Repeating The Moment

I have just returned from repeating the very first NO HANDS massage course that I ever attended. I had decided to do it simply for fun and did not really expect to gain much for myself in the way of furthering my massage. How wrong I was!

For the past two years I have been learning more and more about NO HANDS massage and it had been fairly intensive at times, though always with the bonus of receiving incredible touch at some stage during each course. By the middle of last year I had decided that I needed a break from the courses, partly because I felt that I should concentrate on other areas of my business for a while, and partly because of the (perceived) intensity. However I knew the Transforming Touch course is both more relaxed and only £99 + VAT for 3 days which is a real bargain. So I signed up.

I was looking forward to seeing a few people that I knew because the NO HANDS company encourage repeaters. Sure enough there were a few familiar faces but wisely we were asked to mingle with the newcomers rather than stick to familiarity and that was excellent advice. I loved meeting people who were in a similar place to where I was two years ago, with some of the same questions that I’d had, and some that I had not thought to ask but was pleased to hear the answers to. It was really exciting to watch them begin to unwrap the present of NO HANDS, some struggling with the sticky tape now and again, but then ripping through the paper to find the next layer. And it was great to be able to feel the first tentative touches blossom into massages of grace and depth.

Right from the start I found new layers of knowledge for myself. I realise now that there is so much information given on that course that it is almost impossible to take it all in the first time around. NO HANDS also continually refine their teaching methods so it is often the case that the same move or technique is being taught in a completely different way and new nuances arise.

Most importantly I am also a different person to the one I was two years ago, and I came to the course looking for different things. I was relaxed and fairly confident in how I massage. I was really looking for fun and found it but I also found more knowledge and motivation than I thought possible.

This experience brought it home to me that every moment is new, and I am new in every moment. So it is entirely possible to repeat the same things over and over again and reap very different outcomes, or the same ones if that is what I choose. I look forward to applying that to other areas of my life too.

Massage-athon?

Yesterday I was given a gentle reminder that I have not posted since October (oops). My only excuse is that I have been really busy, which is fantastic. Oh, and I have been on holiday to the marvellous county of Northumberland, and on another No Hands Massage Course in Hebden Bridge. This week is actually the first quiet(er) week that I have had since the clinic opened, and I am seizing the opportunity to organise paperwork and other essential admin work. I spent fifteen years in Admin work at the County Council and it has been a very useful basis for running my own business.

The new No Hands massages include a De-Tox massage that will be a fabulous start to the New Year for any of you who overdo it a bit over Christmas, and a couple of exhibition Massages that take just 15 minutes and can be used to showcase the massage at a public event whilst still giving the receiver a lovely treatment. Some of you will have the opportunity to try this out at the ‘24 on the Floor’ event for Children in Need on Friday 20th November. It is being run by Jive Fusion in conjunction with BBC Radio Lincolnshire at the Lawn in Lincoln and it is intended that there will be 24 people dancing at any one time for 24 hours. There are various types of dancing going on including classes for complete beginners. Find out more http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/content/articles/2009/10/14/cin_dance_feature.shtml

I shall be offering massages for a donation to Children In Need and will be there for the full 24 hours (I am intending to do some dancing too). I hope to see you there, I'll be the only one with her own pillows!

Spring Tides and Sorting Stuff

A lot of water has passed (literally) since I last updated this. Yet again Sam and I have been to Norfolk, this time for the Regatta at Burnham Overy Staithe. http://www.overystaithesc.org.uk/php/gallery.php The spring tides meant some very high tides so here is a photo of lots of sea and a pretty boat! Believe it or not we had raced, finished and put our boat away and there was still this amount of water! Those little tufts of green that you can see are usually significant banks. (Sam and I won one race and came second in two others so we were pleased with ourselves)

Anyway, back to the clinic. I managed to find some very good end of line two drawer cabinets at Lincoln Office Furniture, and also a second hand one which are perfect for what I want. (Their website is being refurbished as I write this but it is http://www.lincolnofficefurniture.co.uk/e.co.uk/ and they have loads of stuff.) Dave has made a fabulous desk top for one of them that perfectly fits the space. I am digging out my various cupboards and hoarding places in the house and finding homes for it all in the clinic, or in some cases the bin! You will have to be patient a little longer for further photos because the battery on the camera ran out, but believe me it is all gorgeous. And I am so looking forward to the Grand Opening.

We Passed!

