Helen S Rigby Coaching

11th April. 💜💜💜

Today marks 8 years since I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive stage 4 blood cancer. I started chemotherapy hours later because I was so unwell, so there was no time to process it or make a plan.

Looking back, as someone who tends to overthink… that was probably a good thing 😂

I’ve had some new followers here recently so it felt like the right moment to share a little of my story and say hello.

That day changed my life completely. It was terrifying, but it was also the day I started to get better. Now, 8 years cancer free, it’s a day I’ll always feel grateful for.

I won’t pretend it’s been easy. There are still moments where I think about how life might have turned out. But I’ve come to see it differently…

What a privilege it is to feel it all.
The grief. The change. The unexpected.

And then to realise I get to take the reins and write what comes next. My way. My rules.

That was the real wake-up call for me. How quickly everything can change… and how important it is to stop waiting and start living.

My life looks different to what I once imagined, but it’s fuller, more present, and filled with so much joy in the small, ordinary moments.

Life doesn’t always go to plan.
But there is still so much love and joy available to you.

It might just look different to what you expected 🤍

Helen xx

8 years ago today I was rushed to hospital as an emergency after just landing back from my holiday. I had been In pain and had flu like symptoms for a few weeks but never expected it to be stage 4 Blood Cancer. My whole world was torn apart. I’ve been spiralling recently, I’d had rib pains for a while and my mind went straight to “oh god, I’ve got cancer and it’s spread and I’ve left it too long”. I realised today what date it was and that it was 8 years ago that I got rushed to hospital. I realised it’s no coincidence that I’m now freaking out. Even though it’s 8 years on, I’m still processing a lot of grief from that time of my life. My usual go to would have been to say I’m fine and carry on but I was gentle with myself today and so booked in with the doctor who gave me the reassurance that it’s just muscular and I’m fine. I think it can be hard to ask for help sometimes, to be vulnerable, to not always be the “strong” one so I had a big cry and realised that I just needed some extra guidance.
Anyway, I feel a lot better and sharing this in case anyone else has been through something similar and your mind spirals sometimes too. I feel that. I’m slowly learning to trust my body but also knowing when it’s time to go and get help! xx

Cute London trip watching The Last Five Years 25th anniversary with my old London roomie 💜🎭💫xx

Happy Mother’s Day, Mum! 🌼 thanks for being you and all you do for me. I couldn’t have got this far without you, I’d have been lost. Love you. 🥰. Sul y Mamau Hapus! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Thinking of those finding today hard. To the loved and lost ones and to the women who are grieving not being mothers. You are not alone # #

One of the first questions I asked when I started chemotherapy in 2018 was, “Am I going to lose my hair?”

The nurse reassured me, “You will, but it might not all go. It might just get thin.”

A few months later, staring at my bald reflection, my friend joked, “The nurse was taking the p*** really, wasn’t she?”

She really was. I didn’t have a single hair on me. No eyelashes, no eyebrows… nothing.

What surprised me most was how free I felt when it all came out.

For years my hair had been a big part of my identity and how I saw myself. Women carry so much pressure to look nice, be pretty, be perfect. Don’t be too much, but don’t be too little either. Just somehow know what everyone expects from you.

It’s exhausting.

I was so afraid of how I’d look with no hair. Who would love me then? Who would want to date me?

What I didn’t expect was to feel unstoppable.

Somewhere in that experience I found an inner resilience and strength that nobody could take from me. And that feeling has stayed with me.

In a world where we’re constantly comparing ourselves to millions of images, it’s easy to forget who we really are.

This photo reminds me that we’re not our hair, our appearance, or our job titles. They’re part of how we express who we are, but they’re not the whole story. We’re always changing and evolving.

And whenever I get caught up in the noise (which still happens often), it reminds me to step away and reconnect with who I really am underneath it all.

Sometimes it takes losing something we thought defined us to realise what never could.

I’m really looking forward to putting on a workshop this Spring Equinox at . It sold out straight away so didn’t have chance to share on here so do be sure to sign up to my mailing list if you want to be first to know. I have lots of exciting workshops and events this year and would love to see you there. 🥰.
Who’s ready to step in to their purpose and power this year? 🔥💜💫

Sign up to mailing list is on my highlights and bio but feel free to send me a message and I’ll send you the link directly! Helen xx

We chased the northern lights but ended up feeling like we’d had a trip to the Moon! 🌒. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, it was stunning and so cool! Cool 😎 and cool 🥶haha. We just got a tiny glow from the lights but what an experience to be out there, to see the stars and have the full moon light up and take centre stage! And so she should!

🎅🏽 Merry Christmas to you!🎄

Thank you for being here and for the support this year - it really means a lot. I hope you have a nice break whether it’s a quiet one or a busy one. It’s just my mum and me this year (which will be lovely), but you’re not on your own if you’re not having a big family Christmas!

A little December reminder 🤍

Keep doing the inner work.
Keep connecting to yourself.
And most importantly…. gently step away from comparison as the year wraps up.

You’re doing better than you think ✨

Love, Helen x

🎂Somehow this tiny little thing is 45 today! (That’s me in case that is confusing 😂).

When I look at this photo, I think ahh look how loved she is! I used to absolutely love this time of year! To have my birthday and then Christmas just a week later!

For all the times that have been sometimes unbearable to experience, I’d do it all over again! To experience all that I’ve experienced and all the people I’ve met and loved along the way and to have had such a loving father for 29 years of it!

To age really is a privilege, to be alive is the miracle we search for. It’s not always easy but it’s something I don’t take for granted. Bring on the crinkles and wrinkles! And bring on the champagne whilst you’re there! 🥂

*i sometimes feel sad I’ll never get to see what my babies would look like so I guess this is the next best thing- here is what I looked like as a baby! 😆🥰🥰.