The London Massage Company (Official Blog)

Free Sports Massage Clinic

2011-07-13T09:12:00.000+01:00

Do you need a sports massage? How about joining us for our free sports massage clinic?

We are looking for volunteers who can commit to 2hours on either Tuesday 23^rd or Wednesday 24th August and would like to be assessed and treated for an injury or condition that they may have - You're more than suitable if you are recovering from an injury, have an unresolved injury, have aches and pains from training or one or more of the following: Tight hamstrings, a stiff neck, sore elbows, weak ankles, tight calf muscles, knee problems, sore shoulders, sore hips.

Treatments will be carried out by our sports injuries & massage diploma students on the last days of their course and their tutor, Jane Johnson, Chartered Physiotherapist, will be facilitating the day. All students are skilled in the assessment of a wide range of injuries, including those in the hand and wrist, knee, shoulder and hips and fully insured for their practise.

The clinic is free to all attendees and held at The British School of Osteopathy in Borough (BSO) Teaching Centre, 275 Borough High Street (http://www.bso.ac.uk/mm6cnts.htm)

Slots are 2hourly and are as follows:

09.30 - 11.30

12.00 - 14.00

15.00 - 17.00

During this time the students will carry out an assessment of your injury/condition before carrying out your treatment. All the students and clinic attendees will be in one room together and you will be seen on a one to-one basis. It is highly likely that, you will be removing an item/s of clothing but the usual massage protocol and discretion will be followed by the students at all times.

Before your time slot is confirmed, we ask that you fill in and return to us, preferably by email, the questionnaire attached. The questionnaire not only rules out conditions unsuitable for sports massage but also helps us ascertain how best to treat you on the day. Thank you. We are taking bookings on a first come first serve basis and please keep in mind that if you have more than one condition or area that needs assessing we will only be able to look at and treat one specific problem on the day.

Please feel free to pass these details on to anyone you think could benefit from on the day and ask them to be in touch.

Look forward to booking you in!

Warm wishes

Zoë & Jane

Newsletter 28

2011-07-04T19:50:00.002+01:00

Asking for What You Want

Do you remember....In the previous newsletter I encouraged you to tell people what you wanted, arguing that the more people who know about it, the more likely your wishes are to be satisfied. We had this email in from Eleanora Lawson. "My husband and I tried to convert the loft space we have on top of hour heads, for two years now. We had problems and delay along the way.
Fortunately it didn't cause too much stress but it's something that we really wanted and need done!!!! During this two years we where able to receive permission and everything, we where just missing the right construction company to come along. And it did! Just after that e-mail where I shared with you my dream of having more living space!!! So thank you for allowing the energy to flow!" Others on the list......
- I want a garden and a dog

- to succeed as a massage therapist and have a popular wellness centre in the north London area

- to be able to earn and make a living out of my passion and business idea

- a baby

- the best for the people I love, and for my husband to find a more supportive team to work with and a better environment to be in

- the all word to experience the positive benefits of touch. The all word experiencing the power of nurturing touch since young age!

What's on your list?

A Tasty Experiment

Last month I participated in a collective tasty experiment. I was invited to be part of a recipe exchange concept. I received an email from a friend who, like me loves cooking and was asked to send a quick and easy recipe that didn't contain rare ingredients to the person whose name as first on the list. The recipe was preferably one you know by heart so you could type it out there and then and one you could make when you are short of time. After you send your recipe to the person in position 1, and only to that person, you move yourself into position two (the send-ee to position one) and then you email 20 friends asking them to do the same, and so on.

In theory you should receive 36 recipes in a relatively short amount of time, perhaps from someone you don't know depending on how wide the circle has gone, but I waited, and waited.........still waiting......! But hey ho, it was worth a try and I hope my recipient enjoyed my recipe -
- Take 4 x good sized pork chops (1 per person)
- 2 x 400g tins of cannellini/or butter beans
- 250g of fresh smoked bacon bits (lardons in French!)
- several sprigs of fresh thyme
- salt & pepper
- Season your pork chops with salt, pepper and some of the thyme leaves. Grill your pork chops until cooked (!) and a little crispy ( between 5-7mins each side depending on their side)
- Mean while, in a dry pan, fry off your lardons on a medium heat until just golden (no extra oil needed). Once golden add your 2 cans of cannellini beans and the rest of the fresh tyhme, stir occasionally and continue to cook whilst the pork is cooking and resting.The beans should begin to take on a creamy look/consistancy - this is when you know they're good.
- When your chops are cooked, leave them to rest for 5 mins but keep the fat and the juices collected to one side as at the last minute add the pork juices/fat to the beans and stir in for a further 1 minute. then Voila! Ready to serve it all.

For a lower fat version, you don't need to add the pork juices/fat, but this can make all the difference between good and great : )

Mechanical Massage

Also last month, loads of you loved the link to the massage tools that we included. So, for those of you who took the plunge and popped your 'tool cherry' and even those of you who'd like to be re-inspired and give your hands and thumbs a break, perhaps our Mechanical Massagearticle will be just the thing!

Scary Scapula Stuff

Did any of you see that photo of Heather Mills next to an image of her fractured scapula? She hit a plastic pole during slalom training and a massive chunk fractured off her lateral border, for which she apparently does not need any surgery. I'm curious to know how the rehabilitation for that goes.

Rhomboid Pain

Interested in rhomboid pain on the medial border of the scapula? This is the article I'm always on about Cervical Diskography: A Contribution to the Etiology and Mechanism of Neck, Shoulder and Arm Pain by Ralph B. Cloward (Submitted for publication January 20, 1959, revised May 15, 1959). Now you have the link so can download the whole article for free! Thank you Mr Cloward!

Travels in Thailand

In early May I returned from 15 days trekking, riding elephants, washing elephants, zip wiring, rafting, abseiling, snorkeling, swimming, mountain biking, riding the sky train, riding the Bangkok-Chang Mai sleeper train, long massages, slow walks, sitting in a swing seat watching the waves lap the shore whilst sipping something red with glacé cherries, the like of which have been banned in Europe for the last 10 years.

At Kanchanoburi we visited the Bridge on the River Kwai and then walked a little of the Hellfire Pass. It was incredibly hot, hardly any visitors, and under large leaved tropical trees the air still and silent at The Pass itself. Lizards fixed to rocks. The snap of occasional twig. I thought about the men who had died here in such extreme conditions, trying to hew rock in this humidity. On return to London I immediately bought a copy of The Railway Man by POW survivor Eric Lomax and read it in two sittings.In Bangkok I took Jake walking an old railway line. 'That's the slums' said our guide without looking up. Obviously off the tourist track and quite disinteresting to someone who prefers to show visitors the Royal Palaces. Under the flyover a woman had set up a 'cafe', four tables covered in vinyl tablecloths at which a few people were eating. As I stepped from one sleeper to another I felt immense appreciation for living a world away from this. 'Imagine that when you come home from school you come home to live here,' I said, 'you sleep in a home made from cardboard boxes.' People were washing themselves and hanging out washing, had pet dogs and were cooking and eating by the track. A group of elderly ladies laughed as they played cards. I smiled and said 'hello' to everyone and most smiled back, our shirts wet through with sweat. Jake was sullen, trying hard to mask his irritability. 'I bet no other mums make their kids do this,' he said with forced resignation.

Turning Things to Your Advantage

When the Waldorf Astoria Hotel started excavating part of Syon Park in order to build a new hotel there last year, the remains of an entire Roman village were unearthed, including pottery, coins and even human skeletons. Work on the hotel was halted whilst archaeologists were called in to help excavate the remains properly and transport them to the London Museum. One might think that this was something of a spanner in the works for the Waldorf construction team, but instead of looking on the negative side - delays in building and the need to reschedule - the hoteliers instead focused on how to turn this unexpected discovery to their advantage and have chosen to incorporate some of the Roman heritage into the hotel itself. There's a lesson here for us all. Instead of asking, "what's difficult and challenging about this?" why not turn things around and ask, "what's great about this? How can I turn this to my advantage?"

Forthcoming Workshops

More great days in July & August:
// July 26th, Postural Assessment

// July 27th & 28th, Common Back & Neck Conditions
// Aug 13th, How to Treat the Cervical Spine with Cameron Reid, osteopath
// Aug 21st, Client Rehab Using Foam Rollers with Jay Proven, sports massage practitioner, sports rehabilitator and Personal Trainer
// Sept 2nd, Day in the Dissection Lab

The Psychology of it all

Fab therapist and ultra runner Sarah Hutton told us about her latest conquest and in her own words “It may help therapists appreciate the (ultra)runners mentality :-)”
I ran 100 miles before my legs entirely seized up. Very disappointing but it had got to the stage where I could not walk up or down slopes - not even if I tred to walk backwards or sideways! I've been turbo training on my bike for the last 4 days as well as doing lots of stretching. I went for my first "walk/run" today, 8 days after the canal race and managed to run about 1.5miles out of the 3. At least I know which muscles need immediate attention when I go for my sports massage on Friday Last time I finished the race it took me a month to get back running so I'm quite pleased with managing a little run this morning. My next race is either 70miles or 105miles in August, so I need to get back up and running asap!

100miles is a long way but it was also a failure since I didn't make it to the finish :-( Weird thinking of 100miles as a failure! I simply had a very bad race day despite perfect prep and taper. By the end of my race pain/discomfort levels were on a 9/10 (where 10= childbirth maybe) and I was hyperventilating and talking to myself to keep going. Talk about flogging a dead horse though! But despite that here I am looking forward to my next looooong run. Luckily I know a good sports therapist I can do swapsies with - my legs need a good flush out and my right hip a good stretch. Not sure DTM would be a help at this stage!

Hope your adductors are up to your next martial arts class! I would say don't over do it, but that might be a case of pot and kettle.
Warm wishes

Sarah

Thinking Outside the (shoe) Box

I was interested to read in an article in Metro (April 11th) that shoppers were being offered a £100 shopping voucher for turning up in their underwear at a particular shopping mal here in the UK. The article showed two almost naked svelte young women examining shoes in a shoe shop. I'm not saying that I approve of schemes to promote women roaming around in their underwear (although one assumes the offer was made to male shoppers also) yet I cannot help but think this may have attracted more (clothed) shoppers, arriving out of pure curiosity. I know that I for one am curious to know how many people turned up in their boxer shorts and lingerie to get their £100. Whether this tactic increased overall male sales we don't know. Yet it's a good example of marketers thinking outside the box. If you were thinking outside the box, what ideas would you offer to increase sales of your products and services?

Following Your Passion

Talking of shopping, did anyone see that Mary Portas, popularly described as Queen of Shops, has been appointed by the government to investigate the causes of our disappearing independent shops on the high street. Criticized by some as being anti-department store, and not the right person for such an important role, what this appointment demonstated for me, was that if you are passionate about something you cannot help being drawn towards it. An investigative number-crunching researcher could have been appointed, yet I can think of few people with more energy and enthusiasm about investigating this subject than Ms Portas. What are you passionate about? Are you doing it and if not, why not?

Things we Think You'd Like
// I make a point of keeping free newspapers and magazines and reading them whilst dog walking. I regularly find interesting articles which are thought provoking or useful. Occassionally I come across something special. I recently came across an absolute gem of free information. It was in a free magazine called Cygnus Review. I don't know how I got but inside found a great article by Carol Martin in which she lists 7 ways to attract clients. Here I came across How to be a Successful Therapist: A Guide to Starting and Running Your Own Complementary Therapy Business which lead me to find A Guide to Starting your own Complementary Therapy Practice: A Manual for the Complementary Healthcare Profession Happy reading! // Faye Dawson has 5 spaces left to work offering quick 10 minute massages over the clothes, with the client sitting on a simple fold-up stool to the public and VIP guests at Relentless NASS Festival Weekender. It’s a 3-day action sports and music festival - Friday 8th to Sunday 10th July at Bath and West Showground (it is camping!). Arena opening times are 10:00am until 3:00am (apart from Sunday, when the Arena closes at 8:00pm). For more infomation please email Fiona onfaye@4wellbeing.org.uk or call her on 07827 960 134. I hope to work with you at the festival, where we can work hard and have a lot of fun! Faye Dawson // Nash College in Croydon are looking for a physiotherapy assistant. Thought some of our readers might be interested if you can squeeze it into the newsletter. Closing date 30th June. To request an application pack please call 020 8315 4805 (4800 for main reception) or email: admin@nash.livability.org.uk // Check Out Timber Wharf Time Bank Another great website to trade your skills and time rather than your money! // Another great websiteTerra Rosa featuring this great article on fascia // Pilates instructor Sue Cubitt of Passion4Fitness sent us this great link to a website devoted to locating trigger points // This year the British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences Conference explores fatigue, a debilitatig symptom limiting performance in many athletes. The conference is on 6-8th Sept, in Essex.

More of What you Want

2011-05-20T13:02:00.000+01:00

Springing into action

Ok it's official: winter is over, spring is here. Last month the blue tits in the garden were fluffed up in the wild warm wind and chirruping endlessly as they tried to get to the pine nuts I scattered. Personally, I think they were blaspheming at being trapped in a wind tunnel that puffs them into pom poms on the air and prevents descent to ground level. Frustrated at their thwarted aeronautical attempts to drop like deadweights from the branches (they're rather fat here in central London), they were squeaking away in the bushes. Occasionally one made a break for it and struggled valiantly, a blur of blue and yellow, until nature won and the little chap gave up and whizzed backwards slap bang back into his bush.

Not any more. The sun is out, the days are sunny and...the ants are here. I keep finding six legged scouts in odd places, searching out what food they can nick from the kitchen. Although no sign of them today. I'm worried. I think they have retreated and are regrouping. I may come home tonight to find the fruit bowl empty.

Getting what you want

I believe that you may get what you want in life if you keep it quiet and work away at things in secret. However, you are more likely to get what you want if you tell people. So, what do you want? Too shy to tell? Ok I'll go first:

I want...

* a fantastic free massage every day for the rest of my life (Hey, I'm just being honest here, stop laughing)

* to improve my drawing skills

* to transform my garden into paradise by acquiring (1) some plants (2) garden table and chairs

* for Postural Assessment to sell 300 copies between Dec 13th this year (when it is published) and Dec 31st this year when I get my royalty statement.

* to learn how to play great guitar

* A living space with a roof garden full of plants and plenty of space and the ability to let in lots of light, with areas to do my craft work and to write books, perhaps overlooking the Thames or on the edge of Hampstead.

* To have the ultimate Dream Team, a team of like minded souls supporting each other's dreams and celebrating with each other when these manifest.

There, I've told about 2,000 people. If I can do it, perhaps you can too? What do you want? Who can you tell? How quickly can you tell them? What might happen if your family, friends and colleagues all knew you wanted to move house? move country? change career? have another baby? become a canine masseuse? sell your artwork for money? write a book? paint your window frames pink? build a school? become a horticulturalist? train as an osteopath? set up your own business? make your own beauty products? run a farm? run a marathon? adopt 12 cats? adopt a child? spend three months in Costa Rica? spend three years studying physiotherapy? win Masterchef? win a local election? join mensa? join a circus? live in the country? live in the city?....

The Ultimate Wish List Edition

Are you curious about what other people wish for and whether anyone wants the same kinds of things as you? Wouldn't you just love to know what other therapists want to have, do and be? How about you email us your wishlist and Zoe and I will remove all names and mix everything up and publish the entire list in the next newsletter? It could be the Ultimate Wish List edition, a collection of therapists' hopes, dreams and desires. Will will make it if you will create it. (How's that for an offer?)

Professional Values and Behaviour

Ok, back to some therapy-related stuff. The Charered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP) is updating its Code of Members' Professional Values and Behaviour, attempting to answer questions such as, "is it ok for a physiotherapist appear on X Factor?" "may a physiotherapist endorse a product?" If you are working as a therapist in almost any capacity, whether it be massage, reflexology, sports therapy, or sports massage, you too will no doubt be a member of an organization that requires members to adhere to a a similar code. With changing times and opinions it's good to review these codes. Yet it is not always clear how these codes relate to actual practice. The four tenets of the CSP Code are (1) Behave ethically, (2) Take responsibility for your actions, (3) Strive to achieve excellence and (4) Deliver and effective service. Do you have a copy of the code to which you should adhere? Do you meet its requirements? Are there any aspects about which you are unclear? Reflecting on these kinds of questions contributes to Continuing Professional Development and may be documented and submitted as part of your ongoing learning.

Motivation to Try New Things

Where does motivation come from? Do we feel motivated because we want to move away from a negative situation, or because we want to move towards a positive one? I've noticed that when running workshops, therapists come with different motivations. Some want to learn a new skill of course, yet many come to meet other therapists and to network, or to improve their confidence, or simply to 'keep their hand in' at a skill they already have but may not have used for a while. Some are hoping to move on to more advanced courses.

Since the last newsletter I have been motivated to start learning guitar. I pluck away at the three strings I now 'know' trying to relax, maintain good posture, put my fingers in the correct positions, breathe, look ahead to what's coming next in the score. Last week my 11 year old son put his hand on my shoulder and said, "you're much better than I was after 2 lessons" and gave me the raised eyebrow look of encouragement parents give their children who are 3 bars short of having a tantrum. The dog heaved herself to her feet and quietly left the room. I put the instrument down sucked my sore fingers and went and made fruit kebabs. When you are frustrated at not being able to play a tune through without a single mistake its very satisfying to STAB pieces of apple, banana, grape, raspberry and blueberry onto a wooden skewer. Except that you can only really stab apples as the rest provides no resistance. So a handy tip if ever you need Fruit Kebab Relief Therapy.

Is there something new you would like to try? What motivates you to try it? What barriers prevent you from doing it? Can you remove any of those barriers? If not now, when?

Personal Progress Report

* On Thursday 7th of April I took and passed my 3rd kung fu exam and have moved up a rank. I had been training hard, four times a week in preparation, and rather relived when, standing sweating with my fellow wing chun brothers and sisters was informed I had passed. For safety, I'm having to remove some of my piercings in preparation for training at this new, higher rank. Oh my Goodness! Now I'm naked!!!

* I officially submitted my 5th book proposal, Treating Runners, to the publishers Human Kinetics. And now we wait.

* I had the photography shoot for the cover of Postural Assessment. Richard Lewis, an ex sports massage student (now training in osteopathy) very kindly volunteered to be the 'body' in the photograph and stood patiently whilst we shot photos of his back. Some of you reading this met Richard when he popped into a workshop I was teaching on Palpation Skills at the British School of Osteopathy in April. So when you see a copy of Postural Assessment you can say, "Hey! I know what that man looks like from the front!" To maintain his physique prior to the shoot Richard gave up eating sweets for a month. Thank you Richard. Obviously, anyone who can do that can certainly do a five year osteoapthy degree.

Too often we cite our failings and pay less attention to our successes. What have you achieved in the last for weeks?

Getting what you focus on

Many of you know that I believe in metaphysics - that you get what you focus on, that like attracts like. Life frequently finds ways to help me support this belief. For example, yesterday I was enjoying a long walk home from the supermarket, trundling behind me a shopping trolley full of food and thinking how nice all the cast iron railings were in the fronts of the large houses I was walking past. I noticed that whilst some of the railings looked original, they were probably new because they had definition to their fleur de lis and spear-shaped tops and were not all gunged up with years and years of that thick black railing paint.

As I walked, I wondered who made all these new railings and if they had the original molds or had made copies of the old railings, and I thought what an interesting job it must be to be asked to recast or sand blast decorative ironwork. I stood outside one house, abandoned by the looks of things, the railings of which were leaning outwards and their 1930s pastel green/turquoise paint flaked off and rusting, and I wondered what was going to happen to the railings when eventually the house was sold and the new owners had to decide what to do about their ironwork.

All the way home and in the evening I took pleasure in thinking that there are many unusual jobs in the world, and making casts from old iron railings was probably one of them. It was comforting also to reflect on the fact that some people still wanted to preserve these old designs and take pains to clean up and repair this kind of metalwork.

