Nigel, Author at Natural Touch Massage

Introduction to massage

Learn how to give great massage and share with like-minded people on this short course.

Learn massage for use with family and friends
Enjoy giving and receiving massage in a small group
Develop skills and confidence
Suitable for beginners
A first step if you’re thinking of becoming a massage therapist

On this course you will learn the principles of effective massage and practically develop your skills and confidence.

The course takes a holistic, person-centred, approach which encourages you to develop your own practice. It will help you develop your self-awareness, sense of touch and intuition. At the end of the course you will be better at discovering what someone needs from a massage and how to give it. You will learn a range of techniques for different parts of the body and deepen your understanding about how massage works.

There is time to practice, discuss ideas and ask questions. I am always on-hand to help and guide. You will also learn that massage isn’t hard work and that giving massage is enjoyable and rewarding.

The course is taught in a practical way, working hands-on with other participants in a small group.

The course runs as six 2-hour sessions, usually over six weeks.

Your tutor
Nigel Williams is a qualified teacher and has been a massage therapist since 2006.

Please email to register your interest.
nigel@naturaltouchbath.co.uk

Read comments from previous participants

What happens after the course?

Helping you find the off switch

It isn’t always easy to relax.

If it was no-one would suffer from tension, but the reality is that when we get stressed our brain won’t stop and our bodies are tight. Being able to relax can seem a million miles away. We help you come home.

Laura (not her real name) was suffering stress at work that she couldn’t let go of. Thoughts were going round in her head at night – trying to find solutions and blaming herself for not being able to sort it out. Her shoulders were stiff and sore, she was starting to get headaches and she had a week off work due to stress.

Making the decision to come for massage was a turning point – recognising that she wasn’t coping well and that it’s ok to reach out for help.

Laura’s first session established a direction. Her therapist explored her needs and suggested approaches.

They agreed her massage should focus on two areas. Firstly, working with the tightness in her body. Not trying to force out the knots, but to help connect her physical tightness with the part of her brain that’s triggering it – sending the signal back that it’s okay to let go. Secondly, the treatment helped Laura support her relationship with herself by finding ways for her to bring her attention to her body.

She left feeling calmer with a little more space in her body and her mind. She also had a sense of what it feels like to relax to take away with her and an experience of connecting with her self that will help her find her own direction through a difficult situation, helping her direct her energy away form criticising herself and towards caring for herself.

If you need help with relaxation please get in touch. We are the natural choice for massage in Bath.

Back massage

What to look for when you’re considering back massage in Bath.

Poor posture, mental tension and injury can lead to tightness, soreness and pain. Early intervention can help.

Long periods of sitting or driving lead to lower back ache which can progress to stiffness and pain – often associated with tight hips

Before we begin we’ll take some details. Tell us what you’re feeling and a brief history of how it’s developed. That helps us understand what’s going on.

The first stage of the treatment covers the whole back. It starts the relaxation process and introduces movement and warmth and soften the muscles and tissues. During this process your therapist is already exploring areas of focus.

In stage two we go deeper, building a picture of the areas of tension as we work in to them. Here you start to notice the effect of the massage as your body softens your breathing slows and you begin to feel calmer.

Stage three gives specific treatments to affected areas. That might be deeper, slower massage using more pressure, stretching, trigger point release, working with connecting tendons or fascia. You’re going to feel this – in a good way! Deeper work can be deeply relaxing and the physical release is mirrored by a mental release.

At the end you’ll have a few minutes to relax and move slowly when you’re ready. There’s time to talk about what we’ve found and discuss the next steps.

“I had the most amazing treatment yesterday with Eva. I have been suffering with back pain and had no idea this place existed and I’m so glad I’ve found it. It was the most amazing massage; I felt relaxed on a deep level after the treatment. Thank you so much, I can’t wait to book again and will recommending you to everyone!
Juliet (Google review) Jun 2022

Meet our team. All our therapists are MTI professionals.

