The interplay between the mind and body never ceases to amaze me. The effect of mindful breathing must be one of the most striking everyday examples of this: I notice in myself and in my clients how deep, abdominal breathing with long out-breaths can calm the mind and release pain from tense muscles.
I’m fortunate to have worked with therapists whose clinical and intuitive approaches provide mind and body therapy, delivering both physical and emotional healing. Inspired by this to develop my own bodywork skills, I’m currently training in Soft Tissue Therapy at the London School of Sports Massage. I aim to expand my professional knowledge and experience so that I can provide effective treatment for people (sporty or otherwise!) with injuries or chronic pain issues.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Physiotherapy, Sports Massage or even Remedial Massage, but not Soft Tissue Therapy? Soft Tissue Therapy is a clinical practice based primarily on hands-on physical therapy techniques and secondarily on provision of exercises and lifestyle advice. Modern physiotherapy is tending towards less hands-on treatment, and soft tissue therapy has evolved largely in response to this and other changes in national health care provision.
Mel Cash of the Institute of Sport & Remedial Massage sums up what soft tissue therapists do: “Soft Tissue Therapists can safely assess, treat, and rehabilitate acute or chronic minor soft tissue conditions caused by injury, sport, lifestyle stress or illness. As well as addressing the primary problem, they analyse a wide range of other contributing factors, enabling them to provide treatment and remedial/preventative exercise/lifestyle advice to help avert further injury, and improve physical and psychological wellbeing in the longer term.”
I enjoy offering my own unique approach, combining Soft Tissue Therapy and Massage with mind-body balancing techniques such as Reflexology. I am immensely grateful to those who are teaching me and allowing me to work on them while I am in student mode! Whilst I know I’ll always be learning, especially from my clients, I do look forward to completing my current studies and being a professionally qualified Soft Tissue Therapist by the end of June 2019.
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