Then the strangest thing: the very next day amongst the post I found a catalogue addressed to JJ Engineering. The first thing was that it was my initials (Jane Johnson). Secondly there has never been a JJ Engineering at this address, ever. Thirdly, the catalogue was from James Hoyle & Son, an 'architectural foundry' detailing the pages and pages of cast iron railings they supply. I hadn't told anyone my thoughts about the railings, have never received this catalogue before, and as far as I am aware, nor have any of my neighbours. So this is yet another 'proof' for me that the universe gives you what you focus on.

How about we all try an experiment? How about, you choose something you want to achieve, or something you want to have or to happen, and to focus on it for a month, thinking about it, writing about it, talking about it. Really put your focus on it. Shall we see what happens?

Seeing clearly now

Talking of seeing things, I finally got round to ordering my new glasses. Unsurprisingly, the only free NHS glasses in the shop were the large rimmed mock tortoiseshell a la Tootsie pair that really suit women with hair the colour of hyacinths. Or, a 'funky' pair (the salesman assures me) in boiled sweet lime green or boiled sweet red only available in one size: pygmy. I ended up buying a not too bad pair in black that would have been better if they'd had little wings at the top corners so I can practice my 1950s diva look, but apparently Ronald Brown opticians in Kentish Town Road have no demand for 'fashion' spectacles. Now that I can see clearly and the weather has warmed I'm feeling a little more springy (apart from my fingertips which cannot feel anything at all due to zealous guitar practice). Is there something you've been putting off that you could get sorted this month?

Things We Think
You'd Like
// Sue Carberry sent us in a tip for a new massage tool Check it out! Sue says, "It’s fab for working on the body through the towel and through clothes. It can get a bit slippy when covered in oil, but, so far it shows great promise."
// 16th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science. Liverpool 6-9th July 2011. Theme is 'New Horizons in Sports Sciences'.
// 13th European Congress of Sports Psychology, Madeira, 12th-17th July. This year's theme is 'Sport & Exercise Psychology: Human Performance, Wellbeing and Health.'
// 28th June Soft Tissue Release (STR)
// 29th June Massage in Hospitals
// 30th June Muscle Energy Technique (MET)

To subscribe to the E-Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Advertising Standards Authority and Massage - Opportunity or Threat?

2011-04-18T15:45:00.000+01:00

Rank This
This week in kung fu class I saw one of the Rank 5 students break a piece of 1 inch wood with one kick. It cracked and a third fell off and hit the floor. Describing force and energy to the juniors, the Master later split a same sized piece with one punch. It split cleanly, right down the middle and fell in two. When no one was looking I checked to see if what they were using was 'real' wood, hard wood. It was. So now I'm thinking, 'fractured phalange, cracked metacarpal, at least a dislocated knuckle' (once a therapists, always a therapist). But nothing. Not a graze, not a bruise. Later in my own class, the Master called me over to the whiteboard, "there", he said, pointing, "that's your Rank 1 grading date. April 7th. Its a Thursday," and he walked off. All the blood rushed from my head to my feet. This exam would mean moving up to Rank 2. But I'm not sure I want to let go of Rank 1. I'm not sure I'm ready. I'm enjoying training, love every class, never tire of what we do, and feel like I'm always improving. But gradings are good says Sifu, they help us to grow and to expand, to go outside our limits. He's right of course. And if a man who's been practicing for 37 years thinks a grading should be attempted it would be foolish not to comply. There's comfort in familiarity but I guess you'll never know whether you can split wood or not unless you let yourself expand to that level. Comfort zones can be restrictions. Sometimes it takes someone else to tell us that. Have you outgrown a comfort zone? Is there any area of your life that would benefit from expansion?

Getting to the Bottom of Things
How do you get Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) in just one buttock? After one of these regular kung fu classes I had DOMS in my left butt. Of course, the day after that it was even worse, and Jake took delight in showing his mates, "watch this, watch what I can do to my mum," gently prodding me with a finger which elicited an "Ah! Ah! Ah!" and a hopping
retreat on my part to much giggling amongst small persons. A few days later I happened upon two fantastic wooden chairs near a dumpster, just what I was needing for a 'shabby chic' makeover project I'm working on (translation: how to keep 4 kids busy in winter with nothing but a piece of sandpaper). I carried the chairs home, and after 20 minutes realized that either they were much heavier than they looked or my biceps were weaker than I thought. Now they are in the hall. I just can't fix them up or sit on them.

Opportunity or Threat?
Zoe and I have been fielding emails from some therapists, anxious about the latest Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) clamp down on how therapists (of all disciplines) market their
services. As you may know, the ASA is responsible for ensuring all advertising is 'legal, decent, honest and truthful.' Long story short: on your business cards, leaflets and website you can't claim that massage (or sports massage or aromatherapy or reflexology or myofascial release or whatever other therapy you practice) relaxes you, stretches you, improves tone, for example, unless you have a peer-reviewed research paper to back it up. Don't even think about suggesting that massage (of any sort) may be able to help clients with specific medical conditions such as a stiff shoulder, swollen joint or tight muscles. The Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) have been quick and thorough in responding to questions about this from their members. For example, the FHT highlight that using the word 'may' before a claim (eg Indian head massage may help clients suffering from headaches) is not likely to be acceptable by the ASA. Other organizations are no doubt also looking at this issue.

Here at The London Massage Company we are excited and rubbing our hands together (not just because its absolutely freezing) at this development. There's nothing we like more than a marketing challenge. Lets be honest here folks, we've all seen therapists' business cards with claims that certain treatments can do all sorts of things and improve all sorts of conditions. Some therapists have had an easy ride. But we're no different to any other service provider and the ASA are simply being fair. Its not our fault as therapists that hard core research papers supporting the value of massage as a treatment for various conditions are thin on the ground. Yet neither is it the fault of the ASA for not knowing that there is a vast body of anecdotal evidence to support our treatments. Those therapists who claim to be able to improve stiff joints, tight muscles, headaches, leg cramps, etc., do so because that's their experience. Such therapists don't need a research paper, they have all the evidence they need to satisfy themselves that what they do works. However, under ASArules that's breaking the law. So what do we do?

None of us are going to rush straight out and do research to show that massage helps
decrease tone in quadriceps, that STR helps improve joint range or that manual lymphatic drainage improves lymphatic drainage. Most of us have neither the time nor the inclination. So we need to take a different approach. A different approach? Now I'm totally excited. I love different approaches. This is a fantastic opportunity to think creatively about how we market
ourselves. Two of my favourite topics combined: creativity + therapy. Where shall we start?

How on earth does a sports massage therapist, for example, advertise the fact that they may be able to help clients recovering from, for example, a sprained ankle if they can't say, 'sports massage may help with the recovery of ankle sprains'? How about this for an idea: we no longer list in bullet points the conditions nor the treatments we offer. Instead, we simply say Sports Massage Therapist (or whatever therapy we are practicing) on our business cards, and then when potential customers call we describe what we do? ASA guidelines do not cover verbal
communication, (though of course its wise to be aware of their overall purpose to ensure advertising is legal, decent, honest and truthful). Let me ask you this: Do you think you will get fewer clients if you are unable to market your services by listing the conditions you 'treat'? In my experience, many clients don't 'know' we can help with stiff calves or adhesive capsulitis until we suggest this to them, they simply come to us wondering whether massage might help? How's this for an idea: I propose we dump all of that other 'stuff and simply pose the question on our business materials, 'might massage help you?' and leave it at that. Then we can provide a treatment and ask the client how they feel and use what they say on our materials later with their
permission (yes, you can do that according to the ASA). So, if many of your clients have found that regular massage with you helps keep them in shape as recreational runners, for example, you can state that in your marketing materials.

If all therapists had only their name, contact details and therapies in which they are trained in on their cards, clients would be forced to try out different therapists and to go where they got the best results. Free market economy or what!? How will you now differentiate your services from those of other therapists? Remember, your marketing materials are only one way of communicating, only one way of differentiating yourself. What else could you do? Its not like the ASA are saying, 'all therapists must use rectangular black business cards with white lettering or they will go to jail'. There's still so much we can do! Let's rejoice in that fact!

Yet if my excitement and enthusiasm regarding this challenge isn't rubbing off on you, you could always give the problem of how you market yourself to a marketing expert. Set out the facts: This is what the ASA say I can do, this is what they say I can't do, please sort it out. Let the marketing
expert do the marketing. That is, after all, what you are paying them for.

Lets all collaborate on this to help each other. Contact us with your ideas and we will
include them in the next newsletter. Lets use this ASA legislation as an opportunity rather than a threat. Oooo, yummy yummmy yummy! Start rubbing those hands together!

Camel in the Kitchen
Some of you reading this might know that I've made quite a few visits to morocco, my favourite being to the desert, far south of the village of Mhamid. At the start of March I returned from the latest visit, a holiday/work venture. Holiday because there is nothing but sun, stars and space, not to mention healthy food and some much needed warmth at this time of year. Work because I've written a book, Camel in The Kitchen, a travelogue and departure from my usual therapy titles. I was continuing with an ongoing interview of Khalid, my long time Berber guide. The interview has been ongoing for around 5 years because there's a limit to the number of questions you can ask when only one of you speaks Arabic and my French enables me to order a plate of butterflies and to ask whether the British Embassy is near the train station. Not much good when you're 400km south of Marrakech approaching the Algerian border with three camels and a brilliant chef (Hussain) but no interpreter. Still, its amazing what you can do with a pencil and paper and lots of gesticulating. When I told her that here in the UK we put thyme and mint sauce on our lamb, the woman in Zagora tried unsuccessfully to suppress a raucous laugh. Or was that because I was making bleating lamb ba ba noises? Then, using only Arabic and lots of hand movements she told me they used thyme as an inhalant when they got runny noses. I was fascinated in the tiny new herbalist (called Espices) tucked away in a side street there, where the chemists brought out the argan massage oil and packets of spice, rose-scented balms, all sourced in morocco. Their peppermint tea was so raw and strong that when I used three teaspoon full of the leaves back in the UK it nearly blue my head off. I bought a packet of dried vervain. The chemists gesticulated and put their hands together as if praying and lay on their sides to indicate its properties. I wasn't quite sure whether they were telling me that it was sleep-inducing tea or that it would put me into a comma if I used too much. They have no care for ASA advertising regulations here. They just show you what their products do. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned here?

Women Wanted
I'm looking for travelling companions for my return to the desert in early 2012. Do you feel like getting away from it all? Want some sun and some space to read, relax, chat or chill? Contact me at jane@thelondonmassagecompany.com for more information or to see photographs of my previous trips. (p.s the hotel in Zagora at which we need to stop overnight en route to meet the camel caravan at Mhamid has a floodlit swimming pool for use at night. Not that I'm trying to
influence you or anything).

Two therapists win payout for RSI
Two 'beauty' therapists have won a combined payout of £300,000 form Virgin for developing RSI as a result of providing through-clothing shiatsu massages to first class Virgin Atlantic passengers in the airline's Heathrow lounge. The therapists claimed their RSI was due to insufficient breaks and having to apply very deep pressure. What do you think about this?

How much to charge?
We often get asked by therapists if we can give them some hints and tips on how much they should charge. Sports Massage Therapist Jane Paul asks, "how can I find out how much to charge for treatments, is there any sort of governing body that could tell me or is it a question of deciding your own worth or what the rates are of other such people in the area? I don't want to
over-charge but then again I don't want people to think I'm really cheap." What do you think? We know that therapists have very different views on this. Jane is happy for any readers to contact her with ideas: jp014s2735@blueyonder.co.uk

My experience so far of Voluntary Massage at UCLH, by Justine Hutchins
Hi everyone,

As one of Jane’s students, I was keen to get as much variety of ‘hands on’experience as possible, after passing the intensive sports massage course.

I met a Cranio-Sacral therapist who told me about her experience of working at University College Hospital (UCLH) as a volunteer, I thought It sounded like a challenge, which would
be out of my comfort zone and a worthwhile venture.

After getting the relevant red tape taken care of, such as CRB checks and inductions, you are let loose on the wards. (I haven’t worked in the Pain clinic yet.)

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and imagined that most of the time you would have limited access to a patient’s body as they may be attached to a drip, unable to sit up, or not easily accessible. This has turned out mostly to be the case; however even with those limitations I have had interesting and rewarding experiences.

I felt a bit uninspired to begin with, being limited to only working on the hands of one particular patient, but I was soon reminded of the power of simple touch and the circulation. When I arrived the patient was the colour of alabaster and after I had worked on one of his hands for about 10 minutes we were both amazed to see pink travel up his arm to his cheeks and even his feet! It was funny to hear him ask, being a medical man, how that happened! He said that he had always been against complementary therapies, but since being in hospital, it had given him a chance to be on the receiving end and has now changed his mind. Even though he was paralysed in both legs, receiving reflexology made him feel deeply relaxed.

Another woman I massaged had generalised Dystonia and had been described by her Doctor as being like a ‘crisp’ as she could not bend her joints when all her muscles seized up. The physios had her walking up and down but she was unable to dorsiflex her feet properly which made walking very difficult. After massaging her calves, I tried MET on her ankles which
greatly increased the range of movement in her ankle and immediately after massage, made walking much easier. She let the physios know that the massage had made a difference and they apparently looked at her in disbelief. During the following session she said that she could still notice the benefit of the previous treatment and it had made walking up steps easier. She also had a medical background and found this way of working fascinating. So I guess you never know what you are going to get which I find interesting. The amount of patients you work on can vary each time from as few as one to about four or five depending on how quickly you can locate people.

Most nurses, in my experience are really helpful and friendly, but there are a few who can be a little reluctant to inform you on the patient until they are reassured that it is important that I know of any contraindications to massage. I have found that you can usually get a very detailed
description from the patient.

I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has worked in the Pain Clinic, I’m going to look into that next.

Kind regards,
Justine

If you’d like to volunteer your skills in a hospital or hospice environment but would like more understanding of what’s involved then perhaps our June workshop - Massage In Hospitals - can help you take the first step. Keith Hunt, Complementary Therapies Co-ordinator at the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, will help you overcome your concerns and have you ready to offer your treatments.

Things we Think You'd Like

// Recruiting on site massage therapists now Inspirit www.inspiritmassage.co.uk supplies
therapists to offices and events. They are expanding their elite team and are looking for
talented, experienced therapists who are passionate about bodywork, dedicated to client care and understand the importance of professionalism.

To apply, you must have an On Site Massage qualification (one day courses not acceptable), which insures you to give treatments using a massage chair. You will have at least 6 months of OSM experience and own a portable chair.

They are recruiting now for work in all parts of London. If you are interested in joining the Inspirit
team please send you CV to contact@inspiritlondon.com detailing your qualifications and experience.

// Emma-Louise Tyack is looking for a massage therapist with a wide range of skills to take over her very healthy client base in central London. Having a wide range of skills and passion for your work is important to the quality of massage demanded by her clients. If you're that fantastic practitioner looking to expand their client base please call Emma-Louise at Feel Good Massage 07855 860 848

// Anthony Nolan the pioneering charity saving the lives of people with blood cancer, are looking for massage therapists who can make up a team offering massage to their supporters on
Sunday 10th July as part of their 10km run frundraiser in London. If you can support the charity and make the runners feel extra special on the day a please do get in touch with Rebecca on 020 7284 8284 or email Laura on - laura.gorringe@anthonynolan.org

We love

// Vertical Veg, a not-for-profit organization 'that inspires and supports food growing in small urban spaces.' For more information see www.verticalveg.org.uk

// RE the company that recycles. Check out these re-fired skeleton plates or their skeleton paper garlands! Of course, its not all bones, they do gorgeous recycled products for the home.
www.re-foundobjects.com

// Kew Lecture, Materia medica in the 19th century – ethnobotanist Mark Nesbitt, curator of Kew’s Economic Botany Collection. Wednesday, June 29, 2011 @ 6pm Apothecaries’ Hall, London EC4. Admission free but must book with the Society of Apothecaries on 0207 236 1189 (Thank you Sue!)

// Ok, I'm on about it again: justfortheloveofit.org I really do love this website. Its a site for
people trying to live without money, swapping stuff or simply giving it away. Freeconomists as we are called. In order to fund my Moroccan trip I'd put lots of items for sale on ebay and raised £1000. But I had many items remaining. I posted messages about these on the justfortheloveofit website and within 3 days individuals from all over London had come and taken away my
unwanted items, beaming from ear to ear at getting what they were looking for free. A young couple came all the way from Lambeth to collect 22 old glass jars which they intended to fill with their new recipe for fig chutney. A woman from Elephant and Castle took away two 4kg handweights and two 5kg handweights, 'just what she was looking for' to help her build up some muscle. I split my stock of unused A3 flip chart paper between two other people who were willing to share it, and had 24 others it could have gone to. Also gone is the large 4-person tent that took up the space of two kitchen cupboards. This really is recycling at its best. Stuff you no longer need going to people who really need it and will use it immediately. Is there anything you need to get rid of?

// Curry!! In every shape, size, colour and form. Zoe’s just been on a bit of a curry binge thanks to having her other curry-loving friends visiting her in France. Ok, so coffee and
pastries took a hammering in the morning but after that it was chilli time!! There is nothing
better than weighing out your spices, inhaling the explosion of aromatics as they’re ground down and then you wait for magic of the mix to unfold. Pure genius!

// Finally, lets be thankful we are not Mongolian goat herders. The rice of cashmere is due to rocket as these farmers have been forced to eat their livestock due to severely harsh winters in recent years. Putting things into perspective, having to fan-dangle about with how we market ourselves aint so tough huh?

Workshops for May

// 14th May 2011 Foam Roller Techniques for Rehab - Want to know how to use or be more effective with foam rollers? Want to integrate rehabilitation and corrective exercises into your treatments? Then Foam Roller Techniques is the workshop for you.
(www.thelondonmassagecompany.com/workshop7)

//14th May - Deep Tissue; No-Hands7 – In conjunction with the launch of Jane’s new book – Deep Tissue Massage - join us for the workshop. Learn to access deep tissues safely and
effectively without using, and therefore damaging, your hands.
(www.thelondonmassagecompany.com/workshop11)

//15th May - Intro to Trigger Points – Learn about this effective and fascinating Neuromuscular technique - a National Occupational Standard (NOS) for sports massage as set out by Skills
Active. (D522) You will spend the majority of the day locating and treating trigger points on the major muscles of the body as well gaining an understanding about their anatomy and physiology and why they occur. (www.thelondonmassagecompany.com/workshop12)

To subscribe to the Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

The Benefits of Massage for Sufferers of Motor Neurone Disease: A Personal Perspective

2011-02-22T15:35:00.000Z

A Different Outlook
If you have been receiving this newsletter for some time you will have come to realise that Zoe and I are not just about anatomy, physiology and massage. We each have many other interests and make no excuses for the fact that we sometimes get very excited about other things (chocolate, deep baths, big dogs, travelling...). One of the things that particularly interests me is the concept of entrepreneurialism. Are you born an entrepreneur or do you
become one? Do you choose self employment or is it simply an alternative to redundancy? Like many of you reading this, both Zoe and I are scrumptiously self employed. (Ok I added the word scrumptiously.) And at the start of this spanking new year I yet again acknowledge what a gloriously empowering state this is. When many are worrying about VAT increases and how they might tighten their belts, I'm asking, 'how can I bring in more income?' not 'where can I save?' And there lies all the difference.

Raise the Roof
By February 26th I need to have raised £1200 for my trekking holiday in Morocco with little Jake. Sunshine, sand and sky. Miles and miles of it. No one to talk to except a gurgling camel. Jake, myself and a handful of berber guides happy to busy themselves with putting up tents and being berbers, their quiet compraderie apparent as we trek, trek, trek in silence. We have to go on this holiday. Its become a kind of ritual. Getting away, the lull in conversation, lilt of the camel, nothing but ourselves under the stars. A time of replenishment and renewal. "Have we got £1200?" asked Jake when he saw me daydreaming. I love the way that our financial outgoings are discussed in the pleural and have become a joint affair despite the fact that he is only 11. I didn't want to say "no" just because £1200 hadn't yet materialised. So I said what I always say, "we've always got the money, I just need to call it home", at which he nods contentedly and goes off to shoot bad guys on the Playstation.

