Counselling & Shiatsu

Category: Dawlish

  • Happy Shiatsu Solstice, Exeter, Devon

    Happy Shiatsu Solstice, Exeter, Devon

    What an amazing Solstice day today. At least here in Devon we had clear blue skies & heady temperatures. I won’t deny that I am hoping the forecast for tomorrow, do it to cool a little, is actually the case. For a Summer Solstice the weather has felt quite fitting, for me.

    It’s been hard giving Shiatsu in this heat, windows open, doors ajar & still pretty sweaty work. I did feel the Shiatsu I gave today was really positive & the energy seemed to flow well. The clients seem to enjoy the heat, whilst I worked on them, so maybe this was a real boost in some ways. 

    I did also manage to find time to get to a favourite river spot for a bit of swimming. I went with my husband &, rarely, no children. It felt pretty fortuitous, to re-connect with my husband. Small children means we don’t see much of each other without them & when we do we are tired! So amongst work I felt a little but of Solstice magic may have been at work.

    Whatever you have done today I wish you all a great rest of the Summer.  

  • Shiatsu Massage for Hips, Exeter, Devon 

    Shiatsu massage can be helpful on many different levels, emotional, mental, spiritual & physical. I have found that it has given clients relief from issues with joints, particularly with hips. Shiatsu can be quite physically manipulative, which can work well for hip joints, as they are so large. Ir can also be very gentle when required & still have good results. 

    Shiatsu massage has been able to give relief from Sciatica to some of my clients. It has helped with tight hips & stiffness. It has become clear with some clients that they hold emotional tension in their pelvic area & this has released for them.

    Please get in touch, through the ‘contact me’ page,  if you have any questions or if you would like to discuss if Shiatsu maybe able to help you. 

  • Summer Shiatsu Stretches, Exeter, Devon

    There are different stretches that relate to different meridians (lines of energy in the body.) Each meridian related to a season of the year. The below stretches relate to the Summertime. As always with stretches warm up before & down after. Be gentle when doing them & don’t push. The idea is to take a few breathes in the pose. See how the body feels whilst holding it, tight or very comfortable, these senses may show an imbalance in the body. 

  • Shiatsu & the Summertime, Exeter, Devon

    Shiatsu & the Summertime, Exeter, Devon

    Yes Summer is here! What a beautiful day it’s been, hot, sunny & so easy to make the most of.

    Summer is the time of year when it’s right to get out there, make the most of the long days, socialise, travel & do lots of things. In our society we seem to push to try & do lots all year round. In the Autumn we should try to sit back & enjoy what we have achieved in the year. In the Winter we should try to rest, find stillness & regenerate some of the energy we have expended over the Summer. In the Spring we should plan & hatch ideas of what we want to do in the Summer. If we have rested enough in the other seasons we should have enough to get out there & really make the most of our lives.

    Because we try to push all year when we try to make the most of Summer sometimes we lack the resources to do so. We may start to get back pains or colds, we may burn-out, we may become hot-headed & feel our emotions are a little erractic. These are all signs of an imbalance in the body.

    Shiatsu massage is gentle but powerful. It uses lots of massage techniques to balance the energy in the body. Shiatsu is always given through clothes & generally on a futon mat on the floor. It can help calm the body, mind & emotions or can build up some of the energy that’s been exerted. It can make the client feel relaxed & more settled.

    I have practiced Shiatsu for 10 years & I work in Exwick, Exeter. Do get in touch through the ‘contact me’ page if you have questions.

  • Shiatsu for tiredness, Exeter, Devon 

    Shiatsu for tiredness, Exeter, Devon 

    We have very busy lives & as a result we are often tired. It’s hard to find the time to properly rest & recouperate & so we use up more & more energy. When we start to use up our ‘core’ energy, our reserves, then we really start to strugle. 

    There are ways to rebuild our rsserves. Resting, quiet time, away from distractions, meditation, mindfulness, stillness. Eating well helps. Within Traditiional Chinese Medication, one form of diagnosis used in Shiatsu, it is good to eat fish & or sea vegetables, watery soups & salty foods. It is helpful not to eat too many fiery foods, sugars, processed foods, alcohol & spices. Quiet exercise can be helpful, restorative yoga, gentle walking. Too much exercise can drain our energy, as can lots of socialising or partying. 

    Because Shiatsu works on balancing the energies in the body in can really make a difference to tiredness or energy levels. It can build up the core energy in the body, great if the person is completely exhausted or depleted. If there is a little more energy in the body Shiatsu can help it flow well. This can invigorate & motivate a client, they can feel they have the energy to acheive what they want to, when before they didn’t feel they could.

