Illness, Oncology & Recovery Therapies
Our daily lives can be overwhelming at times and the effects on our minds and bodies can be very stressful when you are full of uncertainty and a changing new way of living. I know that when you become ill you can have physical symptoms as well as emotional symptoms, especially with long term illness and cancer diagnosis, and my therapies can be combined to help support you on how you are feeling at your appointment. Looking after your body & mind is soo important when you have become ill, and there are lots of things you can do to help your body recover. Positive thinking, relaxation, a healthy diet, regular exercise, good sleep and social support all promote health and wellbeing.
My Mind-Body Relaxation therapies are explained across my site, and on down are some of my therapies to help you choose your suitable options. If you need any help to choose your Recovery Therapy I will send you a consultation form by email or WhatsApp before booking your chosen therapy. Also feel free to contact me to schedule a chat to see where to begin. I am also a certified Oncology Massage Practitioner and can help you throughout your cancer journey.
When you have been ill, stressed or inactive for a while your body starts to tell you it needs attention and unfortunately you need to give your body this. We humans are a breathing network of mini rivers (lymph, blood, energy) flowing, swirling and dancing through every corner of us. Your internal rivers need to keep flowing every day and there is no way around this. If these rivers become stagnant – from inflammation, poor movement, dehydration or stress then your body starts to feel it – brain fog, puffiness and swelling, fatigue and slower healing.
The constant ache in your back is not just stress or bad posture, it is your body in full blown inflammatory protest (myositis). When your back muscles are chronically tense, overworked or injured the muscle fibres experience local inflammation and heat, microtears or strain, accumulation of metabolic waste and inflammatory cytokines, restricted oxygen and nutrient delivery and the result is your uncomfortable pain, tightness, stiffness and fatigue.
So your symptoms of local tenderness to touch, limited range of motion, constant burning or aching pain, morning stiffness or tightness after sitting, radiating pain to the shoulders or lower back are not going to go away with doing nothing. No amount of just drinking water will help your sluggish lymphatic flow when your muscles are inflamed. You need to do something to help your body recover to enhance your immune modulation and healing response, so that your lymph can take away your cellular waste, excess fluid, toxins and immune by-products which all lead to increased swelling, longer recovery time, and more pain and fatigue.
To help your internal rivers have a healthy flow and stay fresh to give you more resilience and energy you need to clear out the stagnant build up and actively work on maintaining the amazing mini rivers inside of you, even through bed rest and inactivity from illness. To help keep your rivers sparkling and free to help look after you the advice is: Drinking plenty of pure water to bring fresh fuel to your lymphatic system is essential daily. You need to move your body – walking, stretching, moving to help your lymph system function. Gentle lymphatic drainage therapy (like clearing debris from your riverbanks). Deep breathing (your lungs act like powerful lymphatic pump). Dry brushing and self-massage (stimulating the flow along your rivers). Plenty of restorative rest for healing to happen (you need to be out of fight or flight mode for your body to heal you).
I have briefly explained some therapy options below to help you decide where to start and you can choose therapies to incorporate different healing modalities such as:
Recovery Immune Boosting & Wellness Services
Mindfulness Recovery Full Body Massage – Achy Muscular issues & long term stress friendly massage treatment to support your immune system. Includes relaxing Mindfulness Grounding Meditation to ease a busy mind with light massage techniques for lymph drainage with acupressure. More massage options on body page. Body brushing can be incorporated into this treatment if you find massage very painful.
Wellness Recovery Soothing Relaxation Treatment– Perfect for unwinding after a busy period or illness to release those feel-good endorphins to melt away stress, reduce muscle tension and improve your sleep quality. Grounding ritual introduces your body and mind to your relaxation therapy followed by acupressure focus points with a soothing aromatherapy scalp & face massage & heated sauna blanket. Fibromyalgia & diagnosed muscular aches friendly therapy or taster treatment for those recovering from illness. Fully clothed therapy option. (Wear vest & shorts). More fibromyalgia information on down.
