Our Massage for Two is the perfect opportunity to share your massage experience. You’ll each have your own personalised treatment, but you’re together in the same room.
Celebrate your holiday in Bath together or a special occasion such as an anniversary.
Let us know what you would like and we’ll arrange it for you.
We welcome and accept everyone irrespective of gender identity, sexual orientation or relationship status.
The quality of our deep massage in Bath makes Natural Touch stand apart from other massages.
There are times when you need depth. You need a massage which really gets to the nub of the problem. From a therapeutic viewpoint depth isn’t just about pressing harder it’s about encouraging opening and release.
When tension and pain wrap around a problem it becomes worse and life becomes difficult. The wrong type of intervention may be ineffectual or painful – aggravating the situation.
We understand that opening is a journey, gaining the trust of yourself and your body and connecting with the right point at each moment – the place where you can choose freedom instead of pain. Once release occurs there is relief and the healing process can take its course. A therapist who can do this consistently well – and knows just how far to go – is truly skilled and makes all the difference to the experience and effectiveness of your massage. In fact many of our clients are surprised to find that massage can be this good.
Deep work is just one of the the approaches we use. Each of our treatments is individually designed to give our clients maximum benefit from each session.
If you feel we might be able to help you, please get in touch. We would like to hear from you.
If you’re looking for a body massage you’re probably thinking about relaxation, about any aches and pains you have and looking after your long term health.
A good massage gets into your muscles, stretches you how you need to be stretched and leaves you refreshed and calm.
We believe that the best massage comes from focusing on you as an individual. Our therapists listen and engage with you. They choose an approach then adapt as they discover how your body responds.
You can opt for full body massage or focus on the areas you need. Don’t want your feet touched or love massage around your head? No problem. We can do that for you.
Every treatment starts with a discussion about your needs.
Nigel talks about creating a therapeutic space where the agenda is set by the client and nothing is pre-planned.
Welcome to Natural Touch. Not all massages are the same.
Our posture – the way we hold and move our bodies – depends on our activity, our habits and our emotional state – and it can change.
Posture is a recurring topic for us. People wonder if poor posture is exacerbating a problem. Sometimes we notice a pattern suggesting posture is a factor. Poor posture can cause problems, but it’s also a symptom. If we want to improve posture it helps to remember that is the result of circumstances – physical and psychological.
Unhelpful inherited values
We’ve all tried “standing up straight” only to flop back down a few moments later and give up. It’s easy to conclude there is no point trying.
There are so many things wrong with “stand (or sit) up straight” it’s hard to know where to begin. Firstly it assumes there is good and bad posture – not very helpful. Secondly the negative tone has echoes of a parent or militaristic school teacher. It makes us think that it’s our fault we have “bad” posture.
When we do try to adjust our posture we’re probably not sure what we’re doing. We have no route to progress and nothing to guide us. We didn’t decide how we would like our posture to be and how to achieve it. It’s also really hard work. We’re trying to force ourself into a shape we’ve labelled “good” posture and soon stop because it’s so much effort. When we do stop our body reverts back to the position it was in before. We call it failure and don’t want to try again.
So, let’s take a more sensible look at what forms our posture and how we can work with it.
Our posture isn’t set. Our bones are dynamic – moved by our muscles. Our spine is a series of joints, each with a range of movement. Habit and how we feel are also very important. We are generally not aware of our posture. Our unconscious mind takes care of it. Luckily for us though we can take control and with practice change the pattern.
You can change the position of your body more easily than you think. The trick is to find a position which is comfortable and looks good then you will want to adopt it. It’s then a matter of forming new habits.
It helps to look at the whole body. The angle of our pelvis, for example, is going to affect our lower spine, which in turn affects the upper body shape.
A positive attitude is important. We are moving to something better for ourselves that we have chosen.
Because it’s hard to do this on your own I have designed a practical workshop to look at your posture, see how you feel about it and how you would like it to be, make some suggestions and together come up with one or two easy things you can repeat frequently throughout the day – positive steps towards the posture you want.
Posture workshop
My posture workshop is to help you
– know where you are starting and what you are trying to achieve
– feel confident about what you are doing
– find something sustainable you can integrate into your everyday life
– find something realistically achievable that will give you results
– feel supported in the process and have something to guide you
What happens in the workshop?
We look together at your posture and talk about how you see yourself and how you would like to be. Using photography helps.
Then I help you find a new posture – something you feel good about. Again we can use photos and see how you feel when you see yourself.
You’ll get chance to try your new posture – take it for a test drive. We want to make sure it’s going to work from day 1.
Once you have found and practised your new posture, you can leave with a sense of purpose, direction, realistic expectation and the photos to remind you, inspire you and guide you. I can also check up to see how you are getting on.
Following lines of tension finds the areas that really need massage.
It’s quite common for people to feel pain at a specific point, but following investigation we often find that the painful spot is part of a wider band of tension. A typical example is lower back pain which can result in sharp, painful twinges often triggered by a particular movement. There’s probably tension down into the hips and up into the back.
