If the deep muscular fascia becomes restricted due to injury, stress, inflammation, trauma (physical or emotional) or poor posture, it can lead to myofascial pain, affecting our flexibility and it can impair the effective exchange of cellular nutrients and wastes.

Fascia is highly adaptable – stretching to accommodate, for example, pregnancy – but if subjected to prolonged tension, it can become thicker and less extensible. Because it is interconnected, the effects can be felt distant from the point of trauma – imagine pinching up the fabric of a stocking and seeing the fibres radiating out in wrinkles. However because it is thixotropic (it can change from solid to more liquid gel consistency) special fascial remodelling techniques can reverse this thickening and ’unwind’ the fascia.

These soft tissue manipulation techniques need initial gentle palpation and then focussed pressure and can constitute a whole treatment. It can also be very beneficial if carried out for a few minutes prior to applying oils for a massage. The therapist’s hands need to ‘engage’ with the underlying fascia and slowly ‘sink in’ to encourage gentle movement and heat to the area.

As a client you may experience a ‘softening’ of that muscle area, some heat, even twitching and a physical or mental sensation of ‘unwinding’. It may not seem a very ‘active’ technique but as with any focussed bodywork, it can be therapeutic and beneficial.

‘Ordinary’ is an emotionally charged word and can be defined as  ‘usual, normal’, or even ‘second-rate, inferior’. Do we really want to settle that in terms of our health?

“The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest”.[2] Elements of Complementary Therapies can be ‘ordinary’ in that they need not be complex or involve complicated procedures and there are a number of self-help remedies which you can practise at home. There are a number of goods on the market, such as pre-mixed aromatherapy products and Bach Flower Remedies which can safely be administered, providing the precautions and instructions are followed. Or perhaps an holistic health assessment might highlight that you may need to drink more water regularly to keep cell tissues hydrated and able to perform their function more effectively and efficiently.

In the holistic therapy clinic, some bodywork techniques may appear to be unspectacular or ‘ordinary’, but they can have tangible effects. For example, something as simple as a focussed, still pressure on the right place of a tense muscle gradually allows the muscle fascia to relax and ‘unravel’ knotted tissues.

Complementary therapies do need to be carried out professionally by a qualified therapist (for example, see www.fht.org.uk or www.naturaltherapypages.co.uk) and with an ‘extraordinary’ level of focus, energy and engagement in order to be effective.

“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary”[3] – if you haven’t tried any complementary therapy before – ‘risk the unusual’, and be prepared to be surprised how the apparently ‘ordinary’ can yield ‘extraordinary’ benefits.

[2] Sir Thomas More

[3] Jim Rohn

We might hang onto an unsatisfactory life situation simply because we’ve invested a lot of time and energy in it. It might be better to make a choice, even if the choice is to change nothing, rather than get stuck in the decision-making process and worry about all the possible – usually negative – outcomes. Usually once a decision is made intuitively, our energies become focussed into making that decision the ‘right’ one for us.

I suspect this could also relate to our health. We may have a chronic condition that we’ve got used to and have developed coping mechanisms to function adequately. We might be reluctant to change our lifestyle or have become ‘stuck’ in ‘satisfice’. In the case of our health, I would argue that it’s worth not settling for ‘good enough’ but to consider making a decision to change – it may be too late to reverse the effect of some conditions, but we may well be able to ease the symptoms, even if we know that we’ll never achieve ‘perfect’ health. Surely if the decision is to eat more healthily, drink more water, take more exercise or have a regular massage then you will feel better and you’ve nothing to lose – except weight perhaps!

The lifestyle assessment before your first holistic treatment is a good opportunity to assess what changes you might like to make. Some clients then find it useful to use the therapist as their external ‘conscience’ to provide useful feedback and help them implement and maintain those changes.

Being in an environment of trees and plants can be physically and emotionally beneficial. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as ten people inhale in a year and certain trees produce beneficial essential oils such as Tea Tree and Pine, or form the base for certain medicines such as aspirin and quinine.

The Tree Council[1] organised a ‘Walk in the Woods’ month in May to attract people who rarely, if ever, visit woods, possibly motivated by research[2] in Japan which showed that ‘forest bathing’ or ‘shinrinyoku’ measurably reduces stress levels, improves the immune system and regulates pulse and blood pressure. Being surrounded by the sights, sounds, smells and textures of a forest can also help to clear the mind. ‘Green Gyms’ [3],run by BTCV, is an initiative to improve well-being through involvement in practical conservation activities – some GP’s are advocating this project to patients suffering with mild depression.

Office workers have reported that they felt healthier and had fewer sniffles and sore throats when they have plants in their office. As well as boosting oxygen levels, plants are purifying and help clean pollutants from the atmosphere ‘tainted’ by photocopiers and computers. Apparently, Sansevieria (Mother-in-law’s tongue) is particularly suitable for busy people because it is indestructible and needs little watering! Furthermore, like Aloe Vera, the sap of the ehrenbergii species has healing qualities.

