Struggling with tight muscles and chronic pain?
How would it feel if you could move more freely and without pain?
I help people with muscular pain to move more freely using a combination of clinical massage and gentle somatic movements that relax tight muscles and increase your awareness of how your body moves and feels so you can lead a full and active life.
Struggling with tight muscles and chronic pain?
How would it feel if you could move more freely and without pain?
I help people with muscular pain to move more freely using a combination of clinical massage and gentle somatic movements that relax tight muscles and increase your awareness of how your body moves and feels so you can lead a full and active life.
”I’ve had back pain for years and have tried physios, osteopaths, pilates and so on, all to little gain. I then had a series of one to one sessions with Alison and the results have been fabulous. I can’t really take in that such simple, gentle somatic exercises can make such a huge difference. I’m more pain-free than I have been in years. Thanks Somatics and Alison. You have a convert!” Steve, Rowlands Castle.
Managing chronic pain and tightness in the muscles and soft tissues
Chronic muscle pain can arise due to many different reasons but the main cause is due to stress. Yes I did say stress. The cause of so many problems and now also the cause of muscle pain. The reason for this is because when we are stressed our body responds by tightening our muscles. It’s not something we do consciously.
Over time our bodies hold on to more and more stress and tension and after many years, hey presto, we have chronic tight muscles causing us pain and stiffness. Imagine this scenario. You are in a rush to get to work but are stuck in a traffic jam. How does this make you feel? How does your body respond? You will probably find that your muscles tighten as a response.
Often, we assume that muscle pain and stiffness is because we’re getting older. I hate to tell you this but that is just a myth. As we get older we have simply accumulated more stress in our bodies because we have been stuck in more traffic jams. The good news is that these muscles can be released with Clinical Massage and gentle Somatic Movements resulting in more freedom of movement and less pain.
When it comes to dealing with chronic muscle pain there is no quick fix. There are many short temporary solutions available but if you want a long term permanent solution you need to invest some time in yourself. The combination of clinical massage and somatic movements offers this long term solution. In the past, when I offered just clinical massage on its own I found that people would be returning with the same problem after a while. However, by introducing self care Somatic movements the results have been more longer lasting. Through developing a regular and consistent somatic movement habit you will be able to manage your pain for the rest of your life.
You only get one life. Do you want to spend it in pain all the time, struggling every day, taking pain killers, not sleeping etc? Or would you rather spend it doing all the things you want to do, injury and pain free for years to come?
The late Thomas Hanna once said, ‘The living body is a moving body. If life means movement then it may be permissible to think that more movement means more life and less movement means less life.’
If you are serious and committed to tackling the issue that holds you back then you need to be realistic and invest in your health both financially and with your time.
Move with Awareness offer Clinical Massage sessions along with sessions in self-care through Somatic movements for pain management.
Over the last decade working as a clinical massage therapist, I came to realise that self-care was a key element to remain free from muscular pain or to manage pain symptoms in the long term. While clinical massage is very effective for relieving muscular pain in the short term, it doesn’t always solve the problem in the long term. This is because pain and muscle stiffness are often caused by poor postural habits which have accumulated over time in a response to the way we live our lives. Nowadays we spend more time sitting down and often slump when seated. This puts a lot of stress on the body. We are unable to break these habits because we are unaware we are doing them as it becomes our default posture. When this happens the brain and nervous system are no longer connecting with the muscles efficiently. Change only occurs when this connection between the brain and muscles is re-established. Somatic Movements help to increase your awareness of how your body moves and feels so that you can regain full conscious control of your muscles and improve your postural habits. By offering both clinical massage and somatic movement sessions I have found that this combination helps to address the problem in the short and long term.
Through this combined approach I can help with common pain symptoms such as:
- Upper Back Pain.
- Lower Back Pain.
- Sciatica.
- Muscle Tension, spasms and stiffness.
- Neck and Shoulder Pain.
- Leg, Knee and Foot Pain.
- Hip Pain.
- Saco-iliac Joint Pain.
CLINICAL MASSAGE
SOMATICS ONE-TO-ONE SESSIONS
Unlock the pain to enjoy an active life!
Unlock the pain to enjoy an active life!
How Somatics can help manage your pain
What is Somatics?
Somatics is a form of gentle movement practice that helps to reduce discomfort and pain in the muscles and improve overall flexibility.
Over the course of our lives our muscles can become so tight and contracted that we develop habitual holding patterns. This can arise due to stressful experiences such as accidents and injuries or doing repetitive things such as sitting for long periods, working at a computer or even holding a child on our hip regularly. As a result we loose the conscious control to relax the muscles involved and this leads to discomfort, pain and stiffness. These symptoms are often attributed to getting older but in actual fact they can be due to chronically contracted muscles which can be reversed.
Somatic movements help us to relearn how to sense and develop control of the muscles in the body again so that we can voluntarily and consciously contract and relax these muscles as required. The result is an increase in our overall flexibility and a reduction in any pain or discomfort.
Who is Somatics for?
- Learn more about their body and how to improve their posture.
- Have fun learning to move in new ways.
- Learn how to release muscle tension.
- Learn a new skill to help to keep moving well and pain free.
More about Somatics…
Let’s get you moving…