It was January 1st. Instead of cutting back on essentials (sushi, massage, Fenjal soap at £5.95 a bar) we decided to draw a huge thermometer on the wall, like those used to show how much money has been raised to replace stolen tiles from a church roof. Each day I go from room to room and open cupboards and drawers, pull out 5 things and list them on ebay. When they sell Jake colours in the thermometer. Last week was something of a triumph in selling supplies when I arrived home to find a large selection of toys available for sale. It seems that Captain Jack Sparrow, 15 pirates, a large selection of rubber dinosaurs and 6 propellerless corgi aeroplanes no longer hold as much appeal as riding a camel all day and the promise of lamb tagines for dinner. It already been a good week for raising holiday funds. A very nice man who used to
manage pop groups in the 80s came round and bought the 13 sheeps jaw bones I had in the cupboad under the sink. Delighted, he took them home and arranged them beneath a glass dome that used to house stuffed birds. Five ladies from Crewe fought a touch and go bidding war for the 8 tins of buttons I seemed to have amassed over the years, and a well-spoken woman in Islington took off my hands a large collection of enamel coffee pots and pans. Its an interesting experience. Suddenly, one reassess what is valuable and what is not, what holds sentimental value and what can be let go. Jake is optimistic at how easy it is to make money, ("you find a toy like a knight and his horse, you put it on ebay. A man who likes knights buys it and sends you the money even if its a bit dirty because it got buried in the garden?"). That was pretty much it. We may have nothing to cook in and safety pins holding together our clothes but the thermometer stands at £550. Will we make it?

Tooth and Skull Workshop
You know when I'm about you are never far from bones. They follow me around in the nicest possible way. I find them on the heath when walking, get sent them in the mail, and receive email alerts about bone-related events such as this one at the Hunterian Museum. Got kids who need something to do over the half term? Let them get their teeth into this one (heh heh heh). Its called Long in the tooth: Object handling workshop . For more info: www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/events/family-activities

Breathable Cocktails
Ok so I'm not a cocktail drinker but I'm fairly certain most cocktails are mixed in a shaker and served in a glass and then poured into the mouth, for there's only one way to make and enjoy cocktails, right? Wrong! In his book Screw Work, Lets Play, John Williams provides a great example of how one team (Bompass and Parr) take an original twist on an old idea. They were commissioned to create a breathable cocktail, so they vaporised gin and tonic (as you do when you have nothing better to do on a cold January afternoon). In the process it was necessary to call in the help of an explosives expert as vaporised gin is apparently flammable above a certain level and I guess they wanted ensure their guests became enjoyably intoxicated not dangerously inflammed. Williams uses this story to demonstrate that there is always someone who has the answer to a question you might have (in this case it was "how much alcohol can you vaporise before it becomes an explosives risk?" (p79). Is there a question you need an answer to? Who might have the answer you need?

Straplines
Question: What do all of these phrases have in common?:
- Reset Your compass
- Just Do It
- Looking After Your World
- The magazine for a million voices for nature
- Soft, strong and very very long

Answer: They are all straplines for different companies, that is, they each appear after the name of the company and are used as a means of letting people know the ethos of that company, its
values, or simply what it stands for. Can you match the strapline to the company to which it
belongs? (for answers see end of newsletter). If you had a strapline what would it be? Would it be for you as a person or for you as a
business?

Did Anyone See....

That fantastic Lurpak advert? It was showing on the cinema screen when I went to see The King's Speech. A hungry man raiding the fridge makes an omelet and the viewer is one of the eggs. To see the advert go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Y77SU3hD4 To see the film, go to your local cinema ; )

Monthly Treats
With January ushering in the new year with cold and wet weather it was nice to realise that I had not 'used' my monthly treat. Each month I give myself a £5 treat and last night sank into some brand new giant, fattest ever pillows. B-l-i-s-s. How little (ok in this case not so little) things can make a big difference. These pillows and the word r-e-l-a-x go together like coffee and cream. If you had £5 to spend on a treat what would it be?

Finally....
I'm really excited to have a date for the publication of Postural Assessment. Many of you volunteered to have your photos taken for this book in return for a copy, and you will be delighted to know that it is scheduled to be in the shops on Dec 13th. The publishers were very happy with the photos and manuscript and made very few changes to the material. I'm hoping that the 25 of you who took part in the photo shoot in the summer last year will receive your copy before christmas. Maybe we can celebrate with a Postural Assessment Party? (you can keep your clothes on this time).

Things We Think You’d Like:
// Venue Hire - Does anyone need to hire a large dance/workout studio? The Martial Arts Academy in NW5 are now hiring their venue by the hour during weekdays. Anyone interested can contact the venue direct at info@sas-martialarts.co.uk and see the room here www.saswingchun.com/about-us/branches/gospel-oak-hq/

// We love.... the blogg by Ann Barkman www.randomactsofkindness.org/Lee+Ann+Barkman/ If you too want to make the world a kinder place check it out.

// Congratulations! to our summer sports injuries & massage students who have recieved their exam results after a nerve-wracking wait. Well done all of you - we’re really proud! We also received the good news that Martin Belles, a visiting
therapist from Argentina, had his project accepted by the APNT and so has been awarded his sports injuries & massage diploma for the course he took with us autumn 2009. Martin went to considerable lengths to document his treatment of clients in many different countries, working hard to translate his material into English. Many students are challenged by studying for an advanced course and Martin's efforts show that it is possible to excel if you are committed.

The Article

The Benefits of Massage for Sufferers of Motor Neurone Disease: A Personal Perspective

by Phil Atkin MICHT

Summary
The measurable, physiological improvements and the immeasurable psychological uplift and boost in self-esteem gained from regular massage treatments for the two sufferers of Motor Neurone Disease discussed in this document have had a positive effect on their and their carers‟ quality of life and could possibly have substantially extended that quality of life. It is therefore indicated that, when such a dramatic result is achieved from a critical starting point, it might be advantageous to consider commencing an holistic massage program from the point of initial diagnosis in order to retard the effects of muscle atrophy and wastage, to maintain circulation to inactive areas and to maximise the length and quality of a sufferer‟s remaining life.

Introduction
Since taking early retirement from my engineering job in 2006, I have been working as an holistic therapist running my own practice, specialising mainly in reflexology and therapeutic massage. As part of my weekly routine I volunteer for The Arthur Rank Hospice(ARH) in Cambridge. ARH offers terminally ill patients up to six free treatments provided by a team of volunteer therapists who visit them in their own homes. Through this scheme I was referred to and treated two Motor Neurone Disease sufferers: Pete and Maureen.

I'd had no previous experience of treating sufferers of MND and, before I met these two patients, had no real knowledge of the mechanism of the disease, how it manifests and how devastating it is. In building relationships with my two clients I also became acutely aware of how stressful it is for family members to fight to get the best care for their loved ones suffering with MND. Through this scheme I have not only been able to provide relaxation and a modicum of relief to my MND patients, but also provide some much needed release for their carers. I have found it extremely rewarding to be able to provide such relief and am grateful for this invaluable learning experience. Many people living with MND find that complementary therapies can help to make day-to-day living more comfortable and tolerable by helping to control symptoms. It is widely accepted that deep relaxation can help to reduce anxiety and stress. Massage, aromatherapy and reflexology are known to offer effective means of muscle relaxation, improve blood circulation and lymphatic flow and help to relieve pain by encouraging the production of endorphins, the body's natural pain killers. Here follow two stories of how complementary therapies have benefited two of my clients who suffer from MND.

Pete’s story
My client Pete was good enough to grant me an in depth interview to help fill in some gaps in his story and to give his personal perspective on the value of the massage treatments he has received. In 2002 Pete first noticed that he was suffering with poor circulation, leg cramps, twitching and "lazy" right foot. By mid-2003, after specialist tests, he was diagnosed with MND. For three years his was able to continue his job overseas until he eventually came back to the UK in April 2006 when his mobility was so impaired that he could not perform certain aspects of his job without great hardship. As many elements of his work were computer-based, he was however able to continue to work at home. For a while he could move around well using a wheelchair and could still stand well enough to get around the house by holding on to rails and furniture. Only a few months after moving back to the UK, Pete‟s symptoms became much worse making it almost impossible for him to get up and down stairs. In November 2006 he and his wife moved into a specially converted bungalow to avoid the need to use stairs. Soon after the move his condition began to deteriorate at a faster pace. A hoist was needed to help his wife lift him. By the summer of 2007 Pete‟s breathing became much more difficult; his diaphragm was not functioning and he was having to breathe using his shoulder, chest and neck muscles. Because of his breathing problems, Pete was unable to sleep flat in bed, so was forced to sleep in his conventional, vertical-backed wheelchair. This meant that when he fell asleep, his head would slump forwards and to one side and he would wake up with chronic neck pain. He was also suffering from panic attacks when attempting to sleep. He couldn't get accustomed to the breathing machine and was typically only sleeping for around two hours a night. This lack of sleep was becoming a real issue. He was frustrated by his inability to work, which had often helped him through the long hours of the night. He was eventually provided with a neck brace, which helped to reduce part of the problem, but he found it very uncomfortable. Pete was at a really low point and the prognosis was poor. It was at this time that Pete and his wife were referred to me by the ARH scheme to hopefully provide some relief for the neck problem for Pete and, by reducing the panic attacks, help to relieve stress for them both.

“How on earth was I going to massage this?”

Initially, I have to admit, I found this challenge quite daunting with totally different requirements to the cancer patients I had previously dealt with. Pete's neck was contorted to the left and forward (he had not been given the neck brace at this point); the musculature to the left side of his neck, chest, shoulders and upper arms was wasted and atrophied; there was a lot of involuntary muscle twitching in his upper chest; breathing was pronounced and forced. It was especially noticeable that he was having to consciously use secondary chest muscles to expand his chest in order to breath. His feet and lower legs, in which he had no voluntary movement, were swollen and covered with approximately 80% cyanosis, which is a bluish colouration of the skin due to the presence of insufficiently oxygenated haemoglobin in arterial blood vessels near the skin surface, but Pete was keen to concentrate on the neck issues as a priority as he was getting some regular foot massage from his carers. Resting my hands on his shoulders for the first time revealed the extent of the muscle twitching and the degree of muscular activity needed just for breathing. How on earth was I going to massage this? This was where I needed to draw on all the massage skills I had been learning over the last five or six years and combine them to provide him with an effective treatment. With limited access to his neck and shoulders due to his wheelchair, I commenced with what was essentially a modified Indian Head Massage to establish contact and palpate as necessary. He was clearly having difficulty supporting his head so I cradled his forehead in one arm whilst standing to one side and deep stroking his neck muscles on the other side. He seemed to respond very well to this and was enjoying the rest that he got from having his head supported. Over the following few treatments I developed this concept and was able to relatively deeply massage the supporting neck muscles. Slowly but surely, his neck became more supple and strong. Pete told me he felt a reduction in pain levels and his posture became noticeably more symmetrical; he could hold his head more erect, breath and speak better and his general demeanour had improved enormously. After a long wait, Pete was eventually provided with an advanced wheelchair but, whilst it has multiple adjustments, it does not have any head support to help him sleep or rest the neck. As well as getting tangible muscular relief, what was emerging was the peace and relaxation that both Pete and his wife were getting from the treatment sessions. I felt that, in a way, by them both sharing the experience they were united. In effect I was passing each of them the caring, nurturing contact that they were no longer physically able to give to each other. They both looked forward enormously to their weekly period of pure relaxation, release and pleasure. For Pete's wife, the sessions gave her a break from, and some treatment for, the difficult lifting, manipulation on the hoist, organising care as well as a chance to just switch off, relax and meditate for a while.

Maureen’s story
The Arthur Rank Macmillan nurses similarly referred Maureen to me. Her case was especially poignant as she had, for some time, been a volunteer herself at the Hospice. Maureen was referred to me in early September 2007. She had been eventually diagnosed with MND in mid-2005 having endured a two year period of being treated for early stages of Parkinson‟s Disease. Although she does not have the same respiratory problems as Pete, she has almost total loss of movement in her left arm and leg but is, however, still able to weight bear to transfer from chair to wheelchair or bed albeit with some assistance. Her muscle wastage is most noticeable in the left triceps. Circulation in her arms and legs is poor and there is some fluid build up in her lower legs and ankles. The objective of the treatments was initially to provide relaxation and cheer her up a bit as well as improve circulation in her immobile limbs and lymphatic drainage to reduce fluid build up. The first few treatments I did with Maureen were on her lower legs only but, having heard about the results achieved with Pete, she requested some work on her arms, neck and shoulders and latterly I have included some elements of Indian Head and Face Massage to deepen the relaxation. In Maureen‟s case working is slightly easier as her smaller wheelchair allowed freer access to the shoulders, arms and upper back. To facilitate working I use a normal therapist‟s stool to enable sitting closer but to be able to move around freely. We then transfer her to a comfy reclining chair to finish the session with Reflexology and lower leg massage. She‟d had experience of gentle foot massage from the therapists in the Hospice Day Therapy unit and had been recommended to me by the staff so she knew a little about me and felt at ease with my visits from the outset. Initially she thought, as it was a free service offered by volunteers, that she had nothing to lose from trying it and then she would be able to assess whether it would be worth continuing privately afterwards.

“A psychological boost”
Maureen told me that her previous experiences at ARH Day Therapy Unit, whilst very pleasant and relaxing, were not really comparable with what I offered. She says it is the most relaxing thing she has ever experienced. She often complains of her limbs feeling heavy “like lead” before the treatment and is always delighted with the remarkable improved appearance of her legs following the foot and lower leg massage. The reduced swelling gives her a significant psychological boost with the physical effects lasting up to three or four days. She also finds that the massage significantly improves her skin tone. This again greatly raises her self-esteem and frame of mind. Before the course of treatment she would need to apply moisturiser heavily all the time. The improved circulation to the skin tangibly reduces this need.

Maureen also points out that she benefits in more ways than just the massage. The social side is a fillip for her. She looks forward to my visits, we have a laugh and a chat. I have got to know her and her husband quite well and we feel relaxed in each other's company, all of which is an aspect of this type of work, which should not be underestimated. She values the fact that the treatments she gets from me are focussed totally on her requirements unlike that which one might get if receiving a massage in a holiday hotel spa, for example, where a set procedure might be rather impersonal and done to a strict time frame. When the series of free ARH treatments ended, both Maureen and Pete approached the MND Association who granted funding for a further tranche of treatments for each of them. When they finished, they both had no hesitation in continuing with self-funded treatments. I continue to treat Pete and Maureen on a regular basis for the symptoms of their disease and, at time of writing, the MND Association, having learned of the value that they put in their treatments, are about to commence another round of funding.

Conclusion
The physiological improvements and the psychological uplift and boost in self-esteem gained by regular massage treatments for my two MND patients have had a remarkable positive effect on their, and their carers‟, quality of life and have possibly been instrumental in substantially extending that quality of life. Having achieved such dramatic results, my conclusion is that it would be advantageous for those diagnosed with MND to consider commencing a programme of holistic massage from the point of initial diagnosis in order to help reduce and delay the effects of muscular atrophy and wastage, to maintain circulation to inactive areas and to maximise the quality of the sufferer‟s remaining life.

Phil Atkin MICHT runs his “Rothleigh Grange” practice in the Cambridge area: www.rothleighgrange.co.uk

This piece was reproduced with the permission of Philip, Maureen, Peter and their families. Thank you.

If this article has inspired you but you're not sure where to start maybe our Massage in Hospitals workshop can help you get started. www.thelondonmassagecompany.com/workshop18

Until next time!
Jane & Zoe

STRAPLINE ANSWERS:
- Looking after your world (British Gas)
- Just Do It (Nike)
- The magazine for a million voices of nature (Birds, the RSPB magazine)
- Reset your compass (Exodus )
- Soft, strong and very very long (Andrex toilet tissue)

To subscribe to the Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

From The Gay Games to The Common Wealth Games

2010-10-13T18:15:00.000+01:00

According to our inbox October is a hot-bed of CPD activity and work opportunities so we’ve taken the liberty of passing them on. We also have a great contribution from an one of our October 2009 sports massage graduates who was invited this summer to The Gay Games .

Happy Tappy Fingers

My second book Deep Tissue Massage was published at he beginning of this month and is in the shops now. The third book, Postural Assessment, was finalised in July and fingers crossed will be available late next year. In the meantime I secured a fourth contract and am happily typing away on Therapeutic Stretching, all about how to use stretches when treating clients suffering from common musculoskeletal conditions such as a sprained ankle, stiff neck or lumbar pain.
For anyone interested in the writing process, or if you are simply just curious about how much a person can type in a day, follow my progress on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1609203090) where I am counting down the number of words written, number remaining, and number of days left until my November 30th deadline.

For those of you who have any kind of project over which you have been procrastinating, I can recommend Make Your Creative Dreams Real by Sark. My 'micromovements' involve writing 500 words per day. That's all. What micromovements could you be doing to help make one of your creative dreams come true?

Chasing Dreams

by Richard Lewis

There is a saying that goes;
'If you enjoy what you do, you will never work another day in your life' – Confucius

And so when I had made the decision to change career, in my mind there was only one real direction in which to take. Every day on the APNT Sports Injuries and Massage course was like an adrenalin fuelled injection, feeding my passion to learn and absorb more about the human body, my body. The same body which throughout 16 years of kung fu practice and dedication had seen me achieve personal goals, physical, mental, internal and externally, regional and worldwide that I hadn’t believed to be possible. I had questioned myself as to whether an intensive course was the right way to go. I suppose it depends on the individual. Personally, to immerse myself in something that I love was a pleasure. Also the course was taught to perfection. Not once did I feel rushed or overloaded with information. The practical time was enough to grasp what was being taught, questions were answered, things were discussed and learning was a byproduct of fun and interactive sessions with a small group of like-minded people. The compulsory clinic sessions where we were able to put it all into practice were invaluable as I later learned with my baptism of fire.

Diploma in hand and fresh with knowledge and enthusiasm, everyone who crossed my path was my client whether they knew it or not. Joggers on the canal were stopped and given postural assessments and advice and the hulks in the gym were yelping as their hypertonic muscles felt the effects of my elbow and various techniques. I would challenge everyone to look amongst friends, family and the people you interact with on a daily basis. I found there’s always someone who can benefit from our knowledge or practical abilities as therapists, even if it’s only ourselves. And what a pleasure it is to be able to help. To date I have come across 3 people with an extra pair of cervical ribs , 2 of which did not know they had them. Cervical ribs are present in about 1 in 500 people.

Because of my background and interest in sport, health and fitness I found myself drawn to the elite side of sport. Intrigued by what difference I could really make to their performance. My determination, time effort and pro-activity soon saw me working with gymnasts, dancers, actors, and rugby and football players. Impressed and appreciative of my help and support at Stonewall Football Club I was asked to join them at the Gay Games in Cologne, Germany as their ‘Physio’. Needless to say I jumped at the chance! This event is an equivalent to the Olympics and only comes around once every 4 years. My role would be amongst other things, to prepare the 18 members of the first team for each game which would involve pre and post match massage, injury prevention, treatment and management as well as being the official team medic. It was my responsibility to kit myself up with everything I would need for a week of hard football, taking into account the extremities of what could possibly happen. The tour was a phenomenal success. A lot of football was played and injuries sustained with Stonewall winning the tournament and me receiving a medal for my contribution to the team. It was very demanding in terms of the quantity of work done and the effort needed. And of course as the tournament proceeded and more games were played, more treatments were needed. The fact is that any sports massage therapist is a Godsend to athletes and in a sporting environment, and as others saw me treating pitch side and word got around I was inundated with treatment requests from all kinds of athletes. What a dream.