In this case I explain that I’ll work at the point where the pain occurs, but also explore a wider area. What I want to do is uncover the whole chain of tension and work along that chain so that the whole problem is reduced. I’m using my sense of touch to check the condition of the tissues – muscles and tendons – and locate the tension. Healthy muscle is soft and flexible. Muscles which feel tough aren’t able to release properly. The associated tendons, which connect the muscle to bone, feel like taught ropes.
Once I massage into these areas clients can be surprised that they are tender, but welcome the relief. It’s taking the pressure off the painful area.
The pain is often due to muscle damage so I will work carefully in that area. Pain causes more tension and that’s counter productive. People know what feels right for them so I just ask.
Once the treatment is over the pain should be eased and the client feels more relaxed. We also have a better understanding of how their body is behaving. We might talk about possible causes and explore possible solutions such as stretches or movements they can do themselves or changes they can make to their environment or activity patterns to help.
One massage can often be a turning point and indicate the next step towards recovery.
How massage therapy can help when you are in pain.
Pain is relevant to massage therapy in a number of ways. In this article I look at the treatment of painful conditions such as lower back pain.
I have seen how pain can impact people’s lives. Pain effects everyday activities and can be upsetting and worrying. Pain makes it hard to concentrate on other things. People suffering from pain adapt their movements and activities in an attempt to avoid it. Clients say things like, “The only position I’m comfortable in is x, y or z and that’s getting worse.” The body also adapts unconsciously by changing posture and calling on other parts of the body to take the strain.
Of course pain can be a symptom of many things and if you’re not sure, do see your doctor. If however your pain is muscular then you might find that your GP doesn’t offer much help to address its cause.
Massage works to relieve pain in a number of ways. 1. by finding and relaxing muscle tension that is causing or contributing to your pain. 2. by relaxing the whole person 3. by changing the way you perceive pain 4. by helping you understand the mechanics of the problem you are experiencing. 5. by helping you make beneficial changes in your life 6. by changing the way your body feels and the way you feel about your body.
As I therapist I need to be sensitive. I don’t want to trigger the pain – which would exacerbate the problem. I have a range of techniques so I can adapt around the sensitivity yet still be effective.
A client I saw recently had stiffness in his neck which caused pain up into his jaw and temple and behind his eye. During his massage sessions I’m working to help release his neck which is the immediate cause I’m also working around his hips and back to help his posture – and we’re discussing the influences which affect his everyday posture. It’s also a supportive environment where he can talk about his health and take time to relax.
As I work into painful areas I’m using my sense of touch and my clients reaction to judge what’s needed. As well as providing physical relaxation, I want my client to experience that part of their body in a new way; a way that can respond positively without pain. I think this is an important part of my treatment as it breaks the cycle of pain and tension.
After treatments clients report feeling looser, have increased movement and simply feeling better. Sometimes there are great steps forward in a single session, but I can’t promise.
Once a particular issue is resolved, people often opt for a regular treatment to keep them supple and head off any future problems.
If there’s anything you would like to discuss, please call me.
| Call 07941 094318 |
The shoulder is complex. There is the movement of the shoulder itself plus the movement of the arm. It’s easy to confuse the two.
Shoulder movement
When you let your arm hang loosely you should be able to move your shoulder upwards, downwards, forwards and backwards. You should also be able to make forward and backward circles with your shoulders. When you let your shoulders drop you shouldn’t feel pain or tension in your neck or the top of the shoulder.
Shoulder movement is controlled by six muscles which attach to the shoulder blade and/or collar bone. If there is pain or restricted movement these are the places to check.
Arm movement
Holding the shoulder in a neutral position you should be able to move the arm in all directions and make full circles.
Muscular pain sometimes feels like it is in the shoulder joint when the cause lies in one of the muscles that connect across the joint. Particularly the group known as the rotator cuff that also hold the upper arm into the shoulder socket.
Other muscles such as pectoralis major (pecs) and latissimus dorsi (lats) are important in arm movement.
Treatment
Identifying the cause of the pain is important. In my work I’m dealing with problems which relate to muscles and tendons, which is probably the majority of shoulder problems.
I’m able to tell the state of muscles by touch and help my clients understand what they need. It could be massage, rest, gentle exercise, stretching or a combination of these.
See also Deep tissue massage
Two treatments this week seemed to reflect opposite ends of the spectrum.
The first was a woman who is having regular treatments to help ease mental and emotional stress that builds up in her body. On her first visit she was worried that the massage would make her feel painful afterwards. I was careful to make sure it didn’t. We’ve since built a deeper relationship. She is currently experiencing a number of symptoms related to hormonal changes. The massage is a bit more physical now, but with sensitivity.
In contrast I treated a man who comes periodically with accumulated muscle tension – knots and clunks in his shoulders and neck. I found myself using the most directed pressure I’ve ever used in a treatment. I had the majority of my body weight directed through my elbow into his shoulder. This type of treatment also requires sensitivity. It’s so important the person’s comfortable with the pressure and obviously needs to be applied in exactly the right spots. For him, it works and he leaves relaxed, looser and happier back to his family.