Hannah Teare

I love that moment when you find out that you share a number of the same interests with someone and you don’t know where to start in talking about them all…I met Hannah recently and experienced just that!

Another incredibly hardworking woman I’ve been lucky to cross paths with, currently studying and working. With what she is currently working in as well as working towards I’m so interested and excited to see what she will be doing in the next few years to come with the powerful yet gentle energy she carries.

Read on to learn about her thoughtful rituals and how she takes care of her self whilst keeping up with such a busy schedule.

Please introduce yourself, and what it is you so wonderfully do…

Hey hey, my name’s Hannah, I do a lot! summed up as best as I can, I work in a Steiner/Waldorf School, specifically in a Steiner/Waldorf Kindergarten with two to four year olds, I’m pretty much a mother to twelve children there, oh and I also nanny for a six year old and a three year old, so make that a mother to fourteen children! I also study, I have nearly finished my first year in studying to be a qualified Waldorf Steiner Kindergarten teacher, where a lot of the study being focused on the philosophy of Anthroposophy (a human oriented spiritual philosophy that reflects and speaks to the basic deep spiritual questions of humanity). Part of my work and study also views childhood and child development as holistic, nurturing, unhurried, with bringing up children with a more alternative viewpoint instead of ‘mainstream’ education. This is something I feel so passionate about, especially within the current times we live in, with technology running the world and where there is immense pressure on young children to meet the national standards of education! Therefore the true essence of childhood has been taken away for many children. This makes me sad and is a constant battle I have to fight as an early years practitioner. Lastly, in a month I start training to be a qualified herbalist, basically I’m a wonderfully busy lady! 

What is your ideal way to start the day?

It depends what day we are talking about, week days are very different for me than weekends. During the week it is so vital that my mornings are as mindful as possible because the energy I embody that morning, I will take unconsciously with me to the children in kindergarten, and the children really do feel it! A mindful ritual I do every morning is to light a candle while I eat my breakfast, something so simple as that can remind me to see the light and be grateful for my life even during trickier times, during morning grumpiness, haha. Or when I know my day ahead may be testing. 

Do you have any daily rituals/ routines? Morning and/or night?

Lighting candles can be a simple but yet precious ritual for me throughout the day. If I have to sit at my desk and study, then again, I will light a candle and just breathe for a minute before I begin, just to recenter myself. I also would be very lost without my bath, I belong in the bath! Having a really hot, Epsom salt and lavender bath is something I often do in the evenings, it just revitalises my achy muscles and helps to detox my mind from a busy day. I also often say out loud a verse/prayer accompanied with what I am doing, whether that be eating breakfast, bathing, studying, etc. I have used this prayer since being part of the Waldorf community, it means a lot to me, and it has got me through harder times, it goes: 

The sun with living light makes bright for me each day, 

The soul with spirit power gives strength into my limbs, 

In sunlight shining clear, I reverence oh god, 

The strength of humankind which thou so graciously has planted in my soul, 

That I with all my might, may love to work and learn, from thee comes love and strength, to give thee rise love and thanks. (Rudolf Steiner) 

Do you have any practices or remedies to stay healthy in the cold months?

I think this is such a challenging time for everyone, everyone is fighting colds with low immune systems and we don’t have the sunshine to nourish and feed us! I think for me it’s a fine balancing act between giving in to the stodgy foods that I crave when it’s cold and making sure I’m eating enough fruit and veg, rosehip tea is something I drink lots of in winter as it’s high in vitamin c and it feels so womanly and pretty to drink! Haha. 

My skin often suffers in the winter months as again, I do not have the sunshine to nourish my skin. For months and months I was breaking out, worrying that I had full blown adult acne, originally I went down the route of pharmaceutical medicine and creams that were of course really expensive. I soon realised that these products were not helping at all, and in fact making my skin worse! I then started seeing an amazing herbalist, she prescribed me with a tincture of a mix of different flowers and plants, and honestly my skin has never been better. I started to really see how what is on the outside of our bodies is a manifestation of what is on the inside, the plants/flowers detoxed my insides and thus cleared my bad skin. I have also started to observe that with something so sensitive as skin, less is more! I only wash my face with water twice a day, no soap, and then I moisturise morning and night with vitamin E oil (key ingredients are rose, rosehip, jojoba, sunflower seed oil). This really gives me the nourishment I need in this cold weather. In terms of staying healthy mentally in winter I ensure I am resting enough, this is so hard with working full time with young children as I must be present and have high energy pretty much every day and it’s an exhausting job! So just ensuring that when I can I am having a relaxing time by having a bath, meditating, or going to a yoga class to support myself with this. 

