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Personal Growth and Development: Refining the Skill of Teaching Prescriptive Rehabilitation Exercises during the 2020 pandemic lockdown.

A qualitative study of online intervention with six participants was undertaken over an eight-week period, to assess the personal growth and development of a manual-bodyworker transferring to online intervention during the covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Participants were of no specific age or gender and a variety of pathologies were treated. The content of the intervention was developed and adapted from the ‘teaching’ aspect of the Jing HFMAST protocol. The aims were to observe and reflect...

5 Reasons I personally recommend a slow mindful yoga class over a fast paced dynamic yoga class..

As I always say to all my clients, Yoga is a fundamentally good basis for any kind of regular mindful practise. What we learn through a consistent yoga practise is focus, good breathing techniques, strength and suppleness, as well as all the positive emotional benefits a good yoga practise can give. For those days when you want to work your body in a passive way, stretch out the bad postures of the week and clear your mind, I highly recommend a slow paced yoga class that gives you the opportunit...

Hot Stones

So I just rejuvenated my love of the Hot Stones by taking myself through a week long course with Jing Advanced Massage Training in Brighton. This Module is led by one of the schools directors Megan Mari who was trained in hot stones at the original LaStone Spa in the states. LaStone (pronounced La and not L.A.) is a trademarked style of treatment developed by Mary Nelson in 1993 that encompasses the use of both hot and cold stones within any one treatment. Sounds uncomfortable right? Well, contr...

Preventing Injury!

I have been a Soft Tissue Therapist for about 5/6 years now and before that I was a Personal Trainer. I myself have a passion for Boxing and Weight Lifting, and I’ve spent a lot of money in yoga studios and earned a brown belt in kick boxing over the years. Having been injured before, I can tell you its not a place I want to go back to, especially not now as an entrepreneur in the wellbeing industry, if I’m injured I can’t work, if I can’t work, I can’t earn money and if I can’t do t...

What is Advanced Clinical Massage Therapy?

It's not unusual for massage to be thought of as a luxury once in a blue moon treatment, but in this modern world of health and well-being, that’s seen a rise in chronic pain issues, the popularity of complex athletic styles of training, and exotic trends such as pole dancing (that are resulting in injury and muscle imbalance) the demand for massage, very specific massage has also seen a fabulous increase in demand. Massage is no longer restricted to notion of luxury and pampering.So what exac...

Using hot stones for the deep work

Have you have seen those images depicting hot stone treatments, where the stones are placed on the bare skin of the client? And have you ever wondered how on earth you can tolerate several hot stones being placed on you while you supposedly relax? Or how useful a treatment using boiling hot stones can really be, if the stones are just placed directly on your skin? Let me clarify. It's more than it looks like in those pictures. In its true and traditional format, a hot stone therapy is a ...

Can you be my Support?

The Cateran Yomp and my role as support crew for my friend Melissa Atkin....

All Four Paws!

About 2 weeks before New Years I finally decided that a year into running my business I really need to get myself back into a sensible routine. Sleeping too long in to the morning because I could, and because I had spent all my working life getting up before 7am because I had to, encouraged the rebellion I was experiencing most mornings. Much to my own detriment… Lately having had so much trouble sleeping and every day feeling so far behind on the day to running of my business, never q...

The Power of your Effleurage

If you are a massage therapist you probably already know that your effleurage serves several purposes. For all you lovely clients out there, effleurage is the first stroke of a massage that is characterised by its long, soothing technique. It is your first point of contact with each other as therapists and clients, it is a link between different parts of the treatment and often between different techniques. It applies the massage medium and is the start of all massage treatments, but mor...

Why my neck hurts when there’s no specific mechanism of injury.

Have you ever woken up with your neck stuck to one side? Shooting pains up or down the neck and muscles in spasm every time you try and move? You lay there thinking ‘but I didn’t hurt myself? I didn’t do anything active that would have caused this”. You are probably suffering from Acute Acquired Torticollis, but what IS that? And WHY has it happened?As a massage therapist I often get asked “why have I woken up with this pain in my neck?" There are several types of torticollis, but this...

Complementary Therapies.

Complementary Therapies; how balancing intensity with mindfulness is an integral part of prolonging your active lifestyle....

The Tyger, By William Blake

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?   In what distant deeps or skies. Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire?   And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? & what dread feet?   What the hammer? what the chain, In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what d...