Here at Bideford Wellbeing Centre we have been helping the people of Bideford relax after a hard day at work. Our Therapy Thursday initiative has proved to be very popular with workers in Bideford and the surrounding areas who wish to try out new treatments at a reduced price. We are running the event the first thursday of every month, 4pm - 8pm at the Bideford Wellbeing Centre, located just off the High Street in Bideford. Come along and pamper yourself with a massage, reflexology or many other relaxing and stress relieving treatments. Call 01237 470177 to reserve your place now!

Bideford Wellbeing Centre has a busy few months ahead as it is involved in a number of charity events.

On Sunday March 25th you will be able to find us in Victoria Park, Bideford for the Sports Relief event. We shall be offering taster sessions in a variety of different therapies for a donation to the Sport Relief Charity.

The Olympic Torch comes to Bideford on Monday 21st May and to mark this event we are hosting an Olympic Torch Massage in aid of Help for Heroes. We shall be set up in a marquee just outside Victoria Park from 9am-1pm so come along and have a massage, reflexology, indian head massage, the choice is yours and support this wonderful charity.

It's Open Day time again, this time to celebrate our fourth anniversary and raise money for Help for Heroes. Everyone is welcome to come and visit the Centre, meet the therapists and try one or more of the fantastic treatments that we have on offer for a small charge going to the Help for Heroes charity.

Dr Nicole Burge is a Medical Acupuncturist.

Nicole originally trained in March 2004 and remains a member of The British Medical Acupuncture Society. She is qualified to treat with acupuncture, electroacupuncture and auriculotherapy.

Nicole understands the balance of East & West philosophies - she has been an experienced GP for 18 years and more recently a senior medical officer with the RAF, but with a passion for a complimentary, holistic approach to wellbeing. Acupuncture does play an important role in healthcare today but it is essential to maintain a balanced view by informed choices between practitioner and patient.

Aromatherapy massage combines the nurturing power of touch with the therapeutic properties of essential oils. Applying these powerful plant extracts to the body in the form of a massage helps to diminish physical pain, restore emotional balance and allow the spirit to evolve. It is the combination of rhythmic strokes and generating heat that ensures the oils will pass through the skin. Aromatherapy is a truly enjoyable way of keeping stress levels low, immune systems high and helping to maintain emotional equilibrium.

For more information about Aromoatherapy, or to book yourself an appointment call Katrina on 01237 470177 or 07799 300312

TEA-TOWELS AND TAILORING - exploring the fabric of our body with massage
Ian Tennant

I’m often intrigued by the way clients describe what it feels like to receive a massage.  The sensation felt when working slowly up from the heel along the deep muscle fibres towards the knee, was likened by one lady to squeezing toothpaste out of tube.  Another said her back felt “all warm and squidgy, like porridge” after her treatment – rather than the “brittle, grey plastic” that was lodged in her shoulder blades beforehand. Yet, it was the similarity to “ironing creases out of a tea-towel” which recently got me thinking about the role of functional, flowing movement during therapy in helping clients fully recover.

When treating clients with standard techniques, perhaps lying still and face down on a massage couch - the ‘tea-towel’ comparison ideally describes the local smoothing effect of massage on a specific part of their body. Yet a whole person is much more interesting than a flat, piece of cloth that spends half it’s life in a kitchen drawer!  As soon as they jump off the couch, bodies twist and stretch using complex patterns of movement that require a phenomenal amount of muscle memory and whole-body coordination in three dimensions.  One of the hardest jobs for a therapist is to make sure that the one-hour’s worth of ‘ironing’ done on the couch is integrated by the client into the twenty-three hours of living off the couch in the real world, and that they avoid resorting to damaging patterns of muscle recruitment.

So, in keeping with the latest cutting edge research on fascia (the connective tissue of ‘fabric’ of our body) my New Year’s resolution for 2011 is to upgrade the tea-towel analogy and think about the fabric of our bodies more like a fashion designer or tailor would when designing a ball gown: appreciating the role that the properties of cloth  – such as drape and absorbency – play in the overall performance of the garment, or in our case the performance of the client’s body.  By introducing stretch and dance-like movements in three dimensions into massage treatments we can go further than just releasing tension and really restore the body to its natural state of grace and elegance.

Calling anyone who works in Bideford!!!

Bideford Wellbeing Centre has launched Therapy Thursdays as part of their Health and Wellbeing campaign to help keep the workers of Bideford fit, healthy and happy. They offer a range of natural treatments such as massage, reflexology and homeopathy which can help build immunity, promote relaxation, relieve and strengthen sore muscles, aid relaxation, reduce tension and help sleep.

So, if you work in Bideford come along to Bideford Wellbeing Centre (next door to Card Factory) and find out which treatments are right for you by taking advantage of the special taster sessions on Thursday November 3rd and 10th. Taster Treatments last 20 minutes and give you an insight into what is involved and the health benefits of your chosen therapy or therapies. Taster Treatments are just £5 with all proceeds going to the Childrens Hospice South West. Treatments will be available from 11am -9pm. Appointments must be pre-booked.

A deeply relaxing and ultimately rejuvenating therapy.  Research into the benefits of Meditation have shown it can decrease heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen consumption, it can lower blood pressure and decrease muscle tension.  New research shows that Meditation can change you on a genetic level helping to activate immune system, fight inflammation and kill diseased cells.  Meditation is the first mind-body intervention being widely adopted in mainstream health care.

On Saturday 18th June 2011 we are hosting a Charity Open Day at the Bideford Wellbeing Centre in aid of Cardiac Risk in the Young. Come along and meet the therapists working at the Centre and try a taster session in one of the many therapies on offer whist raising money for this important cause. Doors open at 10am and sessions can be pre-booked by phoning the Centre on 01237 470177 or Katrina on 07799 300312.

CRY's Vision 2011: to work with cardiologists and family doctors to promote and protect the cardiac health of our young by establishing good practice and screening facilities devoted to significantly reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death throughout the UK.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME........ tell your friends, neighbours and work colleagues and come along and join the fun!