Looking back I wonder how I managed to take on such a responsibility and come out the other side unscathed. If there is any advice I could give to new therapists or anybody taking on a new
challenge, it would be to enjoy it. If you do it is easier to commit and immerse yourself in what you do. Needless to say along with my excitement came quite a large bag of nerves; in my opinion also a good thing. This kept me on my toes. Forward thinking and planning was absolutely essential and the more I began to plan, the more I realised that I needed to plan. Being in an unfamiliar country I wanted to make sure that I had everything I needed before I went. And once I had arrived, where would the team be playing? Where would I be treating? Would there be any doctors on site? Would they speak English? (because I don’t speak German). Where were the nearest hospitals? Would there be easy access to ice? Or if I had to bring some from the hotel would I have something to carry it in and keep it frozen? As a sports massage therapist, having things like these sorted gave a little more peace of mind and also meant that when it came down to doing my real work, I could concentrate on applying what I knew and had learnt. I had realised that this responsibility was more than doing a few tests, a rub and sending people away with advice. The advice I gave I had to be able to administer.

What I found remarkable was the fact that everything I had learnt actually worked! I had athletes telling me almost line for line what I had learnt that they would present with when having particular injuries. The testimonies were countless and I encourage anyone who has studied sports massage from a good school/company to have faith in it. I learnt so much and working with so many different bodies is invaluable.

On reflection if there are 3 things that I would do differently the next time I massage at the games and they would be:
1. Travel out earlier, one or two days before, giving me time to suss things out.

2.Take more than you believe to be necessary.

3.Give more time to myself. It’s easy to overdo it and ‘burn out’.

And 3 things points of advice would be:
1.Plan and prepare as much in advance as possible

2.Take some bedtime reading to refresh your memory of techniques, tips and tricks you may need to use - a ‘bible’ you can refer to.

3. Trust what you have learnt in sports massage and be confident with it. It works!

Richard Lewis
APNT Sports Massage Practitioner

Commonwealth Games

Many of you may have been following the concerns raised over the staging of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi this year. For a first hand account of what it is like to be in Delhi at the event, you might wish to read the blogg of Lynda Daley, the head physiotherapist for England, who is one of 26 physiotherapists helping to support our 420 competing athletes at the Games. Lynda's blog can be found on the English Institute of Sport's website - www.eis2win.co.uk

Talking of massaging athletes.........

Random Dance Company

Two of our sports massage graduates are currently treating the dancers of Random Dance Company, a renowned dance troupe. Aska Mucha and Jay proven are providing treatments following the dancers' training sessions as they prepare for their premier at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London, before embarking on a world tour.

Hopefully we’ll have more opportunities like this to offer our students, and all our
readers, in the future, like the Samoan Rugby Union who have approached us asking for therapists for their London stop in between matches in Ireland and Japan!

Kung Fu Queen Strikes Again!

On Friday 1st October I went out to dinner at one of my favourite restaurants. It was a reward. I was rewarding myself for the fact that on Thursday 30th September I passed another kung fu grading, my second since I started training in February. It had been a stressful few weeks, with my regular training partners being unable to attend class so I was having to practice with
students from other levels, both 'above' and 'below' me. I couldn't practice with my son, despite his willingness to help out. Lets face it, he's only 11 and there are probably rules about practicing potentially harmful martial arts moves on a minor, even if you are their mother and make wicked tuna sandwiches. Some of the moves I was struggling with were multiple combinations of techniques designed to disarm threatening opponents. I kept going through the longest move in my mind: Ok, bong sau to the wrist, grab the attacker's arm and simultaneously pak sau to the chest, then immediately elbow the chest followed by fook sau to the neck, knee to the chest with your partner at 90 degrees, grab the arm and sweep your opponent to the floor by kicking their leg from beneath them at 45 degree angle calf-on-calf. Phew. What along way from delivering sports massage or physiotherapy this was. I practised to both sides of my opponent's body. Sometimes our legs got tangled up. Sometimes I fell over instead of my opponent. Sometimes I thought, 'why is it I can't do this?' and refused to listen to the devil who was whispering on my left ear that it was because of my age, that when one got older it was more difficult to acquire skills that necessitated speed and co-ordination. Because I definitely don't believe that. So I changed my internal monologue: How is it that this suddenly feels effortless, wow, how did that happen!? As if by magic, on the evening of the grading, I found myself able to perform all of the movements, one after the other in what seemed like a smooth combination. Ok, to use the word 'smooth' is a little optimistic. But there was a jerky kind of fluidity to my techniques if that makes sense. And I guess the main thing was that, remarkably, my opponent hit the floor each of the 6 times I was required to demonstrate this particular technique, one of 10 different combination movements.

Perhaps for most people, moving up the ranks in the world of martial arts is commonplace. But most people probably didn't take up kung fu at the age of 45. Sometimes it feels great to
reinforce a belief that you hold, in this case, that age is no barrier to excelling in wing chun. So now I'm Rank 1. Its time for The Uniform. More balance. More speed. More accuracy. Everything more technically correct. Watch this space.

Creating Your World

We are often asked how to 'make it' in the massage world when there are already so many therapists out there. Well, all I can say is “brilliant”, the more the better. When I was a teenager women used to use hairspray to style their hair, and men used Brylcream. Then in the 80s came hair gel, a blue goo that looked and smelled like it could clean a lavatory pretty well, and which was sometimes filled with plastic black spiders at Halloween parties. Nowadays we have styling wax and even hair putty. The point being, there is never only one product to do a job. Similarly, there is never only one way to provide a service. Our advice would be to be who you are, to attract the customers you want rather than trying to fit yourself into the massage 'mould'. And we should know. When we launched ourselves as The London Massage Company three years ago most training companies portrayed training in a rather soft and gentle light, websites in pastel colours and photographs taken through muslin. It was popular to dress all in white and play tinkling music. There's nothing wrong in that. Lots of people like that. But neither Zoe nor I felt that sort of image represented who were. We wear pink, red, turquoise or green t-shirts and play big band jazz. Sometimes we buy too much chocolate and not enough fruit. And you know what, we feel funky and fun. We love our bold coloured workshop titles and chunky little figurines (we call them Nulas), neither of which detracts form our professionalism as teachers and therapists. So for any of you in the process of changing, creating, or growing into the massage world, our advice would be just be yourself. Create the type of service that represents you and who you are and what it is you want to provide. Create the kind of customers you want to serve, rather than trying to match yourself to the customers you believe other companies are serving. And you know what? Suddenly you will find yourself inundated with customers who have been looking for a therapist that they felt was more like they were, a therapist to whom they could relate a little better, a therapist...just like you!

CAMExpo

Don’t forget it’s CAMExpo in two weeks time at Londons Earls Court. As each year, for the last 6 years, Jane will be there on both the Saturday and Sunday delivering taster workshops so even if you’re not joining her on the day drop by and say “Hi!”. We love to know how things are going with you.

Things We Think You’d Like

CPDs

// Massaging the Samoan Rugby Team - this elite team are looking for sports massage therapists who can volunteer their time in exchange for match tickets. They need therapists on Sunday 14th to Friday 19th November, 8pm onwards and Sunday 21st November from 9am onwards. If you’d like to gain the experience of working with a professional rugby team please contact us for more details on the usual ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

// Do you work pitch-side with, or at, sports clubs and sporting events or are you looking to
volunteer at London 2012? Then you’ll probably need Sports First Aid
(www.thelondonmassagecompany.com/workshop18.aspx) November 22nd with St John Ambulance

// Osteoarthritis in Sport Conference - 21st & 22nd October. http://sport.arthritisresearchuk.org/programme.html

// Holistic Workshop Sunday 17th October 2.30-6pm - www.saswingchun.com - Jane will be there! This workshop incorporates Spirituality, Meditation, Chi Kung, & Tai Chi
• Anatomy and oriental medicine
• Healing the body
• Breathing, blood & energy control
• Nervous and skeletal system
• Shaolin Chi Kung and “Iron shirt” exercises
• Tai Chi postures and endurance exercises
• Handouts and notes provided
• Spirituality and the Eastern philosophies
• Plus much more

Work Opportunities

// Amma Therapy delivers massage, holistic services and fitness to clients at their home in and around London. As a growing company they are looking for talented and dedicated individuals who are qualified and have a keen interest and background knowledge of complementary therapies; as well as a varied skill set in either Deep Tissue, Sports, Pregnancy, or Holistic Massage. Amma Therapy is a happy and friendly team with good rates of pay per client.
Email your C.V. to sarah@ammatherapy.co.uk or call 07947 533 877
www.ammatherapy.co.uk

// Energy Boost Zone - www.EnergyBoostZone.com - are recruiting highly trained masseurs to work at major conferences and exhibitions in London. For more information or to apply please send an email to joel@energyboostzone.com detailing your experience and qualifications.

// Allie Sloan runs her own design agency specialising in supporting small businesses, and
people in the complementary industries, as well as running a successful massage practice. She uses her combined experience to help fellow therapists build and develop their own brand and marcomms - www.everlookmarketing.co.uk

// L'Occitane (www.loccitane.co.uk) is a worldwide natural beauty brand always looking for the best talents for our UK boutiques. Today, they are also opening a Spa in Central London. For current vacancies visit www.loccitanecareers.co.uk
or contact Audrey Blancart, Tel: +44 207 907 0366

See you next time! Jane & Zoe

To subscribe to the Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us: ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Lots Can Happen in Two Months!

2010-02-09T16:15:00.004Z

Hey there. As the cold spell keeps us in it’s icy grips we bring you odds, sods and

winter warmers - stoke that fire, put on an extra pair of socks and grab a Hot Toddy!

STR at St George's

I had a great start to my year: Invited to teach Soft Tissue Release (STR) to the second year physiotherapy students at St George's hospital in London, I bumped into Stephen Ward, a previous sports massage graduate who went on to train in physiotherapy at St George's and now teaches anatomy in their dissection rooms (DR). Stephen's knowledge of anatomy is pretty outstanding I have to admit, so it was no surprise to learn he was working part time in their DR and as a

part-time physiotherapist. As we all know, it can be a small world and it was great to see a friendly and familiar face and to hear of someone doing well.

Dissection Days for Everyone

Talking of being in the DR, we have recently been flooded with enquiries from members of BASRaT (the British Association of Sport Rehabilitators and Trainers) after one of their members took part in the Day in the Dissection Lab with us. As you know, I am always keen to encourage and support anyone who needs to understand the human body as part of their work, and spending time looking at real muscles and bones is a sure way to help reinforce the interconnectedness of everything. So it's great that this is now filtering though to those of you working as rehabilitators and who may not have had the opportunity to work with cadaveric specimens as part of your initial training. Good news is that we have managed to secure a few more dates for using the DR before they close the labs for the summer, and as with all our workshops, attendance carries CPD points.

FHT CPD Files

On the subject of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) I wanted to share with you what I have been doing myself. Like most organisations representing the interests of therapists, the FHT (Federation of Holistic Therapists) requires that their members undertake Continuing Professional Development. Last year I asked if I could buy one of their A4 ring binders so I could use it to keep my own CPD notes safe, and before I knew it they had very kindly sent me a complimentary copy. (Thank you FHT if you are reading this :). I have sorted through the last month of CPD material and filed it according to whether it was a magazine, book or on-line journal article that I read, an AGM or workshop I attended, or whether it involved focused discussion with my peers about the pathology or treatment of a client. For these are the categories that my own CPD tends to fall into. Although the binder takes documents with 4 holes rather than two, it was no problem to get a larger hole punch and keep everything together, and to use those plastic wallets that are already

multi-punched. What plans do you have for your own CPD this year? Have you identified any areas you would like to know more about? Got a stash of articles you still haven't read?

For those interested, there is an excellent article on CPD by Bob Bramah in the January edition of SportEx Dynamics magazine and as always our very own CPD page is updated on the 1st of every month with free CPD tasks for you to do. (www.thelondonmassagecompany.com/cpd.aspx)

CPMaSTT

Just before christmas I attended the AGM for CPMaSTT, the specialist interest group that represents Chartered Pysiotherapists in Massage and Soft Tissue Therapies. Last year an article in the physiotherapy journal, Frontline, triggered tremendous debate within the physiotherapy world over whether massage was or was not a core skill of the physiotherapy profession. Frontline was flooded with letters and the chat rooms heaved with comments, many arguing for massage being part of the profession, many arguing against it. At the AGM however, I am amongst the converted for everyone there believes in the value of massage.

Massage at the Olympics

At the meeting, Lynn Booth, responsible for organising the therapy services at the 2012 Olympics (London 2012), put a smile on everyone's face by saying that it was likely that 500 sports massage therapists would be needed for London 2012, in addition to the 500 physiotherapists. Lynn is Head of Allied Olympic Health Professionals for 2012 and certainly knows her stuff. Listening to the logistics of having to attract, vet and then organise the therapy services I could see why Lynn had been chosen for she struck me as a woman who was highly intelligent, with great integrity. Exactly the sort of person needed to sort the wheat from the chaff as it were. Official registration for volunteering for London 2012 opens in the summer and closes 6 months later so those of you wishing to apply to volunteer might want to register your interest on London 2012 site now, prior to the official opening. For updates on volunteering at the Olympics - in any capacity, not specifically sports massage - sign-up for the bulletin:

www.london2012.com/get-involved/volunteering

At the time Lynn was still in the process of looking at the qualifying factors for selecting sports massage therapists and physiotherapists. It seems reasonable to assume that when looking to recruit volunteers, organisers will give preference to experienced sports massage therapists and will not make their decisions based on qualifications alone. Then there are of course the Levels of learning that sports massage courses are mapped to - Levels, 3, 4 or 5 as outlined by the
QCF (Qualifications and Creditation Framework)

We'll bring you more on this subject in the coming months. Watch this space.

Passive Income Postural Assessment

Throughout January I have committed to being able to manifest anything I want. I made out a list of my most wanted goals and arranged to meet monthly with Tanya, a like minded manifester. Over coffee and scones and a rather large plate of eggs benedict with smoked salmon we told each other what were going to manifest and suddenly the hands of the clock had moved from 10.30am to 2.30pm. Has that ever happened to you? One of my goals was to manifest a very large royalty cheque, due in for my Soft Tissue Release book book that was published last May. For five minutes every day for a week I visualised the cheque arriving and....a week later found an envelope from the publishers on the doormat. Could this be it? Had I really manifested that amount of money in seven days? Inside was not the cheque but something else. Never mind, I had at least manifested a letter from them all the way from the states. I took the enclosed compliment slip, tippexed out the words on it and replaced them with 'remittance advice, cheque enclosed for Jane Johnson £7000' and returned the newly scribed slip back into its envelope. I leave it on the doormat and every time I come in the front door imagine it has been delivered and surprise surprise, there's the cheque for £7000. I am convinced that it is this positive belief and good feelings towards my publishers (Human Kinetics) that a few days ago I received an email from them contracting me for my third book, Postural Assessment accompanying on-line course. Hey, am I the Passive Income Empress or am I the Passive Income Empress? What good stuff have you manifested this month?

For all of you interested in manifesting your desires, I can recommend Mike Dooley and his website. I am a member of the TUT Adventurer's Club (www.tut.com/theclub/) and invite you to join and share your dreams. Here you can create your vision board and discover what other adventurers want to manifest in their lives. Alternatively, the website 43 things (www.43things.com) is also fun. Here you can list what you want to achieve and browse what thousands of others want, noting who has the same goals as you, and best of all you can read 'how I did it' as people post comments on how they achieved their dreams, some of which may be your dreams too. So, I may be wearing a slightly over fluffed angora today, but I still have my TUT wristband on to remind me 'Thoughts Become Things: Choose The Good Ones'.

Winter Wishes

I want to attract more birds into the garden. Not just the big city bruisers like those cockney crows and the magpie from the tower block who limps a bit, nor the family of rock doves who are now so fat they just fall from the fence to the floor. I want some of those interesting birds that everyone else gets, tiny wrens and coal tits and things that sing sweetly. 'I know', I thought, 'I'll break up the solid lump of Sugar Puffs that's been sitting in a box on top of the deep freeze since last October, and put the contents into the bird feeder. Better still, I could just hang out the lump itself and let the flurry of small bodies peck at the thing'. I removed the two red onions which were happily sprouting away in a string bag in the kitchen and set to squeezing the solid cube of puffs into the net. Suddenly and with a a 'crack' the cube shattered and sticky honey-covered puffs went everywhere, into the fruit bowls, the washing up, the pot plants and all over the floor. Of course, on hearing even the slightest of foodstuffs hit the floor, Ten Tonne Tessa, the kingsize canine kebab queen, roused immediately from her slumber and thumped into the kitchen to hoover up everything with her snout. Delicious, just the sort of mid-morning snack a ridgeback needs when she's watching her weight. She trotted happily back to her sofa like a pregnant hippo whilst I pulled off puffs from my angora.

Juicers at the ready!

If you’re anything like me, (Zoë that is) perhaps a little too much of all the good things passed your lips this festive period; and you know what they say about a minute on the lips......

so seeing as my 60 seconds was well past it’s sell-by date in the first week of January, it was time to get my power house in order - mind and body. As soon as the Christmas decorations came down I was back in the gym and back to eating normally - I had forgotten what a vegetable looked like, as any of you having experienced a French Christmas would know!

But I’m finally beginning to feel the looseness of my jeans and see the contours of my jaw line once again. But that’s not where it ends. The juicer is coming out - hear the fine-mesh motor whirrrr and the fruit and veggies jump for joy! Some of you joined Jane & I last year when we took tips from the Juice Master himself, Jason Vale, and juiced the week away (unfortunately not in the Turkish sunshine), so, if any of you are ready to take on 2010 but don’t want to feel alone on the road to feeling fantastic, get your juicer running and it’s out with the old bod, in with the new! We’ll be checking in with you all again soon!

Things We Think You’d Like...........

// For those of you who have been with us for some time, you may remember a piece about
Seeing Hands Nepal. Since 2005 they have been providing new training and employment

opportunities for young blind Nepalese. The piece was written for us by Ainsley Moden who had just finished her 7 weeks volunteering as a massage teacher. She said her experience was “life changing”. Well, Seeing Hands are still looking for massage therapists who feel they could teach others their gift of touch. In brief, they offer volunteers a basic subsistence allowance, insurance and accommodation but you pay your flights/travel. They are ideally looking for people who are willing to do placements of minimum 1 month although they do appreciate that it can be difficult for some therapists to take time out from their practices. They are specifically looking to fill 18th March – 17th April and dates a little after. If you think this is for you - new horizons for the new year and all that! - then please contact Sue Ainley at Seeing Hands Nepal:

info@seeinghandsnepal.org. You can read Aisnley’s account from the archived Newsletter 12 on our web site www.thelondonmassagecompany.com/new.aspx

// Becca Bryant is getting a fantastic team of volunteer therapists together for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust (www.cftrust.org.uk) fun run in Dulwich Park on May 22nd.

Therapists will be working on the runners and also passers by. The clients are charged for each massage and all proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust . Although you’ll be voulunteering you services on the day, your invited to place your business cards into all of the goody bags that are given out on the day and also to leave your leaflets out at the tent for passers by to help

themselves to. Obviously this is a good marketing exercise and at the same time a great way to give back to the community! There is agreat atmosphere each year and we always have a real laugh! Last year the sun even shone for us!

Set up starts at at 10:00 and ends at 2:30/3:00 - times TBC. If you can join Beccy & teh team please email beccabryant@hotmail.com

// APNT AGM & Shoulder Symposium– 24th April 2010

The APNT brings their annual meeting/conference to London in April in the form of the Spring ‘Shoulder Symposium’. Taking place at the Interchange Studios in Hampstead on 24th April 2010, this day promises to provide “all you need to know about the shoulder” and includes exciting speakers covering a variety of aspects from clinical tips and forms & forces, to energetic & emotional influences on the shoulder, as well as inspiring ways of treating frozen shoulder and

reduced mobility. James Earl, who with co-founder & co-author Tom Myers brought Anatomy Trains and Body3 to the UK, will be presenting on ‘Fascial Release for Structural Balance & the Shoulder’. For more information please cotact Sorrel de la Hey - sd@apnt.org

// Elisha May is asking if anyone knows of any therapists, beauty, acupuncture etc (Anything but massage) who may need a room to rent to work from. The room is in a gym on Kensington High St, London and it’s to share with Elisha on a rental basis, available 3-4 days a week. If you can help please contact Elisha May, elishamay74@hotmail.com

// Orthopaedic Surgery; Latest Techniques & Advancements - 24th March 2010

Brings together a team of leading surgeons and world class specialists from Spire Healthcare who will present a fascinating insight into the latest techniques and advancements in orthopaedic

surgery. Aimed specifically for Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Physiotherapists and Health Specialists, the conference will equip delegates with specialist knowledge to take back to their clinics allowing them to offer patients the very best care and latest thinking in diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. For more information visit www.f2fevents.co.uk/gatwickcpd

To subscribe to the Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

The Gift of Touch, KMI training and a Dissection Day

2009-11-30T14:14:00.013Z

We hope this finds you fit, healthy and full of beans as the nights draw in and cosy evenings in commence.

