Whilst every beauty aficionado worth their salt should be familiar with Neal’s Yard Remedies little blue pots of wonder, were you also aware that they also specialise in a whole host of therapies and treatments at 31 stores across the length and breadth of the country? With an offering as diverse as their product range treatments range from Acupuncture and Alexander Technique to Yoga and Zero Balancing, all of which are undertaken by teams of trained professionals in the calming surroundings of Neal’s Yard Remedies’ boutiques and therapy rooms. With 21 of those therapy room locations being in London, what better time than this change in seasons to rid your body of stress and toxins, revive and unwind as we head towards the winter months.
The Islington branch is situated at the upper end of Upper Street (my favourite end – better shops…) and offers a huge menu of therapies and treatments with various therapists at different time slots during the week; a particularly useful addition to booking is that all of these are listed on the website, meaning one can clearly see on what days and at what times one’s chosen treatment is available.
I recently visited the Islington branch to sample a massage; after a particularly stressful period of work and an incredibly long day hunched at my desk it could not have come at a better time. Neal’s Yard works primarily with freelance or independent practitioners, mine being Fariyal Wallez of www.letyourbodytalk.uk.com, who retrained as a massage therapist after a career in architecture and now specialises in holistic, deep tissue and Indian head massage, as well as life coaching and massage training.
Not being familiar with holistic massage (having mostly stuck with Swedish or deep tissue techniques in the past) I was intrigued to discover it’s a full body treatment, including the head and face, combining a variety of techniques designed to relax the muscles, calm the emotions, improve circulation and increase oxygen in the blood, release toxins and recharge the immune system.
Stroking in the direction of the heart stimulates circulation and flushes the tissues of lactic acid, uric acid, and other metabolic wastes, all of which help shorten recovery time after muscle strain (not that I tend to have much of that, to be honest…) As well as providing specific medical benefits, holistic massage improves general health and wellbeing. After assessing whether I had any existing problems Fariyal set to work, paying particular attention to a recurring knot in my right shoulder blade which she eased out gently yet thoroughly, and making light work of the inevitable pent up tension in my neck and shoulders that inevitably results from spending 12 hours of your day hunched over a desk. I always find the ability to drift off (literally, I mean actually fall asleep…) the sign of a successful massage, so obviously this was one as I recall being woken after what appeared to have been five minutes to discover my what had in fact been 60 minutes was indeed up.
As far as massages go, my holistic experience was indeed up there in the list of the most relaxing massage experiences I’ve had in London. Obviously depending on your needs it may not suit – for a good pummelling deep tissue is still your friend – however if you want to leave the therapy room feeling relaxed, revived and on a higher plain of wellbeing, head for some holistic.
Holistic Massage with Fariyal Wallez at Neal’s Yard Remedies Islington Therapy Rooms, £60 for 60 minutes, £90 for 90 minutes. For a full timetable of sessions visit www.nealsyardremedies.com
Love Laurel x
