The truth behind cupping therapy and those big red marks

‘Cupping therapy’ might conjure images of horror-movie style bruises, akin to the welts you’d see on the losing team of a paintball tournament. Thankfully, it’s nowhere near as painful and can actually be low-key enjoyable. Most importantly, it has some really impressive benefits for a whole host of pain and soft-tissue disorders. The concept of this treatment is thought to date back to 3300 B.C, a subset of Traditional Chinese Medicine; but there is evidence of cupping-style therapies existing in many ancient cultures. There are several different strains of cupping[…]

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“We need a new name”

“I wish we could change the name”, said Dorine after explaining the basics of craniosacral therapy. The audience concurred. A confusing name, they said. An unfortunate name for a whole body therapy, because craniosacral therapy (CST) can achieve some amazing results on all physical, mental and emotional levels. Dorine Siccama is our resident CST therapist, and in the second of our brainmassage series of free events, held Wednesday night 13 September, she was speaking to an attentive audience which included therapists, people who had experienced this form of healing treatment[…]

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When brain meets aroma

The inaugural brainmassage session took place on August 10, with the woman behind ‘Aromatherapy with Sarah’. An advocate for natural therapies and the ‘low-tox’ lifestyle, Sarah Smart shared her knowledge of essential oils and their role in assisting with specific conditions. She outlined the differences between remedial massage and aromatherapy (“it’s gentler”) and how a session can (and always should) be customised for the client’s particular conditions and needs. A former IT executive, Sarah left all those bytes behind and switched to a different… read more. The next brainmassage session[…]

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Meet our therapists: Dorine

Dorine Siccama’s unique approach to natural healing is the result of a background in both remedial massage and psychology, which led her on a quest to build a career in holistic therapies. She was awarded a Master’s Degree in psychology from the University of Amsterdam before becoming fascinated by the stories the human body could tell. “I loved massage, I loved psychology and I loved integrating body and mind. That was always my thing; I always thought that these two had to be integrated.” It wasn’t until Dorine relocated to[…]

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