Like many of us, I’ve always wanted to make a difference to people’s lives. Much as I love my boys deeply, motherhood at times was bewildering and overwhelming.
⭕️ Certified circle holder
💚Mental health first aider
🌳 Forest bathing guide trainee
❤️ Mother
✨Helping women in midlife to slow down, find freedom and reconnect through circle work & nature immersion ✨ I used to be a Social Worker, which was often hugely rewarding, but I became disillusioned by spending more time in front of a computer screen than with my clients. I dropped to part-time hours and studied Holistic Massage so I could help people directly. After having children I took time away from paid work to focus on them – and this is where I truly discovered the power of massage. A monthly massage treatment became the cornerstone of my self-care, once I’d convinced myself I wasn’t being selfish or overly indulgent in taking this small slice of time for myself. I have experienced first-hand the power of massage and reflexology in restoring calm and balance when life is full-on. And I believed in it so much I went back to college to learn more and train as a complementary therapist. Now I wish everyone could experience the deep care a massage or reflexology treatment offers. I think the world would be a kinder, more peaceful place if we all took this time for ourselves. I love helping other women create that small space in their lives, let themselves be cared for, for once, and leave feeling lighter, freer and more relaxed. To discuss how you can introduce more self-care and relaxation into your busy life, just contact me. All questions welcome!
17/09/2025
Women's nature circle
Date: Thursday 25th September
Time: 10.30am-12.30pm
Venue: Pool Bridge Farm
Cost: £25
This is an outdoor circle on the lakeside.
Maximum of 8 spaces and the cost includes an optional swim* once the session is over.
*It is not a guided swim and you swim at your own risk.
I'm so pleased to be offering a new outdoor nature circle. 🌳It will be held at the wonderful Pool Bridge Farm and will be a chance to breathe out, slow down and reconnect with yourself, nature & others.
The circle will be a gathering in which we come together to share and listen surrounded by nature. All members are welcomed equally, on their terms. It will be a place we can speak freely, and know that we are worthy just as we are, whatever else is going on.
At this new women's nature circle you can expect:
• time to tune into yourself
• nature connection
• guided relaxation
• space to share and listen
If you long for a space to just stop, want to spend time in nature and feel heard and held then come along to circle. You' d be most welcome.
Date: Thursday 25th September
Time: 10.30am-12.30pm
Venue: Pool Bridge Farm
Cost: £25
There is a maximum of 8 spaces and the cost includes an optional *swim once the session is over. [*It is not a guided swim and you swim at your own risk.]
I'm so looking forward to holding this space in such a special place!
16/09/2025
When it feels like there is no time, stop and notice the small things.
This has been my mantra for years now.
Maybe give it a try. 💚
13/09/2025
midLife circle returned today after our summer break. We gathered to listen, share, reconnect and rest.
Circle is always the sum of it’s parts which is what makes it work so well. Everyone brings something just by the act of showing up and sitting alongside each other.
And although there is never an expectation to share at circle I do gently encourage each person who comes to take up some space.
Our theme this month was all about transition. The wheel of the year is slowly turning as we begin to say farewell to summer and welcome in autumn.
These transition times can be difficult and today we touched on:
-the challenges of being in a liminal space
-boundaries
-uncertainty
-priorities
-our inner and outer seasons and how it can feel when they don’t align
-doing joyful things in amongst the hard stuff
We also talked about the weather, pencils, haggis and my new calm over chaos pens!
It was good to back holding this space ⭕️
Next midLife circle is on Saturday 25th October. To book please follow the link in my bio (or in the comments).
Or get in touch with any questions about it.
08/09/2025
midLife circle returns this Saturday 13th September at 2.30pm and I can’t wait to hold this space again.
I created midLife circle because I felt overstretched and overwhelmed by everything I had to hold. And I knew I wasn’t the only one! I knew that despite what it might look like to the outside world many of us in midlife have a lot to deal with and need a space where we can just stop.
midlLife circle is for those of us feeling overburdened, overlooked and undervalued. Those of us who have had enough of society’s bu****it and want a place to be honest – with ourselves and each other.
We might have childcare responsibilities, and/or responsibilities for ageing family members. We might have responsibilities at work that weigh heavily. We might be experiencing perimenopause and menopause symptoms, and negotiating what that means for us.
We might have none of these things currently at play, but be sick of the messages society has for women in their forties and fifties.
It’s midLife with a capital ‘L’ to help us remember how to Live. To connect with what that alive feeling means for us.
This circle helps us let go of other people’s expectations. It is a place we can speak freely, and know that we are worthy just as we are, whatever else is going on.
midLife circle has been running for almost two years and is very much a circle ground in real life. There is no by passing the messy stuff and no one way to be when you arrive.
Get in touch for more details or if you have questions. Or use the booking link in my bio / comments to book your space directly.
I’d love to welcome you to midLife circle ❤️
03/09/2025
As a new academic term begins in our house I thought I’d do my own back to school intro!
I’m Debs.
I live and work in York.
I’m a certified circle holder.
I’ve just completed my training to be a forest bathing guide.
I work with women navigating midlife and beyond.
