NEW! Indian Head Massage Back Special.

I am really excited about this new session, developed with a client who asked me to combine Swedish Back Massage with Indian Head Massage. I really love it! So does one of my regular clients who tried it and now has switched to this as her regular session. It costs £37 and takes an hour and a half to get your whole upper body really well worked and deeply relaxed. First you lie down on your front on the couch for deep work on whole back using both Swedish and Indian techniques, really working on any knots and areas of tension. Then you turn over (covered with a towel) for Swedish work on the upper chest/neck/shoulders, and Ayur Vedic pressure points on face and scalp. Then (with a velcroed towel wrap) you get up and sit on a chair for full head massage and hair stroking, followed by more work - Indian style - to any remaining tension or knots in the neck and shoulders and then going down the arms. Finishing with the chakras and energy field being balanced and grounded. Come and try it out - phone me on 07888 692803 and book today!

PS - there is more information about Indian Head Massage here. :)

Location Change - Goodbye Healing Hands, Hello East Road!

Isobel Hamid of 'Healing Hands' closed down 'The Bridge Clinic' next to Skerton Bridge on the 27th May. I've been renting a room there for 2 1/2 years and have grown very at home and fond of the place and was sorry to see it go! Isobel is now at Riverway House just round the corner, with both her 'Healing Hands' practice and the 'Ultima Physio' and 'Altissima Training' parts of her work that she had been developing at Total Fitness gym before its sudden closure.

As I have been working at Concept Health and Beauty on China Street on Mondays since October last year, I initially explored the idea of using the treatment room there on my other days (Thursday and Saturday). Sonia, the Beauty Therapist who is there Tuesday to Saturday, initially thought we could work round each other, but she has become so busy lately she realised it just wouldn't work out. So, I decided to have a look around at other options and ... I have found somewhere REALLY nice!

More info to follow soon!

Federation of Holistic Therapists Lancaster Local Support Group - update

Most local people will probably have heard that Total Fitness was suddenly closed a few weeks ago. That left my joint-co-ordinator, Isobel Hamid , without a venue for her training school, and us as a group without a venue for the FHT Lancaster Local Support Group. Our March and April meetings have therefore been cancelled. Isobel has got a new place at Riverway House and thanks to FHT member Sarah Bowers, Nurse Complementary Therapy Co-ordinator at the local St. John's Hospice, we have got the go-ahead to use the main lounge/ education room in the Hospice for the support group. It is on on the A6 at Beaumont Bridge - Slyne Road, Lancaster, LA2 6ST.

Federation of Holistic Therapists Lancaster Local Support Group

A Lancaster based support group for practitioners in the fields of Complementary and Holistic Health, Beauty and Sports Therapy was recently set up by myself and fellow therapist Isobel Hamid in association with the FHT (Federation of Holistic Therapists).

Monthly meetings on Mondays 7-9pm, will provide opportunities to hear talks, see demonstrations, network, and exchange information and ideas, and participate in various activities and events such as therapy swaps, training, and promotional events. The meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend. Fee: £5.00 for FHT members and £7.00 for non-members.

Our first meeting in January had a good turn out of 27 people, mostly therapists who had been informed about the new group by the FHT; and focused on giving information about our plans and ideas for the group, getting feedback and suggestions, and general networking. Feedback forms gave universally positive feedback, that the meeting was informative, interesting, and enjoyable and that people are looking forward to future talks, events, etc. I very much enjoyed meeting everyone and got one of the types of support I had hoped for by arranging some therapy swaps for both Massage and Reflexology. Fabulous!

Our second meeting in February had a demonstration by Isobel Hamid of Cupping. By using specially heated glass jars as an aid to massage, a vacuum is created to increase blood flow and movement of body fluids, stimulate muscles and enhance internal organ function.

Our March meeting will include a talk by Shelan Holden of Women's Aid.

A Facebook group has been set up Here. Feel free to join, and share any bits of info or weblinks that you feel group members may be interested in, particularly if they are local.

Are you a therapist? - you are welcome to post a short intro about yourself and a link to your website if you wish (there is a shared document to which you may also add your weblink and which therapies you offer).

Be aware that this is an open group - everyone on Facebook can view the group and join. The group will appear in search results and all content (e.g., photos, videos and discussions) is visible to anyone viewing the group.

Let me know if you'd like me to add you to my email mailing list for info on future meetings. We have demos and talks in the pipeline on Women's Aid, Yoga, Alexander Technique, Acupuncture, plus plans for a Therapy Market (items for sale) and a Therapy Swap evening.

PS - For more information I have a page about the Group. FHT LLSG

Open Evening of Beauty & Holistic Therapies

Thursday 2nd December from 5 - 9pm.

Concept Hair & Beauty
41 China Street, Lancaster, LA1 1EX

Please come along and socialise with the Concept team over free wine and nibbles!

Taster treatment sessions - approx 15 mins - available for only £5.