Well Being Immunity Boost Signature Aromatherapy Restorative 2hr Treatment – Giving your immune system and body a restorative boost for health is the focus of this treatment. When you need to boost your immune system asap then massage is a good way to do it, and to promote a good night’s sleep. Products used in all my massage therapies have always been made by me and contain no nasties so that your massage therapy aids your recovery. Soothing Aromatherapy grounding ritual starts off your relaxing therapy and any swelling or sluggish areas will be boosted to remove any excess waste so the body is fighting fit to ward of illness. When your internal rivers run free is when you have optimum health and vitality. Grapeseed oil base. (Geranium, eucalyptus, cypress, grapefruit, juniper berry, lavender) (other options for your 2hr therapy on holistic page) (add heated infra-red blanket + £5)
Neal’s Yard Mindful Relaxation Facial – For you to take time to unwind, recharge and just be. This soothing Mindfulness Facial (non technology facial) using hand picked products to suit your skin type will give you and your skin some much needed TLC with calming and therapeutic aromas. I welcome you to your well being therapy with grounding techniques to help you switch off a busy mind. Whilst you relax I will tend to your skin care needs and release shoulder, neck & scalp tension with a soothing massage so that you leave rejuvenated, skin nourished and replenished. Ideal for all skin types and recovery from illness. Access to your shoulders, face & scalp required and you can remain fully clothed for all facials. This is a quiet relaxation therapy and no skincare advice is given so that you switch off.
Illness and medications can cause skin changes and sensitivity and contact me if you need any advice on how to care for your changing skin. If you have sensitivity and redness issues you will need to use natural skincare products and this is why I use Neal’s Yard Remedies Organic range. I offer free telephone consultations and just drop me a message to book your consultation.
Chatty Bench Holistic Therapy – just like the chatty benches around the country I invite you to come and talk to me when you just need an ear. Whether you would like to chat whilst having a facial, massage, or to come and learn some relaxation tools or tapping to help you relax that’s up to you. I am an experienced therapist and can simply just listen whilst you are reassured of my client confidentiality professionalism.
Oncology Massage Therapy Treatment – (pricing varies depending on length of appointment) – Oncology Massage is the adaptation of massage techniques to safely nurture the body of someone affected by cancer or its treatments. An oncology-trained massage therapist has completed comprehensive training in general massage therapy as well as additional specialized training that addresses the side effects of cancer and cancer treatments including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Even after active treatment, receiving massage from a trained oncology therapist is essential since some cancer treatments have long-term effects and require life-long massage modifications. For example, if lymph nodes have been surgically removed, a trained therapist knows of the risk of lymphedema, or swelling, and what precautions to take during the massage.
An oncology massage therapist will adapt for: Fatigue, Peripheral neuropathy, Low blood cell counts, Blood clots, Bone metastases, Radiation, Surgery Removal of lymph nodes, Lymphedema Medications, Medical devices.
Why get a massage during cancer treatment? – Everyone can benefit from massage. Especially someone going through cancer treatment. Massage can create a feeling of control, of comfort in one’s own body, of a chance to just BE. Review of the scientific literature indicates oncology massage helps improve quality of life. Patients and caregivers report a variety of positive experiences after massage from pain reduction to having a pleasant distraction amid medical procedures.
Reported massage benefits include:
REDUCED PAIN, DECREASED ANXIETY, REDUCED FATIGUE, IMPROVED SLEEP, DECREASED NAUSEA, DEEP RELAXATION, EASED FEELING OF ISOLATION, IMPROVED BODY SELF-IMAGE, INCREASED FEELING OF WELL-BEING, IMPROVED MOBILITY AND APPERANCE OF SURGICAL SCARS, REDUCED SWELLING, IMPROVED RANGE OF MOTION, EASIER ADAPTION TO IMPLANTS AND EXPANDERS & DIMINISHED DISCOMFORT OF PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY.
Please contact me on 07704550422 to arrange your Oncology massage.
