So after a busy first day on Monday when I was delighted to meet some new clients (and receive their lovely feedback), I took some time out for myself on Tuesday to feed my own wellbeing! Paddle boarding from Abingdon to Clifton Hampden and a short swim in the river afterwards were wonderful ways to start the day, especially when the cloud and mist melted away to reveal beautiful blue sky! The water is definitely getting chillier now but a brief (8 minute!) float in the current and swim against it really sets me up with such a physical and mental glow and sense of joie de vivre!

We saw two kingfishers, numerous herons, red kites and swans along the way. Being in nature really helps me to stay calm, relax and be present – all skills that help me to be a better massage therapist!

Welcome to my website. I’m returning to massage following six years off raising two lovely, energetic children who are now both at school. The last year has really been a wake up call to so many of us as to how much we value, and miss, physical contact. Like many of you, I haven’t hugged my parents since February 2020. Some days, this new Covid-19 world feels as though it will go on forever and we forget how much we need and value physically connecting with each other. Some days it doesn’t seem so odd to not hug our friends, some days we feel it as physical ache from the lack of touch from our loved ones hands. A simple touch can convey so much love and understanding. I’m here to help you with that, to relax you and help you to release stress that has been building physically or emotionally. 

It has been a while since I last was working but I can assure you that I have had willing guinea pigs in the form of my husband and two children to practice on throughout the lockdowns this year. They have all benefitted from my practice in terms of improved sleep, feeling calmer and reconnected.

I want to thank my dear friends for encouraging me to re-start my business and I’m looking forward to helping us all to feel better, nurtured and more recognised for our true selves: taking a mini break from the stresses of everyday life.

I’m sorry there hasn’t been a blog for such a long time! As some of you know, my husband and I are thrilled to be expecting our first baby in early November. I just wanted to let you know my plan for seeing clients over the next few months.

Treatments will be available between now and early October at the following times:

• Tuesday – Thursday 10am – 7pm
• Friday 10am – 6pm

As the late afternoon and evening appointments are very popular, please book as far in advance as you can, to avoid disappointment!

Treatments available include:

• Pregnancy massage
• Holistic and therapeutic massage
• Deep tissue massage

Unfortunately I’m unable to offer hot stone treatments whilst I’m pregnant but these will be available again in the new year.

I am also in the process of finishing my MSc before the baby arrives, so if you are female and interested in what impact your menstrual cycle has on what you eat and might consider taking part in my study (which requires you to do a food diary for six days during your next cycle), do let me know ASAP so I can send you more information.

If you’ve been for a treatment recently, you may have noticed a little red collecting pot in my treatment room. As some of you know, my husband is running the London marathon in April to raise money for Helen and Douglas House hospice for terminally ill children.

As you can imagine, he spends most of his spare time pounding the pavements or the treadmill… or on my massage table demanding deep tissue treatments to help his recovery! Massage can be a great way to speed up recovery from physical training, be it running, cycling or anything else. It encourages greater blood flow to the muscles, helping to repair them more quickly so they feel less sore and ready for action sooner.

If you’re doing a physical activity event for charity this year, please let me know and you can receive 10% off your treatments in the six weeks before and two weeks after your event, to help with your training and recovery.

Just in case you might be interested in sponsoring Dave for his marathon effort for Helen and Douglas House, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/DaveWheater or drop a few pennies in the red collecting box after your next treatment! Many thanks!

Hands up, who likes a nice cup of tea? I think I am a bit of a tea addict, especially now that I work from home for half of the week. Luckily it’s not caffeinated tea that I am addicted to (although I’m unlikely to turn down a cup of earl grey first thing in the morning), I like all sorts of tea!

And in a recent lecture I heard about white tea being really pretty good for you, so I thought I’d give it a try!

There’s an awful lot of research going on at the moment about the health benefits of tea, but because white tea is full of flavonoids (a type of antioxidant) it is thought to have the following benefits:

• Reduce cardiovascular disease risk
• Potential reduction in cancer risk
• Potential reduction in diabetes risk
• Likely to aid with weight management
• Some evidence of improved cognitive function

How amazing is that? From tea! There’s still a lot more research to be done, however, one important point to note – the tea also tastes good! I followed the instructions to brew for 3 minutes and although it looked quite dark and I assumed it would have an overpowering taste, actually it was pleasant, light and quite floral…!

PS – Antioxidants are natural compounds which work to ‘quench’ free radicals, reducing and stopping the damage they cause. Free radicals are naturally present in the body but also increased by external factors such as smoking, stress, UV rays. If anti oxidants and free radicals get out of balance in favour of free radicals, they can cause significant damage to the body

In case you’re interested, this info came from a lecture from Dr Lisa Ryan at Oxford Brookes Uni on 19/2/2013.