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Secret Service records show that President Joe Biden's German Shepherd Dog Commander has bitten agency officers stationed at the White House 10 times between October 2022 and January

A professional cuddler who makes a living giving clients hugs has said people travel from all over the globe to receive the cuddle therapy she offers which is “far less intimate than a massage” and helps people from “all walks of life”. Natasha Wicks, 44, from Coventry, West Midlands, says that despite criticism, cuddling is scientifically proven to release happy hormones like dopamine and that a lot of her clients are “the big spoon in life” and go to her for emotional support that they do not have at home. As such, many of her clients are caregivers and most of them join Natasha for two-hour hugging sessions, costing £70 an hour. The sessions vary depending on what the client wants, some having “emotional hugs”, others talking more and some wanting to “sit at opposite ends of the sofa with our legs and feet entwined”. Natasha became a cuddle therapist in 2015 and, while she has had comments online from people criticising the practice, she said that her family and friends were unsurprised when she first started giving professional cuddles. She said: “They all said to me that I give the best cuddles so it’s not surprising that I’d start doing it as a job. “It’s very much what I do, I help people and want to make people feel better. It’s a natural thing when someone is going through a tough time to want to give them a hug. “Cuddle therapy might not be as widely accepted in society but it’s far less intimate than other things like massages which are seen as normal.” Prior to becoming a cuddler, Natasha originally trained as a CBT therapist and counsellor. She said: “There’d be situations where I would be talking to someone and they’d really need a hug, but obviously, you’d have professional boundaries in place and it wouldn’t have been appropriate. “It was just a really natural thing. One client had finished her final session and we had agreed that she wasn’t my patient anymore so we hugged goodbye. She said to me that she’d wanted to do that for a long time and I thought ‘me too’.” Looking into cuddle therapy, which she said was increasing in popularity in 2014, Natasha took a training course. By 2015, she was a qualified cuddler and started taking on new patients for cuddle sessions. Natasha provides a minimum session of one hour but said most people go for at least two hours, sometimes longer if they are receiving more than one type of therapy. She said: “I always give people a hug on the doorstep when they arrive and then they’ll come in and relax, and we’ll have an initial chat about what brings them here. After that, I’ll put on some ambient music and we’ll have a cuddle on my cuddle sofa. “It can be daunting coming into a stranger’s house and I can tell the difference in them from arriving to leaving. The first hug they might be angled away from me but when we’re hugging goodbye, I can get my head in between their neck and shoulders and you can almost feel that a weight has been lifted from them.” There is not one type of person that visits Natasha for cuddles, but she says that a lot of her clients are caregivers. She said: “There’s all sorts of people who come for a cuddle, from people who have moved away from home for the first time and just want a mum hug all the way to people in their 80s. “I’m inclusive of all genders and all ages. I get a lot of clients who are the carers of their family and they are so busy looking after other people, and probably giving the hugs and support to other people, that they don’t have that for themselves. “A lot of people that come to see me are generally people are the big spoon in the life – they take care of others and don’t want to show a vulnerable side to people because they don’t want people to worry that they can’t cope. “I get a lot of carers, a lot of NHS staff, a lot of mums, a lot of people that are in a world where they have to be the strong one in the situation and they just want to be able to come here and let their guard down.” Natasha’s priority is to make people feel at ease when they arrive as she said it can be “nerve wracking” turning up at someone’s house for a hug. Setting out clear boundaries prior to meeting, the therapist has said that the patients she has welcomed into her home have all been respectful. She added: “I always say to people that when your body relaxes, your tummy might crumble and mine might too, but that people don’t need to worry about it. Sometimes people fall asleep and they might snore or fart, it’s just natural things that happen. It’s happened twice where someone has got an erection and that’s fine, I have boundaries and we’ll just change position. “I want people to feel reassured that, as soon as they get in, they feel comfortable.” Despite the unconventional therapy, when Natasha first took on cuddle clients, she said her family were completely “unsurprised” and the step from CBT therapy to cuddle therapy was a “natural evolution”. While Natasha focuses her time on a holistic approach for treating people, she noted that there is also neuroscience behind cuddles. According to the 44-year-old, physical touch activates the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex and cuddling releases oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin. Now, Natasha also does EMDR therapy and is a mental health swim host, and has clients travel from all over the globe to receive her hugs. She said: “Working from Coventry is brilliant because I’m only nine minutes on the train from Birmingham Airport and people come to visit me from all over. I get a client from Belgium, someone from Ireland and people from all over the UK who come to see me. “I wanted to find a sofa bed that just looked like a big comfy sofa for cuddle sessions. I’d started off with a big L shaped sofa but after about five years, it was sagging a bit, there’d been a lot of healing done on that sofa and it was time for a new one. “Now I have a sofa bed in my living room that I use as my cuddle sofa. It’s in the living room and it’s used for everyday life, watching TV with my partner, having people round and also for my work.” Breaking down the taboo around cuddle therapy, Natasha hopes more people will embrace the alternative treatment. She added: “As it’s become more popular, more people are becoming qualified as cuddlers and I think that’s great. “I’ve had comments online before of people thinking it’s weird or not understanding but there are other things we accept in society that are much more intimate than cuddles, like massages. “It’s not weird, it’s actually a really lovely thing to be able to make another soul feel better for a while.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live New warnings about ‘concerning’ rise in at-home cosmetic dentistry What is ‘beer tanning’ and why are experts warning against it? Christian Cowan: Designing is like dreaming