Body Health Lesson – Journey to Ok – Chi gung adapted workshop to help you with troublesome issues at home that I recommend to start with if your aches shout the loudest. Heachache option workshop too. Information on Body page. (Suitable for cancer & illness recovery)
Emotional Freedom Technique lesson available – This works on restoring calmness to your body and mind and can work on absolutely any issue causing you stress or anxiety. You can share a lesson for a more general approach or come to me 1-2-1 for issues that are keeping you awake. Information on Mindfulness page.
How Therapies support you on your recovery journey below.
Infrared Sauna Blanket incorporated into my healing therapies is also how I help you ease muscular tensions, aches and pain with ease. It is also perfect for unwinding after a busy period and just 30 minutes can release those feel-good endorphins to melt away stress, reduce muscle tension and improve your sleep quality. (more deep sleep therapies on Holistic page). The relaxation benefits also help to calm your mind and promote as sense of tranquillity which helps you ease any anxiety held within your body. Because it can help detoxify your system it helps reduce inflammation (something that can actually cause your body to retain water and appear “puffier” than it would naturally). Fibromyalgia flare ups respond greatly to my infrared blanket therapy treatments as well as those of you who need a circulation boosting therapy. (You can remain fully clothed for this therapy).
Infrared sauna blankets gently heat your body to induce a comfortable sweat and the temperature can be controlled depending on your therapy outcome. The heat helps release impurities, heavy metals and environmental pollutants from your body, leaving you refreshed and rejuvenated. You can even use these treatments to help you minimise post workout aches and pains. The deep penetrating heat is really effective at getting rid of any stiffness and inflammation and can help you get back to exercise when recovering from illness. What’s more, the increased blood flow also boosts your circulation and your immune system from all the nutrients and oxygen getting pumped around your body.
Fibromyalgia and my approach.
With fibromyalgia the pain is more than physical and is often invisible to the outside world. Even gentle touch can feel like pressure. Designing therapies and treatments to help you is what I have been working on over the past five years. From my own health journey and working in body work over the past 30 years had led me to see that part of the answer lies in your lymphatic system. Whilst treating a wide variety of clients with diagnosed conditions the results are that everyone felt better after some form of lymphatic drainage therapy. Now research has linked fibromyalgia to central sensitization and this basically means that your brain switch is stuck on high. As well as showing you may live with chronic low grade inflammation, poor detoxification and mitochondrial dysfunction, and fascial restriction and fluid stagnation. In other words the body isn’t draining, calming, or clearing like it should. This is the reason why I have experienced good results with lymphatic drainage work through massage and non massage treatments.
So the bottom line is that you can’t over ride what your body is telling you. It needs your help more than ever to be able to function like the human machine that we all are. Your lymphatic system is one of the many rivers inside you needing movement and stagnation just backs you up leading to more discomfort for some. Fibromyalgia sufferers have bed days and better days and learning how to work with your body on both those days is the answer to feeling better. So when you are ready to start working with your human machine design model for those bed days and better days contact me for a chat to get you started. Remember that my Body health lesson – Journey to OK – is a seated one off lesson teaching how to work with your body at your own pace, works with your bed days and better days. 100% results so far. This information and slow, conscious body movement teachings are for you to use for life.
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils extracted from plants. Some studies have shown that aromatherapy can help with relief from anxiety and depression, improved quality of life, particularly for people with chronic health conditions. Aromatherapy is thought to work by stimulating smell receptors in the nose, which then send messages through the nervous system to the limbic system – part of the brain that controls emotions. When stressed you work with the flight or fight response in the body and your limbic brain which simply put – is the wrong brain working your human machine with different brain instructions. You need to turn on the correct brain with the rest & digest brain instructions and smell alone can do this. Aromachology works and by incorporating aromatherapy with natural essential oils can help you stay balanced and ensure your human machine is working with your healing and recovery brain. (Home care aromatherapy options also available).
Any Questions please just ask. Karen
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