Academics and students

If you’re spending longer on your computer than you would like, trying to meet deadlines or coping with increasing amounts of work you may not be realising the effect it’s having on your body. The more we’re in our heads the less aware we are of our bodies so, when that tightness in our shoulders or neck starts to twinge we’re already a few steps down the wrong route and might need some help getting back where we should be before it gets worse.

We can help in two ways. Firstly manipulating your muscles and tissues, breaking down congestion and triggering release and secondly engaging your conscious and unconscious mind with your body, revitalising the pathways between them so that you’re less likely to fall again. And the more you enter into that state, the more the pattern is reinforced.

The delightful side effect of this is that you’ll be happier in your inner world.

People suffering with stress, anxiety, depression or loneliness know how important our state of mind is and this can be the main focus of massage therapy for anyone.

We also know money is tight so we offer a 10% discount to students. Just mention it when you’re telling us what you need.

Holistic massage

Holistic massage helps you on your path through life, supporting you physically, mentally and emotionally. Together we look at you as a whole person. Clients often want to tell us about their life, challenges they face and where they would like to be. Our caring and empathetic approach can help them find their way.

Time spent talking before the treatment is important. We want to connect with and understand you and how you feel. Thoughts and images give an insight into our deeper inner world.

Once we start the massage we use the image we have built as our starting point, transforming our sense of what you need into touch. We are watching out for your body’s response. Things we notice guide our work and can be points for discussion and progress.

Physical touch can help you draw your attention into your body. Increased awareness and mindfulness can improve your mental and emotional health. Touch can help us connect with our emotions. It can be nurturing, supportive, connecting, challenging or playful.

There may be discussion along the way or you may want to quietly focus inward.

At the end we bring you gently back to present. There’s time to take a moment for yourself, share your experience and reflect on it together.

Holistic massage can complement yoga and meditation.

Choose holistic massage:

To help you through a difficult time
To become more aware of your body
To connect with your needs and motivations
To work on your relationship with your body
As part of your spiritual development

“Eva was absolutely amazing. She’s so attentive and really listens to what you need, be it physical or mental. I had an hour massage and left feeling completely relaxed and like I’d reset a little. The practise is in a brilliant location too! V much recommend.”

“Nigel’s massage stands out because he co-works with my body, bringing holistic insight & sensitivity to his practice. He creates a safe, comfortable environment where I can relax & connect without distraction. His approach strikes the balance between professional and personal, I feel listened to and appreciate the skill he applies intuitively for making each massage unique.”

Preparing for a performance event

So you’re training for the big day. Can massage help?

People often think a massage will be useful after a big event, but how can it improve your performance? Building a few massage treatments into your training plan might just help you keep on form.

So how can massage help?

1. During a performance event you are probably going to push your body beyond what you’ve done in training. Something is going to limit your performance. Massage can help you deal with problems as they arise in training so they don’t come up and bite you when it really matters.

2. To work efficiently muscles need to engage and release. You may be putting a lot of effort into engaging muscles, but not thinking about them releasing. In its optimum condition muscle become soft when it relaxes – feel the difference in you biceps as you tense and release. A massage which pinpoints tight muscles can help release them and, importantly, give you the know-how to work with them yourself.

3. Your massage therapist can help you tune in to and understand the feelings you get in your body and advise on the right course of training. If you get a pain, for example, should you ease up your training, stop all together or carry on with your plan? What stretches or specific exercises might help?

4. Most events require strength and suppleness. Rigidity anywhere in your body will hold you back. The same applies to poor posture.

5. and last, but not least, you will feel better, happier and more relaxed. But that’s for wimps, right?

And if you want a massage afterwards to celebrate your achievement, well you deserve it.

Prices and booking

Remedial massage

Remedial massage works with whatever problem or problems you are suffering. This could be lower back pain, limited movement in the shoulder, difficulty sleeping or headaches.

