"How can we make this work?"

“How can we make this work?” is a powerful line I learnt from my sister, yoga therapist Katie de Araujo.

I’ve got the sun streaming in as I write this, at the permaculture paradise guesthouse I’m co-creating with a client, here in Moruya. Right outside the window is a slow, wide river. I watch for the pelicans to touch down and do that dainty grooming with their huge beaks. Maybe the old seal will appear later on. He joined me for my morning yoga the other day, in the distance, flipper in the air.

As a designer of human ecosystems, this is my dream job. But when things aren’t going as I hoped, and I remember to ask that question, my moaning and blaming often disappear in the very next breath or two. "How can I make this work?"

Much more fun.

Having the presence of mind to ask the right question at the right time is also at the heart of the work Katie and I are offering:    

Embodiment workshops for mental health professionals, and the full nine-month home-harmonising project for people who want to live in a house that brings out energy and love;

(September 2026 Update our 2026 intake is over, but you can put your name down on the waitlist, and get free tasters, for our 2027 workshop and project) The Home That Loves You Back Nine-Month Guided Home Harmonising Project Become a person with a naturally beautiful, orderly, force-free home. A Japan-influenced approach to decluttering and beyond.

Why I work with Katie

Katie does rare and beautiful work. She consults at residential mental health clinics, teaching psychologists how to bring embodiment into mental health care.

She also works directly with traumatised patients, using gestures, deep listening, her steady voice and spirit, to help suffering people feel “Things are going to be okay.”

“My hour with Katie is the highlight of my week” is a line that comes up in their feedback forms.

I’m happy to say Katie is impressed with my work too: changing the home set-up so that it delights rather than damages us. So now the two of us get to be pioneers, using the small but real power we have to make things better.

If you are a mental health professional who wants to become more masterful at getting bodies and homes on our side, I'd love you to meet Katie, and experience her gentle, transformative work.

“How can we make this work?” is an enquiry that you can use on your next frustration, today.  If you do and it gets a good result, email me and tell me. The ultimate goal for this work is to make friends with people who want durable, do-able answers to the question: 'how can life have less suffering, more joy?', and build each other up.