As always, we’ve had some great contributions, thank you! First off, Marcus Sorensen. I met Marcus recently and was touched by his sensitivity and veryimpressed by his awareness and intuition. In between medical school, massaging clients and attending Barbara Brennan’s healing school, Marcus gives us an insight how he bridges the gap between science and therapy.

Touch – in massage, healing and medicine

It is a gift to be able to put my hands on another human being.

Sometimes it is an office worker with a sore back and neck who needs massage, sometimes it is a performing artist who needs healing because they cannot sleep for worry, sometimes it is a hospital patient whose racing pulse needs to be measured, and sometimes it is a cadaver whose lung I am about to carefully lift out in its entirety during a dissection. The life of a remedial massage therapist who also attends both a healing school and a medical school can be a mind-boggle - but my hands always know what to do.

When my mind cannot reconcile all those different approaches to health and caring – allopathic, complementary, traditional, alternative, eastern, western - there is something about touch that makes it all fit together perfectly. Those who practice massage will know what I mean: you can go mechanically through the motions of a massage, or you can actually connect with the person on your couch and follow what is unfolding in the moment. Right there and then it is not about the system you have learnt or the succession of strokes you had planned – it is about the needs of that fellow human being in their subtlety and simplicity, and your hands are picking it all up from their body and tending to them as they change from moment to moment. It is real contact.

And so, I sometimes perform muscle energy techniques within millimetres of the client’s pain threshold and my hands feel the flicking of their hamstring muscle fibres as well as their emotions oscillating between worry and trust, finally landing in gentle relief as the tension melts away. Or I follow the client through a time capsule experience in a healing session where they convulse repeatedly, lost in a sea of tears in an intense past life, and my hands know the places they need to be held and help move the energy through there. Or again I gently take the hand of a blind and deaf 90 year old who is days from death in a hospital, and I simply sit with her, acknowledging through my touch that she is not alone. We are here with our fellow human beings, in whatever place that may be, together.

When a new client walks through the door, it can get confusing when massage experience says they need to do daily mobilisation and stretches, healing experience says they have some self-doubting emotional baggage to clear, and medical practice says they need Prozac and Paracetamol. On those days, it is a gift for me to put my hands on them and establish real contact, instead of having to choose between different schools of thought. Sometimes it was simply the touch that they needed, and everything then starts falling into place.

Without massage training, I doubt I would have found this middle ground that puts everything else into context. Beyond the paradigms of the systems, modalities and therapies, touch reminds me, very simply, of what this path is and why I choose to walk it.

Marcus is looking for case studies to practise Brennan’s Healing Science - “comprises a powerful set of techniques for working with the human energy field.

Through strengthening, balancing and clearing the human energy field around us, we can regain access to our innermost resources, that we might have forgotten we had. This can have wide-reaching effects on both physical and psychological wellbeing.”
For your free 60 minutes sessions, contact Marcus on 07941 254035 marcus@chaospilots.com
www.chaospilots.com

KMI Training , by Inaki Medela

Inaki, one of our Spanish students, attended the sports massage course with us in the summer of 2009 and went on to study myofascial release. He has very kindly let us share his comments about the myofascial course in which he is currently still training........

Just one week left to start the second half of Part II of the KMI training, so I'll try to tell you how things had gone so far. First day - BIG SURPRISE! We had Tom Myers being part of the teaching team for the first week of Part I and I didn't know it at all. He was introduced as the Master and was seen a bit as the Star. You could tell he knew it and also that he was all the time warm and accessible,but not precisely humble.

He introduce us every day to some of the themes that support theoretically the fascial work: SI History, Embriological - Evolutionary overviews (Something you could read about instead)He also propose some body practice exercises for us to explain/experience with Tensegrity (tension/compression ) and fascial connection ideas.

These little things more than the theory really spoke to me about the way he embodies what he teach-preach. He did a Demo and we had him around to help with the practical work and some people could treat him as well. I found the atmosphere more relaxed without him during the second week though. As I attended two workshops before the training, many of the things that we learnt were not new for me: introduction to anatomy trains, fascial touch, body reading, end game....all this make some much sense to me....

I've been into movement for a very long time and since the first workshop I knew all this work for me. My body experience/awareness tell me that the way SI understand the body is not out the ground; in fact it helps people to ground themselves, it really touches me. First Part felt as a taster, a bit incomplete itself on the practical side without Part II. Part II is being about learning all the vocabulary, going deeper into body readingand developing practical skills. Having to assimilate so many things all together is 'vertigo' sometimes but as the work itself talks about integration, all the bits will fit together at some point; I hope.

Having a deep understanding of Anatomy makes a huge difference, so I think for you both may be much easier. Part II qualifies you to practice with all those elements doing three series until you do Part III, which will be more centered on integration/transformation.

However, even for those who don't decide to take it, having part II done, give you a different dimension of body work and may complement/enhance all the skillsyou have achieved before. We have both, one model from the course and another from the outside to work the three series with - Note I write 'with' because one of the principles is that we don't work on the client's body, we work with him. Two systems working/interacting together; I like it. I think that by reading this you could perceive my enthusiasm. Although there are other little things I'm not so happy with; I do not want to dig into them as they have more to be with personal circumstances andnon-essential issues as venue choice, student number, accommodation......

Please, ask me anything you'd like to know that you think I can answer.
Ianki

If you have a question for Inaki, please contact us and we’ll pass them on.

A Day in The Dissection Lab , by Nicki Mitchell and Di Jackett

We had talked enthusiastically about wanting to see it all ‘in the flesh’ on various occasions in the past and were therefore very excited to learn of the opportunity to spend a ‘Day in the Dissection Lab’ run by The London Massage Company.

However, it was fair to say that as the day drew nearer our previously blasé approach changed to an air of great trepidation.

We spoke the evening before on the phone and agreed to meet at London Bridge station. Being of the female gender we of course debated what we were going to wear - “something red!” Di’s other half chortled in the background. We giggled nervously, rising to near hilarity when Di suggested turning up in one of those glow-in-the-dark skeleton suits. In the end we opted for the safe option of our usual sports massage work gear.

The following morning we met as planned and trundled along to the rendezvous- a beautiful, grand building where we waited in reception as instructed.

As we were quite early we decided to have a wander round, just in case we were in the wrong place and after a couple of trips to the Ladies, found ourselves outside the basement dissection lab. We bravely pushed the bell on the door and a very cheerful lady appeared and confirmed that we were in the right place but that ‘it’ wasn’t quite ready yet and suggested we make our way back up to the main reception. We looked at each other nervously, both wondering what she had meant by ‘it’ and scuttled back upstairs, feeling a little queasy from the strange smell coming from the lab.

Gradually our group began to arrive and it was both lovely (and somewhat comforting) to hook up with Jane Johnson our ex sports massage tutor who was to be our leader for the day. We descended again to the basement lab where we were asked to put on a lab coat and advised that no food or drink of any kind was allowed inside the lab. The earlier nervous giggling was now reduced to a much quieter apprehension as we filed dry-mouthed down the gentle slope into the lab, passing a couple of arms and legs on the way to our seats - our nostrils twitching at the strong smell of the embalming solution. As ever with Jane, the day was very well organised and we settled down, workbooks to hand, all ears to begin our day of learning and human exploration.

Conscious of some of the groups’ unwary glances at the limbs on the stainless steel trolley to our left, Jane eased us in gently by handing round some human scapulae and vertebral columns and before we knew it we were embroiled in our fascinating journey around the ‘real deal’ human form.
The lab is an amazing place and not what we had expected at all. I think we both thought that we would be examining just one body, but it soon became apparent that the lab was stocked with numerous body parts in various stages of dissection, together with several complete (or nearly complete) cadavers. Donning our latex gloves and holding our essential oil soaked tissues to our noses (great idea from Di - ever the aromatherapist!), we steadily gained the confidence to delve into the non-textbook version of skin, fascia, muscles, bones, organs and the like. From gingerly sidling towards the stainless steel containers housing the cadavers, and some of us girls rather cowardly getting the blokes to do the initial unwrapping and handling, we were soon buzzing back and forth from our seats, working through and discussing various sections of our workbooks. We then eagerly went off to explore our subjects and to share our findings with great excitement.

Having decided beforehand to approach what we were to see as simply ‘pieces of meat’ to ease any potential squeamishness, we found ourselves feeling incredible respect and gratitude to the people who had donated themselves to the hospital and we were all very careful to wrap the cadavers up just as we found them, one or two of us passing a few words of comfort and thanks as we did so. They became very much real people and rightly so.

The ladies who run the two labs so smoothly were incredibly kind and helpful and nothing was too much trouble as they disappeared into their ‘store room’ to find appropriate specimens if none were already on display.

The day whizzed past and I think most of us were completely blown away by it all and nearing saturation point with the remarkable things we had seen, touched, shared and learned. We came away feeling utterly privileged and very lucky to have been granted access to such an amazing facility. Sadly the future for body-workers wishing to benefit from this incredible experience will be extremely limited – the preference now is for surgeons to work on bodies that have been frozen, giving a more ‘lifelike’ experience. Apparently we do not currently freeze cadavers in the UK so they are flown over from Germany, making it an expensive exercise which will be limited to the privileged few.

If you have ever thought you might be interested in spending some time in the dissection lab, we would urge you to do so before the opportunity is lost. It was without doubt a once-in-a-lifetime experience that neither of us would have wanted to have missed.
Sure it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you have the stomach for it (and honestly it really isn’t that gory or scary) it will change the way you see the human form forever.

There really is nothing like the real thing.

Nicki Mitchell (www.kentsportsmassage.com) and Di Jackett (Independent Sports Massage in Sunbury and London, Tel: 07917 869107)

Things We Think You’d Like
// We’ll be running the The Day in the Dissection Lab throughout next year, 10am-1.30pm, £90.
For any students attending the day with us we have been granted access to Gordon Museum
usually reserved for the Medical Students. The Museum has a large and growing collection of approximately 8,000 pathological specimens as well as a number of important historic collections.
The lab dates for 2010 are:
January 21st
March 3rd
April 29th
May 27th
To secure your place, drop us an email: ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

// We need two volunteers to assist Jane on the Mad About Muscles workshop, December 10th at the British School of Osteopathy in London. Assisting on the day is worth a whacking great 10 CPD points! Good muscle knowledge is a bonus. Give us a call if you can help - 0845 688 7188

// We been told about a volunteer event called “Touch a heart” which is organised in the UK. It is a day of massage organised for elderly people in care homes. They are looking for as many massage therapists as possible to offer free short treatments of 15minutes on 10 December 2009. If you’d like to take part, they ask that you register online at www.touch-a-heart.org

// Jo Clements has a shop and clinic in Sevenoaks, Kent and is on the lookout for therapists able to deliver deeper, more therapeutic massage. If you are looking for somewhere to work, please contact Jo on 01732 450049, 07950 033771 or j.l.g@tesco.net

// More intersting CAM conferences coming upin February and March www.camconferences.com

// Jane is a member of the Chartered Physiotherapists in Massage and Soft Tissue Therapies (CPMaSTT), a Special Interest Group of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Each year CPMaSTT host two workshops and provide two very useful newsletters, exploring all aspects of massage. Within CPMaSTT there is a sports massage sub-group, an aromatherapy sub-group, and now a group for those therapists interested in fascia. They welcome Associate Members and with an annual membership fee of just £20 a year I feel that's really good value. If you are a massage therapist in any discipline you might want to consider joining this organisation who welcome contributions from all of their members. For more information and a simple application form contact the Membership Secretary Natalie Lejeune at: nats8784@hotmail.com

If you’d like to contribute to the newsletter, then we’d love to hear from you, as I’m sure would everyone else! We’re really pleased to be able to share your experiences so we hope you guys enjoy it too.

Take care. Jane & Zoë

To subscribe to the Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Runners World - The Rules Revisted

2009-11-04T15:41:00.002Z

In the November edition of Runner's World magazine there is an excellent article entitled The Rules Revisited by Bob Cooper.

It it Coper compares the 'conventional thinking' with the 'uncommon wisdom' on subjects relevant to runners such as whether to cross-train for fitness, whether good running shoes really make any difference, and whether there is any value in stretching. In one of his entries, Make Time For Massage, Cooper cites a Canadian study that found post-exercise massage was not able to improve bloodflow and remove products of exercise that affect muscle performance.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you use massage following a run or workout? Are you a massage therapist who treats runners? Many xercisers use massage to help alleviate the effects of delayed onset muscle soreness, beleiving it to really make a difference to how they feel. Is it all in the mind?

Tennis Elbow, Nordic Walking & Myofascial Release

2009-10-21T17:01:00.007+01:00

Hello there! We’ve got a mixed bag for you again this month, so thank you to all our

contributors....next time it could be you....!!!

We’ll start off with an inspiring piece from Samantha Armstrong.

Here we go; Lessons in Life

When you realise your dreams it’s truly a great moment and I have done thanks to my daughter Lucie (16) and the support of my husband and youngest daughter (13).

When Lucie was diagnosed with Dystonia, a crippling neurological condition, at the age of 7 it was horrendous. But Lucie won through due to pioneering surgery and empowered me to do what I’m doing now. I’m a Nordic Walking Instructor, Personal Trainer and Sports Massage Therapist, I lead classes in the Peak District and surrounding areas and also take clients on a private basis, lead team building walks and celebration walks. Its great doing something that has a positive impact on people’s lives. I have Lucie to thank for that because, through my family’s

darkest days, exercise gave me inner strength. It was awful watching Lucie in pain, she

almost lost her life, every day was a battle to survive, she faced risky surgery and medical procedures. Exercise gave me a short break from it all. I would return buzzing, refreshed and ready to deal with what the day threw at me. That love of exercise, and its ability to improve well-being, encouraged me to train as a fitness instructor through evening classes, then a Sports Massage Therapist and ultimate a Nordic Walking Instructor. The training took about 3 years all in all, I had books everywhere and still managed Lucie’s hospital visits. The staff at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford would always see me with a folder on my knee writing away or studying! Or even in my gym clothes lunging up and down the ward or popping out for a run! It’s all because of Lucie and now I help other realise the benefits of exercise, not just physically but mentally as well. I like the fact that Nordic Walking reaches out to all abilities, including people with health problems. The arms take more of the strain, a lighter load is placed on the knees and other lower body joints. For anyone with restrictions or complaints of the spine, hip joints, knees of ankles, Nordic Walking provides relief. In the treatment of instability of the pelvis, whiplash, fibromyalgia and chronic problems, experience has shown that Nordic Walking is also

beneficial. Similarly, cardiac patients, people who are overweight or those with diabetes or rheumatism have an opportunity to improve their condition with Nordic Walking.

Lucie is now stable although still uses a wheelchair and has recently won a national Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award for overcoming adversity, quite an achievement all round!

Samantha has recently organised a Nordic Walking trip to the French Alps for June 2010, please contact her or go to her web site for more details.

www.coreconcept.org.uk

e-mail: sam@coreconcept.org.uk or 07860 478 409

British Nordic Walking www.britishnordicwalking.org.uk

Letter from Spain and Tennis Elbow to Boot! by Natasha Trendell

I'm sending you a quick update to fill you in on my latest adventures, and to say a big thank you!

Having completed your fantastic sports massage course in September’ 08, my partner and I

re-located to the warmer climates of southern of Spain, where I was lucky enough to find work in a

beautiful spa hotel near Malaga. I am responsible for the majority of massage treatments, and am the only sports massage therapist employed by the hotel. During the summer I work by the pool, which has incredible sea views!

I wanted to share a brief overview of some of the clients I have treated, and also a case I found more difficult.

I have a client with tennis elbow, who comes for regular treatment and is definitely improving. My client came to me quite distressed, as her doctor had told her to take painkillers for the injury, and her chiropractor had made the situation worse! I treated her using a combination of deep forearm massage, petrissage, STR to wrist extensors, and frictions of 1.5 - 2 minutes to the CEO (Common Extensor Origin) . At first she felt some tenderness; then the discomfort started to subside, as frictioning has a mild anaesthetic effect. Finally, I re-checked resisted movement of the 3rd finger, and the wrist extensors. My client felt less pain.

After the treatment, I gave my client a homecare advice sheet outlining how she could play a part in her own healing, giving her much greater control over her injury. I advised her to continue to friction the CEO daily (she now uses the end of a wooden spoon to stop her fingers aching!). She said that this has been the best advice she has received so far. (Thank you Jane for your ideas).

The majority of cases I have received so far, have been clients suffering from back pain (mainly lumber), and neck strains. I have also treated 6 hairdressers at various stages, complaining of pain inferior to the scapula, and along the latissimus dorsi. I found that deep petrissage, stripping along the border of the scapula, and stripping of the latissimus dorsi itself really helped.

General pain in the lumber region has been treated with pressures to piriformis, rocking the pelvis, and pressures to Q.L. I treated one client who had been in a car accident 8 years ago, but still

suffered from back and gluteal pain. STR, and pressures to the glutes really helped to release tightness in this area. I massaged the area through a towel with my knuckles following the pressure point work. My client has found this very helpful, and has remarked that she has reduced her pain relief medication.

I am improving my knowledge with every client, and regularly consult my notes. "Sports

Injuries" by Lars Peterson, and Per Renstrom is a very useful book; an absolute must for

anyone studying/practicing sports massage. The only client I was a bit stuck on was a man who had been told that the longhead of his biceps tendon kept slipping out of the bicipital groove. He was given a massage by a junior physio back in the UK, who worked very deeply on the tendon and made the pain worse. I advised him to speak to his doctor and to try to get referred for a MRI scan to confirm the diagnosis; I didn't believe massage would be particularly helpful; however I wasn't 100% sure, so I sent Jane a quick email for some advice and her reply was:

"I have heard about the long head of the biceps tendon slipping. The osteopath Hoppenfeld mentions this in his book and although many people are sceptics, I did have a sports massage student who presented with what could have been this. You are quite right, massage probably would have made not difference. Things that may help are passive tractioning to the glenohumeral joint and Soft Tissue Release to forearm flexors (ie. biceps and all the wrist flexors). The rational behind that is that you are taking some tension out of the tendon so when they flex at the shoulder or elbow it is less likely to snap out of place (much the way that the flexor and extensor tendons of the big toe eventually pull the toe out of alignment in a bunion and because so shortened and tightened the they keep the toe in that position)."

I am starting to build up regular clients, and many local residents have been back for follow up treatments which is very satisfying. I can't thank you enough, as without your course, and your expert tuition!!) I wouldn't have this job, and I certainly wouldn't be able to treat as many clients as I have done. Thank you so much!!

Natasha Trendell, Sports Massage Practitioner

Fascial Release Technique Workshop with James Earls, 28th Sept, by Alison Dodd

I am a newly qualified Sports Massage Therapist having completed the APNT course last year with the huge help of Jane Johnson who I was lucky enough to have as my tutor! I love what I do and as a Therapist, I am keen to learn more and develop my skills further and of course obtain more CPD points along the way!! Since last October, I have been busy building up my therapy practice but I felt it was now time to start looking at developing my skills a little further. I started looking into some different workshops and courses and came across myofascial release which I found really interesting and I wanted to get more of an understanding about it. Luckily, in my research, I came across the workshop with James Earls on The London Massage Company’s website and for me it was perfect timing and seemed the ideal introduction…….

