A Bit About Me

Official Bio

 I have been practicing as a Holistic Hands-on Complementary Therapist and Healer since 2005, however this is not where my interest in the world of holistic and natural began.

For a very long time I have been interested in the areas of holistic and natural approaches as they relate to health, wellness, skincare and well-being since the mid to late 1990s.  This is an interest that has continued up until today and is coupled with an equal interest in the realms of Healing, Metaphysics and Energy Medicine.

I have great respect for the human form on all levels.  Our bodies are marvelous and I believe that they are innately intelligent.

Prior to being a Hands-on Therapist and Healer I worked in various roles in the UK Civil Service including Event Management, Project Management and working in the Private Offices of several Departmental Ministers.

A part of my mission, that seems to expand the more I move forward with it (yes, my mission is quite vocal and visual with me) is to share… share my years of experience and insights.

What I share and do here, and in other ways, I see as being three fold :

 1. To encourage a deeper sense and practice of selfcare and selflove

 2. To remind you that “it is you that is your greatest asset”.

 3. To help you understand the asset of ‘you’ as a unique, individual expression that is body, mind and energy with spirit and a soul.

Currently the other services I provide in addition to the Holistic Hands-on Complementary Therapies and Healing are what I categorize as my ‘Beyond the Therapy Room’ services.  These include :

•  A monthly e-letter (you can sign up at the bottom of this page)
• Online blog posts (you can find these under BLOG in the menu bar at the top of each page)
• Private one to one programmes (book a discovery session with me here or go to CONTACT in the menu bar at the top of the page)
• Speaking engagements
• Online courses (coming soon)

Holism

Holism comes from the Greek word ‘holos’ which means all, whole or entire.

In short, the idea (or concept) of holism is that part of a whole are intimately connected in such a way that they cannot fully exist interdependently from the whole neither can they be understood without  reference to the whole.

With holism the whole is regarded as much more than just the sum of its parts.

The word most commonly used today is holistic, which has its roots of meaning and approach in holism.

 You may (or may not) be wondering why … holism and holistic are relevant here in my Bio and ‘About Me’ page.

Let me explain.

 ‘Know Thy Self’

 I believe that in order to truly practice self care in a complete, whole and authentic way it is important to have an understanding of what constitutes or makes us up as individual human beings, both the physical and the non-physical.

 I believe that we are multi-layered and multi-dimensional.  When we begin to recognise, accept and understand this about ourselves, I believe that we will be in a position to be able to reach extraordinary depths of self care, wellness and wholeness of being. 

 This is something I believe.

 “Start With Why”                           

My ‘Why’ is : to help you understand your multi-layered, multi-dimensional self from a holistic stand point in a language that you can relate to, and in ways that resonate and feel in alignment with you and who you are.

 I believe that this understanding will assist you in practicing what I call ‘Extreme Self Care’.  This is something I encourage and advocate.

 I know that what I do and my ‘why’ is not for everyone.  I know it will only appeal to the few and not the many.  This is something I understand and accept.

 A Way of Life

 I have had a long standing interest in natural health, wellness and well-being as a way of life, which began for me around the mid to late 1990s.  This was quite a few years before the terms natural, organic, holistic, complementary, alternative or even vegetarianism or veganism were ‘en vogue’ or part of everyday conversational language as it has become.

Today there is an increased awareness, consciousness and consideration by individuals, from different walks of life on the planet, about their bodies, what they put in and onto it, which I believe is a positive thing and a move forward.  This increased awareness has also begun to extend its reach to interest in the origins of products and food stuffs as concern grows about environmental and ethical issues.

 From Mother to Daughters – A Natural Way Passed Down

I remember my mum had a few books about natural remedies, and alternative therapies and remedies.  Now I don’t exactly remember the dates, however two of these books (which I still have and use) were first published in 1991 and 1993.

My mum was always encouraging us, me and my sisters, to look at these books and other sources before deciding to go to the doctor or take prescription medication.

My mum had had her own history with doctors and hospitals, and I believe that her encouraging us to look at natural remedies, ways and alternative approaches, in addition to utilising allopathic medicine when necessary, was a valuable gift. 

What this gift helped me to see was that there is always another way, even if it is not visible or known to you (or someone else) in your moment of need, I believe that if you pursue to find and discover that other way, it will reveal itself to you.  This was something I was to discover many years later in 2017 during a period of ill health and recoverey.

