Meet Paula
MTI ITEC Dip
I am an experienced massage therapist, whose expertise is in deep-tissue massage, which uses slow and concentrated pressure to alleviate deep-seated muscle tension. Common areas that require help include chronic tension in the neck, shoulders and back, but this technique can benefit all areas of the body for example, tight legs, glutes, feet, arms, hands, and even the head, face and jaw. The pace of the massage is slow, and the amount of pressure is led by you, so that as well as being effective it should also be enjoyable and relaxing.
Trained at the Academy of Natural Health in 2002, I am both MTI and ITEC qualified. Additionally I am a fully registered and insured member of the Massage Training Institute, and registered with the CNHC.
Initially from an art and design background working in advertising, I became only too aware of the impact of stress on the body.
Each treatment is based on the principles of holistic massage, which considers the whole person tailoring each therapy to fit an individual’s needs.
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A 1-hour treatment can help to sooth away tension, re-energise tired muscles, and leave you relaxed and revived.
Building regular treatments into your life can help to reduce stress and maintain good health.
Benefits Of Massage
Improved
Circulation
Improved Sleep Patterns
Reduced Stress Levels
Relieves Backache and Headache
Renewed Energy Levels
The History Of
Massage
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I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
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I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
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Massage is thought to be one of the earliest forms of pain relief and ancient communities would have used herbs and oils to massage muscle pain away. The earliest written records, found in China and Egypt dated from c.2500-3000 BCE and there is even evidence of people being massage on tomb paintings. In India massage dates back 3000 years and is a key component of Ayurveda, the traditional Hindu system of medicine. Japan adopted similar techniques to China in around 6 AD and created their own therapy, Shiatsu, which stimulates nerves using finger pressure techniques. Even in its infancy, massage was considered to be a therapy that could bring peace and wellbeing. With its continued spread across Europe, it became especially popular in Greece as part of this holistic approach to wellbeing along with good diet and exercise – with Arabic countries adopting a similar approach.
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After years of massage then being disregarded, as the importance of overall wellbeing was overlooked it saw a revival in the 16th century and in the 19th century medical terminology was introduced to describe the strokes and manipulations of soft tissue, some of which are still used in massage training today. As the treatment of ailments and disease turned to emerging, more conventional medicine, the use of massage therapy again slipped into decline. However, in the early 1940s, Dr.Emil Vodder developed the method of Lymphatic drainage and this was followed by Connective Tissue Therapy by Elizabeth Dicke and Deep Transverse Friction Massage by Dr James H Cyriax. These all helped to reinstate the popularity of bodywork and its benefits within the medical profession.
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Over the next few decades, but especially during the 1990's, with the increased interest in physical and mental health, both studies and awareness of the benefits of massage therapy were again on the increase. Massage Therapy schools established credible and rigorous training, regulated by larger governmental bodies. Massage may have fallen in and out of popularity over the years, but we now know more about it now than ever before and it has become a trialled and trusted method to alleviate many muscle and stress-related conditions.
The History Of
Massage
The Science Of
Massage
ACTH, (adrenocorticotrophic hormone) is produced in the frontal pituitary gland in the brain. It helps us to regulate cortisol, a steroid hormone released in the adrenal gland, (along with its forerunner, corticotrophin produced in the hypothalamus) in response to biological stressors. This response is designed to save our lives, priming us to fight or take flight, but in modern day life we can get stuck in this response which can have some detrimental adverse effects.
Science has proved that Oxytocin, (a hormone associated with bonding, love and feelings of wellness which is produced in the hypothalamus and secreted by the anterior pituitary gland) can help to reset your stress response. Studies have shown that massage increases levels of this happy hormone by stimulating sensory nerves in the skin.
Anxiety
Many of us associate massage with physical benefits, but it can also have a huge effect on our mental wellbeing. Rather than think of your body as a collection of separate parts, you should consider it as an intricate, high functioning machine of interconnected parts which all need to function collectively to achieve optimum performance. When your physical body is not functioning optimally it can have a detrimental effect on your mind, similarly when our mind is troubled your physical well-being can be negatively impacted.
Anxiety, for example can induce fear which causes muscles to contract - an innate stress response when humans sense potential danger. Massage alleviates anxiety by giving your body a window of time away from this response; kickstarting the calmer branch of our autonomic nervous system, namely the parasympathetic nervous system. Put simply, massage delivers a direct command to the muscles to chill out.