Grey Matter: finding answers in health, wellness, and massage.

Have you ever wondered what type of massage treatment you need?

Have you ever searched google asking questions like:

Types of right sided shoulder pain and at home stretches to help?

Well you're not alone....

It turns out that as I look for professional development courses in massage, and health & wellness spaces, I have to spend hours/days finding out about the qualification, UK law, insurance and whether that course has content and quality which will benefit my client's and add real value to their experience.

And the problem is, it's because our industry isn't simple. Massage includes manual therapies from everywhere: the beauty industry, entry level massage specific courses, sports massage, and rehab and clinical specialities... as well as massage for oncology and stroke. In fact it is one of the reasons I've gone on to further education and Osteopathy -which I am currently training in. See massage is behind the curve in regulation and isn't a protected term like: osteopathy, physiotherapy or chiropractic, but more on that another day.

The reason behind a blog and our mission statement:

Lately I have wanted to train in a few CPD courses this summer in: chair massage, Chinese massage (using meridians and acupressure more), and Indian head massage. I have also wanted to diversify my movement offerings to include yoga and tai chi and start some teacher training.

But when speaking to a friend and colleague lately I realised even for a massage therapist how challenging it is to understand what course is good and whether it is going to provide quality information and training. And I thought if it's this hard for me to figure out, then my customers and client's must be having a similar experience.

I wanted to write about the journey of discovering and researching different techniques in health & wellbeing

I wanted to share with you the pitfalls and the challenges and show you behind the scenes.

I wanted to create a blog with balanced good quality information that has come from an evidenced based source.

I also wanted to write it in a balanced way.

I am a scientist from a previous life and from that experience I truly understand that nothing when you research far enough into it, is truly certain.

You see when I did my PhD, me being me, I wanted to truly "answer the question" I had set myself. I wanted to "solve the problem". So I went about it in a manner where I attacked the problem from all sides. I came at it mathematically and theoretically, I came at it chemically using specific microscopes, and I came at it spatially using even cooler techniques. I truly tried to make my research as full proof as possible so that when someone stood up and said "you can't measure/see hydrogen in a microscope" at a conference; I would be ready with months/years of rigorous data.

But the reason I tell you this is because I found out the hard way that however hard you try, however conscientious you are, however thorough, there are always uncertainties in life and in data, and experience. There are always grey matters.

This blog and our promise to you:

So setting out on a journey to provide good information about the body and the way it works, I promise you that I will approach it in the same way, with the same balance and hard work.

But I also say this, nothing is ever absolute; most especially about the body and our experiences on this beautiful planet.

So if I find new information along the way, I will represent it and adapt and grow with it, because no idea is worth holding onto to at the expense of learning and growing.

When I write I will say, so far the evidence suggests this, and if I am speaking anecdotally, I will make sure you know this is my current opinion based on experience or evidence.

I am a work in progress and will always endeavour to adapt, change, learn and grow!

So if you're interested, welcome and I hope you enjoy the journey!

Thank you for coming along for the ride!