We look at the whole picture, listening to what you tell us and using what we feel to inform our direction. We work with you to create a massage that best suits your needs.

We’ll use direct massage techniques where we find muscular related problems and more soothing and nurturing techniques as required. Where a site is too painful to work directly we can use other strategies.

Remedial massage can also be used to investigate problems and help you decide on any further treatment. Discussing problems during the treatment can be helpful. Attitudes to health and well-being and your relationship with your body can be useful topics of conversation. Where we offer advice it will be constructive and realistic.

Our approach to remedial massage

Our massage is not painful. We believe that pain is part of the cycle of tight muscles. We want to create movement and flexibility without triggering a counter-productive pain response.

Our approach is flexible, informal and open.

Understanding. It’s important to find out what’s happening.
Effective massage.
Recommendations. We can help you understand your symptoms and suggest the next steps.

“Nigel listened attentively to my sports related issues. A couple of sessions made a huge difference in my training. I’d recommend his expert sessions to anyone with serious goals in mind. Being in my 40s i needed advice on continuing and preserving my limbs which Nigel provided.”
Simon (Google review)

Weekend Massage in Bath

Make the most of your weekend. Enjoy a relaxing treatment in Bath with us.

We offer a professional therapeutic massage that listens to your individual needs but costs no more than a hotel or spa treatment and if you’re with someone special look out for our Massage for Two that can make your Saturday or Sunday very special.

Individual

£70

Any massage
60 minutes
Weekend

Check Availability

Individual

£95

Any massage
90 minutes
Weekend

Check Availability

Massage for Two

£150

Any massages
60 minutes
Weekend

Check Availability

Massage for Two

£200

Any massages
90 minutes
Weekend

Check Availability

Massage therapy

What to look for when you’re considering therapeutic massage in Bath.

Many of us turn to massage when we have a particular need – usually physical, often with a mental or emotional element.

At Natural Touch we consider ourselves primarily as therapists – working with people. Massage is our method of engagement.

As you would expect, we work with physical tension, restrictions, mobility and pain. We’re also concerned with stress, your relationship with your body and your response to injury or illness. We’re interested in life choices and their influence on health and happiness. We offer a space to concentrate on you and your wellbeing.

You are welcome to come for a single treatment or to arrange a sequence of treatments. Your therapist can help you understand how massage can help.

Your natural choice for therapeutic massage in Bath.

Meet our team. All our therapists are qualified with the MTI.

Have a question about massage therapy in Bath?

Making quality

How can we honestly say that our massage the best?

When a Natural Touch therapist asks you about yourself they really want to know. We build a sense of how you feel and understand what you need. Blended with professional experience and intuition it forms the basis of an effective treatment.

If your situation is complex we’ll do our best to unravel it. We won’t reject you because you’re not an easy case and only care about profit.

The time we spend listening to is an essential part of our understanding. We are not using the time trying to sell you a product.

Our excellent therapists get paid a good rate and our standards are high. All our therapists are MTI qualified. That’s the gold standard. In short that means they are everything you would want a massage therapist to be.

We don’t offer enormous range of therapies that you have never heard of. Our focus is on the quality of our work.

You have our attention. Through out your treatment your therapist is aware of you and aware of what they are doing and how you are responding. We don’t follow routines or just act out a massage.

We are truly holistic. We take into account all the relevant factors and work with you as a complete human being.

We don’t know what’s going to happen. We start from a blank canvas – open to what might happen.

We understand that everyone is different and won’t make assumptions about you or your situation.

We want your experience to be educational as well as enjoyable. We will engage you in the process and feed back our understanding of your boxy. We’ll also encourage you to remain present so that you are developing your relationship with your body.

And all this costs a lot more, right? Well no, we pay our therapists well, but unlike hotels and spas, we only take a small profit, so you get top quality massage for a fair price.

We a local independent business. We over the same service to visitors as we do you our local clients.