​Am I far enough from the scalpel?
 
"Am I far enough from the scalpel? Far enough from my own personal hospital drama episode to reflect? These were questions rolling around this head of mine. For months. I pondered about writing of my experience, encouraged by friends, but it made me feel nauseous. The thought of sharing the terror of those first weeks after diagnosis left me distracted and distant. And yet a larger part of me knows that only in coming out into full expression will I have a gnats chance in hell of surviving this emotionally.
 
By nature I’m a recluse. More firmly connected to the trees, hills, seas and hidden places. I think many more have found this gift for self reflection in the arms of nature again. These times we are living in are intense, but I digress. Its often been the way I escape the reality of life, it feels too harsh to me. Humans feel too harsh and unkind. But with a cancer diagnosis I can’t really hide anymore. I think folk like me are needed, or so that’s what the social media memes would have us all believe. Something about standing and being seen, helps when you are redefining your life to have a living meaning..." 
Exert from Medium blog post 12 April 2021

I look back on the woman who wrote those words with pride. That even in the midst of my deepest challenge this lifetime I still wanted to share my journey. At that point I had no idea if I would survive, yet I knew that it was somehow important to share. I am on the other side of treatments now, in remission and stitching my life back together. From this place I understand how crucial it is to have a way-shower at points in our life journey. Someone who has traversed the depths of the challenge and is driven to hold out a hand of support for others.

This is what mentoring is to me. Non evaluative person driven support, where your story forms the basis of what is offered.

I don't profess to have it all figured out, but I will stand beside those who resonate with me and find solace in my presence. I can offer you the gifts I have learnt over a lifetime, listen to you, see your beauty even when you can't, but more than this I can show you its possible.

Possible to be you.

Possible to find your own grace.

Because ultimately you know what you need, and I am just here to help you clear your vision.
Here is a little more of the journey of me. The reasons why I became a shiatsu practitioner and now all these years later my evolution into mentoring. There is always a running thread of gold in our lives, from which we grow. It excites me to realise that my thread was always there. And I know that your thread is too. Every part of your life story speaks about who you are. In times of crisis, change and transition it can feel like we have lost the thread, that we no longer know who we are. Yet I believe that these are the moments to seek out others, that they may see us, that they may remind us. That we may all grow into the next part of our lives, with a richer sense of self connectedness.
​"In the heady days of 90’s London, midst a booming alternative scene. I found myself fly pitching as a hair wrapper on Camden Lock. And in that time of weaving colours into folk’s hair, I began to sink more deeply into the conversations that created the backdrop to the patterns I wove. I started to feel I could be of service to people in that market madness. And so I commenced my reiki masters training over a number of years and worked with various groups offering this hands off energy work.

But you know, it wasn’t enough. I kept feeling the urge to pull an arm here, to hold a point there. This was scary territory, I was not trained in massage or other body work and had no idea what this all meant. So I did what many of us do in our spinning 20’s, and I turned from the healing work and began to point my search into learning about my own body.

Healing my traumas and harnessing my emotions with the help of my yoga really helped to focus me and has given me the 27years of daily practice. I call it my drip drip transformation. I qualified as a Contact partner yoga and Amrit hatha yoga teacher. And have gained other numerous qualifications over the many years since. Teaching yoga has satisfied my urge to connect and support others well.

But still, at the back of my heart, I could feel a calling. The spoke of my wheel was yet to be found in terms of the service I could be giving to others. But what? I mused and toyed with thoughts and research into different trainings, but none ignited my soul. Until I stumbled into my first shiatsu treatment and a moment of eureka infused me.

Because this was what I had been guided to be doing all those years ago in my reiki days, and the more I uncovered during my shiatsu trainings, the more I fell in love with the simplicity and majesty of such an ancient map to view the body from. Its profoundly healing and yet meets each person wherever they are. The depth and versatility of this fully clothed hands on system of informed touch is nothing short of magic.

In my years as a practitioner I still rise in joy at the transformations I witness in my community of clients. To be privileged to hear people’s story and to have the tools to be able to hold them, wherever their body is needing holding, is almost indescribable. I love what I do. I bring everything to my treatments. And in those precious moments of supporting others, I come alive. I finally know who I am.
And this is what has brought me here and will keep me here for many happy years to come."