If there’s one thing millennials crave, it’s nostalgia — a chance to reminisce about life before student loans and the cost of living became our focus. What better way to channel the fun parts of our youth than eagerly waiting for Princess Diaries III or holding out hope for the Lizzie McGuire reboot? While I want to learn more about Mia Thermopolis’ reign as queen and how Lizzie’s life developed after her epic trip to Rome, I have also found myself thinking about (and rewatching) the telenovelas that shaped my childhood. And I can say, I am pleasantly surprised. Not only do they feel like a hug to the heart, but they are more feminist than I remembered.

GREENSBORO, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 24, 2023--

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Rihanna has stepped down as CEO of her lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty. On Friday (23 June), the billionaire beauty mogul appointed Hillary Super, the former CEO of Anthropologie Group, to take her place as CEO. Rihanna has held the position since she founded Savage X Fenty in 2018. Rihanna, who will remain in a leadership role as executive chair, said in a statement: “It’s been beautiful to see our vision for Savage X Fenty impact the industry at such an incredible magnitude over the last five years. This is just the beginning for us, and we’re going to continue to expand in ways that always connect with the consumer.” “I’m so grateful and excited to welcome Hillary Super as our new CEO – she is a strong leader and is focused on taking the business to an even higher level.” Hillary Super was CEO at Anthropologie Group for four years, and previously held leadership positions at Guess, American Eagle, Gap, and Old Navy. “I’m thrilled to join the Savage X Fenty family,” Super said. “The brand is a major powerhouse in the lingerie and apparel industry, and its unwavering commitment to celebrating inclusivity and fearlessness is inspiring.” More follows… Read More A$AP Rocky calls pregnant Rihanna his ‘wife’ as she watches him perform in Cannes Pharrell Williams makes his Louis Vuitton debut in star-studded Paris show Rihanna and A$AP Rocky celebrate son’s first birthday

Victoria Beckham has said she would not want to be in her twenties again as she used to focus on what she felt needed to be improved upon but now she is “comfortable” with who she is. Beckham rose to prominence in the nineties as a member of girl group The Spice Girls, but later turned her hand to the worlds of fashion and beauty. She said she embraces her look at age 49 but admitted that her husband, former England footballer David Beckham, has never seen her without her eyebrows done. Asked how she feels about ageing, she told The Sunday Times: “I am comfortable with who I am, I accept how I look, I make the best of what I have. “I feel, professionally and personally, really accomplished at 49. I consider how I apply my make-up. But I like how it feels being older. “I wouldn’t want to be 25 again. I was the kind of young woman who would look in the mirror and see what needed to be improved upon, as opposed to what actually looked OK.” She continued: “I’ve always been quite tough on myself, but because of that I’ve also always strived to be the best version of myself. “It’s not about changing anything, it’s just about looking at the best version of yourself.” These days, her signature style is largely removed from the Spice Girls’ heyday and through her eponymous fashion label, she is known for elegant silhouettes with lots of sleek, flowing dresses, palazzo pants and block colours. Beckham revealed she undergoes some laser and skin tightening treatments but underlined that she is “not trying to turn back the clock”. “I think it’s about little things. Same with make-up, it’s about not doing too much, which can be really ageing”, she said. “I went to an event recently and people had very ‘big’ (overfilled) faces. There are some scary options out there.” However, she admitted that she fell victim to the over-plucked eyebrow style and now drawing on her eyebrows is the first thing she does every morning. “Over the years my brows have been so overplucked that if you saw me without it you’d be horrified”, she said. “David has never seen me without my brows. They’re the first thing I do: wake up, put on the brow.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live 7 tips and tricks for hay fever relief Top Films: w/c Saturday, May 27 Soap Guide: w/c Saturday, May 27

Scott Haraguchi left his GoPro running after catching a fish while out on his kayak fishing over a mile offshore from Kualoa in Windward Oahu