I’m thinking of offering, weather permitting, a brief, pre-treatment stroll in my garden to enhance the benefits of a massage!

[2] http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/025839.html

[3] http://www2.btcv.org.uk/display/greengym

Two clients have recently commented on the beneficial effect of the music during their treatment which they felt amplified the therapeutic effects, both physically and mentally.

As well as affecting our heartbeat, breathing and blood pressure, music is proven to affect the amplitude and frequency of brainwaves and change the dominant frequency from one stage to another.

Brainwave patterns are

• beta and gamma when we are active, busy, concentrating or anxious
• alpha when we close our eyes, are peaceful, reflect and relax
• theta when we are highly creative, insightful and intuitive
• delta when we are asleep and unconsciously process information

Ideally during a relaxing massage, we are aiming for alpha and theta states, which certainly tallies with the actual experience for most clients. Alternatively, if the work is more remedial which requires the client’s active participation, the beta or gamma states may be more appropriate.

Apparently when a brainwave pattern is practised over a period of time, the brain ‘learns’ that state – this is called ‘entrainment’ and it becomes easier to produce the desired brainwave state at will, as practitioners of meditation will confirm. Clients who are stressed may book for a series of massage treatments to regularly experience the alpha/theta states which they then, through ‘entrainment’ may be able to reproduce, perhaps by playing suitable music, when they need ‘down’ time.

I have a wide range of music which is covered by PRS licence so I, or the client, can choose an appropriate selection to instantly create a suitable ambience and enhance the therapy session.

Talking of music…. I and other therapists will once again be at The Gate to Southwell Folk Festival running the ‘Chill Out Zone’ from 5^th to 7^th June – do come and have a treatment from the wide range on offer. – see www.southwellfolkfestival.org.uk

I recently sprinted out to the garden, encouraged by the warmer weather, to move a mountain of earth to create my ‘dig for England’ vegetable patch.

I was far too enthusiastic in my task, so what does a remedial bodywork therapist do when she has mild muscle strain and aching shoulders?

Firstly I should have known better and taken it more steadily – resting every 10 to 15 minutes, interspersing the digging with an activity which uses different muscles and perhaps even done some limbering warming up exercises before lifting the spade and getting ‘stuck in’.

The effect of exercising hard or doing demanding physical work depletes muscles’ energy reserves and produces lactic acid which results in stiff aching muscles. Warming up beforehand increases the essential flow of oxygen to the muscles, increases metabolism to cope with the ‘waste products’ of muscle activity and allows the muscles to reach a steady state of functioning which maximises aerobic energy production.

But it was too late for recriminations, I was faced with needing to get myself limbered up and ready for my clients. I rested a while, did some gentle yoga stretches so that I didn’t ‘seize up’, had a warm bath, placed a heated wheat bag on the most aching muscles and finally did some self-massage techniques. But what I really would have recommended to myself as client was a deep massage using an appropriate aromatherapy blend and Hot Stones, concentrating on any trigger points of pain, all of which would relieve tension, help soothe the inflamed muscles and encourage a healthy blood flow.

I write this at the end of a day’s professional development workshop where we have been working on trigger points on back, shoulders and neck. It’s revision of a previous course and I can only say, it couldn’t have come at a more auspicious time – I now feel completely fit for work and out of pain.

In last month’s article on kindness, one of the keystones underpinning this generosity of spirit is the ability to identify with others’ pleasures and sufferings.

This requires a degree of ‘Emotional Intelligence’, a relatively recent behavioural model, rising to prominence with Daniel Goleman’s 1995 synonymous book. It means that we are aware of the emotions of other people and can manage our relationships with them. But the prerequisite is that we are able to understand ourselves, our goals, intentions, responses, behaviour and can control and manage our own emotions.

Sounds a tall order? Probably the majority of us do this without thinking or realising that’s what we’re doing.

If you look at the potential outcomes of healthy emotional intelligence below, it’s worthwhile doing a ‘mind and body check’ using the above criteria, to see where we are in our development.

“We may become more productive and successful at what we do, and help others to be more productive and successful too. The process and outcomes of emotional intelligence development also contain many elements known to reduce stress for individuals and organisations, by decreasing conflict, improving relationships and understanding, and increasing stability, continuity and harmony.”

So where does this fit in terms of bodywork therapies?

Imbalance in our emotional life leads to tension and stress which is evident in our bodily health. Which is one of the reasons that a consultation before any bodywork includes an assessment of your lifestyle. Close friends and other professionals, such as counsellors, life coaches etc. can support us in our search for a balance in our emotional health. This, in conjunction with bodywork, which can help release long-held physical tensions, may help us achieve emotional intelligence and a balance of mind/body energy which results in a feeling of well-being and allows our personal growth.

