Another busy week at the Centre

There's been a lot happening again this week with more work in the garden - it's looking really good, yoga classes, lots of therapies and a mindfulness course.

Tonight at 7pm one of our therapists, Ranbir, is giving a talk and demonstration on Tui Na. This is an ancient form of Chinese massage, Rambi described it to me once as being a bit like acupuncture without needles! I was lucky enough to try out this massage and I really enjoyed it. Rambi really knows the body and though it's not gentle, it really feels like it's doing some good. In fact when I stood up afterwards I felt like I'd had a great workout and as if lots of toxins had been drained from my body! If you're not sure then come and meet him tonight and find out more about it or just call into the Centre for more information.

Tomorrow as part of the 8 week mindfulness course we have a Saturday workshop which I'm looking forward to. Since starting the course 5 weeks ago I have found myself slowing down and appreciating things more. I've also become much more aware of my body and the feelings within. It's very enlightening and the challenge for me I think will be keeping up the daily practice once the course has finished. But I'm going to give it a really good try.

I thought I'd finish on another lovely, thought provoking poem that came from the mindfulness course last night.

WILD GEESE  by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Walk Slowly (Danna Faulds)

It only takes a reminder to breathe,

a moment to be still, and just like that,

something in me settles, softens, makes

space for imperfection. The harsh voice

of judgment drops to a whisper and I

remember again that life isn't a relay

race; that we will all cross the finish

line; that waking up to life is what we

were born for. As many times as I

forget, catch myself charging forward

without even knowing where I'm going,

that many times I can make the choice

to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk

slowly into the mystery.

Thank you Danna Faulds - This poem really moved me when I first heard it during my Mindfulness Training Course - SN

The garden at the Centre looked great this morning.
The plants, which are coming into full flower, are looking lovely. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the space was sheltered from the cool breeze that could be felt elsewhere in the town.
It felt like an oasis in the middle of busyness.
Do feel free to come and sit in the garden  at the Centre - it's there for people to enjoy.
SN

Axminster Health and Wellbeing Centre

Testimonial by volunteer Emma Prior

I was first made aware of the Centre, by Jane Rowe shortly after moving to Axminster in September 2014. It did take me a little while to actually go in and visit, like many things in life we keep meaning to do. However, after my first visit I wish I’d gone in sooner.

I had noticed the advert for volunteers on the front door and wondered if I could find out a little more about what the Centre did and what opportunities it may hold for me. As a massage therapist myself I have an interest in health, wellbeing and helping people. In addition I still felt quite new to the town and thought it may be a good chance to meet some new people. For once, how correct my thoughts and hopes were.

On entering I was met by a friendly face on reception and after a short chat was shown around the centre and given some information, both verbal and written as to what the centre offered. There are some wonderful facilities and opportunities at the centre which I was completely unaware of until this moment. This includes: The Axminster Food Bank., a free library and the chance to just make yourself a drink and read or sit in the garden. Free Read Easy classes and a large number of groups and classes including meditation, yoga, mindfulness and cancer support. Not to mention the long list of therapies on offer.

However it was the chance to interact with people that I decided would be best for me and so I signed up to volunteer on reception. I have volunteered now for 2 months and enjoyed every minute of it. The staff and volunteers are extremely friendly and I feel I have gained confidence on the telephone and increased my experience at dealing with customer queries. These are very important attributes to me as at the end of April I am leaving the centre to expand and develop my own Soft Tissue Therapy and Sports Massage business which will be based at 5 Milton’s Yard in Axminster. I will continue to be a supporter and friend of the centre as I believe it does great work within the community and encourage all those who have been ‘meaning to pop in’ for a while to make the time to go in and see what’s on offer. I guarantee you’ll be pleased you did. 

Mindfulness for Stress

My Mindfulness Experience - Midway through an 8 week course.

I have been engaging with Mindfulness Training for 4 weeks now and for a practice that is so gentle it is proving to be quite transformative for me.

