be totally, in still with the dog and being present with him and watching, you know, and watching the clouds and the sky and going and feeling the breeze on my skin. And that’s my meditation, that’s my walk every morning to ground me and to go.

Okay. I’m present now, so I’m ready for the day. I’m ready, whatever it’s going to throw at me.

Geraldine Hennessy: Something like meditation takes different forms, doesn’t have to be chanting or, you know. Yeah. It can. Or you just be a simple walk.

Noreen Roche: Yeah. Or just as you say, sit under the tree. You know, in stillness, and just feel what’s coming up for you.

And just go. Okay, I need to write this down, journal it down, or you know. Yeah. It doesn’t have to be complicated as people do, you know, sit in silence for half an hour.

Geraldine Hennessy: Half an hour of peace and quiet sounds lovely.

And how has your personal journey informed your unique approach to healing and teaching?

Noreen Roche: So I’ve been through my own seasons of loss, change and self discovery down through the years. I suppose they’ve taught me the value of slowing down and going inside. ’cause I had suppressed an awful lot from a very young age. And I knew when I got into this work in my forties, there was a lot of stuff that had to be healed, that I was suppressing an awful lot.

So, on my journey, I have connected with my thyroid gland. I had a growth there- 28 millimeters and I’ve reduced it to 11. And I had given the consultant six months to give me, six months to actually heal myself and working on myself and doing that, I did, within six months, I healed. I had all these women problems, fibroids, you know, went for the X-ray and told, you know, I had this and that, and give myself time again to feel into the emotion of what’s behind that and working with myself and with chinese medicine, homeopathy. And I suppose for me, Geraldine, I took responsibility for my own life.

And yes, I could have all these issues and I could have been taking tablets. Going through menopause now at the moment. And you know, I could blame that and, but I find it’s like me going through my teenage years again.

It’s like going, what do I want in my life? Yeah. And what do I want to let go?

Yeah.

You know? And so it’s like really just letting go of habits and behaviours and finding new ways to do stuff that actually feels good for me. Yeah. So that has been my journey where there’s a lot of stuff. I mean, from the age of 18, I had my back- used to click out every three months, and so now I’m in my fifties and I don’t have any back aches.

Yeah. You know what I mean? So I found the root cause of what was going on there. Yeah. ’cause I had been suppressing it for so long, that it just used click out because I couldn’t hold it anymore. You know, and I had to take rests and time off. So now I actually hold space for myself. That I don’t need to injure my body to actually take time out. Okay. You know, so. Yes.

Geraldine Hennessy: And is it difficult to marry what you do, which is I suppose so spiritual, with the need to run a successful business?

Noreen Roche: It’s a balance. I found it very difficult at the beginning to run a business because it was all about, you know, the spiritual side and, oh.

But what I have learned is my work is deeply spiritual and running the centre is all about my marketing, you know, my booking and other little bits, my accounts and everything. So I balance it out and I connect with it the way I connect with my clients. And I attract what comes into my life with balance. So if there’s too many clients coming in, I put the stoppers on. And then I have to do my books and I have to do my marketing. So I kind of have a plan. Sometimes, but yeah…

Geraldine Hennessy: It’s about balance though.

Noreen Roche: It is. And I know when it’s going out of hand . So for me to run a smoothly business, I have to have a balance.

 And that means me spiritually, inside balanced as well, so.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay. Okay. And what is the most profound outcome clients typically achieve by reclaiming their connectiveness and healing at Epona?

Noreen Roche: People feel, when they’re leaving, a sense of peace inside. What I find is, realising that when we’re in a group with retreats, or even when they’re one-to-one with me, is that they are enough. And they don’t have to prove themselves to nobody. And what I love is when we do the retreats, everybody literally has the same issue. We’re not good enough. You know, if all of these little things are confidence and oh, you know how it is and it’s just really reassuring people that you are enough.

And if you open your heart to actually allow things to flow into your life instead of putting the brakes on, which I used to always do kind of go, oh my God, no, you can’t come in. That’s too much. I don’t deserve it. You know? And I put the brakes on for a while and then go, oh God, I need to do it again.

You know? And believe in myself. So really, it is about saying you are good enough in your life, you know, to move forward.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay. Yeah. And what is the one self care tip you’d give to people?