Holistic Therapist Ceri Turner of Holistyx will be offering

- Upper Back Massage (from shoulder blades to neck and shoulders)

- Indian Head Massage

- Hand Massage

- Reflexology

Beauty Therapist, Sonia Gilmore will be offering

- Finger Nail File & Polish

- Eyebrow Waxing

- Eyebrow Threading

The Concept hair stylists will also be on hand for hair consultation and information.

Tel Concept on 01524 63903 if you'd like more info.

This is the first Lancaster late night Christmas shopping, first Thursday in December, so if you are planning to take advantage of the shops opening late, why not also come and chill out for a while with us, have some refreshments and treat yourself to a bit of pampering. it sometimes seems 'Tis the Season to be stressed out' running around preparing for the 'big day'! Don't forget to take some time out to enjoy yourself and look after yourself as well!

What do my previous clients think of my service?

I recently emailed my mailing list and asked if my clients would submit a rating/review of Holistyx to Freeindex.co.uk - a free business directory.

Having reviews helps me by giving feedback on the services I provide, showing those searching what they can expect from a treatment from me, and also improves my listing - making it appear higher in a search. I also wanted to create a testimonials page here and though I already had a few testimonials (snippets of which are on my leaflet) I wanted some new up to date ones.

Well, so far 5 people have responded with a review - all very high ratings (on average 4.93 out of 5!) and wonderful positive feedback about me and the effectiveness of my treatments which has made me feel very appreciated!

You can see the reviews over at Free Index. I think its an excellent idea to have an independant site like that provide a review function. I don't know about you, but when shopping on the net I have sometimes read a page full of glowing quotes from satisfied customers and thought "Yeah, BUT ... how do I know these are genuine customers?" This way you know I am not making it up!!

Having said that (!) these and my older testimonials are also here on a new page on my website. Go check them out!

Now Available on Mondays at Concept Hair and Beauty!

Concept Hair and Beauty is right in the middle of Lancaster town centre. It is at number 41 China Street, which is on the one way system round town, next to Sue Bridges Estate Agents and just round the corner from Market Street and the main shopping area.

There is a beauty room at the back of the salon which is used by beauty therapist Sonia Gilmore Tuesday to Saturdays and is now home to Holistyx on Mondays! I am available from 9am when the salon opens right through to 7.30pm.

So if you work in town, why not make an appointment to come along after work, for a bit of relaxation at the end of a hard day? A lot of people suffer from work related stress, what better way to unwind, relax, and enable yourself to enjoy your evening and cope better the next day than finishing your work day with a relaxing massage? Or perhaps, with the central location, you might even fit in a massage or reflexology treatment before work or in your lunch break?

My full range of treatments, Swedish Massage, Indian Head Massage, Aromatherapy massage and Reflexology are available. The staff at the salon do not make appointments for me, as I need to speak to you to make sure the treatment you wish to have is suitable for you, but they are happy to take your name and number and pass them on to me - for me to contact you - if you wish. Or just give me a ring on 07888 692803.

World Reflexology Week- SPECIAL OFFER!

World Reflexology Week starts in a couple of days - on Monday 22nd September.

To encourage more people to try Reflexology. I am offering a discounted rate of an hour for £20 or 45 mins for £15. For those of you that have had Reflexology before, you can still enjoy the discounted rate. First come, first served, so email me now at Holistyx@googlemail.com or ring or text me on 07888 692803 and make an appointment!

Would you like to know more about Reflexology? Click on the 'About Reflexology' tab at the top of this page - Ive just updated it to explain in more detail the theory behind Reflexology, the benefits you may experience from treatment, and what happens in a Reflexology session.

Photos and social networking links

I've just added a slideshow to the sidebar - what do you think? I really need to get a more up to date photograph of myself though. My hair is below my shoulders and I know people don't always recognise me from that photo! I did get my parents to take one of me in my clinic uniform with my hair all tied back the way it has to be, but I didn't like the way it came out.

I've added buttons below each blog post so you can share posts you like by email or on social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz or your own Blogger Blog. There is now also a 'share it' link in the sidebar on the right for Facebook and Twitter (scroll down a ways to find it). So far, so good. But, I also added a 'like this' gadget. Which... says that 49,331 people like my blog!!! Err, no! So, what has happened there then, I got the code straight from Facebook. I don't want to lose the function but I don't want that figure there either!

(Some time later).. I found a much cooler Facebook gadget called a 'Like Box' which includes snapshots of my most recent posts. So I am getting rid of the Facebook Badge I had in the sidebar before (which you can see in my post announcing I've joined Facebook) and I'll also get rid of the bizarre 'like this' gadget which says that 49,331 had liked my blog! But I'll leave it for a while for my readers to laugh at! Meanwhile, please go ahead and click on either 'like' if you like! ;-)

PPS Ok, I've now got rid of the very wierd malfunctioning gadget which had counted over 72 thousand people as liking my blog!!!

About Swedish Massage, Indian Head Massage, Reflexology and Aromatherapy

I've now put information on the pages 'About Swedish Massage', 'About Indian Head Massage', 'About Reflexology' and 'About Aromatherapy'. So, if you want to know a bit more about treatments I offer - such as what happens in a session, and what the benefits are - have a look!