Have you got a nagging headache; feeling tension in your body; experiencing problems with your digestion; feeling tired or anxious? Maybe like me you tick more than one box?

There are numerous ways that we can try to relax and restore the balance in our own body heart and mind, with massage therapy assisting with that greatly. Given the right attitude and therapy we have the capacity to heal ourselves. However, looking out at the sea of therapeutic, holistic and deep tissue massage therapies, you may be unsure which to try first. All are fantastic at helping to heal the body and mind, but there’s only one that uses a stethoscope on your abdomen to listen to the sounds of your digestive system played over a speaker! Welcome to Biodynamic Massage.

I recently had a session with the lovely Liza Waller. After completing a health questionnaire together I was invited to lie on the therapy couch. It was totally my decision how much clothing I was comfortable to remove as Biodynamic Massage can be done over clothing. However, I knew that skin to skin would be more beneficial and felt at ease with Liza so therefore de-robed and slipped under the sheet and blanket. I admit that there was some apprehension about listening to my own rumblings (psycho-peristalsis), let alone a stranger hearing them, but it was oddly hypnotic. In fact when we experienced some slight feedback from having to move my leg, the machine was turned off and I found that I missed listening to the reverberations going on inside me. It was really good to focus on the sounds and feel ‘at one’ with my body during the course of the massage.  During the process I was invited to notice feelings and any images or memories that may arise. I couldn’t help smile at the reminder of the noises I heard before my pre-natal Doppler monitor picked up my daughters’ heartbeats.

Initially I was disappointed not to feel or smell the familiar oils used in massage, but it was actually quite nice to not have oil in my hair and sticking to my clothes when I got dressed again. Especially as I was returning to work after my lunchtime treat! Liza would be happy to use oils on the back if this is particularly requested but generally uses a light organic powder instead.

I had my upper back and neck massaged to begin, with the stethoscope placed under my abdomen (on the left, below belly button level) I then turned to have my arms, legs and then my head worked on, again with the stethoscope placed in the same area on my abdomen. Liza doesn’t analyse the sounds, she was however very interested in them, and the differences in sound when different parts of the body are touched and massaged.She says the sounds give her guidance as to what is happening in the autonomic nervous system (the part of the nervous system responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes) As well as food, the gut is digesting, processing emotions, filtrating experiences thoughts & memories, which all carry a level of energy of their own.

After having my body massaged I was encouraged to turn on my left side and Liza left the room to give me a few minutes of relaxation time alone. I didn’t need much encouragement and relished the quiet time to reflect. I was then brought back to reality with a light tap on the door and offered a glass of water and the time to get dressed before Liza returned. We had some time to reflection the experience together and how I felt now.

This massage works on the fact that we’re energetic beings, where good health is possible where there is a free flow of energy within the body. If an energy cycle is stuck or interrupted, this can manifest in pain, illness and negative emotions, this massage can benefit by releasing the stuck or stagnant energy flow. Biodynamtic Massage is a method first used in Norwegian physiotherapy then developed and brought to the U.K. by Gerda Boyesen, psychologist, physiotherapist and analyst. If this sounds like a therapy that can help you, then please give it a try. Tune into your body, listen to your digestion system gurgling mesmerisingly, and relax into a more balanced you.

Please contact the therapist directly for more information or to book a treatment here at The Body Junction
Liza Waller 07813 680 659

Written by Tracey Bartlett

The location of the Quads:

They are the muscles on the front of the thigh. They’re collectively the largest group of muscles in the body and are the group of muscles on the front and side of your thigh (Femoral bone) that extend over the kneecap (Patella), helping to keep your kneecap in place.

This muscle group is made up of FOUR Muscles:

Quadri is Latin for four!

1. Vastus Intermeius (in-ter-medias)
   • Vastus means great/big/vast
   • A deep muscle
2. Vastus Medialis (meed-e-al-is)
   • Vastus means great/big/vast
   • Medialis means its located on the medial side (inside leg)
3. Vastus Lateralis (lat-er-al-is)
   • Vastus means great/big/vast
   • Lateralis means on the lateral side. The Muscle on the outside
   • The largest muscle of this group
4. Rectus Femoris (fem-ore-is)
   • Rectus means straight muscle
   • Superficial layer (over the top of the other three)
   • Femoral muscle found running down the length of the femur.
   • The only muscle from this group that crosses over the hip joint and the kneecap and therefore referred to as the kicking muscle

Muscle group function:

• To extend the leg at the knee joint
• To give flexion of the thigh
• Give strength and stability when walking, running, jumping, squatting and sitting
• Provide nerve supply
• Provide blood supply

Marilia Whittome
07710835969 | marilia@whittome.co.uk
Marilia offers Multilingual Counselling Psychotherapy (Enhlish, French, Spanish and Portuguese) Counselling offers the opportunity to explore specific aspects of current difficulties. Psychotherapy deals with the more deep-seated issues.

