The title – the barefoot therapist is fairly new, it took me a long time to get there…
When I first began working I was a support worker for adults with physical disabilities and learning difficulties, I found this work very rewarding, but after years in this line of work I found I needed an new challenge and a line of work that was more geared towards healing. Working along side staff who had constant back pains, headaches and poor sleep quality didn’t seem right to me, and I wanted to be part of the solution rather than just accepting that I too would end up with the same because it “comes with the job”
I began my journey in to holistic work with Reflexology, a really fascinating treatment which introduced me to the concept of the holistic approach and set me on the path. As my career has developed I have realised that Reflexology isn’t the right treatment for me, I am drawn so much more towards other treatment styles, but I’m still glad I started here, it put me on my path and it is valuable knowledge.
As I looked around at other therapies I noticed that you need Body massage as a pre-requisite for most other courses…it didn’t appeal to me at all but I accepted that if I wanted to grow as a therapist I’d need to learn it, even if I never offered it…turns out I love it! I have done quite a few add on courses over the years to add to my skills. Eventually, this training journey took me to Thai yoga massage, my favourite treatment both to give and to receive, it really does feel like you do more for a body in the treatment time with Thai than with any other treatment I offer.
As I have mentioned, I learned early on in my training that each treatment I provide needs to be different in response to the body I am working on. Each of the treatment skills I have learned are tools in my toolset so I can adjust treatments to meet individual needs each time. While I do list the therapies I am qualified in, it basically boils down to to am I working on the floor or the table today? Both have benefits to them.
I very quickly became hooked on providing treatments, helping people feel more balanced, ease their aches and pains, improve their well-being and overall health is so rewarding, and learning the new treatment modalities is always exciting and interesting.
While working in a treatment centre in Manchester, I had the opportunity to try my hand at teaching, passing on my skills and seeing people new to therapies grow in confidence and skill is so inspiring. While I’m not teaching right now, I do have plans to begin teaching Thai yoga massage soon!
For a large part of my career I worked at an Ostepathic in Flixton (Manchester), working along side ostepaths and other professionals was a fantastic boost to my career, and I enjoyed every moment of working in the clinic and with that team, we often worked together to make sure people were getting the best treatment for them. We also bounced off each other with treatment ideas and techniques, a lovely environment to work in.
I have built up years of experience and a range of skills, my style developed over the years, mainly due to Thai massage, I found that using my feet in treatments is really helpful, like an extra set of hands, and a different kind of pressure to use, this and the fact that I always wear barefoot or minimalist shoes have lead to me being known as the barefoot therapist (and sometimes that therapist with bare feet and funny colours in her hair) so when it came to this change I decided to keep the name…recently I attended a training course on Korean Hand therapy (more on that in a different blog) a treatment which can provide simple treatment for people with minimal equipment and it can be done anywhere..our teacher said – “with these skills, you can be a barefoot therapist” my friend and I gave each other a sideways glance both thinking the same thing..this name works on another level too!
While I was happy working in the clinic, my husband and I both wanted to live somewhere greener and closer to the sea. My sister and her family had similar thoughts made made the move a few years ago to a lovely place in Wexford…it didn’t take us many visits to realise we wanted to be here too so as soon as the time was right for us, we made the big scary move! Wexford is a lovely place that just feels like home
I collected a fabulous team of therapists that I had worked with, trained with or trained myself and left them to take care of the lovely people I have been treating for years, I know they will build the Manchester business to a whole new level. And I am now here, in Bannow, starting from scratch, offering my skills and experience to Wexford, everyone here has been so welcoming and supportive, I know it has been the right move.
So that’s me…I love bodywork, I love helping people feel better and working with them to achieve their full potential in health and wellness. At home, I love animals, crafting, books about dragons and magic, and I love Disney World because I think embracing the fun side of life is essential for health and wellbeing, especially when life is tough.
The Barefoot therapist 