Community lead - The Power of Listening: How We Gather & Use Feedback at Flowstate

At Flowstate, everything begins with people. Every yoga session, creative workshop, henna circle, or soundbath is shaped not just by our vision — but by the voices of those who attend.

We don’t just deliver sessions. We co-create them.

🌿 Who We Work With

Our sessions welcome a beautifully varied community, including:

• Women recovering from domestic abuse

• Refugee and asylum-seeking women

• Young adults navigating anxiety and identity

• Corporate teams seeking nervous system regulation

• Creatives and entrepreneurs experiencing burnout

• Community members accessing low-cost or funded wellbeing support

We work across community centres, charities, CICs, grassroots groups and corporate spaces in Liverpool and beyond.

No two rooms are ever the same — and that’s exactly why feedback matters.

💭 How People Feel: Before & After

We consistently measure emotional state shifts before and after sessions using simple rating scales and reflective prompts.

Across our 2025–2026 sessions (approx. 120 participants surveyed):

Before sessions, participants most commonly reported:

• 68% feeling stressed or overwhelmed

• 54% experiencing anxiety symptoms

• 47% feeling disconnected or low in mood

• 39% reporting physical tension or fatigue
  

After sessions, participants reported:

• 91% felt calmer or more regulated

• 84% felt more connected to themselves or others

• 76% experienced improved mood

• 72% reported reduced physical tension

One participant described it simply:

“I walked in carrying the week on my shoulders. I’m leaving feeling like I can breathe again.”

📝 How We Gather Feedback

We use multiple methods to ensure feedback is accessible and inclusive:

Written Feedback Forms

Simple, trauma-informed forms with:

• Mood rating scales (1–5)

• Open reflection questions

• “One word to describe how you feel now”
  

Verbal Reflections

End-of-session sharing circles allow participants to voice experiences in real time.

Anonymous Comment Cards

Particularly important in sensitive settings (e.g. abuse recovery services).

Partner Organisation Feedback

We regularly check in with partnering charities and coordinators to understand impact from their perspective to ensure we're offering necessary and desirable workshops to service users.

How We Use Feedback to Shape Our Services

Feedback doesn’t sit in a folder. It informs real change.

Here are examples of how participant voices have shaped Flowstate:

✨ Slower Integration Time

Participants told us they needed more grounding at the end of sessions.We extended closing rituals and introduced longer sound integration.

✨ Accessibility Adjustments

Feedback from neurodivergent participants led us to:

• Provide clearer session structure outlines

• Offer sensory-friendly variations

• Reduce sudden sound transitions
  

✨ Trauma-Informed Language

Women in recovery settings requested softer cueing and less directive language.We refined our scripts to feel invitational rather than instructional.

✨ Creative Expansion

Demand for tactile, meditative crafts led to the addition of:

• Punch needle workshops

• Herbal tea blending

• Scent and perfume rituals

• Tote bag and textile sessions
  

✨ Pricing & Access

Community feedback reinforces the importance of sliding-scale options, donation based workshops & funded places, ensuring inclusivity remains central.

💬 What Participants Say

“For the first time in months, my nervous system felt safe.”

“It wasn’t just yoga. It felt like someone actually cared how we were doing.”

“I met women I wouldn’t normally cross paths with. It reminded me I’m not alone.”

“I’ve started using the breathing techniques at work and it’s genuinely changed how I respond to stress.”

🌱 Why Feedback Matters

Feedback is more than evaluation — it’s relationship.

It allows us to:

• Stay accountable

• Measure real impact

• Adapt to evolving community needs

• Design workshops rooted in lived experience

• Maintain integrity in trauma-informed practice
  

Most importantly, it ensures that Flowstate remains responsive, human, and community-led.

🌸 Moving Forward

As we grow, we remain committed to:

• Regular impact reporting

• Transparent communication with partners

• Inclusive feedback options

• Continual service refinement
  

Because wellbeing work should never be static.

It should evolve — just like the people we serve.

If you’d like to collaborate, host a session, or learn more about how we measure impact, get in touch.

At Flowstate, listening is part of the practice.