Added 24/8/2016

Ronni Schrevel
07920008783  ronnischrevel@me.com
Ronni offers hairdressing in the comfort of your own home. He’s been a hairdresser for over 30 years and managed some of the most iconic salons in London including Nicky Clarke and Trevor Sorbie

Added 24/8/2016

Maria Briscoe
07796146991 | 01323650286
Maria offers Homeopathy Family Health and the Daisy Clinic promoting Healthy Medicine.

Added 24/8/2016

Maria Fuentes 
07949977495 | www.bagc6.com
Maria offers BAGC6 which is a system that aims to obtain total recovery or a significant improvement of anxiety, panic attacks and lack of confidence in 6-8 hours. A personalised program that also helps with low eslf-esteem, negative memories, negative beliefs, bereavement, trauma and stress.

Added 10/5/2016

Jane Clements
07740986999 www.jane-clements.com
Jane offers hypnotherapy, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), Life Coaching and NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming)

Added 10/5/2016

Overnight a 7 year old Wendy developed a limp and found herself having to cope with a restrictive disease that quickly affected her quality of life. It’s with an infectious smile and positivity that Wendy recalls her journey to us; an inspirational story that we hope will help others.

Wendy was diagnosed with Perthes disease of the right hip (Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, or Calve Perthes disease, or avascular necrosis) the ball of the ball and socket joint of the hip was affected and blood flow couldn’t get to it. As a result her bone softened and broke down. Over time the blood vessels re-grew, and the blood supply returned to the ‘dead’ bone tissue, new tissue then formed and the femoral head remodelled itself.  The day Wendy was diagnosed she didn’t come out of the hospital, but was put in traction for weeks! She adjusted to her enforced stay in hospital by making friends, having competitions with each other, playing dare and not missing school too much! No one knew why this was happening to her; only that it was more common in males than females. After time in traction, Wendy progressed to having Callipers fitted, with the aim to keep the femoral head positioned in the hip socket by keeping the leg slightly abducted; this was followed by time using crutches and then an operation where a metal plate was inserted into her hip.

That’s a lot for anyone to endure, least of all for a 7 year old!!

In her early teens Wendy had the plate removed. Her ball and socket joint wasn’t round, but kind of flat on the top giving limited movement, preventing her from doing what we all can take for granted, like crossing her legs. She had a pronounced limp, as one leg was shorter than the other, Wendy experienced pain, pain she describes as constant but variant in levels, from a “headache” pain to “migraine” pain. But it didn’t prevent her making the most of her life; she eventually married and had a daughter, but as time went on the pain got worse, preventing her doing what she wanted to do with her family. Life was painful, physically, mentally and emotionally. Something had to change.

Guy Selman, a back consultant at the Spire Hospital informed Wendy the backache she was experiencing was a result of the hip, and the way she was walking, he suggested trying Pilates, 1-2-1 sessions rather than a larger class so that her individual needs could be met.  In 2009 Wendy started 1-2-1 sessions with Charlotte, finding that her body was tense and stiff with very little movement, highlighting just how bad things had got, and making it an emotional time. Pilates really helped with her flexibility and eased the problem of her back locking after having a spinal block. Eventually Wendy was able to attend remedial group classes with Charlotte.

At the same time as attending the group classes Wendy also had acupuncture with Peter Butcher and Physiotherapy with Peter Butcher and Rebecca Lunn here at The Body Junction. Wendy’s experience with Acupuncture was amazing; she felt the benefits very quickly and is a firm advocate as the treatments really helped to manage her pain.

Physiotherapy really helped too, but Wendy’s keen to stress that any exercise given by a physiotherapist is then your responsibility to maintain on a regular basis. As she states, we are dependable on ourselves to help aid our recovery, do the homework set!!

Still finding the disease debilitating Wendy went to see Mr Hugh Apthorp at The Spire who she describes as “A very clever man!”  Convinced that he would say that she was too young to have any further treatment at the Hospital, he in fact recommended her to have a Hip Operation!  Obviously this was a bit of a shock and a hugely stressful decision that affected not only Wendy but her whole family.

In June 2014 Wendy underwent the Acetabular Reconstruction Operation. A hip operation made more complicated because the disease meant that the surgical team couldn’t simply take out the hip and put in a new one. So a hip alignment was done too. The duration of a normal hip operation is 40mins; Wendy’s operation lasted almost 4 hours!! Mr Apthorp warned Wendy to prepare for post operation. Wendy laughed when recalling what Mr Apthorp warned. The operation would leave her feeling like a Shire Horse had kicked her, decreasing over time to a Racing Horse, finally ending with a Shetland Pony. “He wasn’t kidding!”

Wendy found sleeping difficult post op and had to sleep on her back. She had to learn to inject herself to prevent blood clotting for weeks which was initially a challenge, and not something she had considered. Then there were tasks like showering which proved very problematic, resulting in a lack of dignity which affected Wendy greatly. But with the help of her very supportive family, resting and time, she started on the road to recovery. The recuperation time quoted was that in a year Wendy would feel how she did before the operation, after two years she would be as good as she would get. It was a long road she had to travel.

After the operation Wendy had to stop Pilates, and only attended Physio at The Spire. She eventually resumed Physiotherapy with Peter, and two years on she’s receiving treatment every three weeks, which is helping enormously. When you focus on realigning a certain part of your body it can often result in issues elsewhere, so Physio helps with preventing problems building up.

