02/08/2026
Hannah has started writing a wellness blog and its bloody amazing so go follow her and/or The SELF Centre to read what she's got to say...
Wellness? Me? You’re Having a Laugh…
I heard myself say the other day whilst I was sitting at The Self Centre in Lydney, “Maybe I should write a wellness blog.”
My own answer was a resounding…
“Hell yeah… no.”
Just to be clear, Angharad and I have worked together on different projects over the years. My design background has usually been at the forefront of anything I’ve done for her, so becoming a sauna host at this new venture definitely wasn’t part of the grand plan.
But I’ve hosted before, I had a few evenings free, and I thought…
Why not?
Most people who know me will know I discovered cold water swimming quite a few years ago. It all started after I had cancer in 2018. I wanted to raise money for Cancer Research because, after everything they’d done for me, it felt like the very least I could do.
Little did I know I’d end up dipping far more than just my toe into that world.
I was helped (or perhaps encouraged beyond all reason) by some of the most wonderful friends. They’d happily stand in muddy fields, on riverbanks and beside freezing lakes filming me throwing myself into water that most sensible people were actively avoiding. My travels even took me as far as Switzerland and some of the places I swam were so breathtaking they almost made me forget how utterly freezing they were.
Almost.
I can’t really explain what cold water did for me.
I felt alive.
I laughed more.
I lost weight.
I had a purpose.
Together we raised an incredible amount of money in just one month—something I still haven’t quite got my head around. People’s generosity never ceases to amaze me.
Thankfully my treatment was relatively straightforward compared with so many others. A hysterectomy later, I was lucky enough to move on with life.
Sadly though, like so many good habits…
Life got in the way.
The swimming gradually stopped.
But I never really fell out of love with cold water, and somewhere along the line I discovered something equally wonderful…
The sauna.
Now, after surviving surgical menopause, you’d have had good odds betting I’d never voluntarily sit in a hot room again. I spent years permanently overheating.
Not the glamorous sort of hot.
More the “Is someone cooking me from the inside out?” variety.
Yet here we are.
So, if you fancy it, join me on what will probably be a sometimes manic, often slightly chaotic blog about real life and the little things that can make us feel better. We’ll chat about contrast therapy, gardening, cold water, flowers, people, the odd tangent that appears out of nowhere, and whatever else life decides to throw at us.
I won’t be preaching.
I won’t pretend to have all the answers.
I’ll simply share the things that make me laugh, make me think and, every now and then, make me feel a little bit better.
That phrase, “wellness journey,” always makes me imagine someone called Moonbeam drinking celery juice whilst hugging an oak tree.
I’ve simply found something I genuinely enjoy, and somehow I look and feel better because of it.
The proof came completely by accident.
Earlier this year I accidentally took the world’s least flattering selfie after my phone camera flipped around. Naturally I nearly deleted it.
Months later I did exactly the same thing. When I looked at the two photos side by side, I genuinely couldn’t believe the difference.
No clever filters.
No dramatic “before and after” plan.
Just… life quietly changing.
That’s probably my point.
Nobody should tell you not to drink.
Nobody should tell you to walk 10,000 steps.
Nobody should tell you to eat more salad. Believe me, if salad alone worked I’d have disappeared years ago.
What I can do is share what’s worked for me.
If it makes you smile, brilliant.
If it makes you curious enough to try something new, even better.
If it simply reminds you to stop for five minutes, that’s enough.
Now here’s the bit that surprises people.
I’m also a Reiki Master.
Apparently I’m quite good at it.
I still can’t really explain it.
It certainly isn’t as “woo woo” as people imagine. Whether it’s energy, deep relaxation or simply giving yourself permission to switch off for an hour, I honestly don’t mind.
What I do know is that people leave feeling lighter than when they arrived.
And that’s good enough for me.
The irony is I’m probably one of the least relaxed people you’ll ever meet.
Put me in a garden—which is my job—and I’m everywhere at once. W**d something… spot another job… wander off… deadhead a rose… remember I was supposed to be watering… disappear into the greenhouse… come back wondering where I’d left the wheelbarrow.
It’s exhausting being inside my own head sometimes.
These days ADHD gets mentioned everywhere. Whether I’d ever seek a diagnosis I don’t know, but I certainly recognise plenty of those traits.
What frustrates me is when organised people treat someone else’s busy brain as though it’s a character flaw.
It isn’t.
It’s just wired differently.
What I’ve discovered is that when I sauna and ice bath two or three times a week—usually on my own—I stop.
Not completely.
The thoughts are still there.
They’re just… quieter.
For me, that’s probably the biggest gift.
Science tells us cold water can increase dopamine dramatically.
I just know I come out smiling.
I am lucky I have access to some fantastic ice baths, you can too if you come and join us.
But in the meantime.
Jump in a lake.
Go for a sea swim.
Finish your shower cold.
Or just stand outside in Britain wearing shorts. That’ll probably do it.
Earlier this year I looked at a photograph of myself and realised my face had changed.
The puffiness had gone.
The tiredness had eased.
It was almost as though someone had quietly turned the lights back on.
Not because I’d become some wellness guru.
Far from it.
I’m still the woman who talks too much, laughs too loudly, starts seventeen jobs before finishing one and can somehow lose my phone whilst talking on it.
I’ve simply found something that makes me feel more like… me.
So…
“Follow You Follow Me.”
Didn’t Genesis write a song about that?
They did.
Who knows where any of this will lead?
All I know is there’s a lovely little space in Lydney where you can spend an evening in peace and quiet, warm yourself up, cool yourself down if you’re brave enough, meet some lovely people, or quietly avoid everyone if that’s more your thing.
And it’s only going to get bigger and better.
We’ve got a busy winter ahead and some seriously fantastic therapists joining us over the coming months, which is really exciting.
Until then…
Take your shoes off.
Stand on the grass.
Look up at the sky.
Watch the clouds for a minute.
They’ve been there a lot longer than your emails.
And this isn’t me turning all mystical.
It’s simply me saying…
It works for me.
Before you scroll on…
Roll your shoulders back.
(Unless you’re driving or standing in Tesco. People will wonder what you’re up to.)
Unclench your jaw.
Take your tongue away from the roof of your mouth.
Leave your lips slightly apart…
…and breathe out.
Funny, isn’t it?
You probably didn’t even realise you were holding all that tension.
Now go and enjoy your day.
Or at the very least…
Make it five percent better than it was five minutes ago.
I’d call that wellness.
Even if I still don’t like the word.
Hannah