When you need to get out of town, where in nature do you like to escape to?

I am very lucky that we spend so much time outside during kindergarten anyway, but in my own time I like to just sit on the beach and watch the waves, there are some other serene spots in Brighton that I escape too but I wouldn’t want to give them away as I enjoy not seeing anybody I know there! Haha :)

How do you like to spend your nights and or/weekends?

To be honest, I spend most of my free time just relaxing as by the end of the week I’m flat out! But on an occasion I like going out for a drink to a local pub or a dance at a bar, or having drinks in the comfort of my own home - much less expensive! During the daytime on the weekends I enjoy visiting a coffee shop and studying, going to flea markets, and just catching up with my friends and family, I have also recently found my love for using the sauna and going swimming, it’s so healing to just detox my whole week by literally just sweating it out and then swimming, I find just being submerged in water is so rebalancing for the soul! 

How do you unwind, re centre and find balance?

To unwind I really love to read, so just laying down and reading my book is a treat. I think to re centre myself and find balance in my life is about having a think every week and really checking in with myself and listening to my body, what do I want? More importantly, what do I need? And who do I need to be around during this time? It’s about being honest with myself and others, and trying my best to put myself first which I do find hard at times as I am so naturally drawn to caring for everybody else!

What is your favourite way to exercise?

To be honest, I have been slacking with this! I love riding a bike but due to the crazy weather I haven’t ridden my bike for some time but when the weather improves I can’t wait to get back on it! I love yoga, I have found recently that Yin Yoga is connecting with my body at the moment best, I always used to think that yoga was all about working out but actually Yin Yoga demonstrates how beneficial it can be to just hold a posture for quite some time, because I can meditate into the posture so it’s restorative for my mind and body! 

Your favourite meal to cook?

Oooooh that is a very hard question, because I love cooking! Curry is always a favourite because it can be so experimentative and you can pretty much put everything into a curry. However, during these cold winter months I’ve found a love of cooking quite simple meals but have a real ‘cozy’ feel to them, for example a root vegetable crumble. 

Your favourite place to get dinner?

Oooh again, another very tough question! As in Brighton we are so blessed to have so many amazing restaurants! I would say Purezza is the most amazing plant based pizza I have ever had, I tried the Box Shop recently, that was also amazing! I really like Vietnamese food too, Milk No Sugar is a sweet little Vietnamese place, and it’s really affordable with huge portions! 

In what ways do you work to find balance in your life? E.g. work, social, family, self

I think with being so busy, this can be difficult. I love everyone who I have around me very much but having the time for everyone where I am present can be a task, I often spend the week working, self-caring and studying and then I use my other time at the weekends to catch up with friends and family. It is also about being honest with others, and making my priorities clear without it making anybody feel neglected. 

What/where/who do you turn to when you need inspiration? 

In terms of the ‘what’, I think what inspires me is reading literature and learning new knowledge, listening to piano music inspires me too. In terms of the ‘where’, it depends on the weather and my mood, sometimes I can be inspired just sitting at my desk, sometimes I can be inspired visiting a new coffee shop, sometimes I can be inspired on a bus or a train journey, sometimes I can be inspired during a meditation or a yoga class, I think we can find inspiration in most places if we put our mind to it. Lastly, in terms of the ‘who’, this would be my close family and friends, I have such talented, interesting, compassionate people around me, who all inspire me to grow in different ways. 

How would you describe your style? What & who influences you? 

Ooooh that’s a hard one, because honestly I don’t think that I outwardly really love fashion as a subject. I just choose clothes and patterns that I like, however I guess I grew up in South London, so I’m sure somewhere subconsciously I have a small urban style that arises in me when I choose what to wear. During my teenage years I went to a lot of raves in abandoned buildings, it was always so fun going to a local charity shop a few days before and finding a new outfit for a fiver! However, I think what I wear now has changed a lot due to my career, I also am very careful about what I wear around children, it needs to be appropriate and not too overwhelming for the child, I’ve found that soft colors and soft tones help to settle young children. 

What is your definition of beauty?