“It’s no longer a bad leg – It’s an operated leg!” – Peter Butcher

In due course Wendy was thrilled to be able to return to her Pilates Class once a week, finding that what she can do was far different, she didn’t have to rely on blocks under her feet or need to use other equipment that was previously required to assist her. Some of Wendy’s muscles weren’t used properly and therefore weak, so the goal was on building muscle strength. Wendy’s legs are now the same length – enabling Wendy to wear normal shoes!

When Wendy looks back she says “It was absolutely the right decision to have the operation. It set me back a bit, but I am now where I wanted to be. My life has changed, my life is completely different. Something happens every day that reminds me of how amazing it is.  I’m no longer in pain, have no limp and am learning to do things without instinctively protecting myself. I owe thanks to the professional team at The Body Junction and of course my surgeon.They worked really well together. They kept the lines of communication open between each other, the hospital and me. I had a real sense that my wellbeing was important to them all and that together, their knowledge, skills and support really helped me, physically & emotionally”

Great things are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people ~ Steve Jobs

I was very interested to hear that Tracey Butcher has a speciality in Migraines. As a long term sufferer I have had what seems like hundreds of visits to the doctor over the years. I was told recently they were probably hormone related, I was even tested for early menopause! However, the attacks got more frequent (twice a month) they were getting more severe & lasting longer. The attacks made me despondent, and left me worrying that it would affect my business. Sound familiar?

No one seemed to understand or know how to help. It got so that I planned my work and social diary around when I thought an attack was likely to happen, it was becoming a real inconvenience!

I booked an initial assessment with Tracey Butcher and It was during this appointment that I was informed that migraines are often blamed on hormones when they can often be prevented with improved posture. This struck a chord with me. At almost 6 foot I have always slouched or stooped. A throwback from school when I tried to hide myself away, a failed attempt to prevent the bullying! I started work in the mid 80’s, one desk job followed another, where it would appear I picked up some pretty nasty habits. Then there’s my most recent evening habit of putting my feet up beside me on the sofa. Tut!

“But surely it couldn’t be as easy as adjusting my posture?” I hear you say!

During my Initial Assessment with Tracey Butcher I was told that I had the worst case of stiffness of the mid back she had seen this year. That didn’t sound good! But with the combination of Tracey’s magic touch; doing the exercises I was taught; and following her advice about the equipment I should use at my desk, I have now gone migraine free…WOW!! (I only saw Tracey five times!)

I’m keen to avoid the migraines returning, so I am being very careful about my posture, and doing the daily exercises diligently. If during your next visit to The Body Junction you see me slouching… you have my permission to tell me off!

If you think that Tracey Butcher can help you, or someone you know, then please call and make an Initial Assessment on 01424 224164

Please Contact our Physiotherapists directly for more information or to book a treatment

My treatment started with a nice warm herbal foot soak (lavender, pine & rosemary), with each foot lifted out and Mother of Pearl foot scrub applied. I was then asked to lay on the treatment couch which was adjusted for Naomi to be able to work on my feet, and to account for my long legs. A rolled towel was put at the back of my calves and the lower end of the bed was dropped down. I was ready to be pampered!

When I used to have a cleaner,  I cleaned prior to her coming (have you done that?)  Before my foot treatment I attempted to smarten up my feet… But Naomi immediately picked up on the fact that although I had tried my best, and my feet weren’t “too bad”, I still had some hard skin. I also slightly damaged my big toe from scrubbing too hard in the same area! Naomi treated the remaining rough hard skin with a flat hard skin remover, which is always a new one for each client and never recycled. These had built up on areas of pressure and as a result can show Naomi how I walked.  She could tell that I am a keen walker.

The PRENDE Podicure Intense oil was added to my feet. This oil has essential oils in it, including Benzoin, Bay, Chamomile, Eucalyptus, Frankincense, Lavender and Myrrh. The Apricot and Peach Kernel oils in it aids the moisturising process and provides antiseptic and is anti-inflammatory. The oil can be used on your knees, elbows, even your face. It can bring down inflammation and help with things like psoriasis.

The hot wax was then added to my feet. The heat therapy was divine. It was very hot when applied but cooled just as quickly and was relaxing. The heat helps to open the pores in the feet and helps the oil to penetrate. This treatment as a luxury can be given as often as you want to treat yourself. Otherwise it is recommended to have the treatment every 3-6 months to help avoid problems arising.  Then in-between sessions you can help by self-treating your feet. However some people who have mobility issues and cannot get to their feet themselves may wish to have more regular treatment with their podiatrist.

Some of the foot massage seems to be a little like reflexology, but unlike Reflexology which works on a system of zones and reflex areas that purportedly reflect an image of the body, Naomi detects issues with the foot from the tissues, bony crepitation and tender pathways.

This was such a relaxing experience, that I have just booked another session in preparation for a little get away!

This PRENDE Podicure Hot Wax Treatment with Naomi is £35.00 (50min)why don’t you book your pamper session now!

Please Contact our therapists directly for more information or to book a treatment here at The Body Junction