For many of us, the first time we truly notice our body is when pain, tension, or fatigue becomes impossible to ignore. Societally, we receive messages that pain is inconvenience, weakness, something we need to get rid of quickly so that we can ‘keep going’, or need to push through, that we’re broken and need fixing or that we’re being failed by our bodies.
What if these experiences are not random or meaningless? What if they are the body’s way of asking for attention, help and support?
The treatments I offer are centred on listening to the body and supporting its natural ability to heal. Rather than fixing or forcing change, I work with the body to understand what it needs and support it by giving the conditions that can facilitate that change.
This approach recognises that healing is not something done to the body, but something that unfolds from within when the body feels safe, seen and heard.
This is in opposition to many of the approaches to treating pain, discomfort and symptoms currently offered in conventional treatment methods.
If you’ve sought help in resolving your symptoms and discomfort but have not had the relief you were looking for and still feel that there has to be something else, but don’t know what your other options might be, keep reading, as I may be able to help you.
How Do I Work
I work with the body as an intelligent, self-healing system.
I believe the body is constantly communicating, but between the busyness of life and the societal norms and messages we receive growing up (amongst other things), we have lost the ability to hear and trust what the body is telling us. So, the first time we start to ‘hear’ our body is when we cannot ignore it anymore. Pain, tension, fatigue, and long-term symptoms are not random. They are meaningful signals.
I do not fix bodies. Healing is not something that can be done to you.
Instead, I act as a facilitator for your body’s own healing process. Your body already holds the answers and knows what it needs, but for a myriad of reasons is being blocked from accessing its natural healing process.
My work is about connecting with your body to identify where the restrictions are blocking the healing process and creating the conditions for the body to release the restrictions.
A Whole Person Approach
While symptoms may feel physical, I do not separate the physical body from the emotional, energetic or spiritual experience. We are not separate parts like a machine. All aspects of our bodies carries it’s own intelligence. Healing often involves shifts in perception, awareness, and understanding as much as changes in the physical tissues themselves.
Rather than aiming to return you to who you were before pain or illness, I support an evolving process. Healing is not about returning to a previous time when you felt well. This would have been part of the environment that lead to the development of symptoms. It is about integrating your experiences and allowing the body to reorganise and rebalance with that knowledge.
Creating Safety for Healing
A key focus of the treatments I offer is the nervous system, especially the Vagus Nerve.
When the body is in protection mode, such as fight or flight, it does not have the capacity to restore or heal. It’s focus is on survival. My role is to support and create the environment where the nervous system can return to a state of safety and healing becomes possible.
I do this by working with the body rather than imposing change upon it. When the body feels safe, it can begin to release long held restrictions in the tissues and energy and move towards balance.
Counselling for the Body
I often think of the treatments as counselling, but for the body rather than the mind.
Just as a counsellor creates an environment for healing by offering their presence, creating a safe space, walking alongside the client in their process so that they feel seen, heard and understood, I feel that I offer a similar experience for the body. When you have a good offload with someone who truly listens, you feel better because your system responds to being seen and understood. The same is true for the body.
By listening to the body and acknowledging its needs, often for the first time, the healing process can begin in a more complete and lasting way.
Listening to the Body
Listening to the body happens in several ways and always starts with you.
Before an initial treatment, I request a consultation form. This helps me start to get a feel for what may be going on before we meet.
An initial treatment starts with a good conversation about what has been happening, symptoms and relevant life experiences, creating a timeline. This gives important context and often reveals patterns.
At the start of a treatment, before I place my hands, I’ll check in with the body to see if it’s ok with me approaching.
If the body is happy for me to do that, I then use a number of methods to listen and assess the body to identify where the restrictions are. I usually do this from the feet.
Using a very light touch, I tune into the body’s natural rhythms and movements, particularly the craniosacral rhythm which reflects the movement of cerebrospinal fluid around the brain and spine. Changes in rhythm help indicate areas of restriction.
I scan the body. As I do this, I may feel blocks, resistance or bumps. These cues help to guide me where the body wants me to go to begin.
My work is informed by both Western and Eastern philosophies, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, which views symptoms as expressions of energetic imbalance within the system. The symptoms are considered the result of the imbalance, indicating where the block is e.g. in the organs. Hands-on connection and direct questioning can also tell me where the energetic imbalances are present e.g. in the meridians.
I also ask the body directly what is needs. Answers come in a range of ways e.g. words, sensations, visual focus, physical responses within me, or intuitive knowing. I follow these signals in combination with the other assessments to move into the treatment, always allowing the body to lead the process.
Working With, Not Doing To
Conventional approaches to treating pain and symptoms often work by doing things to the body. There are times when this is the appropriate and right course of action. Modern medicine is amazing, and I fully acknowledge its value. However, there are times when conventional approaches aren’t as effective, and the options are more about management of symptoms rather than improvement.
My work is about working with the body, listening to it and supporting it to let go of what it is ready to release, when it’s ready to do so.
For long-term or chronic symptoms where resolution of symptoms has not occurred, this approach can offer something missing. As mentioned, the body is more than its physical component parts. We are energetic, electromagnetic, emotional and spiritual beings. When we work with these parts of the human being and not just the body, the desired healing can occur that has not been achieved through treating the physical alone. Often, the most effective outcomes happen when both approaches are included.
Ultimately, my role is to help your body feel safe, heard, and supported so it can do what it already knows how to do.
Heal, rebalance, and move forward.
Your Next Step
If you have sought support to ease your discomfort and symptoms but have not found the relief you hoped for, yet still feel there has to be something out there, even if you are not sure what that is, I may be able to help you.
You can book a complimentary discovery call to chat about how I can support you in getting back to being the best version of you.
And if you’d like to stay connected, follow me on:
Instagram: @intobalancetherapies
Facebook: @intobalancetherapies
I’d love to help.