Counselling & Shiatsu

Counselling and Shiatsu Therapy – Exeter, Devon

  • Shiatsu Courses, Exeter, Devon

    I am really enjoying offering courses in the “Shiatsu Shed” in Exeter, Devon. The space is perfect for a relaxing and supportive treatment but also big enough to hold small workshop groups.

    The Shiatsu Shed ready for a Course

    Shiatsu is a very supportive and nurturing form of therapy, that is tailored to the individual. Because the course numbers are limited they also offer a high level of support and guidance, and can be easily tailored to the participants.

    The two courses I have run already have been adapted to suit the participants that day. One course became focused on how to support oneself as a carer, and how to use Shiatsu to support someone you care for. The other course focused on how to support oneself as a massage therapist and how Shiatsu can help you find inspiration in your own practice. The second course would work just as well for yoga teachers, reflexology practitioners, acupuncture therapists, counsellors and any other therapists.

    In past careers I have always found myself drawn to the training and development aspect of a role. I have gained a fair amount of experience in delivering training and mentoring others. So it feels very special to be able to bring those skills into my Shiatsu business.

    I hope to offer more courses in the new year. I am excited to see what type of courses I end up developing and who I am approached by.

    The courses are offered in Exeter, Devon, although I can travel. They can be tailored for therapists of all types, massage, yoga, counselling. They can also be for carers, both professional and those who care for family members. The courses would also suit those interested in self care and self development. They would suit a group of colleagues interested in team building, or a professional organisation keen to offer self care and support to their employees.

    The courses are designed to provide a basic knowledge of what Shiatsu is, how to support yourself and how to give Shiatsu to friends and family. Numbers are always small and the prices are affordable.

    To find out more about my practice head to my Facebook Page

    More information on Shiatsu head to the www.shiatsusociety.org

    If you are thinking of heading to Exeter from further a field you may want to have a look at the Visit Exeter website.

    My practice is close to the main Exeter station – St David’s

    If you would like to come by public transport you can come to my practice using the E Bus

    To discuss courses do email me at amyhinkswright@yahoo.co.uk

  • Shiatsu Reccommendations, Exeter, Devon

    I love my job, helping clients ease their issues and concerns. Be it physical issues, neck pain, frozen shoulders, back pain, hip and knee issues. Or emotional or mental strain, anxiety, stress, insomnia, depression.

    So to hear from clients about how well the treatments are going is such a pleasure. I received this recommendation just thr other day…

    I am so overwhelmed with how I feel after my second treatment with Amy. She is very warm and intuitive and has given me some fantastic and nice to follow up and showed a lot of kindness. Having a safe space to completely relax and explore what my body is holding onto is invaluable to me at the moment. Thank you Amy

    I am also very lucky to have such a special space to practice in. My treatment space is ideal for relaxing. Its cosy and warm and a safe space to be in.

    I received the above quote as part of another recent recommendation. Again I feel so lucky to be able to help people make changes to their health, feel more in control of their lives and decisions and happier in themselves.

    Xx

  • Shiatsu and Digestion, Exeter, Devon

    I do have clients who come specifically due to issues with their digestion. However more commonly clients come with another issue, maybe back pain or a sore neck, for instance. They will then mention their poor digestion more as an afterthought.

    It is interesting to hear people talk about, or not talk about, their digestion. As a vital part of our health and wellbeing it is often dismissed as something that just has to be lived with.

    Clients with IBS, for instance, often support themselves well but don’t always believe that their intestines can work any better than they currently do. With Shiatsu support their intestines can be more consistent and feel stronger.

    Clients with a stomach imbalances, such as acid reflux and indigestion don’t always realise with gentle shiatsu work the issue can be eased and relieved.

    I have had a number of clients with gallbladder, liver and pancreas issues. Again with gentle shiatsu treatment, and some recommendations these issues can be supported and eased.

    Shiatsu can be really helpful in boosting and supporting the digestive system generally. It is also good at providing focused work on one particular area of the system.

    Also as part of a Shiatsu treatment I often offer exercises and lifestyle recommendations. This can really help with digestion issues, allowing a client to support their bodies between treatments.