Noreen Roche: Breathe.

Geraldine Hennessy: That’s a good one. The most obvious is almost always, nearly always the most the best one isn’t it..

Noreen Roche: Yeah. It’s the simplicity of it all. And just take deep breaths. And I think I learned that by, you know, doing my Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Taking that deep breath into the belly centre. Yeah. I didn’t know how to breathe before ’cause I used to just breathe too. ..and it’s like, oh my God, I’m panicking here.

Yeah. Can you imagine? Right. I was laughing on my way down, you know, to Clonakilty ’cause I’m starting an hour and 10 minutes, so I’ll be there 20 minutes beforehand. Yeah. And next thing, the chaos started on the road 10 miles outside of Clonakilty and I’m there going, my husband’s driving going, I’m not going to panic.

It’s going to be okay. Yeah. Breathe. You know Geraldine will wait for me. Yeah. And I’ll arrive on time. And before that I would have been panicking. Sweating. And one of the big things I have found in my life, it is just, being present and going, it’s okay. Yeah, just breathe. Yeah. It’s literally okay.

You know, to breathe. Breathe into the belly though.

Geraldine Hennessy: And you were still early. Fair play to you. Yeah.

And if you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Noreen Roche: Oh, to trust myself. Trust what’s unfolding in front of me, and allowing the universe to share, you know, I often, you know, it’s even like as you said with the horses, you know.

Been across the road, you know, from me. And I’m going, oh my God. The universe put him there for me. Because if I had to find a horse to work with, I wouldn’t have been able to, ’cause I wouldn’t have known, you know? And I suppose, it’s really about trusting your gut instinct always. And I would share that with everybody.

And be yourself. Be authentic. It’s okay to be different. You know, and it’s trust who you are. You know, and yeah, ’cause we’re all different in our own way and we all do different things, but it all comes down to, at the end, it’s about trusting and having confidence in yourself .

To do it, you know?

Geraldine Hennessy: And what are the challenges you face?

Noreen Roche: Oh. Protecting my energy and my horse’s energy as well out in the land. And this is something I always give my energy away to people. So I say fill your cup and saucer and give your saucer away to your clients or to people around you to give that saucer, but keep overflowing that cup.

Geraldine Hennessy: Yeah. Good one.

Noreen Roche: You know, and when you feel that cup is running dry, take time out to fill that cup up. Yeah. It’s like protecting. And I and I suppose for me to run my family, you know, I have two children living at home with me. You know, they’re going to college, but they’re still living at home with me and I have a husband and dogs and animals and everything to mind. So they’re, you know, different energies coming in and you have to give, you know, my responsibilities to everybody. And I, you know, my family is my most important thing. So for me to hold space for them is very important.

Geraldine Hennessy: Okay. And looking ahead, what are your aspirations for Epona retreat centre and the future of equine and animal energy healing?

Noreen Roche: So, I would love to expand my retreats. So at the moment I have people coming from Scotland, London. I have one lady coming from America who comes. She’s down in West Cork, she’ll be living here and she’s found me, which is lovely. And I have people come from Germany and France, which is lovely.

So I’d love to expand it more. And around Ireland as well. A lot of people from Dublin come and spend time which is lovely. I find a lot of people feel the land is very much healing. You know, you’ve got the Hawthorn, which is an amazing tree for love and protection and now it’s got the red berries out.

Geraldine Hennessy: Beautiful. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: And like it’s the fairy tree, so it’s that magic, you know? And when you’re in the land and you see all of that and in springtime, it’s got the beautiful white flower and also we’ve got the beautiful oak trees. I mean they are so strong and resilient. And sometimes we forget about, you know, our hazelnut trees.

They are just the gift of knowledge. Yeah. You know, when you sit under them, it’s like stuff is downpouring and going, oh, will I write my book? Yeah. You know, and if you know these little things, you could sit under there and just feel the vibration of that energy coming in and going, wow, I could write that book.

Couldn’t I, you know. Give me ideas and give me ideas. And then the ash is all about, you know, you know, we have the ash for the hurleys, but also it’s the tree of the breath. You know, if you want to help yourself to breathe. It’s really good. And then you have the willow. Which is where, what the aspirin is made of off the bark. So if you sit under there and if you’ve pains and aches in your body, you sit under the willow tree…

Geraldine Hennessy: Write that one down there. Willow tree.