Kindness in words creates confidence,
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness,
Kindness in giving creates love. – Lao Tse

In the month of Valentines’ Day, when romantic love is feted, I look at another type of love – caritas – altruistic neighbourly or brotherly love and kindness. Caring about others, according to Jean-Jacques Rousseau is what makes us fully human and is a pleasure that is fundamental to our sense of well-being and the strongest indicator of people’s pleasure in existence.

Adam Phillips and Barbara Taylor in their newly published book ‘On Kindness’ purports that in a world of individualism and self-interest, kindness appears to have become a sign of weakness and such behaviour looked on with suspicion that its motives are self-seeking.

The meaning of kindness stretches from empathy, sympathy, generosity, altruism, benevolence, humanity, compassion to philanthropy. We may need to become more aware of our susceptibility to others in order to identify with their pleasures and sufferings –and do that possibly uncomfortable thing of walking in ‘another man’s shoes’. Kindness means we can bear the vulnerability of others and ourselves – we have to admit that we depend on each other in a world which values independence.

We know instinctively what the kind thing to do is and we know when a kindness is done to us. Whether the giver or the receiver, it gives us a sense of worth and. It creates the kind of intimacy and involvement with other people that we both fear and crave.

Being kind to ourselves is possibly the first biggest ‘hurdle’ to achieve kindness to others. This Valentine’s Day you could show kindness to your loved one with a voucher for a holistic therapy, or you could book some ‘time-out’, such as a massage, for yourself and either act will achieve not only emotional but also physical well-being.

“Kindness makes a fellow feel good whether it’s being done to him or by him”– Frank Clark

This time of year often heralds the season of viruses which diminish our energy and mood. The stress of the current economic situation combined with the busy-ness of the run-up to Christmas can deplete our resources.

Can we avoid those bugs or at least reduce the impact they have?

We can help boost our immune system and look at what we do to ‘give ourselves a lift’ which might, conversely, be compromising our healthy body balance – some chocolate, alcohol, cigarette, or perhaps something stronger?

How can we find healthy, safe, legal antidotes to the poisoning of our body and spirit?

Eating and drinking sensibly is an obvious first so that we don’t overload our body systems.

Exercise improves our mood by stimulating the release of endorphins which create euphoria and pain relief. Doing both appropriate aerobic and resistance exercise provides not only obvious physical benefits but while you’re concentrating on those activities, particularly if you do it with a friend, your mind is diverted from what may be worrying you. Focussing on your breathing during exercise will increase your lung capacity and help oxygenate the tissues and improve your energy and alertness.

Perhaps we can copy the unselfconsciousness of children enjoying themselves – be open, present and curious: we could try new things – keep our mental flexibility; we can stay aware of the natural world – keep our senses alert; appreciate our friends and partners – keep our heart open.

For fast-acting relief try slowing down. By allowing ourselves some quiet ‘down’ time each day and focussing on stilling our thoughts, the brain activity vibrations slow down towards the relaxing ‘alpha’ or possibly meditative ‘theta’ state.

Touching, for example sharing a hug or having a massage, nurtures our body and soul and, like exercise, raises our endorphin levels. It may also increase levels of other hormones such as DHEA – an anti-ageing, energising, anti-stress hormone.

It can be quite daunting to decide what kind of bodywork treatment you might want or need and where to find the appropriate professional therapist.

Internet research will highlight the essentials of each discipline and then it’s down to you, perhaps in discussion with your GP, to choose the most effective therapy for you. Many of the professional websites have a search facility on which can find the nearest therapist; you may be recommended a therapist by your GP or a friend.

It’s important to be able to trust that the therapist is well-trained, continues with their professional development and adheres to their professional body’s ethics. In addition you need to feel comfortable with that therapist, so take time to talk to them about what you can expect during a treatment, before you book an appointment. The range of therapists’ skills and treatments offered varies widely, so check what kind of techniques the therapist uses, to be assured that they will provide the kind of treatment you need.

You may want to enjoy a relaxing ambiance, some aromatic oils, with no demands on you to talk (once the initial consultation is done) and a treatment which encourages you to unwind and let go of body and mind tensions.

However, you may have body stresses and strains which have become habitual and ingrained. These conditions need more focussed, deeper bodywork on muscle, fascia, tendons and ligaments. This requires communication between the client and therapist during treatment, to pinpoint areas of tension and referred pain, so the remedial techniques will work at a deeper, stronger level, and may be ‘sandwiched’ between initial palpation assessment and a closing relaxation massage to soothe muscles and nerves.

Once you are clearer what you need, the choice will become easier.

Warm wishes for Christmas and the New Year.