James was lovely and really enthusiastic. He introduced his workshop talking about how he had developed his interest in myofascial release and had trained with Tom Myers who many of us have come across in our training in reference to "Anatomy Trains". We were asked to introduce ourselves to the group - a really nice cross section of people with varied experience, a couple of whom I already knew from my course last year which was nice.

I suppose one of the first major points James made was to change our way of thinking with regard to the anatomy of the body, specifically muscles and their attachments. We have all been taught the basic anatomy of how tendons attach to the bones in order to create movement. However, James clearly explained, with the help of a video called “Strolling under the Skin”, together with some slides, that although some fibres of the tendons/fascia do attach to the bones at the attachment points, they are very much continuous from that point onwards and throughout the body forming an interconnected web. The video was really fascinating as it showed a dissected human body with it’s skin and adipose tissue removed revealing in detail how fascia basically envelopes everything in the body!!

James explained how fascia is different in it’s formation and make-up depending on its function within the body. When an area of the body comes under tension, the fascia acts to disperse the force and thickens which affects the whole myofascial system. It changes from being a gel fluid-like substance allowing gliding and movement, to a much dryer and harder substance in response to this tension. There was a brilliant (although rather messy) demonstration showing how fascia changes its structure and texture using cornflower mixed with water!

Another good way in which James tried to explain to us how fascia works is by likening it to a “pull” in a t-shirt or jumper. This showed how restrictions or tightness in one part of the fascia can cause problems in other areas of the body which made perfect sense! With this in mind, it also made you understand that by “normalising” the fascia with the method of myofascial release, it would help restore balance to the body.

Next we moved on to some practical work, working on different areas of the body including the lower leg, the IT band, the hamstrings and the neck and chest. We worked on different people which was really useful to get an idea of how different everyone was and how to assess different areas of the body. James demonstrated really well and when it was our turn, he came round to us all answering any questions we had. He also made me understand how important my posture was whilst working which is something I definitely need to work on!

When we asked James questions like how fast do we go or how deep do we work, it was impossible for him to give us an answer at the time and if I remember rightly, he said “enough but not too much”! However, having put myofascial release into practice with my clients since the workshop, this answer now makes complete sense! Obviously every client is different and the more I use it, the more I understand it and get a feel for how fast or how deep to work! I suppose it’s a matter of understanding that its really the fascia which dictates how you work as you feel the sensation of it “melting” or “giving” under your hands or fingers as it reverts to its “normal” status!

Overall I thought the workshop was excellent and there was a good balance of enough theory to help you make sense of it all without being too overloaded in the brain department! Plus enough practical work to help you get the feel for the method in order to put it straight into practice. I have to say it has definitely changed how I treat some of my clients and feel it has really helped to

develop and enhance my skills.

A totally worthwhile workshop and one I would definitely recommend!

Alison Dodd, Sports Massage Practitioner

www.bodylogics.co.uk

Things We Think You’d Like

// For any of you who’ve already done a course or workshops in Myofascial Release then Cheli Mula would love to hear from you. Having been inspired with an Anatomy Trains weekend she would like to start a study group to practice further the meridians. She’s based in London and can provide fascilities. She’d like to meet on a regular basis as time allows, over a period of time. If you’re interested please contact Cheli on 07789567612 or chelimula@hotmail.com

// Back workshop reccomened by our colleague Stephen Ward. For more information on this workshop with Dr. Stuart McGill. Visit www.backfitpro.com

// The Yoga Show, brings you YogaAid - Aiming to raise money for a range of charities, during a three hour Yoga session! For more information visit www.theyogashow.co.uk or call tel: 01787 224040 - 30th, 31st October, & 1st November 2009

// Institute of Anatomical Sciences(IAS) The IAS is always looking to recruit new members. "Founded twenty-five years ago, the IAS is a growing international group of Anatomy and Anatomically-related professionals dedicated to sharing knowledge, techniques and practices to ensure informed intellectual and technical expertise in the Anatomical Sciences." Jane’s been a member for many years and attended some very interesting lectures and meetings. Membership is inexpensive and as far as I am aware has only one other member who is a massage

therapist. For more information contact: www.anatomical-sciences.org.uk

// Sue Carberry has found brilliant book that's not too expensive which she’d like to share with us: A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology "I've been in practice for nearly 13yrs and I wish I'd had this book when I was training, even so it's a valuable asset now."

Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,US; 4Rev Ed edition (1 Feb 2008)

ISBN-10: 0781769191 / ISBN-13: 978-0781769198

// Prof. Eyal Lederman’s supervision groups provide the participants with tools to understand the different processes underlying their patients' conditions and to learn to optimise clinical

management. During the sessions the participants will have the opportunity to discuss case histories and practice techniques as well as explore their practical application in clinic. For further information and registration contact: cpd@cpdo.net (www.cpdo.net)

Help!

We could do with getting our hands on the Oct ‘09 issue of SportEx Medicine (we get SportEx Dynamics each month).

If you receive SportEx Medicine in hard copy we’d love to borrow it : ) Please give us a call: 0845 688 7188 or drop us an email if you can help.

Just For Fun

Jane sent me these two emails and they made me smile so we thought they’d make you smile too......!

Rain Rain Go away

Absolutely teeming down. Think I shall have to start placing the old sandbags up against the doors soon to prevent the floodwaters entering.

Bring a mack in october, wellingtons and perhaps a small inflatable lifecraft in your hand luggage? In fact, we could revolutionise the Boden autumn range with colour coded dinghies? Have a

feeling its going to be a wet autumn. Mum's going to despair as this will bring the snails out to eat her newly planted garden. I read that slugs and snails love the inside of grapefruit skins (how anyone worked that out I don't know - maybe someone came down to breakfast to find two small creatures enjoying it for them?) so the patio is littered with upturned fruit, like a load of mini alien craft have landed, and I've snuck them between the plants too. So far the molluscs seem to prefer the plants and it looks like I've simply been chucking my rubbish in the garden. No doubt the newspaper article left out a vital piece of information, like the slugs only like red grapefruit or something, or perhaps it wasn't grapefruit at all but melons of avocados. Might as well make a giant fruit salad and toss the entire thing outside for a midnight mollusc rave, round up the criters in the dead of night and submit to The Royal Academy entitled Slug Salad.

Jane

Chocolate Therapy

I found an article which says that milk chocolate is actually helpful in speeding muscle

repair.

Here at the LMCo we are both obviously keen to advance science and looks like our recent binges are in fact worthwhile experiments. The things we do for our newsletter subscribers and students huh?

I didn't access the article and am only hoping it advises ingesting the material not rubbing it in. (I've no intention of wasting my Lindt on some rugby players hamstrings thank you very much).

Or perhaps the therapist could eat it whilst massaging a muscle injury?

Who knows, we could invent our very own contrast bathing: 2 mins in warm chocolate, 2 mins Devon icecream. Mmmm.

Now all I need is an article supporting the ingestion of peppermint and dark chocolate, preferably specifically in the form of After Eight Mints cooled in the fridge for an hour, and I'm sorted!

Until next time......

Jane & Zoe

P.S Jane’s at CAM Expo this weekend for those of you that want to say “Hi”

To subscribe to the Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Anatomy, Anatomy, Anatomy

2009-09-01T16:00:00.005+01:00

Hi there. We hope we find you fresh and relaxed after a summer break, or perhaps you’re waiting until the school hols are over to take a break from it all.....

Things have been relatively quite here at the LMCo, as is the norm over the summer, except for Jane pouring her heart and soul into another successful sports injuries diploma. But on top of that she’s still had time keep Jake occupied over the summer with their usual choice of weird and wonderful

exhibitions........ get that kettle on!

Dig This

I can't seem to help myself. It doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing, bones are at some point going to feature in my day. Even when I'm not working, not studying, not ruminating on anatomy, there they are, the inescapable evidence of life on earth. And so it was when I took young Jake to the Museum of Docklands to wander the three floors charting the history of the great river Thames and all that's connected with it. I'd been here many times before and, despite two rather impressive whale bones mounted on their ends like the entrance to a chapel, and a strange collection of fragile animal skulls in one of the curiosity shops that make up the wonderfully reconstructed and rather spooky Sailortown section, one can be fairly certain most of the exhibits pertain to the river, shipping, docking, docklands and life in and along this wonderful geographical feature, with little in the way of anatomy. There are coils of huge rope, barrels and barrel making tools, sacks of tea, spices, weights and measures, 'bum' boats and tunnels. But not many bones.

Yet here they were again. I was on my hands and knees scraping out the contents of a large archaeological trough, Jake and I having enrolled on The Big Dig, an activity to get people interested in archaeology. Jake was curious and excited, believing as many 10 year olds do that Indian Jones is the world's greatest hero and requiring constant reassurance that all of the booby traps have been removed from Petra. Whereas I had rather reigned myself to the activity, not particularly motivated to unearth pottery, albeit 1800 years old.

A lovely and knowledgeable archaeologist (Sarah) was in charge of Jake and I for an hour, and no sooner had we started to lift out the mud from our site when Jake found a bone...then another..then a bit of pottery...then another bone...and more pottery. So of course, curiosity got the better of me and as he trowelled away and the archaeologist asked questions and explained about Roman pots and pot firing methods and clay and tiles, I couldn't help but examine our osteological

specimens. We had quite a few sheep ribs, several vertebrae from a cow, two large cow tarsals, one large chicken femur, and four or five ulnar bones, which I think must have been from sheep too. There was even the bone from a dog, with its very thick compact wall, and everything worn to that smooth caramel coloured patena, hardened and preserved through time. All were genuine, 1800 years old explained our guide, common remains when digging in London.

Was there much unearthed nowadays in London?" I asked. She went on to tell us that most of her work involved working on building sites in London where she was called in to retrieve human remains that had been unearthed accidentally. Apparently this was very common and her job was to oversee the safe removal of the remains to the Museum of London where they were examined and reburied. But the work was not something that enthused the guide I could tell. Her thing was the Saxon period. I however, was thinking just how interesting it would be to work through a 'stack' of around seven bodies, carefully documenting them. It was noisy, dirty and very unsafe she said candidly, with the builders eager to start work. With a Saxon site you got a few weeks but with bodies just a few days. Aren't other peoples' jobs interesting?

Comparative Anatomy

"But it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know" moaned Jake as he and I wandered around the new exhibition, Exquisite Bodies at the Wellcome Collection. Was this because I'd been taking him with me to similar exhibitions ever since he was in a pushchair and he was jaded by such curiosities, or was there something in this comment? Here we had wax models that had been viewed rather voyeuristically when they were first created hundreds of years ago, women with removable shiny intestines and real hair, arms with strange skin lesions, that sort of thing. I got his point. This wasn't really about the teaching of, nor the acquisition of anatomical knowledge, it was simply a presentation of models that had caused intrigue, unrest and perhaps even distaste amongst viewers all those years ago, and Jake and I had seen it all before. So today we were the 21s century voyeurs. Walking around I was torn as to how I felt about this exhibition. On the one hand, I'm always grateful that any anatomical specimens in any medium are available to view by the public, grateful to institutions who aim to help de-mystify anatomy and bring it to a wider audience. And I always recommend the Welcome for their determination to bring science and art to the public in that respect. Yet on the other hand this exhibition seemed to lack a certain cohesiveness. There wasn't quite enough material and not quite enough to substantiate an exhibition. Perhaps we would have benefited from each model having slightly more explanation? Or for greater comment on their use? Or the process behind the making of the models themselves? Or perhaps I am being too harsh on the Wellcome. They don't make any claims for the exhibition other than to tell us that these are Exquisite Bodies . But is that enough? I wonder what any readers think?

Outside the gallery and snuck into a corner the museum had the Primal Pictures CD-Rom available for use. Now this really did excite Jake and for 45 minutes we sat together and tested our anatomy, he clicking on every part the virtual skeleton to highlight bones in different colours as I read out the accompanying text. He was genuinely intrigued that the the skull contained so many different bones, and went 'ergh!' on vomer and emthmoid for some reason, considering them nasty and peculiar shapes for bones to be. What a contrast to the wax models was this electronic aid. I wondered whether Jake's fascination was down to the fact that he had been born into a world of computers, it was no wonder he much preferred the interactive learning this CD-Rom afforded. Both forms of learning have their good points of course, both their bad points. I am waiting, as always, for the day when an institution puts on an exhibition with the aim of helping people learn anatomy. Something comprehensive, intelligent, useful. Sadly, the Human Biology exhibition at the Natural History Museum is now very dated, with huge chunks of certain body systems missing and a disproportionate amount on the brain, brain function and psychology. Nevertheless that particular exhibition goes some way to helping people learn their human biology and so must be commended for that.

Things We Think You’d Like:

// The Yoga Show, October 30th- November 1st at London’s Olympia - www.theyogashow.co.uk

// The Olive Cafe and Treatment Rooms, Wimbeldon Park, SW19, have an introductory offer on treatments rooms - £10 hour to hire. For more information contact Cathi Moore on 07932788650, or email cathi.theolivecafe@ymail.com, for all bookings and enquires.

// We’ll be at CAMExpo again this year. If you want to meet up for a chat, then be in touch and we can arrange a time. Jane will running taster workshops on - everyone’s favourite -

Soft Tissue Release, The Shoulder: Clinical Tips and Tricks, The Back: Clinical Tips and Tricks. For more info take a look at the CAMExpo site - www.camexpo.co.uk

// We now have a profile on Facebook so if you’re on there too, come and join us. We’ll be

posting bits and bobs as they occur - interesting articles that we find, new techniques we come across etc - anything, as usual, that we think the wider world of therapists may like.

// Zena Khan is running her 4-day Onsite Chair MassageOnsite Chair Massage course for Quntum Metta in September - for more details www.quantummetta.co.uk

Great news!

We are very excited to have been able to secure podiatrist and sports massage therapist Kevin Thomas to run a foot and ankle workshop for us on 12th December at the British School of Osteopathy.

Do you struggle to treat clients with foot and ankle problems?

Do any of your clients suffer from unstable ankles? Heel pain? Foot pain? Plantar fasciitis? Metatarsal stress fractures? Painful bunions?

Perhaps you would simply like to learn more about the kinds of conditions that affect feet, or foot and ankle anatomy, or whether orthotics really work, or how foot and ankle problems contribute to knee pain?

Contact us to let us know what you would like us to cover on our foot and ankle workshop and together with Kevin's expert knowledge we will put together a practical, interactive workshop for those of you interested in this much neglected part of the body. We want to bring you up-to-date information on the assessment and treatment of foot and ankle pathologies so if you are interested in learning more, please be in touch.

Best feet forward (sorry, couldn't resist!)

There are still a few places left for

// September 25th - Soft Tissue Release, £100

// September 28th - Fascial Release Technique with James Earls, £100

// October 5th-9th (week 1) 12th-16th (week 2) Intensive Sports Injuries & Massage diploma, £1700

Or if drop in for Individual days during the two weeks in October -

Mon 5th: The Shoulder

Tues 6th: Soft Tissue Release (If you can’t make 25th Sept)

Wed 7th: Hip & Thigh

Thur 8th: Muscle Energy Technique

Fri 9th: The knee - Half a day

Mon 12th: The Spine

Wed 14th: Elbow, Wrist, & Hand (again, this is a half day).

The assessments, tests and pathologies covered are all in the outline of the Sports Injuries & Sports Massage Diploma syllabus on our website:www.thelondonmassagecompany.com

Each full day £100, half a day £50

And last but not least:

// December 10th - The Skeletal System - We'll cover everything on the ITEC syllabus (2009) - Section 3, Unit 346, Knowledge of Anatomy, Physiology & Pathology for Complimentary Therapies, £20

// December 11th - Mad About Muscles - a great way to get to know or revise your muscles, £20

Have you been on a Lymphatic Drainage course, or have you heard good things about a course or a tutor? If so then let us know. We’d like to run a ‘Guest workshsop’ on the subject but we need to find a great tutor. If you can help us then please drop us a line - Thank You!

Also we’re looking for people to volunteer for the next sports clinic day - October 15th - where you’ll be assessed and hopefully treated by the students. If you’d like to join us then please email us.

You know where we are if you’d like more information or to secure your place! See you next time round, and remember, if you want to share what you’ve been up to, write us a piece and we’ll put it here - it’ll count towards your CPDs too! Jane & Zoë

To subscribe to the Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Massage Newsletter 15

2009-08-10T17:10:00.010+01:00

And we’re back......

We’ve had some great contributions to the newsletter this month - thank you very much to all of you. Hopefully you’ll learn something new and be inspired!

As always at The London Massage Company we are thinking of new ways to raise standards in the industry and bring you something different. At the moment we’re working on a set of ‘Guest Workshops’. We’ll bring in guest tutors who are experts in their fields to deliver one-day workshops in keeping with our existing advanced one-day workshops. First up is Fascial Release Technique with James Earls, 28th September 2009 in London. He’ll be teaching you practical techniques that can be applied to various parts of the body which will give you a greater understanding of the principles involved in fascial release. You’ll come away with a better visual sense of what the connective tissue is and its variations as well as its role in supporting the body and how it adapts to compensations and stresses.

We are also launching our Massage Teacher Training Opportunities. We’ve had some great feedback over the years about our dynamic approach to teaching which leaves students juiced up and ready to go out into the world with some fantastic new, advanced skills. We’ve also had many a conversation with therapists who would love to teach massage in all its forms but find that when it comes to teaching massage, the teacher training qualification alone doesn’t really prepare them for a full-on practical massage workshop.

These wonderfully encouraging words, combined with the need of therapists, has inspired us to trial our Teacher Training Opportunities.

It gives people the chance to earn CPD points (10 for one days assisting), whilst getting a feel for teaching, or making days with us part of their Teacher Training qualification.

We’ll provide each assistant with clear objectives based on the day teaching and a form to fill in should they wish to submit their experience for CPDs. If this interests you, or anyone you know, then be in touch.

Now it’s time to grab a cuppa and see what other therapists (and Jane) have been getting up to..........

Life as a Sports Massage Therapist in the Alps,

by Laurie Cooper

I qualified as a Sports Massage Therapist in November 2008 and had a job as a Sports Massage Therapist in the Alps with an English company called Pamper off Piste lined up for the winter season in the French Ski Resort of Courchevel.

My sports massage course gave me confidence in becoming a working therapist but above all my tutor Jane gave me a real passion in my subject and I couldn’t wait to get out there and start treating clients. I enjoyed every subject within the course and felt I came away fully equipped to make the most of my new qualification.

I completed my season in mid April and I’m now back in London looking to pursue my career here. I’ve now had time to look back and reflect on my time in Courchevel and I see it as an excellent, worthwhile and somewhat interesting experience for many reasons.

I was treating clients with both Holistic and Sports Therapy requirements and I feel I used my skills in a very beneficial way to help my clients get the most out of their ski holiday. My clients were hugely varied, from those who were experiencing their first massage to those who have a variety of treatments at home on a weekly basis, then from those who had been skiing twice a year for twenty years to those who were new to the mountain scene and booked a massage as they were unable to walk without feeling the effects of the days activity.

As a newly qualified therapist I was determined to go straight into practicing, and working in the Alps proved to be the ideal situation. I was treating between 15 and 20 clients a week and really feel I’ve now got true massage hands. I feel I now know how to communicate with a vast array of people and have learnt that as a practitioner the importance of client care and correct communication. As I was working as a mobile therapist I was treating clients in their chalet or hotel room. I was responsible for having everything required to carry out the treatment, ensuring the client was safe to receive a treatment and taking payment at the end. This initially was terrifying; my first week was very stressful and not particularly enjoyable. This combined with driving added to my stress levels, navigating the mountain roads when having no clue where you’re heading and snow falling heavily from the sky took it’s toll and there were moments of wondering what the hell I was doing! Luckily I had seven great housemates who were all going through the same emotions and we all picked each other up and soon my confidence was on the way up and I started to love my job.