I think this has really changed for me in the last few years, deleting Instagram was one of the best things I’ve ever done! There is such a fake reality on Instagram with women looking completely flawless in all of their photos, I would find myself seeing those photos and thinking ‘why don’t I look like that every day?’ After deleting Instagram this then coincided with me wearing way less makeup and throwing away pretty much all of my makeup, followed with this was my hair. I used to constantly dye my hair, people that know me well will know how many different colours I have been. (Some ending up looking awful!) After constantly trying to change my appearance, I arrived at a place where all I wanted was to look and feel like my natural self again! I wanted to feel like a natural woman! Don’t get me wrong, a little bit of makeup of some sort is nice sometimes but it’s nice when it’s used to enhance something that’s naturally already there, I really believe that as people start to genuinely love themselves, that love is then shown externally, my skin started to get better when I actually started to love myself again, it’s a corny saying of ‘beauty is on the inside’ but to a large extent, I think this is true! 

In what ways do you care for your mind, body & spirit?

I think that for a while I would over complicate this kind of care, really trying to ‘fix’ something specific. When actually, the main way I care for my mind, body and spirit is just to take care of myself as best I can in a general sense, with balance between mind care, body care and spirit care. I think when we take care of ourselves wholly then everything falls into place a little more without you having to make such huge changes, for me it was about noticing the small things that would help me in a bigger way, for example eating more or less of a certain food, it’s about being honest with oneself and others. 

What are you most grateful for in your life?

That is a big question! So many things, the fact that I have food, money, a roof over my head, a job, clothes, a bed, having access to beautiful nature. Most importantly, I am so grateful for the people I have around me who support me constantly, I would be so lost without them, thank you to you all (I think you probably know who you are!) Lastly, I think I am grateful for all the really hard times I’ve had in my life so far, no doubt there are many more to come but so far I have learnt a huge amount from those experiences, and they have contributed to my self worth in a positive way, in regards to being able to set boundaries and understand what it is to be truly respected and valued as a human being. 

Current favourite…

Book- For a deep and spiritual read: Unborness by Peter Selg, it’s all about human existence influenced by Rudolf Steiner's ideas about life before conception. It touches a lot on incarnation and reincarnation, it’s honestly amazing, a tough read but it’s transformed the way I look at life and human beings! So if you’re into philosophical concepts that really make you question life then have a look at it for sure! Then for more of a fiction read before bed, I always get my books second hand from a charity shop, last time I picked up something random. I’ve nearly finished it, which is called Man and Boy by Tony Parsons, it’s all about fatherhood, it’s amusing but also a sad book, bit of both! 

Movie- I recently watched a few films, but top three would have to be Parasite, Bird Box and Marriage Story, but then again I watched them recently so they are the freshest in my mind, there are so many good films out there, it’s so hard to name just one! 

Song- I’ve got really back into funk and soul, so Chaka Khan: Like Sugar is a tune! Recently I went to a gig to see Kokoroko, they played some amazing tunes that I then found on Spotify, one of them is called Shina Williams & His African Percussionists: Agboju Logun, it’s a Nigerian funk tune from the 1970’s, so groovy!  

Podcast- I sometimes find it hard to listen to long podcasts and concentrate on just listening, however I recently found a podcast series called The Buddhist Bootcamp, they are short podcasts of about five minutes long each touching on a range of life issues and how to manage them mindfully, it’s great if you are having a bad day because of something specific and just need quick advice! 

Clothing item- I love clothes and fashion! In winter I love finding second hand, big, cozy jumpers! I recently bought a really warm cardigan from Brighton Flea Market. 

Coffee shop- Oooh again, I don’t want to say as often I enjoy being in a coffee shop where nobody knows me! I’ll give you one though, which is Kemptown Trading Post, it’s a café with a vintage shop at the back, and I think hands down they do the best vegan banana bread!

Can you share with us any big plans/visions for 2020? 

I think just to keep growing as a person, and keep learning! I still have another year left of my Waldorf Kindergarten Teacher Training, and I will begin my course on Herbalism. I think the herbalist course is something I am most looking forward to! Herbalism has helped me so much, and everyone I have encountered in that field has been so kind, so in a way I am looking forward to giving back to the field by helping others. Something you may see come up is that I hopefully will start doing consultations with people for free where they discuss an issue they are having, and I will guide them with what herbal path to go down, I’ll do these consultations for free, so that I can practice giving herbalist support, a win win for everyone!

Where can we find you? Follow you?

At the moment, just on Facebook, I have been thinking about setting up an Instagram account that mainly focuses on herbal remedies etc., but equally I want to be sure that I know what the content will be, I would like to plan it well, or set up a website. Either way, whatever I do, I’ll be sure to let everyone know about it so they can access it! :)

Posted 23.2.20

- THE ART OF PERSONAL PRACTICE & PROSPERITY -