I started the Mindfulness Training hoping to manage stress and anxiety more effectively. I didn’t really know what to expect but the course sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go.

I am finding that the breathing meditations and the movement meditations are helping me to be more aware of my physical self and to feel physical sensation more fully, much the same as I felt naturally as a child but something that as an adult I had lost touch with.

Now, when I am being Mindful I feel more alive in my adult body.

I have to admit that I don’t always enjoy the heaviness of the sensations that I experience especially during the Mindful Movement practice but, with the same token, in feeling the sensations they also remind me that I am a physical human creature that just ‘is’ as well as a thinking/doing being. For me, that thought in itself is calming and quietens my mind!

I am learning that in feeling sensation I am able to manage my emotional and thinking state to a greater degree than I did before. This awareness seems to be allowing a space for me to distinguish between a reaction and a response.

Mindfulness is also teaching me to be gentle and not to judge myself harshly when I fall into habitual ways and that it is my choice not to dwell in unhelpful thoughts or to allow negative thoughts to multiply.

Somehow life seems very subtly sweeter and simpler…

Samantha Norris

Massage-Myofascial Release Therapy for people with Fibromyalgia, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

This is a subject which is important to me as I have one friend with FM (fibromyalgia) and one friend with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). They are both long term and chronic conditions which produce either chronic pain (FM) or chronic fatigue (ME/CFS) with no known cause or cure. 

The 12^th May is international awareness day for all of these conditions and so I thought I would produce this blog post to increase awareness of the conditions and highlight a way in which some reduction in sensitivity in the conditions could be gained from massage therapy.

Research published in the international journal: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine indicated that the type of massage therapy named myofascial-release or MFR may aid in the reduction of the symptoms presented by many of those with fibromyalgia. The article is entitled: ‘…Benefits of massage-myofascial release therapy on pain, anxiety, quality of sleep, depression and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia…’

To read the full article please follow the link below:

www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/561753

The MFR technique is very different to that of massaging muscles, tendons and the ligaments of the body. A time component also exists, coupled with the fluidity of the therapists hands in applying pressure and moving though each and every fascial restriction. The time element is a vital factor, the fascia cannot be forced as it will naturally meet that force in return. Hence the MFR therapist provides a sustained, gentle, pressure for five to eight minutes allowing the fascia to elongate naturally and return to its normal resting length restoring health and providing results that are both measurable and functional (MFR, 2015).

Axminster Health and Wellbeing Centre is proud to be home to two practitioners of myofascial release; Emma Gilmore (www.schoolofbodywork.com) and Jon Stocks (www.clinicofbodywork.com) Contact the therapists direct on 07711656011. Appointments are available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays at the Axminster Health and Wellbeing Centre. For more information on the centre please call 01297 32331 or visit www.axminsterwellbeing.com.  

Blog written by Miss Emma Prior MFHT, MISRM on 17/03/15.

Bibliography:

Journal:

Aguilera-Manrique et al., (2011) Benefits of massage-myofascial release therapy on pain, anxiety, quality of sleep, depression and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia from Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 561753 accessed from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/561753/ on 17/03/15.

Websites:

What is Fibromyalgia and ME and CFS (2008) from http://www.ukfibromyalgia.com/ accessed on 17/03/15.

What is Myofascial Release (MFR, 2015) from http://www.myofascialrelease.co.uk/what-is-myofascial-release/ accessed on 17/03/15.

Related Blog:

Information and fundraising for the ME association by my friend Sally Callow:

http://mefoggydog.blogspot.co.uk/

OSTEOPATHY IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE CENTRE

Mr Jo Moretta Structural Osteopath will be working at the Centre from April 2015. With 21 years experience - a broad range of conditions treated, from head to toe, with a special interest in sports injuries.

Osteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of medical conditions and is based on the principle that the wellbeing of an individual depends on the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues functioning smoothly together. It is a modern and effective form of health care.

For more information please contact the centre on - 01297 32331