Kneaded News

~ the newsletter from Sarah Newdigate Holistic Massage ~

I hope you're well. My start of 2023 has been busier than I expected which was really good to see. It's been wonderful to see my regular clients as well as some lovely new people who I'm really looking forward to working with. I'm feeling quietly positive about my business and I'm really excited to continue to work on it as the year goes on.

Last month I launched a client survey and I'm very grateful to those of you who took the time to give me their opinions. If you didn't fill out my survey but would like a chance to, there is still time. You can find the survey here.

 

Asking for people's opinions on my business is a little out of my comfort zone if I'm honest. I knew that I'd find any criticism, no matter how minor, hard to hear. However I also knew that this would be the most useful feedback I'd get.

It's lovely to hear from people who have nothing but nice things to say and it makes my glad to feel that I'm definitely going in the right direction, but I am keen to develop and improve. To this ends getting constructive feedback has been the most useful information by far. It gives me something tangible to focus on and improve, so thank you for any and all feedback.

Click here to fill out my survey!

Lower Back Pain

I've been building on my massage skills recently with a very interesting seminar on lower back pain. Back pain is a very common affliction but I found that a lot of my initial massage training focused strongly on the upper back area and the lower back wasn't looked at in such detail. I found this training very useful and a great update on my current skills.

 

At this seminar they also spoke a lot about pain and our perceptions of pain. Something I hadn't really considered before was that we may feel more pain depending on the importance we give a body part. So, for example, if an artist hurts her hand, which she needs for her work, she may feel this more acutely than she may feel the same injury to her leg.

 

If you suffer from lower back pain perhaps a holistic massage would ease your pain? Or how about adding the benefits of a hot stone treatment?

 

~ Finding Mindfulness in the Little Things ~
 

I've been doing a lot of ironing recently. I have never been a big one for ironing, I found it very boring and, to be honest, unnecessary. These days I iron everything that I use for work. That's a lot of sheets, blankets and t-shirts. I iron most days, sometimes I have to iron a couple of times a day.

 

At first I thought I'd hate all this extra work but I have come to see the time I iron as a mindfulness exercise. I iron in a quiet room, I'm by myself and I focus on the simple task of ironing. I think of my posture, how my weight is shared between my feet. As I work I sense my mind quietening and my body becoming calm. My breathing and heart rate slows.

 

I anchor my mind on the task. Laying out the sheet, the flow of the iron over the material, the weight of the iron, the feel and smell of the steam, the tiny sounds, each little wrinkle that I flatten out.

 

Thoughts come and I notice them, I wait for them to go. They quickly pass, just like in meditation.

 

Ironing as meditation.

 

So this has made me think about all the ways we can bring more mindfulness to our lives and what the benefit of doing so is. If we become more aware of our environment and ourselves how does this help us? I would suggest that the more attention we can bring to the moment, the better our ability to live fully in the moment. We can learn to live more fully by learning to appreciate the present.

 

Like most people I'm not able to spend the majority of my day in meditation (and if I'm being honest I probably wouldn't want to even if I had the opportunity). I have a family, a business, a home. I have things to do. But I have been thinking about how I can bring a more mindful attitude whilst doing these things. So I started with the ironing.

 

Over the next few weeks and months I am hoping to deliberately be more mindful approach to other simple things in my life. Walking, breathing, dressing, cooking... the list can incorporate anything and everything that we do.

Why not try...?

 

I talk a lot about hydration and the benefits of ensuring we get enough water every day. Today I'm going to suggest that you try drinking warm or hot water instead of cold. At first this may seem an odd idea, or even unpleasant. I feel similar, the thought of reaching for the hot tap and filling my drinking glass doesn't fill me with joy. I have some suggestions on how to make drinking hot water more palatable and we'll come to these later on. First I want to talk about what benefits hot warm water has for us.

 

~ Drinking hot water helps to break down food faster than drinking cold water. This benefits our digestive process.

 

~ Hot water is a vasodilator, meaning it expands the blood vessels, improving circulation.

 

~ Similar to using heat in a hot stone massage, heat in water can be a pain relief.

 

~ A cup of hot water may help people manage stress and anxiety.

 

Now imagine that your cup of hot water has been sitting in a tea pot with tea leaves in for a few minutes before you drink it.

 

The above benefits can all be said for drinking tea, or even coffee. Just make sure you are aware of how much caffeine you're drinking and look out for caffeine free alternatives, especially when drinking after noon.

 

If you aren't keen on tea or coffee you could try adding a small spoonful of fennel seeds to your hot water - this will flavour the water and can bring added benefits to your digestive system!

 

Another alternative is adding lemon to your hot water. Drinking warm, lemon water is often heralded as a simple but highly effective healthy change that people can make to their lives. Warm lemon water is considered best taken first thing in the morning (instead or before coffee). The lemon provides you with phytonutrients, vitamin C, potassium. The acid in lemons may be especially helpful in supplementing stomach acid levels, which tend to decline as we age. This will help to break up our food which again leads to a happier digestive system.

 

 

 

Click Here to Get In Touch
Follow me on the Socials
Follow on Facebook
Follow on Instagram
Broadacres, East Coker, Yeovil BA22 9LW, UK
07583 039744

Find out more about Sarah Newdigate Holistic Massage on my website  
This email was created with Wix.‌ Discover More