    If you would like to know if Shiatsu may be able to help support you then do get in touch, details on the ‘contact me’ page.

  • Shiatsu, Happiness, Grief, Emotions, Exeter, Devon 

    Shiatsu, Happiness, Grief, Emotions, Exeter, Devon 

    It’s been an unusual day today, a real mix, of real positives & real sadness. 

    I had a full day of Shiatsu massage treatments today, lots of different clients. I had a really lovely piece of feedback from a client who felt Shiatsu left her feeling cleared through & clean with a sense that she could acheive what she wanted to. The day felt a really positive & successful one.

    I have been feeling a little fragile myself over the last few days, it is the anniversary of my grandmother’s death tomorrow. The few days running up to her death were difficult & I have been revisiting my memory of this time last year. We had an impromptu get together tonight, as my son was violently sick on his actual birthday we had a beleated pizza party this evening. This allowed my mum & I to be together just when we needed to be.

    Also & incredibly difficultly it became clear today that a neighbour of ours maybe losing her battle with cancer. She is only in her mid 30’s & will be leaving behind a little girl of 6. I spoke with he family today, in the street, it was heart-breaking & seems so unjust. It feels unbearable to imagine what they all must be feeling. 

    Mixing this upsetting news with my own grief it has felt an emotionally charged day. My Shiatsu sessions seemed to mirror this. They were treatments that seemed to centre on emotions being held in the body. Shiatsu can treat the client on different levels, the physical, mental or spiritual & the emotional, which seemed to be the prevelant one today. 

    For my son’s birthday he was bought a Ukulele, he was so happy. He smiled, then laughed & cheered. It was infectious & joyful. We sang ‘happy birthday’ whilst my step father played & my son danced. It was joyous, with the family all around, a strong contrast to the grief & heightened emotional day.

    I feel blessed for having my husband & sons & such a supportive family around me. I feel blessed to have a job that I love & that allows me to support others with their emotional journey. Shiatsu has helped me process my grief & past emotional distress. It is supportive but also helps the energy flow smoothly, creating a sense of ease which can help emotional, mental or spiritual distress. 

    Thanks for reading and a good & peaceful night’s rest to you all.

  • Back pain & Shiatsu massage, Exeter, Devon

    One of the common complaints that people come to me for Shiatsu massage for is back pain. Often but not always it is lower back pain but sometimes it is middle back pain or neck & upper back pain. Shiatsu massage can be very successful at relieving pain in the back.

    Shiatsu works to balance the energies in the body, using meridians, lines of energy & pressure points, the same points that are used in Acupuncture. The meridians & points in the back are really effective & results can often be seen quickly when it comes to back pain. Sometimes the relief only lasts for a short period & then a few treatments quite close together, weekly or fortnightly, can be benefical. The period of relief from symptoms will hopefully extend further after each Shiatsu.

    If the back pain is due to an injury or accident & it is uncomfortable to massage directly on the area then it is possible to work it from a distance. As the meridians that Shiatsu uses run across the whole body it is possible to treat one area from a different part of the body. This can help to avoid aggrivation of a complaint.

    It is a really good idea to get treatment for an injury or complaint as quickly as possible. There is more of a chance or remedying it quickly. Shiatsu is also helpful for chronic & long-term complaints, particularly chronic back pain.

    If you are interested in whether Shiatsu massage may be of help to you or you would like to book an appointment in Exeter then do get in touch with me. Go the the ‘contact me’ page.

  • Shiatsu in Exeter, Devon 

    Shiatsu in Exeter, Devon 

    I thought it was probably time to write a basic blog about my Shiatsu practice here in Exeter.

    I have been practicing this gentle but powerful form of massage for 10 years, I qualified from a pretty extensive & intensive 3 year diploma course in 2010. I have continued to practice Shiatsu regularly since then. I began practicing in Exeter in 2013. N

    Shiatsu is a form of hands-on therapy. It’s an enjoyable & relaxing form of massage. It originates from Japan & it’s aim is to balance the energy in the body. It uses Traditional Chinese Medicine as a form of diagnosis & works on the pressure point & meridians (lines of energy) like Acupuncture & Acupressure also do.

    As well as being a satisfying & enjoyable treatment it can leave the client feeling re-energised & invigorated. It can relieve symptoms, pain & tension, as the body’s energy is realigned.

    My practice room is in Exwick, a quite area of Exeter, down here in Devon. My practice room is calm & peaceful. We will soon have a solid wooden garden room in the garden where I will be practicing Shiatsu massage from. My practice is near to the train station & there is a bus stop at the bottom of the road. It is also easily accessible by car & there is on street parking

    I am always happy to talk Shiatsu so do get in touch through the ‘contact me’ page.