    This is me doing self abdominal massage, which I can show clients how to do themselves. Great for keeping the digestive system moving and healthy.

    I love working with clients to help them change their situation. My sessions are very open and safe. Shiatsu is a very gentle and non-intrusive form of therapy.

    Watching a client feeling stronger and healthier is a joy. A client can feel so much healthier in body and mind once food is being processed, digested, absorbed, and waste excreted, efficiently.

    Few tips for good digestion.

    1. Chew, chew, chew. Take your time don’t wolf down your food. This means your stomach as to do less breaking down.

    2. Listen to your body. You know what foods feed your body and which ones don’t feel so good.

    3. Rest if you can. Take a little time after eating to allow your body to focus on the task in hand – digesting the meal.

    Xx

  • Shiatsu for Christmas? Exeter, Devon

    Gift vouchers available in any denomination so you don’t have to ask for/ but a whole session – although of course you can!

    Right now still plenty of time to post out the vouchers but they can also be emailed if preferred.

    Get in touch at amyhinkswright@yahoo.co.uk or call 07791 070837.

    What a way to get treated or treat someone for Christmas – a supportive, relaxing, and possibly transformational, present.

  • Shiatsu Self Care Workshop

    I have this course coming up in a few weeks time. Shiatsu is so nurturing and supportive and can easily be used to support oneself and those around us.

    Thsis course is designed to give an overview of how Shiatsu can help support someone’s self care routine. It will also be a relaxing and pampering day.

    Have a look at more details here

    Maybe see you there

  • Shiatsu in the Autum Time, Exeter, Devon

    Autumn is truly upon us. Here in Exeter the South West weather is in full motion. It’s wet and windy and we and building for a wild storm tomorrow.

    To me Autumn is a special time of the year, where we can begin to slow down after the social excitement of the Summer months. The colours seem to fill the soul with a warmth and cosy joy. The craving for stews and slow cooked foods begins.

    Shiatsu treatments in Autumn are about warmth and flow but also about the connection to the Earth. Often they are treatments with a certain amount of work focused on grounding the client. Shiatsu can help us understand what we want to let go off. Like the trees and plants dropping their leaves and fruits. It can also helps us understand what is important to us and what we want to hold onto.

    I am back to Shiatsu on Monday and looking forward to a week full of supportive and nurturing treatments. I am pretty full this week but have

    spaces for the week after.

    Have a great weekend everyone and stay safe in the storm.

    Xx

  • Personal Care Shiatsu Course, Exeter, Devon

    Excited to offering a course focussing on how Shiatsu can support you and those around you.

    It is important to look after our own health and Shiatsu has some great tricks and tips to help do this.

    It is a lovely thing to receive but it is also a very enjoyable thing to give. This course will give you a good basic idea of how to give Shiatsu to your friends and family.

    The course is only for a few participants so there is plenty of time for everyone to get lots of hands on work.

    Details of the course can be found here

    Xx

  • Shiatsu and Praising Yourself, Exeter, Devon

    Yesterday I was reminded of how important it is to really recognise and praise our own achievements.

    It is so easy to focus our energies on what more we would like to achieve and what we feel we haven’t managed previously.

    There have been lots of shifts and changes happening to my family and the people around me.

    Watching others achieve or get knock backs has brought up previous experiences and events in my life.

    I realised that I spent more time mulling over the events I felt were negative.

    So I got out a piece of paper today and wrote what I was proud of in my life, what I feel I have done well, the positive habits and behaviours I now have. Well it turned out to be quite a long list! Especially as it stands alone, I don’t need to compare it to other people’s achievements, it doesn’t seem possible when it is a piece of paper not thoughts spinning around my head.

    It’s a funny thing being in your forties, as I am. It is definitely a time of reflection and it is easy to focus on the negatives or feel like you could have achieved more.

    Shiatsu is a positive and proactive way to manage both health and lifestyle. It allows shifts of energy to take place in the body, easing physical issues and lightening emotional and mental strain.

    Shiatsu can build the self confidence of a client. They can begin to believe that changes are possible and once those changes have happened they can become permanent.

