NEW Upper & Lower Body Massages

Back massage has always been my most popular treatment with clients, be it on wellness at home days, corporate events, in the city or my home studio.  Although I no longer have a set routine that I keep to, as I treat the body according what issues needs addressing so each visit is distinctly unique in that respect.  What has stayed the same on the whole is the area that is covered, namely the back.  That's it!    

Recently I have been doing research on the net, youtube, going back to my anatomy & physiology books, and I have been doing a little bit of experimenting on some of my clients as in a kind of "Eureka" moment I came 

that maybe therapists in other disciplines have already discovered.  Clients may have back pain or soreness etc but tension can also be held in other parts of the body so it was then that I started including muscle groups from adjoining areas of the body into a back treatment.  And guess what?  The results were better and clients were more satisfied.  In some instances I include some changes in position eg, side lying, so this isn't a massage you can simply drift off to but if they are going to see improved results, the clients I have tried the treatment on, haven't minded a bit.

So I decided to call this simply UPPER BODY MASSAGE.

As well as treating the back, I also include the gluteals(bum), arms,shoulders from varying positions and angles, scalp(lying on the front & back), pectorals/decollete and forehead, working various facial pressure points to release tension, and restore mental energy.

The new treatment is 60 minutes long and is £30. 

 Available in the City Centre Tuesday & Saturday, all other times including evenings at my NG2 location.

From this, I have also come up with a NEW LOWER BODY MASSAGE, based on the same principal.  Areas treated include glutes, hips, legs, knees, ankles, feet, with pressure points worked on too.  

Again this is £30 for one hour

My original back and leg massages, are still available too

Contact me for further information or to arrange a booking. 

  

I've got an irritable bowel

No, this isn't a euphemism for anything smutty for those who know me, but now a diagnosed condition.

I have been saying for years that I thought I may have something similar but never bothered to have it properly diagnosed.  I have spent the last 8 or 9 years struggling with periods of being virtually a slave to the loo.  At first these episodes were few & far between, and I put them down to, if I was overseas, to the stress of travelling, change of water, diet etc.  Never was I more grateful to see the toilet in my hotel room when a bout of tummy truble made itself known on the NYC subway.  Thankfully I was just one stop away so did not have long to wait or far to run when I got off.

I have been in denial for so long.  I'd fob it off as having a bit too much extra spice in a curry, the food must've been close to its sell by date that sort of thing.  Now that I have not been able to afford to go overseas for some years now, that excuse carried no weight any longer.  

I am not sure what came first; the stress of doing things that resulted in an episode, or an episode that was recurring that would cause me stress & anxiety if I had to go out, but either way, this has been gradually spiralling out of control to the point that I fear having to go out just in case, fear of visiting friends and relatives in case it starts, fear of a car journey, long or short, that may leave me high & dry, miles away from any convenience.  Only the other week, I planned to go to the cinema.  I had missed the early showing so resigned myself to going at lunch time.  Over the course of the morning I slowly wound myself up by telling myself it would be busier, noisier & less enjoyable.  The walk to the cinema is about 20 minutes from my house.  Several minutes in, I had an inclination something bowel wise might happen.  A few feet further down the road and I get the familiar feeling of a huge amount of fluid flooding through my body.  At this point I know I have only 2-5 minutes to get to a loo before all hell breaks loose.  (On a side note I must say that this has happened many times whilst I have been in a class at the gym and I have had to bolt out the studio like Linford Christie.  I can now reveal that this is what has been happening, not that I am a total wuss who has gone outside to catch his breath :))

So there I am, in the middle of nowhere, knowing my guts are literally going to drop! Could I make it to the pub on the horizon? Doubtful, the idea of holding on until I got to the shopping centre was quickly dismissed.  So once again, as has been so often the case of late, I did my olympic sprint back home, just managing to get into the house before the ultimate release occurred.  Dog walks are timetabled around my bowel as they happen 3-4 times a day at pretty set times.  

Another excuse I used was that it was all linked to my hernia that I eventually got sorted this year(see separate blog post).  Well, with that out of the way, and no change in my condition, in fact it has gotten worse, what was a boy to do.  Admit defeat, swallow my embarrassment and go get it sorted.  The fact that I have changed to a much better practice helped in my decision making.  I dreaded having to go see my former gp, who was totally unsympathetic, unhelpful, disinterested in anything you had to say or presented her with.

So I told the doctor or my symptoms and history of the complaint, he examined my abdomen and such, and said that he was 99% sure I had irritable bowel but to rule out anything more serious, blood tests would be done just to be sure, the results of which I will get back this week.

He recommended a website to visit which details all the symptoms, causes, and tips to avoid explosive episodes.  It has been useful.  I had previously tried avoiding certain foods to no avail.  Since my gp visit I have started taking some Buscopan tablets.  At the moment I am starting with one a day;  the episodes are less frequent already though not totally gone.  I may go up to 2 a day and see what happens as well as what the gp will tell me on Friday.

The webiste is patient.co.uk and here is a link to the IBS page, rather have me wittering on about the causes etc, you've probably fell asleep reading this already;

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/irritable-bowel-syndrome

As things move forward, I will update this page with my progress.

24/5/13  Blood results came up negative for anything more sinister so the IBS diagnosis stands.  Been advised to self medicate with Imodium.

Benefits of Vitamin D

The sun is out!!! Unbelievable isn't it?  How long will it last? C'mon this is the UK, I think we know the answer to that one.  So while it is out, I am going to be out in it as much as possible, with suitable sun protection, so that i can top up my Vitamin D levels.  That's right, you can go out, and get healthier too, as sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D, as it helps our bodies synthesise it internally.

So what are the benefits of this free source of nutrition?  Firstly it helps the absorption of other minerals in the body such as calcium and phosphorus which are vital to bone health.  It also boosts the immune system, enabling us to fight off infection more readily.  Vitamin D may also be good for brain health too as we grow older.  

It can help us maintain a healthy body weight, helps us defend against cancerous cells, reduce the risk of female rheumatoid arthritis, reduce the frequency & severity of asthma attacks.

So there are plenty enough reasons to get your flesh out and give yourself a boost!