Health & Wellbeing: The Big Picture

A Note From Elle

Hello, my name is Elle, owner and principle therapist of Sea Stone Therapies.

Before I delve into a topic that is such a passion of mine, I would like to note that while the massage advice I dispense is based on my training, the other comments on this page I do not claim to have any expertise in.

Instead, they are amassed from personal experience and my avid interest in what it is to feel good and well in this often chaotic world.

The Health We Can Control

Health is a multifaceted word in our culture and it looks different to every person.

The health I am speaking of here is not exclusively medical health. You can’t always control what happens to you in life and you may have underlying health problems that you were born with, or that develop from an event.

I myself was born with a defective liver and had to have a liver transplant at eighteen months old. Without the enormous amount of medical care I received before and after I wouldn’t be alive today.

What I have grown increasingly fascinated with is the side of health that we can control: what we put into our bodies and how we move it, as well as how we speak to ourselves and psychologically build habits.

I believe exploration comes first.

Exploration and an understanding that the body and mind are intrinsically linked. Physical and mental health to me is finding a path of challenge and joy that you want to return to, that works for your own complex composition.

It is not forcing your body through gruelling drills without the nutrition or will to support you and berating your perceived failures. It is okay to make mistakes, to try things that don’t end up working. Maybe pilates isn’t for you, maybe impact sports are instead, or maybe you have an injury that means swimming is the better option.

Be kind to yourself and keep trying.

Massage is about repair and maintenance and I’ve come to think that these are good ideas for life in general. There are so many ways to move your body, to calm your mind, to take you out of the bustle and fever of everyday life, I believe there is something out there that works for everybody, it is simply a case of finding it.

Finding What Feels Good

For me it is yoga, sea swimming and woodland walks for my body and books, baths and massaging for my mind. And drinking more water! What a revelation that was.

I spent a long time falling prey to the cultural maxim that if you’re not working so hard you are on the verge of collapse than you are not working hard enough. I believe human nature craves to learn and be challenged and while working hard cultivates discipline, satisfaction and independence, taking the time for recovery should be just as important.

It is the fuel to your fire.

Whether it be massage, tai chi, cups of tea, playing with your grandchildren, letter writing, dancing, doing the washing up, fell running, crosswords…the list is endless, whatever it is that you love doing that lights a fire in your fibres and provides respite for your brain, find it and make time for it.

Start small and listen: your body and mind will tell you what it needs.