Then there was the fun part of my Alpine experience, hitting the mountains and learning to snowboard. After three weeks of getting to grips with my new life I took a week’s course in snowboarding. The initial three days were painful, frustrating and mainly spent on my bottom or knees. I really started to sympathise with my clients and gained insider information on what parts of the body really needed some TLC after a day spent with my feet bizarrely strapped to a bendy piece of wood. At the end of the week I was starting to feel I was making progress and getting the buzz and bug for wanting to go steeper and faster.

The following weeks were spent getting out first things to practise, practise, and practise so I could join my experienced housemates as soon as possible on the more

demanding red and black runs.

This proved no chore, waking up to blue skies, bright White Mountain tops and crisp fresh air was enough motivation for me. The views and scenery were magnificent and certainly a healthy place to clear and freshen your mind. The whole thing became addictive, Living with other therapists,

including a Physiotherapist and Osteopath gave me the chance to learn new techniques and skills and has encouraged me to look into further courses now I’m home to further this knowledge.

Living as a seasonnaire in Alps comes with a work hard, play hard attitude and after four months, although having had an amazing time I was ready to come home. The social life is manic and you can hit it hard seven nights a week if you can cope with it, I soon realised that once to twice was enough for me! Going straight into a job after my course was daunting but definitely the best thing I could have done. I love my new profession and all that I can offer people. There is something very rewarding when a client gets off the couch and tells you “That was the best massage I’ve ever had”

I now face a new challenge of building a client base within London, I am confident and passionate that putting in the hard work will get me there and I’m very, very excited about it.

Laurie Cooper, Sports Massage Practitioner

Equine Body Work: Sports massage and therapeutic bodywork for horses

by Oonagh Bannister BSc (Hons), EBW

I have been working as a full time sports massage therapist, therapeutic body worker and healer since 2002. Originally I qualified as a therapist for people with a Health Sciences degree at the University of Westminster. At the time I was living in London and stayed until 2006. Following my move to Cambridgeshire I added to my qualifications by training as an Equine Body Worker with Equinenergy at Writtle College in Essex. Having embraced country life fully this felt right. I have
always loved horses and in recent years enjoyed riding in Hyde Park on a regular basis. The training course was extremely thorough but nothing could have prepared me for the wonderful rewards that would come from working with these animals. I am humbled by their wisdom and sensitivity, they just get it!

Anyone who is already a therapist or has received sports massage knows how much this can help with pain reduction, stress release and much more. Apply the same principles to the horse and the specific benefits include; improved motion and stamina, better temperament and improved disposition, ability to reach full training potential and achieve optimum performance. In the same way people look for that extra performance from sports massage it is the same for our equine friends. Improvement in stride length can enable horses to cover the ground quicker which helps give them an edge in racing, cross country and showjumping.

People benefit from massage by getting better tone in the muscles and improved range of motion. For horses this improvement of tone can lead to strength and gymnastic ability which can improve dressage performance. Marathon runners have long known the benefits of pre and post event therapy and it is the same for endurance horses and their riders, being fitter through training and massage therapy increases stamina and helps to prevent repetitive strain injuries. Horses can gain immensely from receiving sports massage as an adjunct to good training methods, correct saddle fit and well maintained feet. There are many parallels that are common to human and equine sports performance and principles from human research studies are now often used to relate these proven principles to sports horses.

In my experience the most valuable benefit is the prevention of injury and health maintenance. Keeping the muscles flexible and in good working order decreases stress and strain on the joints, tendons and ligaments in much the same way as in people. Since the horse has little muscle below the knees and hocks the many long tendons are anatomically susceptible to possible injury.
Massage really keeps horses in better shape and once any initial problems are resolved they are easier to keep right than people.

Before any treatment the person responsible for the horse must get permission from the veterinarian for sports massage, this is a legal requirement. A typical session will last 50 to 90 minutes and includes observation of posture and conformation with gait analysis. During the massage the horses reactions to treatment are very honest and immediate. This does sometimes involve moving very quickly out of range of teeth and hooves! The techniques are primarily
effleurage, petrissage and friction with tapotement used for a full body massage. Although I practice different therapies, sports massage in particular can help both horse and rider immensely. I am continuing my professional development with equine myofascial release at present, also with Equinenergy I work throughout Cambridgeshire and surrounding counties offering a mobile therapy service for both horse and rider.

Please contact me to find out more or to come and watch me work on horses. Please also see my websites for full details of all therapies available: www.energyheal.co.uk &
www.energyhealequine.co.uk or call 07930 464123
Oonagh Bannister

Exhibition
by Jane Johnson
Last week I found myself walking along a long curved corridor in a cylindrical sanitorium, doves cracking their wings on the air outside as they tried to find roosting spots above the windows, mis-shapen skeleton specimens in class cabinates to my right. This was a video installation, part of the exhibition on art and madness in Vienna at the Wellcome Collection here in London. I particularly liked the photograph of the 'Mechanotherapy Rom" c1905 in the Purkersdorf Sanatorium in Austria, with its wheels and pulleys that looked more like a laundry room than a place of therapy. It was common in 19th century Vienna for people to spend time in hospitals for recuperation from conditions such as mental exhaustion, where doctors prescribed 'rest, diet and technologically enhanced physical therapies.' Some of these technological therapies were on display. I shuddered at the 'electrotherapeutic cage' which was apparently painful but which physicians believed to help increase general metabolism and helpful in cases of hysteria.' There was an exercise 'mechanotherapy' chair, that put me in mid of the hair-cutting contraption the inventor (played by Dick Van Dyke) created in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which he takes to the travelling fair and pedals away on, accicdently shaving a monk-like circle off the top of some poor pundits head, which steams away beneath the circular tin cutting bowl. This mechanotherapy chair was designed to 'bring the body and nervous system back into balance.' I don't know about you, but I have my own ideas about how best to bring my nervous system back into balance, and it doesn't involve leather foot straps.

Perhaps one of the best exhibitions I have attended of late was Bobby Baker's Diary Drawings: Mental Illness and Me. Diagnosed with a personality disorder these 159 paintings chart the artist's journey from diagnosis to recovery. Every doctor, psychiatric nurse, ward 'sister', psychotherapist and art therapist dealing with patients such as this should see this exhibition. Trained at St Martin's School of Art, Baker's beautiful, funny, weird, and inspirational paintings, taken from her many art journals are an amazing insight into how one person felt at the 'patient'. Every one different, every one evocative and personal. Wild splashes of colour, streaks, Bobby curled in foetal like position on her bed, withdrawn for the world, scary faces, laughing faces, moments of sadness, fear and anxiety, moments of joy, elation and hysteria. Technically accurate in form and composition, perspective and tone I marvelled at the skill of this artist, able to paint and document her inner feelings. Unable to take my eyes from the walls and the progression of amazingly colourful images, I suddenly came to the shocking brevity and blandness of a single picture, so out of character with the others, a child-like attempt in the centre of the page.
Beneath the picture the caption read, 'the art therapist today suggests I yet again paint a mug'. Guess what the picture was of?

Jane

See you next time!

To subscribe to the Newsletter or see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Juice It Up - be inspired!

2008-12-09T19:05:00.005Z

Do you ever feel that you march to the beat of a different drum? Are you an optimist but feel that you sometimes miss out on opportunities? Are you destined for greatness? Are you waiting to make that leap?

Radical Simplicity by Dan Price is not the kind of book I would normally buy for myself. But because the author was recommended by someone I admire (Danny Gregory who wrote The Creative Licence and Everyday Matters) I picked up a copy. At the end of the book Dan writes:“Some of us are born with unrealisable and unattainable dreams: they push and pull our beings through life…Most of your family and friends will contend that the safest course lies with the herd…. “Security” is coveted….Conventionality has become societies mantra….There are a few pioneers however. Souls who feel the pull of the cliff edge…and when no one is looking, leap off, falling, falling…But don’t search for their remains amongst the boulders below because the very faith that convinced them to jump down that precipice quietly caught them half way down and took them to a whole new place. A new world bright with endless possibility. These people discover an unknown secret about life and are forever changed. When you’re willing to give something up the rewards you receive are always more interesting than what you had.”

Do you have the faith to ‘fall’? Does conventionality keep you tied to the same-old-same-old, as the saying goes? If like the characters Dan Price is describing you feel pulled by unquenched dreams and desires, going with the herd a little bit more than you’d like, are feeling there’s something more, something different you should or could be doing, then perhaps our new workshop is for you? Juice It Up is a bodalicious bounty of tools, tips and techniques to feed your fire, blackberry-jam-packed with activities to help you identify your most delicious of dreams and turn your motivation from mouse to mammoth! Want to feel inspired? Want to soar with the stars, to dive into your daydreams? Maybe now is the time. Come join us for a day of magnificent moments, a structured day of learning that puts in the shade all those self help books that, well, lets face it, never really helped you first time round.

You’ll answer the questions you’ve been avoiding, you’ll get the answers that were always there. By the end of the day you’ll be clearer, faster, more certain, more secure; you’ll know where the Universe wants to help you go, you’ll have ideas about how to get there. For all those who feel its time to light their fires and rev up their engines; for all those who want a change, need a change, who know there’s Something More. You deserve a lip smacking luscious life, to feel the ‘feel good’ factor every day. If it’s time for you to be the best, to have the best, then be prepared. Step up. It’s time to Juice It Up - 13th July 2009.

To find more about this workshop or sign up to the news letter vist us at: www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

My Turkish Experience - A student's perspective

2008-11-27T13:17:00.009Z

Two weeks, hotel, hot country and best of all it has a purpose! But how did it come about that I was stepping off a plane into the balmy, sun filled air of Turkey to study for a Sports Injury and Massage Diploma? Let’s go back, way back, way, way back…to the autumn of 2007.

“This won’t just be a sun seekers escape from the beginnings of a cold and wet British autumn, but an extravaganza of pathologies, a veritable cornucopia of massage techniques wrapped up into two weeks of sun on foreign soil, it will be fantastic!!!”…

Now, I can’t recall if this was quite how Jane Johnson actually sold the idea about what she and her partner in crime, Zoë Fitzpatrick, wanted me to join them on, but it encapsulates the enthusiasm with which I have come to know and love from Jane and it had the desired, and rather infectious, effect on me!

As Jane had just finished teaching me all I needed to know about Anatomy and Physiology, I had no doubts about her ability to turn me from a relative novice into some sort of Sports Massage Guru! Now look, there’s no harm in aiming high, so I was aiming for Guru, ok!!!!

I was determined to go on this course, even if I had to sell my house to do it, which, coincidentally, is what I did!

The idea of an intensive didn’t sound scary with the knowledge that Jane and Zoë were on the case taking the everyday worries out of the equation by taking us to studying abroad. It was an added bonus. So, armed with course file and a whole load of enthusiasm I boarded the plane with a group of like-minded therapists keen to have some fun in the sun, massage style!

I won’t go into massive detail about the course content as you can have a look at what you would have in store on The London Massage Company website. It’s all about my experience and what I got out of it.

The hotel was great, the rooms simple but more than adequate and the staff brilliant. This of course lulled me into a false sense of security as I began to believe I was on holiday!

Suffice to say the first day blew me away! It was like taking the amount I learnt in my previous course, putting it in a blender and making me drink it down in one! I think I am safe in saying that the whole group was shell shocked after the first day and scared about the next!

The relief came when we recapped the following morning and started to realise how much information we had retained. At this point I have to say hats off to Jane and Zoë’s advanced training methods, they work wonders! With this revelation we all soon began to unwind and relax into being students again and little routines began to enter into my day.

Every morning would start for me with a swim in the empty pool as the sun rose above the mountains. I would greet a couple of the other students who also swam at bleary eyed o’clock in the morning and watch as the cold water jolted them, like it had jolted me, into the land of the living! I miss those mornings!

A quick shower and change and then down for copious amounts of breakfast, then a short shuffle with my coffee to the veranda to look over the ocean before lessons. The lessons started on the same ‘coffee’ veranda with a run down of the day and a recap on the previous one. And then…let the learning begin! If you’re like me and you get excited by knowledge and training this course was like being a child in a sweet shop!

There were a variety of teaching methods mixed into the theory and practical sessions. Demonstrations from Jane and Zoë and client sessions galore! Once the locals caught wind of what was going on and that it was all above board you couldn’t keep them away with their aches and pains. Many of us massaged people from the town out of teaching hours as demand was high and practice was what we all needed. Free meals and discounts in carpet and jewellery stores being the unsolicited, but gratefully received, payment!
As is the nature of small close knit communities once word spread we were all greeted warmly as the people from Club Phellos Hotel who “do good massage!”.

Lessons finished at six and the nights where ours to do with as we pleased. For dinner we would find a nice restaurant, of which there are many, or stay and relax at the hotel. The group had quickly gelled and so going out in force was frequent and a joy to be part of.

With every fourth day to do as you please, it gave you time to look back at the trail of devastation you had left and check to see if there was anything your learning whirlwind hadn’t quite grasped hold of and shaken to bits! Sometimes it was just a case of relaxing and letting the knowledge sink in with a sunbathe by the pool, a walk into town for some retail therapy, or a well earned drink! It also helped you recharge your batteries and get fired up for what was to come in the next set of lessons.

This continued for an amazing two weeks of learning and laughter and I was very sad when I realised we had reached the end of the journey. It was an experience I will never forget and one I miss on a daily basis. I also miss the group, the people, the staff, the location and strangely the call to pray from the minaret of the mosque, which has a rather soothing quality to it. Although at six in the morning I’m not so sure!

I can’t thank Jane and Zoë enough for the chance to learn in this way and feel intensely jealous of the next group of lucky people who choose to go out and face jumping in the deep end of learning, and the pool…chilly! On reflection, now that I have seen and been taught intensively, I think I may like to look again at the word intensive! This was one roller coaster, thrill seekers, hold onto your knickers experience! I don’t think intense really covers it. Prepare to be thrilled and scared in equal measure with the speed of delivery, but amazed at the amount you will have retained without even realising your learning. I had forgotten what my comfort zone looked like at the end of the course and quite frankly I don’t want to go back to it! I am now happy living by the seat of my pants where learning and massaging are concerned and I’m sure you will be too!

And as a parting note for those who go…don’t leave having a Hammam until your trip is almost over it’s a wonderful experience that you will want to have again and Club Phellos have the best Hammam in town, on site! Enjoy!

To find more about the Intensive Advanced Sports Injuries & Massage Diploma in Turkey or see student testimonials visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com

Intensive Turkey

2008-11-24T20:00:00.006Z

Like most teachers, I like to review my own teaching at the end of each class or workshop and make notes on what went really well, as well as identifying any aspects of the day that I wish to amend or improve. Back in London and, I have to say, a far colder environment, I have now had the chance to reflect on the last Intensive Advanced Sports Injuries & Massage Diploma in Turkey and how that went from a teaching point of view. It was one of the best diplomas I've been fortunate enough to be involved with and both Zoë and I spent considerable time mulling over why this was so. It may have been because of its location—the Southern shores of Turkey—or it may simply have been because the students who undertook it were highly motivated. Being away from home obviously played a large part in everyone's enjoyment of the course. None of us had any commuting to do, we didn't have to get up early and fight our way onto and off of crammed tube trains or along busy streets both at the start and the end of each day, we simply rolled down to breakfast and were already in the training venue. So we all began each day feeling relatively fresh. Also, not having to prepare meals, collect kids, pay bills, answer calls or do any of the usual 'chores' meant that most of us soon began to relax, slept better and began to feel more alert and more alive. Located on the shores of the Mediterranean we all ate well, with fresh fish and salads and had the benefit of pollution-free coastal air. It was warm, varying between 24-29 degrees each day, so everyone felt inclined to drink plenty of water. Prone to dehydration, that too must have done me good in particular.

The change of routine helped too. Each morning I stood in silence on the balcony and watched as the sun slowly rose. Some of the students went for a dawn swim, slipping through cold water doing their lengths before others were awake. Each evening some of us sat on the balcony and watched the sun dip behind the Greek islands and then in the warm night air wandered lazily down to the town for dinner. Most nights before retiring for bed I lay on my back on the patio and let my mind go blank, staring up and into the stars and their wonderful configurations, clear in the October night sky. The local plant called Melissa was blossoming everywhere and the air was filled with its jasmine-like scent. It took around three days before I stopped feeling like there was something else I ought to be doing but eventually relaxation lead to laughter and a letting go of anxieties.

However, the course was not without its challenges and, in a way, that made it a great course from a teaching point of view because it kept me on my toes and stimulated me to find new ways of working. One of the biggest challenges was working in a Muslim country. Clinic and practice days had to be managed carefully so as to respect the cultural norms of the society in which we were working. We got around this by never treating male and female clients at the same time in the same room. On one day only men were treated, on another day the women on the course went into town and treated the female residents, clients who did not feel comfortable coming into the hotel for their treatment sessions. With everyone we had to start by working through clothing, and once we started using oil, made sure that only very discrete parts of the body were ever exposed at any one time. When treating the male clients in supine the female students avoided making eye contact and were careful and respectful of the kind of body contact that is actually perfectly normal and acceptable by westerners receiving sports massage treatments.

Once we had gained their trust, many of the staff were keen to receive massage and it was interesting to note how all of the waiters had exactly the same musculature, with hypertrophy of their left rotator cuff and thoracic extensor muscles, the result of constant loading of that side as one-armed, they carried multiple layers of plates to and from tables, seven days a week for seven months of the year.

Another interesting aspect was the language barrier. With my basic smattering of Turkish I was able to formulate basic commands and solicit simple answers. (According to the Turks, I apparently speak Turkish “the way a Welsh person speaks English”). Zoë, having worked as a therapist in Morocco, also with Muslim clients, had a natural flair for gaining rapport with pretty much anyone we came into contact with and chatted away happily in French to the owner of our favourite restaurant when she discovered that he was also fluent in that language.

I know from past experience that students studying on intensive courses such as this often get very tired, and I was expecting this to happen in Turkey too. So to counter this Zoë and I had scheduled in a free day following every three days of training and in fact this worked very well. Some students chose to remain in the hotel and practice what they had learnt in the training room, others sat around the pool or in the shade reading through their notes. One or two chose to go off exploring and spent the day in town or on the beach or wandering through the zig zag maze of tiny alleyways with their jewellery and carpet shops. Some even chose to visit the nearby village of Kalkan, and two even hired a car and went further a-field. The net result was that when we returned for training the next day we were each of us more refreshed and ready for study.

Hotel staff enjoyed our company and were delighted by the students who practiced saying 'hello' and 'thank you' in Turkish. This greatly elevated us in the eyes of the town and I feel sure was the reason behind some free lunches some students enjoyed. Hotel staff no doubt observed everyone milling around with large files of notes and textbooks, happily reading and making notes either alone or in small groups. They also noted that most of us, most days were laughing. In fact, many of the students reported this as being one of their key memories, the fact that they laughed so much. One day the manager, most impressed by everyone's diligence, leant over his coffee and said "your students, they are very clever people, yes? They working very hard, yes? They are very clever peoples I think? Very good peoples?". What could I say? He was delighted at the thought that myself and Zoë had selected his hotel for to bring these good, clever people, people who tried to speak his language and laughed a lot. "Yes," I nodded, "They are clever. They are good," and I meant it. Students are always clever, and they are always good. And I realized that here they had simply been afforded the opportunity to let that aspect of themselves shine. They hadn't necessarily done it consciously. The sunny days, fresh air and finding themselves amongst like-minded people had enabled that. And that, I decided, was what had made the difference for me from a teaching point of view. Having it revealed to me that once people are given the environment, emotional space and just a little bit of support, their natural ability to learn thrives like there is no tomorrow. And that’s why I choose to believe that all the students I work with are good, all the students I work with are clever.

To find more about the Intensive Advanced Sports Injuries & Massage Diploma in Turkey visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Death by Bleeper

2008-10-02T10:21:00.006+01:00

My road is yet again being excavated. This morning there were no less than SEVEN industrial vehicles (only one that could actually fit in the rd) and 10 men in wellies all standing around a huge hole gushing with water for the third time in a month. Their resurfacing vehicle, which sounds a safety beep as it reverses, has needed to go back and forth across this hole doing whatever it is doing, so for the last two hours it has been death by bleeper.