I support women to:
✨reconnect to themselves
✨find freedom from societal expectations
✨show up how they are
✨rest and relax
I do this through in person circle work and guided nature connection. I hold space in the following ways:
⭕️midlife circle: a women’s circle runs once a month
🍃 nature wellbeing circle is starting late September 2025 (details coming v soon!)
🌳guided nature bathing sessions in and around York (more dates coming soon)
❤️ residential retreats in the Yorkshire Dales. Next date is 6th-8th November 2026
When I’m not working you can find me swimming outside, walking in the woods or having a kitchen disco!
For more information about the work I offer and how I can support you please do get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.
28/08/2025
I didn’t get to any forests on my break in Scotland this time but the vibrancy and variety of the greens I spotted on the beach were stunning. 💚
27/08/2025
I’m slowly starting to realise and accept that it is September next week!
Every year I say I will be more organised and have everything planned out ready to go once the kids go back to school. In reality being in the moment usually takes over for me!
However I have got all the dates for midlife circle in the diary for the rest of the year and they are on my booking system!
In fact they have been there since July, I just haven’t shouted enough about them!
So here is the first of many posts to tell you that midlife circle is back after our summer break.
When: Saturday 13th September
Time: 2.30pm-4.45pm
Venue: Clifton, York
Cost: £22 or pay as you can
midlife circle is for you if you’d like space to:
✨rest
✨connect
✨get creative
✨be heard & held
midlife circle is a place for you to drop expectations, show up as you need to and where all of you is welcome. There is no need to gloss over the hard stuff. We hold space for each other and that includes the messy parts. ❤️
If you’d like a circle of support to navigate midlife with then please do come along and try it. There is such power in gathering together.
If you have any questions or want to know more please get in touch.
Link to book your place is in my bio / in the comments.
*midlife circle is open to both cis and trans women and non- binary folk are welcome too.*
21/08/2025
The first photo is a recent list I wrote whilst preparing for a solo trip.
Navigating midlife has certainly had it’s downs. I’ve spoken before about crushing anxiety that can sweep me off my feet.
One of the reasons I set up midlife circle was to create a space where we can share our low moments and not have them glossed over.
midLife circle also came from the reckoning that time is not infinite for us mere mortals and I knew this space was needed.
Brene Brown wrote that at midlife the “universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders and whispers in your ear: I’m not screwing around.”
A phrase that often comes up at midlife circle is “if not now, when”. It’s in the context of all sorts of things; what we haven’t done, when expectations and judgements are still thrown at us and we believe, when myths made by the patriarchy still plague us and when we wonder what are we waiting for.
There is such power in speaking these things aloud in a circle of women. To have space held for them and to reflect how we can do something differently.
Brene Brown also says “Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you. It’s time to show up and be seen”.
And so here I am spending some time with myself. Showing up for myself. Allowing myself to be seen. Having some headspace before the routines begin again. Because I haven’t done this before. And because time is indeed too short to let midlife anxiety make my decisions.
midLife circle is a special thing and it has certainly propelled me onwards as well as those wonderful souls that attend. ❤️
19/08/2025
Getting closer to nature benefits us so much. It can:
🌱lower our anxiety and stress levels
🌳improve our mood
🌱boost our immune system
🌳balance out blood pressure
🌱improve our focus
and so much more.
Despite the benefits, when I run my forest bathing sessions I realise how disconnected so many of us are from the land and nature around us.
There are numerous reasons for this and yet now more than ever we need to be in nature and working alongside it to make things better for nature and for ourselves.
Last week a huge fire burned on the Moors. The smell of smoke reached my back garden despite it being over 40 miles away. Events like this will happen more frequently as higher temperatures, drier weather, drought and poorly managed resources become the norm.
The change in the climate and how we respond to it is getting ever more critical.
If I can help more people get out in nature and reap the benefits I hope that will lead to more people feeling a pull to protect that very same nature.
I’m really looking forward to delving further into this book all about how we can reconnect and be in service to this beautiful land we live on. 💚
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Debbie Thurlow Complementary Therapist:
I’m Debbie and I am a qualified Complementary Therapist. I offer Reflexology, Holistic Massage and Aromatherapy Massage to women. Like many of us, I’ve always wanted to make a difference to people’s lives. I used to be a Social Worker, which was often hugely rewarding, but I became disillusioned by spending more time in front of a computer screen than with my clients. I dropped to part-time hours and studied Holistic Massage, seeing this as a new way to help people.
After having children I took time away from paid work to focus on them- and this is where I truly discovered the power of massage. Much as I love my boys deeply, motherhood at times was bewildering and overwhelming. A monthly massage treatment became the cornerstone of my self-care, once I’d convinced myself I wasn’t being selfish or overly indulgent in taking this small slice of time for myself.
I have experienced first-hand the power of massage and reflexology in restoring calm and balance when life is full-on. And I believed in it so much I went back to college to learn more and train as a complementary therapist.
Now I wish everyone could experience the deep care a massage or reflexology treatment offers. I think the world would be a kinder, more peaceful place if we all took this time for ourselves. I love helping other women create that small space in their lives, let themselves be cared for, for once, and leave feeling lighter, freer and more relaxed.
To discuss how you can introduce more self-care and relaxation into your busy life, just contact me.
