Ready to go!

I have finished the practical part of my training! I have passed all the practice assessments and am now waiting for the workbooks to be marked. I was quite nervous when I started, as I have no background in anatomy and physiology, despite a long term amateur interest in massage. But getting stuck in with practical demonstrations of effleurage and petrissage, as well as body mechanics assessments really did reinforce my book learning. I have a studio, a massage table, and the colour turquoise! I have a set of oils, which I will talk about later. All I need now is the final certificate and my insurance in place, and I will be ready to go!

Alongside the training, (lead by the guy who is also my Thai Yoga massage therapist!) I have also been avidly consuming Youtube videos! I’m not usually one for using Youtube to learn, but I eventually hooked into a couple of channels where those involved were research- and practice -led. I have an allergic reaction to a lot of the self-proclaimed YT experts, so I check out their credentials and compared them to other channels.

Two channels in particular have contributed a lot to my ethos, my unique way of doing massage. Ian Harvey over at Massage Sloth really helped me to focus on deliberate, systematic and respectful touch which lies at the core all massage techniques. He also introduced me to the notion of myofascia, this extraordinary complex fractal of fibres and collagen that envelopes every part of our body, connecting all the different parts together in such a way that ordinary cause and effect ideas of muscle injury are completely confounded.

The second major influence on my ethos is Gil Hedley over at Somanaut. I love that term! Somanaut, exploring the human ‘soma’ or body, finding out more about its mysterious complex of muscles, bones, fascia and nerves! Gil researches and teaches integral anatomy. This is how the body fits together and operates as a single complex system, rather than traditional or classic anatomy which focuses on the seperate parts. Gil has also been a body work therapist, so he understands why we want to know how systems fit together rather than how they can be cut apart. He has a wonderful quirky way about him!

Both of these influences have taught me to slow down my massage, paying closer attention to the layers of muscles in a person, and the fascia that wraps around them and connects them all together in mysterious ways. I am inspired by their deep and respectful love of the human body, and the people who inhabit those bodies. They both are slow, methodical, inquistive and meditative. They both understand the mind/body connection.

My practice therefore (and I thank all of those who have been willing volunteers in my training!) is directed primarily towards therapeutic touch and movement.

In this blog, I hope to explore some of the issues, challenges and excitement of this practice. At the moment, massage is a ‘side hustle’, a hobby alongside my main job. But who knows where this will lead?! If I can help a few people along the way, then I will be happy.

Why am I doing this?

Why am I doing massage?

It primarily started as something to stop me going mad during a period of sick leave. My own massage therapist, who has been amazing with respect to my migraines and chronic pain, invited me to his course, so I thought it better than lazing around the house.

It's a side hustle, alongside a busy academic job, but I want to ensure that my day off, Fridays, is not taken up with more desk work, but a slow thoughtful movement to keep me fit, and help other people. I charge to help pay for the training costs and materials.

Does massage 'flush out your toxins'?

In short, yes, but not how you might think.

Massage doesn't directly flush toxins out of your body. You won't be seeing toxins oozing from your pores, ew!

What happens, as I understand it, is that it helps to mobilize the lymphatic system. This is a network of channels like your veins and arteries, but which carry lymph cells. These are like Roombas for your body. They go around picking up expired blood cells, cleaning them up, removing pollutants like viruses, and returning them to the blood stream for another go.

The lymph system, unlike your blood or vascular system, is not under pressure. You don't have another heart to pump the lymph through your body. Instead, it relies on the movement of your body.

So, the less movement you make, the more sluggish this cleaning system is. You can imagine how ineffective it might get if you are in bed all day and every day.

So, massage, in mobilising the fascia and organs not just squishing your muscles, assists in moving lymph towards the nodes that form the main channels of flow. A good massage therapist will ensure that the direction of their strokes is towards these nodes. This movement may kick off a reaction of the immune system to squish those unwanted molecules.This is why you might get a snotty nose, or even flu symptoms, after a massage.

So, massage itself can't get the toxins' out, but it does assist your body to do it's own cleaning and tidying.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.