Last Thursday after some exciting drifting around Blakeney harbour (no breeze at 7am), and a slightly more exciting prize giving (we won our class), I had a phone call from Dave with the news that I had been hoping for. The Building Inspector had paid a visit to the clinic and was very pleased with what we (OK, Dave) had done with the building. He especially liked the disabled parking space, now complete with its markings. That is the last visit from the Building Inspector as he has signed the clinic off and now all systems are go, to get it finally ready for use.

By the time that I arrived back in Harby on Sunday, Dave had already left as he is working away for a couple of weeks. Before even unloading the camper van, I unlocked the clinic door to see the changes that had been wrought. Fantastic. The flooring and the door now work together. The sinks are in and hot water comes out of the taps! The internal doors have been hung and just need painting.

So once I have finished the huge piles of washing that always accompany me home after a week of sailing, I shall be grabbing a paint brush and setting to with great vigour. There really is light at the end of the tunnel.

As for sailing at North West Norfolk Week’s 60th Anniversary Event, Sam and I won one race, had a second and a couple of thirds and came third overall in our class. The most satisfying part of it was that we sailed to the very best of our ability and did not fail to sail any races due to ill health (bad backs or hangovers) or equipment failure, although a piece of string was needed to hold the mast in place for the last two races whilst at Snettisham. The photos were taken at Kings Lynn on the River, one of the muddier venues!

The competition is going great with some wonderful ideas from you. Keep it up, it could be you cutting the ribbon to the clinic on opening day.

I have been continuing with the painting inside so no pictures until I have done, otherwise it really would be like watching paint dry!

In the apparent lull I thought that it would be a good idea to tell you a bit more about the different therapies that I do. Many of you know me as a Chiropodist but I actually started out as a Reflexologist. However today I thought that I would tell you a bit more about the massage that I do and in particular the No Hands Massage.

I first trained as a Therapeutic Massage Therapist in 1997 and loved it. I quickly found clients who enjoyed the relief that my touch gave them and all was apparently rosy. However, because I did not have a clinic of my own I used to lug a heavy massage bench to their house, and that soon spelt disaster for my back. For a while I could not even stand and was visiting the Osteopath every other week just to cope with everyday life. The portable massage bench found a new home. I discovered Pilates (fabulous) and that, together with the Osteopath, regular massage and some very necessary emotional releasing techniques have meant that I was healthier and stronger than ever before. However the type of massage that I was doing at the time still took a toll on my hands and wrists so when I experienced No Hands Massage for the first time I literally jumped up with excitement, (frightening the poor girl who was doing it). She was a volunteer at the Breast Cancer Care Ribbon Walk and I was lucky enough to flop onto her bench at the end of a very gruelling 20 mile walk. That massage was the start of my journey with No Hands Massage.

So how is No Hands Massage different? Well, for the client it is a relaxing and therapeutic therapy that can work deeply into the tissues and muscles. Or it can be light and invigorating or indeed any combination that you need. As a client you learn to take what you need from the touch and each massage is as different as you need it to be. Sounds too good to be true but really the only way to find out is to try it.

For me as a therapist it is a way of delivering the touch with out having to ruin my hands or wrists. A lot is delivered using the soft part of the forearm but the whole thing is about my posture and using judicious amounts of weight, or not, depending on the client’s needs. To find out a bit more follow this link to my No Hands website. http://tinyurl.com/kl3y4d

The New Clinic

The Clinic started life as a cottage that had been abandoned sometime in the 50's and had become almost derelict. Husband Dave was bemoaning the fact that he had nothing to do and was told to 'get on and point up the brick work on the old cottage before the thing falls down completely'. Being relatively obedient, and obviously so bored that anything was better than nothing, he duly started mixing cement and pointing up the cottage. As work progressed the idea of a clinic began to evolve in my mind.

Up until now I have been taking Chiropody and Reflexology to clients' homes and as I live in a rural area this involves a fair amount of driving, which obviously limits the hours that I can work. In addition I am unable to carry out the massage treatments that I enjoy due to the constraints of carrying the massage bench around with me. Early on in my career I had done this and it certainly contributed to back trouble. In January 09 I went to a No Hands Massage course and I was reminded of how rewarding giving massages could be. These reasons also added to the idea of having a clinic at my home, and where better than in the old cottage.

Luckily Dave was in agreement with the idea and the work shifted up a gear or two. Planning and Building Regs were applied for and approved, and Dave began to renovate the building in earnest. As each stage is completed I am getting more and more excited about the prospect of working from home. So many people have shown an interest in what is going on that I am going to use this blog to let you know how it is all going.