When I was at the Thames festival and a photographer for a French magazine asked permission to take my photo. I said 'sure' and then wondered if this was going to be the How Not To Dress shot, a kind of 'before' picture she was going to flaunt as an illustration of the unfashionableness of eccentric British 40-somethings.

High pressure water jets are now being used outside and there are bright orange-and-black vehicles forming blockades at both ends of the street. The workmen seem bemused at their inability to staunch the flow of water and have been taking turns to kneel down by the hole, stand in the hole, and push their arms down the hole. Turning off the main supply is obviously too simple a solution. The resurfacing vehicle does not seem to have resurfaced anything. My mum has been out and told them they don't know what they're doing whereas I offered them tea (that may account for why she has no water but I do). Off to find the ear plugs.

To see what we're up to inside the class room visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Holistic Health Show, Donnington Exhibition Centre, September 2008

2008-09-25T09:50:00.008+01:00

On a sunny Saturday evening in September I found myself idling through thenew (and very polished) St. Pancras Station, looking for a train headed forDerby. I balanced a cup of tea and my ticket in one hand and pulled a heavywheelie trolley in the other. Whilst waiting for the platform number toappear on the departures board I kept asking myself 'have I got everything,have I got everything?' and mentally checked off the contents of my bag:hotel details, venue details, entry pass, handouts, sweets, etc. I was on myway to the Holistic Health Show where I had been invited by the Federationof Holistic Therapists (FHT) to present two workshops. I was curious aboutthe event as I was used to presenting at CAM Expo here in London, but hadnever been to this show, held at the Donnington Exhibition Centre abuttingthe famous Donnington race track. I wondered what sorts of lectures andworkshops were being offered in addition to mine, and what sorts ofcompanies and products had been set up for the massage therapists. Moreimportantly, I was wondering about the environment in which the workshopswere to be delivered and had all the usual sorts of questions teachers askthemselves: how much space was there going to be? Would the couches bethere as requested? Would there be oil and towels? What temperature wouldthe room be? How many therapists were booked onto each workshop and did Ineed to give them feedback forms (as is often requested by show organizers)?Would they have pens? My first workshop was planned for 10.30 on Sundaymorning, the first day of the show, and I planned to get up early and makesure I had everything I needed.

In Derby I arrived at the hotel at about 8.30pm and found it full of veryhappy wedding guests. The bar was heaving with posh frocks and smart suitsand there was an atmosphere of celebration that made me smile. It's a goodfeeling to be amongst happy people. If, like me, you live in a flat crammedwith textbooks and teaching aids, a nine year old and a huge dog, you may beable to relate to what I did first on entering my hotel room. I lay on myback on the floor like a starfish and moved my arms and legs up and down asyou do when you make sand angels. It was great. You could fit most of myflat into this hotel room. So for the first 15 minutes I revelled in thespaciousness of it, stretched on the kingsize bed, the sheets of which I hadnot had to iron, and searched for the tea and coffee drawer which hoteliersseem to get better and better at hiding.

The next morning was bright and sunny as I crunched over the carpark whichwas already starting to fill with cars. FHT staff were on hand to greet meand show me to where I was to teach. I like the FHT people. They are kindand helpful and for the most part seemed very well organized. They had astand at the entrance to the show and told me that throughout the show theyhad had people trying to book onto workshops which were already sold out, 'amessage for next time,' I thought. I had 30 people attending each of myworkshops and was pleased to have brought with me an adequate supply ofhandouts, despite it making my trolley to heavy.

The venue was cold, with a high ceiling, like an aircraft hanger, and thestallholders were already fully set up, smiling and waiting for customers.Smaller than CAM Expo there was still lots to look at, including a bookstalland many stalls selling clothing for therapists, and crystals and schoolspromoting different forms of massage training; there were equipment sellersand couch sellers and lots of beauty and skin care products. The smell offresh quoissants and coffee emanated from the two cafeterias as the FHT tookme to where I was to teach.
Both workshops, Deep Tissue and Muscle Energy Techniques, went well, and Ireally enjoyed meeting the 60 therapists who attended them. It was however,quite challenging from a teaching point of view, for several reasons. Theteaching 'rooms' were areas cordoned off from the rest of the show and thefloor was concrete and the back wall brick. It was therefore very cold.Secondly, despite requesting many couches, the show organizers had assumedthat the therapists attending would be satisfied to watch the presenters,and would not necessarily want to take part in practicing the skills beingdemonstrated. A camera had therefore been set up in the centre of the roomwith a cameraman assigned to project everything he filmed onto a screen. Thechairs were in regimented rows.

Those of you who have attended my workshops before will know that I'm notoverly fond of the chalk-and-talk style presentations when it comes toteaching hands-on practical skills. I like attendees to have the opportunityto actually practice the skills they are learning and to ask questions.People began to arrive early so while the FHT checked everyone in and gaveout my handouts, I quickly messed up the beautifully set out room. I draggedall 30 chairs forward, making a circle the best I could, politely dismissedthe cameraman, placating him with handfuls of Foxes glacier mints, andscrounged two additional couches.

Even with a microphone it turned out to be difficult for people to hear whatwas being said as there were workshops going on to each side of me and thevast ceiling height meant nothing was contained. Perhaps the strangestandfunniest‹aspect of teaching here was that every now and then there would bea colossal droning sound, like the approach of a plague of bees or anaircraft about to take off, which I was told were the motorbikes revving upfor the start of a race, their track being right behind the 'room'. Threecouches between 30 attendees is not great, but then those of you who teachknow that you need to work with what you've got and sometimes, adaptabilityis the key to success.

On the train on the return to London I reflected on just how adaptable youneed to be sometimes as a teacher. I would have liked it to have beenwarmer, less noisy, with more couches and with time to chat to everyonefollowing the workshop, but overall everyone seemed to take away somethingthey found useful and could incorporate immediately into their practice. Imade notes, as always, and felt satisfied in myself that I'd done what Icould with what was available. I would certainly be willing to work at Donnington again, but would definitely take a vest.

To find out what we do in the class room, or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Riding the Rapids in Spain

2008-08-25T15:02:00.006+01:00

I'm back from Spain and a water sports activity holiday with my son. It was the best holiday we've ever been on. I am KNACKERED. I did canyonning (abseiling down waterfalls foran hour, totally exhausting, don't ask me who invented it but gorgeouslyhunky guides who strap you into all sorts of ropes and harnesses if you likethat sort of thing), kyaking on a lake (easy peesy) and river (deathdefying, huge rocks, strong currents, masses and masses of rapids and reallyexhausting when you capsize and have to be rescued from beneath the craft),horseriding (cannot sit down for two days), football, volleyball and, mostscary of all, white water rafting (7 people, 4 of whom kids, in a dingy with mad Spanish raftsmen hurtling you down rapids and weirs and going backwards and spinning round like a wheely bug and huge bolders and jagged rocks andcrashing water and them shouting "forward!" "back!", "stop!" and aching,aching arms....) You really do do what's in the brochure, its not just publicity shots of people in safety helmets.

I'm booking it again next year but will this time do a ton of upper body strength training to make iteasier and increase chances of handsome Spanish man falling madly in love with blond tattooed 44 year old.

On a quieter front I'm feeling pleasantly satisfied having read two books, one autobiography about a Cornish childhood and another, all about the Natural History Museum here in London. I could relate to this behind-the-scenes biography of the place, the drawers of insects, the deer heads, the oddball tweed-suited characters who've spent too long contemplating the mating habits of trilobites.

I am now in the middle of a variety of books, dipping into them all at once. One is called The Art of Domesticity. I just LOVE it. I am trying to make a patchwork quilt and the kitchen table is covered in fabric squares of various sizes and patterns. Very Little House on the Prairy. This book is a real inspiration. The author is delighted by colour and design and plays with making cupcakes decorated as noughts-and-crosses and jelly beans. It's not just a coffee-table book full of wonderful photographs, but is full of personal insight into why women create quilts, tablecloths, cakes, etc. If I could have anything I wanted I should like to be a kept woman and spend my time knitting strangely baubbled jumpers adorned with pom poms, sketching, journalling, and doing my PhD (a physio doctorate programme starts at SouthBank uni Sept, just 8 days taught attendance required in each of the first 2 years and I'm VERY tempted!). I would throw women-only picnics and have tea weekly at the Dorchester and learn five languages just for fun. I would potter around all the museums and bake extravagant cakes with all the wrong colour icing and instead of tea, would take a bottle of wine with me when I walk the dog and sit and paint leaves upside down when I've had half the bottle and I no longer care what people think. Then I would waddle home and watch a movie like The African Queen and book jive lessons which I would do in a flared skirt with a small waist and heavy make up.

Back in the real world....I today took my son to the Ian Flemming exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. He was dressed as James Bond, but security tookhis p.k.walt 45 (it's a gun apparently) off him on entrance. I can understand why and he was philosophical about it. Anyway, we enjoyed the exhibit, had a fantastically expensive lunch (as always) and then went to Tate Modern to see the exhibition called Street Art. The outside of the building had been decorated with huge pictures a la graffiti style but nicer if you know what mean. The shop was heaving with books on graffiti and street art and I bought yet another very inspiring book about journal keeping, full of the most delightfully evocative watercolours.

I have the weekend tomyself. My in tray is heaving with work-related stuff but I would much rather do other things. However, no work, no holidays, no books, no wine, no.......

To find out what we do in the class room, or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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The Saga of the Herniated Disc

2008-07-23T11:01:00.001+01:00

The biggest irony being in the ‘massage business’ that body workers of all disciplines never ‘walk the talk’. We can give home advice to our clients until we’re blue in the face but, get any of us in a room and it’ll be a battle of the injuries – who’s got the longest list. Jane and I between us could keep many a body worker happy for years. So the latest to be added to the list of war wounds was an operation for a herniated disc.
So what is a herniated or slipped disc? Well most of you reading this will know that a herniated disc is when the pulpous found inside a vertebral disc is ‘pushed’ out through a tear in the disc’s annulus.
In around 90% the soft pulpy nucleus of the disc is gradually reabsorbed into the disc, easing pain on associated neural structures (the sciatic nerve being the main one) and a conservative approach to treatment can be made eg, unilateral or bilateral tractioning.For the other 10%, the pulpous does not reabsorb and they could being to experience loss of sensation and/or mobility, in their lower limb/s and feet. In this instance surgery is the only option. To my shock and horror I had fallen into the latter category.
I was under the firm belief that with a herniated disc, you felt a sudden sharp pain, usually when in an unsupported forward flexion position, ie lifting and twisting whilst holding something heavy. However, my sudden sharp pain happened when walking and not even briskly! No strain involved there, so I came to the conclusion that I already had a tear in the disc wall (the annulus) which had recently been disturbed by Trigger Point and Osteopathy work which I had undertaken to correct a long standing muscular problem. I was further back than square one.
The herniation was confirmed on the Thursday afternoon and I was in the clinic for the op the following morning. No waiting lists to be had in Casablanca! At least I didn’t have time to worry about it. The op went really well. On the Saturday the surgeon got me up and walking, Sunday I went home. I was amazed. I’ve been going from strength to strength ever since and have recently started my physio to re-educate the back, abs and foot. But that’s another story……

Zoë

To find out what we do in the class room or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Downtime

2008-07-22T14:18:00.002+01:00

When did you last have some quality downtime? Many people move into therapies because they want to get away from office work and yet once you start to get busy and build a client base, or decide to set up a company!, then you find yourself busy as ever. Of course, it is GOOD busy, but it's still busy.

I am today enjoying a creative long weekend, painting, sticking bits of paper onto other bits of paper, threading beads, and sorting through all the wonderful 'junk' things I find on my walks. I got out all of my creative things and just fiddled about....for about 2 days. It felt great. Last night I painted some pictures using bright pink paint, today I made a collage. It's taken me a while to wind down and let myself do stuff that stimulates me creatively rather than do stuff that I think will make me money. Though of course one wishes for the ability to do stuff creatively THAT makes money!

I went to a car boot sale and succumbed to some very cheap (£2) but absolutely adorable wooden kids playing bricks in primary colours, cubes, rectangles, pyramids and cylinders sitting in their own wooden box. I have a cupboard full of them. I can't help myself. There's something so beautiful about their simplicity. I have a huge box of plain wooden ones, slightly smaller, but wonderfully 'used' if you know what I mean, worn slightly smooth by little hands. I have an absolute passion for these 'simple' wooden toys. There's something so nostalgic about them. Perhaps when I am in my 70s I'll have cupboards heaving with them still? Sometimes I get them out and stack them myself. They cannot be broke, cannot be scratched, and need imagination to make them 'work'. Some days need to be wooden brick days. And I bet a lot of people out there collect weirder things than wooden bricks.

Jane
To find out what we do in the class room or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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We've been away....

2008-07-22T13:42:00.004+01:00

.......but now we're back! Other things took over for the first half of 2008, but rather than keeping the blog empty, the mid-year resolution is to turn those "things that take over" into experiences to share and learn from. So to see what we're up to out side of the class room keep on reading.

To find out what we do in the class room or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Volunteering abroad

2007-12-13T16:12:00.001Z

Better late than never.

It's all go as usual at The London Massage Company. I'm in the throws of meeting a research dealine and Jane's preparing a trip to Morocco as I prepare to depart, Blighty bound. She'll be out there with Cross Cultural Solutions doing physiotherapy work with less able bodied adults and children. She ran the massage-a-thon back in August to help raise money, just over £700 in total - thank you again to all those who took part.To find out more about Cross Cultural Solutions visit: http://www.crossculturalsolutions.com/

She's been getting her head down and learning Arabic and French to make the whole communication thing alot easier. She's also been getting friends and colleagues to translate English Children's books into French so that she or her colleagues out there can read to the kids. I for one loved getting to read The Hungary Caterpillar and The Little Red Hen again!

Jane sent me this extract today:

".......discovered that I learned LOADS of French by sticking the French texts into the english books in preparation for this trip. Clothes everywhere. Arabic and French books everywhere. Paperwork and passports everywhere. Toys and games and paints and stuff everywhere. I think I may be being a little optimistic when I believe I can live in Turkey for 6 months if this is the state the place is in going away for three weeks....."

Jane will be writting up a full report of her adventure when she returns. So we'll be in touch later.

But in the mean time we wish you a great Eid, a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

To find out more or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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Musculoskeletal Christmas Quiz

2007-11-08T11:01:00.001Z

We have 6 Stretching videos to give away to the winner of our Musculoskeletal Christmas Quiz 2007, so come test your knowledge!

The names of the highest scorers will be put into a hat and the winner picked out in the New Year.
You can email us your answers at ask@thelondonmassagecompany.com or pop them in the post. (address on the website) Don’t forget to tell us who you are and how we can contact you. Answers in before January 4th 2008.

So here's the quiz - Enjoy!

1) In adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) the main problem is joint laxity. True or false?
2) Synovial fluid is thixotropic. What does that mean?
3) There is a ligament on the head of the femur, in the very centre. To which structure does this ligament attach?
4) Which condyles of the tibia are larger, the medial or lateral?
5) Mark which of the following is an overuse injury:
adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder)
subacromial/subdeltoid burisitis
deltoid strain
rotator cuff strain
clavicvle fracture
humeral fracture
acromioclavicular ligament sprain
humeral dislocation
supraspinatus tendinosis
6) What are the name of the ligaments within the knee capsule itself?
7) What is the name of bone cells that 'build' new bone?
8) What are the actions of the psoas muscle?
9) Which anterior leg muscle has an exceptionally long tendon anddorsiflexes and inverts the foot?
10) To which bones does scalenes anterior attach?
11) Why is the jaw unlike other synovial joints?12) We number the metacarpals 1-5. What number is the thumb, 1 or 5?
13) What sort of joint is the proximal tib/fib joint?
14) What sort of joint is the distal tib/fib joint?
15) Which bicipital tendon runs in the bicipital groove, the long or theshort head?
16) Not everyone has palmaris longus. Where is this muscle?
17) The flexor retinaculum on the wrist binds the tendons of which muscles?
18) Which muscles flexes the tips of the fingers, flexor digitorum profundusor flexor digitorum superficialis?
19) What are the bones of the fingers called?
20) What type of synovial joint are knuckles, that is, themetacarpo-phalangeal joints, (not the inter-phalangeal joints)
21) Cryotherapy and thermotherapy, what does R.I.C.E stand for? For a bonus point, when P & R are added to the acroymn (P.R.I.C.E.R) what does the "P" stand for and what does the last "R" stand for?
22) Which bone is accessed by pressing into the 'anatomical snuff box'?
23) What does pectineus do?
24) To which structure does piriformis insert?
25) What might give rise to a Trendelenberg gait?
26) One of the hamstrings arises from close to the linea aspera. Which one?
27) In which compartment in the leg are dorsiflexors found?
28) In what way, anatomically and physiologically, is peroneus longusdifferent from peroneus brevis?
29) What is an interosseous membrane?
30) Cite two places in the body where you would find an interosseousmembrane?
31) What are the common names for Lateral epicondylitis and medial epicondylitis and which is which?

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Federation of Holistic Therapists

2007-10-31T09:33:00.001Z

We're very excited here at The London Massage Company because we have just secured some teaching spots in 2008 with the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT).

The Federation of Holistic Therapists have the largest membership of any multi-disciplinary therapy organisation in the UK with over 21,000 members. They are the oldest Professional Beauty, Sports and Complementary therapy organisation in the UK and have been representing therapists for over 40 years. They are a true not-for-profit organisation enforcing high professional standards, with a good Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.

As part of encouraging the Federation of Holistic Therapists memembers to gain Continuing Personal & Professional Development (CPPD) each year they run workshops, courses and conferences of which The London Massage Company will be a part of.

In 2008 we will be running the following advanced massage workshops:
Effective Stretching, 1st March, Sheffield
MET (Muscle Energy Technique), 5th April, High Wycombe
STR (Soft Tissue Release), 18th May, Cardiff.

We look forward to seeing members of the Federation of Holistic Therapists there.

To find out more or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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A day in the Dissection Lab

2007-10-25T02:17:00.001+01:00

It's been a really busy week in the life of The London Massage Company, but when isn't it!

Jane has been in the dissection labs at Kings College, London taking some students on a journey of anatomy. And what a journey it is. For those of you reading this that have been in a dissection lab, you know what I'm talking about. When I was a student on the APNT Sports Injuries & Massage Diploma I had the opportunity of being in the dissection lab for a day, and it's a day I will certainly never forget.

I was a little apprehensive as I set off for Kings College that morning as I had no idea what to expect, well, apart from cadavers, and I wasn't sure how I was going to react on seeing one. Another thought was, 'I must prepare myself for the smell'. So with Vics Vapour rub at the ready and a clear view of the exit (just in case) we entered the dissection lab. The reality was much better than my preconceived ideas. Cadavers were just that and the Vics was used only twice.

The room was a little cold and adorned with jar-upon-jar of body parts in formaldehyde which were instantly fascinating. We donned our white lab coats and made our way to the back of the lab, past the metal dissection tables and their lids, until we were greeted by the Kings College team and Caroline Barrow who was going to be guiding us through our anatomy.

The body parts had been arranged on separate tables and covered with cloths until it was time to discover where exactly the wrist flexors were and just how trapezius fitted superbly onto the back. It was fascinating to observe just how amazing and intricate the body is but somehow, there was a simplicity about it all. All those anatomy text book pictures were put into perspective and it definitely gave me a better understanding of where and how all our muscles fit together so neatly.

I learn a lot that day, from Caroline and our Cadavers and we want to give our students at The London Massage Company the same opportunity. So whether taking the Intensive Sports Injuries & Massage Diploma, the Intensive Advanced Massage Diploma or you are taking a physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic course else where, you'll be able to spend a day in the dissection labs at Kings with The London Massage Company. We are setting up links with the college and looking at dates in the diary so hopefully that day won't be too far away.

To find out more or sign-up to the Newsletter visit : www.thelondonmassagecompany.com or email us:
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