You Happy First Unite

Q: Who are we? 

Alexandra (r) quit the corporate world and retrained as a Holistic Therapist six years ago. She is a qualified Massage Therapist, Reiki Master, Meditation Teacher, BodyTalk Practitioner and soon to be Stress Management Consultant.

Judith (l) started working in holistic health and fitness 18 years ago. She is qualified in Massage, Yoga, Pilates, Group Fitness, Meditation and Stress Management.

We have experienced plenty of trials and traumas over the years, which has led to our shared passion for holistic self-care and its importance.

Since Spring 2018 we have focused on bringing our vision, You Happy First Unite, to life. 

Q: What is You Happy First Unite?

A: YHF Unite is a huge, ambitious vision to create the world's No. 1 community hub, one-stop shop, resources page and membership site for holistic self-care.

Q: Wow this is very ambitious indeed! Why would you do that? 

A: This feels absolutely essential, now in the midst of COVID-19 more than ever. People need community and connection, they need to look after themselves, become more resourceful and find different ways of doing things as the world is changing at such a fast pace. Many people still don’t know about the importance of holistic self-care and what this really means.   

Q: So what is holistic self-care? 

A: First of all, self-care can be defined as the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress. And what's important to highlight is, that self-care needs to happen for the whole person, which includes body, mind, soul and spirit. We are continuously amazed that a lot of the information we study is not common knowledge and people don't seem to have access to this information in one place. 

Q: What's the solution? 

A: This is why we want to create a website where everything is under one roof. A welcoming, safe, non-judgmental space where we value diversity, open and honest conversations, authenticity, lots of belly laughs, kindness and compassion and a general sense of bear hugs. :)

Here is a testimonial highlighting how one of our offerings, #MondayUnite, can impact someone's day so positively. If one thing, as simple as a 30-minute Zoom call, can have such a positive effect on a person's day, just imagine what the fully manifested vision will do to the wider community. 

Next to creating this community hub, we also want to curate a resources page for the public with information on holistic self-care that is vetted for quality, integrity, accuracy and inclusivity. Topics like nutrition, mental health, exercise, self-care practices, links to authorities in their field and relevant articles will be included, just to mention a few.

The resources page is one part of the solution. However, from personal experience we know how easy it is to get overwhelmed by too much information and that's why we also want to create a membership site where people receive more structured content on a monthly topic related to holistic self-care. By providing our members with a select number of materials each month whilst focusing on the importance of practical application, we know that more can be achieved by sticking to the motto: less is more

As the website grows we also want to add a one-stop shop with carefully selected products that support users in their quest of looking after themselves. We will give preference to small, independent businesses that are in line with our values.

Ultimately, we need to realise that self-care is not selfish; it is a necessity. Whilst self-care is the buzzword of today, we know that holistic self-care is for life, it is not a trend and with that in mind we are on a quest to provide long-term solutions for many years to come.

See below a recent article in the Independent, highlighting the importance of self-care, especially during these unprecedented times:

In pandemic era's isolation, meaning of 'self-care' evolves

Q: That sounds like an expensive venture…

A: Well…. Thanks for asking… :) Thus far, not only have we funded everything ourselves, we have also done everything ourselves in-house. We have created the website, designed marketing materials, social media posts, recorded our own podcasts and so much more. We have spent hundreds of hours and hundreds of pounds to get to this stage and being self-employed, our situation has changed quite drastically since the beginning of lockdown in March. 

If we want to achieve our vision in this lifetime, we need a decent cash injection to start outsourcing some of the tasks. We already have a core team of experts, who, being aware of the current financial restraints, have thus far provided their services for little or no money. Whilst we really appreciate their efforts, we do want to pay them what they are worth and create long-lasting job opportunities for them. 

Furthermore, the longer we spend trying to learn new skills (website building and coding, graphic design, marketing & PR, photography, you get the message) the longer it takes for this product to benefit the people who really need it, which in these stressful unprecedented times is a lot of people.

Q: What's your goal?

A: Our initial goal is to raise a minimum of £10k to support all of our activities and fast track the creation of content and the building of the membership site and resources page. With 2021 just around the corner we feel compelled to accelerate progress which ultimately is all for the benefit of the wider community. In order for us to help the community we need the community to help us. If you believe, as much as we do, that You Happy First Unite is a worthy cause to support, then please give generously and tell your friends, family and colleagues, so they can support us too.

Lots of heartfelt gratitude and best wishes from us <3