Seasons Greetings

Seasons greetings

Thanks you and seasons greetings to all my clients and those who have visted my website and blog and hopefully found the information interesting and useful.

From Paul & the treatment room, happy holidays

Paul

Massage Gift Vouchers

 

This year I've added a new- look gift voucher to our website along with some great special offers to help stretch the 2010 Christmas gift budget and for those special events through 2011.

You can choose between a sports massage to deal with that lower back or neck pain or a deeply relaxing and stress busting holistic aromatherapy treatment.

A fusion of both including some deep acupressure massage will get you or a recipient feeling great for the new year.

These can be bought either online or in clinic.

Massage gift voucher details

 

Don't forget yourself !

Christmas is nearly upon us and so the stress begins to mount of what presents from what shop, for who and why, how much food and when do we need it?
Have we remembered the Christmas cards in time for the last post ? and have we sent a card to those who sent us one last year, but we forgot them!

Fantastic! the stress of the holidays have already begun and we have not even spoken of the cost which is always larger than we anticipated. That extra bit we pop on the cedit card will be locked away in our mind and not to be dealt with until the new year.

For most people the Christmas holidays are about the managment of stress and getting through the days off work as stress free as posible. Visitng family and friends and catching up on those relationships we may have neglected through the year and catching our breath and hopefully taking some rest before the start of the preparations for new years eve.

The new year  is always a time to reflect and make a few positive changes in our lives, and within all the chaos of Christmas it is important to 'not to forget yourself'.  We spent so much of our time throughout the year taking care of the needs of others. We often forget to look after ourselves and allow some time to focus on us and really recharge our batteries so we are prepared for the new and unforseen challenges of the new year.

In reality who cares for the carer? and if the carer's batteries are low or  flat then they will become tired / fatigued and less effective.
In business terms I see clients who really look after the welfare of workforce with onsite massage. This in reality pays measureable dividends with low staff turnover / less sick days / injury prevention / greater productivity and profitability!

There are so many ways to recharge and re-energise ourselves and of course as a therapist I  have a biased opinion towards massage therapy however the benefits of massage are so well documented to nourish the body and soul I would recommend treatment on a regular basis.

Cycling in France



Home base : Sainte-Anne d'Auray

 It took a good few months training in the heart of the Cotswolds to get me to the stage where I felt confident about my level of fitness.I wanted to be able to ride and enjoy a week in France with my old 12 speed 1980s trusty Holdsworth road bike and keep up with the members of  Hull cycling club.

Given I was one of the youngest of the bunch, I hoped  my legs and general fitness would not leave me embarrased half way up the semi steep hills of Brittany in France. Fortunately for me, I took a dose of my own medicine an really put into practice the knowlege of my studies as a sports and remedial massage therapist. This really helped with my preparation and kept me injury free for the whole holiday. Not only was I able to climb those hills with relative ease but my recovery rate and readiness for the next days riding was fantastic.

I decided early on that I would change my diet, lose weight and really get fit for this week in France, given that I'm not far from 50 it was no bad thing! Out went the chocolate and snacks to make way for a simple but vitamin rich diet, of porridge, fresh fruit, fish etc. The only suppliments being garlic capsules and cod liver oil to lubricate the blood and joints.

My excess fat just seemed to fall off and I became trimmer from the additional exersise, my weight however stayed about the same trading fat for muscle tissue. I set my targets to be achievable and never failed to include the golden rule of warming up and then 10 mins stretching post exercise to keep those overtight muscles balanced.
I had expected to feel some joint pain, muscle ache or discomfort given my age and  level at which I was training, however the persistant stretching off paid off and I never suffered any exercise related injury.

Aromatherapy for colds & coughs

Winter Aromatherapy
Autumn is over and the cold winter weather has arrived  in the UK.
Along with snow and ice, the change of seasons brings the winter cough and cold  upon us.
Eucalyptus and Pine essential oil are a must to help combat and aleviate the symptoms of the common cold and chesty cough. Use an oil burner which can be purchased from your local health food store, this will slowly release the oils into the air. Alternatively a bowl of hot water and a towel  to cover your head is all you will need to inhale the vapours and relieve congestion.

Add a couple of drops of these oils into the water, the oils will vapourise and really help with your symptoms.

Eucalyptus oil originates from Australia, its therapeutic properties are: anti-inflammatory, expectorant and anti-bacterial. It will soothe and clear the head from the stuffiness of colds.
Precautions: those with high blood pressure and epilepsy should avoid this oil.

Pine oil originates from the evergreen tree, its therapeutic properties are: anti-microbial, antiseptic and anti-viral. It is especially useful in the treatment of the respiratory tract.
Precautions: mild irritant to the skin.

Before the use of any pure oils you should check with your local aromatherapist or aromatherapy shop, that it is safe for use with your particular condition.