 I also believe that my mum, as a child in the Caribbean island of Barbados, may have grown up around elder individuals who knew and trusted natural plant remedies and ‘the old ways’.

 A Square Peg

 When I first started to become increasingly interested in what I choose to describe as a holistic approach to my life, health, wellness and well-being, I was seen as a bit quirky, eccentric and  ‘way out’.  I would even go as far as to say, what would be described as in today’s language, ‘woo woo’, especially when my interest began to expand into the areas of metaphysics, the chakras, auras, energy medicine and healing.

 Things have changed quite a lot since then, and what began at a very grass roots level all those years ago is now a bit more mainstream (as I write this in March 2020).

Awareness has grown and continues to grow as does the information, which I believe has both its benefits and drawbacks.

An ‘Inspired’ Thought On The Train

 At this point you may be wondering how or why I decided to become a Holistic Therapist.

Was it a long held dream of something I wanted to do and was so following a passion? The answer is no.

 As already mentioned I had had for many years, and continue to have, an interest in complementary and holistic therapies as a way of maintaining my health and well-being.  I have, since the late 1990s, thoroughly enjoyed going for complementary therapy and spa like treatments.  I simply love them and see them as an essential ingredient to me looking after my health and well-being naturally.  After all I am responsible for me and my well-being.

 Although I had this love for receiving complementary and holistic treatments, which included healing, it never once crossed my mind to actually become a therapist myself.  It just didn’t.  I simply enjoyed having treatments thoroughly.

My choice of career back then was either going to be in Marketing, Public Relations or Project Management.

 My decision to become a Complementary Therapist came quite unexpectedly, out of the blue in fact, when me and some friends were on a train from Waterloo Station to Liphook for a discounted mid-week ‘girlie’ spa break at a Champneys resort in early 2004.

I distinctly remember having a thought on the train to ‘look into becoming a massage therapist’.

 Soon after this out of the blue inspiration I took the plunge and enrolled upon a massage diploma course with the Essentials For Health School of Massage, Aromatherapy and Sports Massage.  I felt In my element and when I qualified in 2005 from this first massage course I carried on studying in this fascinating field, which so resonated with me and who I am.

 I have been practicing as an Independent Holistic Practitioner and Therapist since 2005 (which was when I first qualified) and even to this day I continue to broaden my knowledge and skills in the field of complementary therapies, holistic health, well-being and spiritual development.

 A Little Background (Pre 2010)

 I am what I describe as an escapee from the world of the UK Civil Service where I spent many, many years in different roles with late nights, early mornings and project deadlines.

I have trodden the corridors of Parliament on many different occasions when I spent a period of time during my Civil Service Career working with Government Ministers.  I even had afternoon tea on the Royal Jet with full silver service when coming back from Brussels one afternoon with a Minister.

Although it was hard work with sometimes very long hours I had some enjoyable times and experiences in the Civil Service. 

I worked with some really good people in my career there and look back on my time in the Civil Service with many fond memories.

 So you see like most I spent many years working in a desk job in front of a computer screen or actively managing events, so on my feet for hours on end.  As a result of this I developed lower back pain when I sat or stood for long periods.  I also had a degree of built up tension in my upper back, neck and shoulders.

I would regularly suffer from debilitating tension headaches and migraines two to three times a month that would last for days at a time.

I am grateful that I had an existing interest in natural remedies and complementary therapies for it was this interest which helped ease the tensions, aches and pains when my GP could offer me no solutions to my lower back pain apart from a rather strange story which involved the evolution of mankind.

It was complementary therapies that helped ease the tensions and pain I was experiencing at the time.

This and a meditation practice helped me to manage stress better, focus my mind more and think with new and increased clarity.

 2017 – On The Extreme End of ‘Burnout’

 “I think it’s small moves that change our lives, but it’s usually the big events that get us to start making the small moves”.

Matthew Hussey

 I have always had a strong work ethic, since getting my very first job at fifteen years old in a local bakery chain on a Saturday.

This strong work ethic continued throughout my Civil Service Career, and remember one of my Senior Managers in a yearly review described me as very dedicated.

 When I became fully self-employed as a Holistic Practitioner and Therapist this strong work ethic and dedication continued in my practice and with the clients I saw.  I was doing what I loved and enjoyed assisting my clients to achieve their goals and relieve their pain, discomfort, tensions and stress.

