"Ok, there's still a few months to go before 2021, what would I like to achieve by the time the new year comes?"

Join us for a blissful day of walking and art with like-minded women in the glorious town of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.

As the leaves begin to turn, start Autumn as you mean to go on by taking a nourishing and inspiring day just for you.

* This is a socially distanced event with limited places

​When Katy first asked me if I wanted to go, my first answer was: Absolutely not, no thank you.

Last Friday, desperate for some physical human connection, I took a risk and went for a massage.

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Pre COVID, semi-regular massages were part of my self-care routine.

​I don't go to the beauty salon, I find the massages there a tad superficial. I seek out female masseuses who've studied the human body extensively and understand the mind-body connection.

​I like a deep-tissue massage, often accompanied by alternative therapies such as Ayurveda or Aromatherapy. I've tried many alternative therapies over the years. If I hear of something new, I'll give it a go. I'm fascinated with the 'why' of things - how does it work, and why does it work? What can it offer me? So far I've experienced:

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• Reflexology
• Cranial Sacral Therapy
• Acupuncture
• Reiki
• Ayurveda
• Homoeopathy
• Yoga Therapy

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Medicine for the mind, body and soul

Alternative therapies aren't a replacement for Western medicine but can be useful for minor or chronic elements - things you wouldn't necessarily see the doctor about, alongside holistic wellbeing.

​So I'm for alternative therapies in a big way. That said, I've had some poor experiences over the years, admittedly mainly in other parts of the world, but not always.

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Vulnerability

When you go to see a ...

Magazines are excellent at doing their job - getting you to feel insecure, so you buy shit you don't need - I should know, I was a journalist.

Journaling is my no. 1 self-care practice, even above yoga, nutrition, and exercise.

I used to despise my body - even in my twenties when it was lovely and firm. I was profoundly empty inside and used drugs, alcohol and food to try to fill the bottomless pit of low self-esteem and not feeling 'enough.'

Are you single and feeling stuck? If you are, it's a feeling I know well.

My solo life is excellent now, but it hasn't always been.

Every woman has a back story, how they got to where they are now, from where they used to be. I'm no different. But as the years add up, the story of who I used to be, the old Hannah, gets further from my mind. 

Sometimes I think: Was it even me?

But yes, it was me.

Personal stories are complicated and messy and don't always have a set beginning or end, so it can be hard to remember just exactly what happened when.

What I do know is that I did not start looking at my life through an honest lens, or asking the harder questions about the choices I'd made, until I was single.

I couldn't sleep on Thursday; I was tossing and turning all night, my mind working overtime. But I wasn't worried about what you might expect right now - the pandemic, the price of groceries, or when I'll see my friends again.

​No. I was worried that I'd make a fool of myself, let people down, or offend people with my most recent venture - The Spinsters.

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