Noreen Roche: You know. So, yeah. So that’s my retreats. I’d love to educate people more on just coming in and then say the horses. Helping you to find your life purpose.

But also I do online training as well on my animal reiki. Starting now in September, I have a community meditation online. I was doing it before Christmas. Or not before Christmas, before the summer. I was just showing people how to meditate online because I had a big fear of being online.

It’s like, it’s not the same. Yeah. Yeah. But it is, you know, the feedback, you can still get the benefits. Yeah. And it was lovely, the feedback before the summer I was doing online and I was doing it for free because I wanted people to see if it was something that they would like doing because you know when you’re not used to meditating and then you’re feeling online.

So it was lovely the feedback they were getting. They could feel the energy of the land and you know, through me. So I’m starting that in September. It’s like a 10 month online, and it’s called Held by the Herd and witnessed by the trees. Lovely. So that’d be nice. Yeah. Yeah. So that’s a kind of a membership.

Yeah. But that’d be up on my website. Okay. I would love the animals to be brought into energy healing. You know, and seen as something ,going forward for therapy. Okay. You know. And recognised more. Yeah. And I think they are bringing it in. And I was just talking to a lady yesterday in our secondary school, boys secondary school in Fermoy.

They have a dog coming into the school, for therapy.

Geraldine Hennessy: Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: And I just thought, oh, that’s so amazing.

Geraldine Hennessy: It’s all those little things that can help them, you know, just plant the seed maybe. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: And as you said, like that, you know, the dog is there to give you unconditional love.

And if you’re not getting, if you don’t know what that is, can you imagine just a dog licking you or, I know, and it’s just, you know.

Geraldine Hennessy: A moment of pure bliss. Yeah.

Noreen Roche: Some people would think it’s terrible, but I’m there going, oh my god. You know, and it’s just feeling that love from that dog.

 You know, in the moment it’s very powerful.

Geraldine Hennessy: Very good. So I’ll hand it over now to you Noreen, just to do a meditation.

Noreen Roche: Thank you Geraldine. So this meditation is about grounding your energy to Mother Earth. Now, I want to just say to you, if you’re driving or using any machinery at the moment, I would like you to stop before you do this meditation.

So I just want you to imagine you are at Epona and the sun is shining, it’s 20 degrees, and you’re lying out in the land, and you’re surrounded with trees. So I want you to close your eyes and begin by mentally drawing a line from the bottom of your feet down into Mother Earth. I want you to visualize the spot about 12 inches below the soles of each foot.

Imagine that you can feel any excess energy you may have in your body moving down your legs and moving out of your body into Mother Earth. Now, I want you to imagine that you are a tall tree, a beautiful tall tree, a healthy tree. Feel the roots descending from the soles of your feet as you send them down deep into the earth.

You go deeper and deeper into the cool, moist earth, and as you do, you begin to take nourishment from it. You feel your roots growing stronger and you feel your life force energy deepening and strengthening. You feel a surge of love and gratitude from Mother Earth come up through your roots and into the soles of your feet and up into your body.

This love and gratitude is for the gift of energy you have given to her. Now, I want you to imagine you’re spreading your arms above your head. I’m visualising that these are your branches you feel leaves growing on your branches, strong, healthy, and vibrant. Your branches reach high into the sky, enjoying the warmth of the sun on the leaves.

Or the coolness of the moon, you reach up to make contact with Spirit and gather the energy from the divine source and allow it to energise and nourish you.

You have had your fill, so you allow the balance of the vibrations from the higher rams to make its way down your body and slowly filter down your legs. As you allow this energy to flow out of the soles of your feet, you give thanks for the gift you have been given. You feel gratitude to spirit for the gift you have been given.

And you thank Mother Earth for all she does for you as you give her this gift of your body’s excess energy to be transformed into earth energy. And when you are ready, you can slowly open your eyes. You know that you can come back here as often as you like and do a spiritual grounding, and that the earth will enjoy the gift you give her, of your excess energy.

Thank you.

Geraldine Hennessy: Thank you Noreen, for taking the time to chat to us on the Cork Creative Podcast. If you want to learn more about Noreen and what she does, you can find links to her socials and website on corkcreative.ie