Unbeknown to me previous years of working long hours, late nights and early mornings had already begun to take their toll when I chose to become fully self-employed.

With a short steep learning curve of running a business I slowly began to show signs of fatigue.

 When I look back and reflect I catch glimpses of how and when my body was telling me that it was under pressure/ stress and was on the edge of crashing out.

 Now I would like to say here that my experience with ‘burn out’was complicated when I caught a Winter stomach bug and heavy cold/ virus in December 2016 around the festive season.

Even several months after being discharged from hospital at the end of February 2017, I could not understand how this had happened … or how I had let it happen.

It had slowly crept up on me a few years before this around 2014/ 2015 when I had already had signs of feeling fatigued, however just thought I needed to catch up on my sleep and go to bed early. 

Life and work carried on.

It wasn’t until mid-2016 that I started to feel totally exhausted.  It was as if I couldn’t get enough sleep.  I would wake up tired and during the day I felt tired and just always fancied a little nap.

I felt tired all the time, however not once did it cross my mind that it could have anything to do with ‘burnout’ or  adrenal fatigue.

 Now at the time, late 2016, I did go to my doctor about the extreme tiredness and he did full blood tests including my thyroid.  He also requested a blood test to check my morning cortisol levels.  This one I had to go back for early one morning.

The results showed that a few readings were extremely low, including iron, and my thyroid, so the doctor attributed the tiredness to the low iron and prescribed iron tablets.  I was told to come back in a few months to have another full blood-test done.

 When I was referred to the emergency walk-in clinic at the hospital I attributed my feeling so un-well to the Winter stomach bug (Gastroentiatus) which, came back and wouldn’t shift.  This added to the existing exhaustion, until my system just said ‘no more’ whilst I was in hospital.  This was when my adrenals crashed.

 Reflecting about this experience in August 2019 whilst preparing for a talk I could see that what had begun as ‘burnout’/ adrenal fatigue had, un-addressed and un-recognised, progressed to adrenal insufficiency and an adrenal crisis, which in my case was the extreme end of ‘burnout’/ adrenal fatigue.

 The recovery was slow and took a few years. 

 I was grateful to the doctors and nurses at the hospital, however the doctors could only offer me prescription medication in the form of Thyroxine and Steriods, which they said I would have to always take for the rest of my life.

This did not suit me mainly because of the severe allergic reactions I was having to the medication, which had begun whilst in hospital.  In addition to the allergic reactions there were also the side effects, which I found unsettling.

I decided to find that other way.  I knew there must be one, even though at the time the doctors had told me that they did not know of any other way apart from the medication they prescribed, and indirectly dismissed my comments of seeking an alternative.

 My years of study and interest in the area of holistic, natural and complementary approaches were a large part of the recovery process, as was practicing self care and self love along with faith and trust that there was another way.

 So here I am today.  Different in many ways and in some ways the same.

 I remain enthusiastic and passionate about my work as a Holistic Practitioner.  I am fascinated by and have great respect for the human form on all levels.  Our bodies are marvelous and believe they are innately intelligent.

 I shall continue to add services beyond therapies and the therapy room as a part of the mission I believe I came back for.  These will be designed to help individuals to : 

• understand themselves holistically as multi-layered, multi-dimensional unique individuals and
• practice sustainable levels of self care and self love, what I term ‘Extreme Self Care’.

 Watch this space and website, or alternatively stay connected by signing up to my monthly mail out.

 A Soul-Angel

Some Things You May Not Realise About Me … 

• I believe in love. I really, really do. 
  

• I collect quotes.

I love them and love collecting them.  They are a source of inspiration for me many times.  For me in some instances a quote will have the exact words I am unable to find them.  I even have a sizeable collection of my own quotes too!

• I love to write.

I consider myself to be a poet and writer, and have written poetry since 19??.  I have promised myself to publish my works.  I would like to share them, put them out there.

• I can be ‘woo woo’ and ‘ultra spiritual’, however I do balance this much more with a good dose of logic, groundedness and pragmatism.
  

• I am a trained psychic artist and intuitive.

I sat in a spiritual development circle for seven years.  I still draw, my medium of choice being soft pastels or charcoal, however I am open to exploring other artistic mediums such as installations and photographs. 

• For me one of the most important things in this life experience is to ‘Know Thyself’
  

• The second most important is to be yourself and accept yourself. Oscar Wilde said it best when he said “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken”.
  

A Soul Angel