    It is a joy and privilege to help clients make positve changes in their lives. To feel like they can take control of their situation again.

    Often clients have had a long journey to get to where they are. Shiatsu is a space to take stock of how far a client has come. It focuses on the positives and looks to provide the energy and motivation to continue forward.

    I suggest everyone has a go at writing a list today. Enough feeling we need to achieve more and more focusing on the achievements.

    Xx

  • Shiatsu, Holidays and Chickenpox

    I am working this week, whilst balancing nursing duties to my two chickenpox-ridden boys. The life juggling just continues doesn’t it!

    I spent all last night between two hot, itchy boys, both wanting mummy cuddles for comfort. It took me back to the early days when they need you so much. Lovely to be getting extra snuggles but would like some unbroken sleep now please, and I’ve only done two nights!

    Caring for them has reminded me that nurture role comes quite naturally for me. Being a mother has deepened and expanded my Shiatsu practice. It’s a similar attitude that I approach my work with as the one I approach my mother role with.

    Shiatsu for me is about listening clearly to a client. What is it that they would like to change? Heal a physical health issue, drop past patterns of behavior or habits, shift their mental and emotional responses?

    Shiatsu uses hands-on work to create change for the client. Approaching their concerns through the body first, not thinking it through, not trying to create solutions immediately, just feeling and listening first.

    I try hard to hold an open space for my children, to hear what they would like, how they are feeling. Easy when they are poorly, ‘I feel itchy, I need a cuddle for comfort.’ Less hard when busy lives are happening and so little time to stop.

    My Shiatsu practice is a clear space where there is time and support for what needs to be said. This space for my practice reminds me to have it for my kids, and I am learning to have it more and more for myself.

    This week I will be treasuring the time I am getting with the kids. It’s a chance to reconnect and listen to their needs. It is also a chance to remember the early days and possibly the last time they will be so small. It feels like childhood illnesses always have an aspect of change to them. The kids seem to take a big developmental leap forward afterwards.

    What is nice for the kids is that they will be off school this week and then next week is half term. They will get two weeks off. I’m hoping the worst of it will be over by the holiday and we can enjoy a good break, more time together.

    I am back on monday 28th and have spaces that week. I love coming back from time off, refreshed and ready to get back to giving Shiatsu.

    Right now I’m off to read to my boys and make the most of the space chickenpox has created for us!

    Xx

  • Shiatsu and Mental Wellbeing

    Shiatsu and Mental Wellbeing

    Today is mental health day, which is great, highlighting this often hidden health issue. As a society we are getting better at acknowledging mental health issues and how important it is to support them. There is still a long way to go but great to see how many mentions of world mental hlath day I have seen today.

    Using touch Shiatsu can help support a client’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. How great not to have to try and dissect and analyse your feelings or concerns, simply to feel how you are when you are held by the practitioners touch.

    The Shiatsu approach can bypass the mind, where we can get caught up in trying to understand and remedy our issues. Shiatsu is a chance to be still and feel in our bodies what affect how lives are having on us.

    Shiatsu looks to find balance in the body, when there is balance there is relief and release of physical tension. With the release of the physical tension also comes release of mental and emotional tensions.

    A Shiatsu treatment is a safe and secure space where a client can be however they want to be. A client can be anxious, stressed, nervous, frightened even. A session can still be a success no matter how the client is, they can leave feeling emotionally supported and with a lighter mental load.

    Just having a space where you can be whatever and however you want can help a client. Often it can be hard to express to those close to us how we are mentally and emotionally. We don’t want to burden our parents, partners, friends. A Shiatsu treatment is exactly the right place to voice how you feel and what is happening for you. Some clients feels they are no longer managing on their own, they have the support of Shiatsu and a therapist.

    It is such a privilege to be able to support and facilitate clients as they make positive changes to their health, be it physical, emotional or mental. It is great to watch people regain their confidence and self belief, to have some sense of control of their situation rather than feeling their situation or condition controls them.

    So anyone is welcome and supported in my practice. Anything g can be discuused or not discussed. Everyone can be the way they need to be.

    Happy however you are day.

    Xx