I am currently on this massage course, Raynor Massage that is mind blowing, not only is it completely changing the way I think but also the way I have perceived tension like the thousands of you with clubfoot!

A chiropractor and modern medicine would argue that if the pain is in the arm it’s connected to the back so we must fix something in the back and ta da the pain is gone from the arm. But my problem with that is that the pain would still be there. I have been going to EXCELLENT Chiropractors and Osteopaths alongside terrible and then excellent physiotherapists.The movements, exercises and treatments they gave me just never… quite…. solved the issue I was in… which was tight, muscular tension and pain.

Pain, something equally shared by all of us with clubfoot/feet. We suffer silently every single day. Many of you have commented on how wonderful my feet look, but like a beautician dresses up her face I suppose I’m the same with my clubfoot. I massage it 3-4x a day right through morning to evening. I have no qualms of pulling off my sock and giving it a massage in the middle of a cafe. And my friends are used to it.

I also, use Bio Oil, I use aromatherapy oils and massage oils, and then lots of organic creams on my feet. I simply know that without my massaging them my feet would be giving more grief than necessary. I’m also on a high dosage of Vit D, B12 and Magnesium to prevent fatigue and give more rise in my energy levels. Magnesium also helps with muscle and VitD against osteoporosis.

So back to osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists… I’m not saying stop seeing them if they’re helping you but if you are still struggling and in chronic pain despite seeing them then perhaps you need something alongside going to see them? I’m still sticking to my osteopath even though I’ve discovered this Raynor Massage treatment.

This Raynor massage course I’m doing is mind blowing simply because of the way in which it teaches where our tension is held:

1) If there is pain in the hips, most Orthodox medicine teaches we must treat the hips, but, before we go do harm to the hips then perhaps it might be more useful to find out where the tension is coming from?

So we start with the toes…..Now has anyone ever massaged your toes before? Apart from a very quick “popping” to get the air out in a Chinese massage or a very soft massage during Reflexology or Thai Massage no one has. And this isn’t soft “La La” massage. This is starting at the tips of your toes to find the point of tension (and yes the masseur can feel it, even if you’re just feeling the pain!) The incredible thing about being masseur is that this big ball of tension related to the pain in the lower back or hip or leg is completely felt between the thumb and a tiny muscle in your toe. It really is…. wow. And so the screaming from receiver starts, moaning, breathing through the pain, until, I , the masseur can shift it up out of the toe into the foot and up the leg and suddenly we feel this “pop” this release of tension…. and the receiver, the client, you, will look up at me in recognition that it doesn’t hurt anymore, but also, you’ve heard, witnessed and seen that release of tension and that’s powerful.

It’s powerful but also incredibly emotional because the client, you, or when I was massaged…. I … was lying on this table and I’d been so used to this painful tension in my body I had limited myself around it, I had learnt to live with it. So when the tension released it made me cry.

A cry that was deep and came from the pits of my stomach cry, not the cry where tears fall from the surface. For many years and ever since I was a child I have been having tummy aches and living off Andrews a salt in water that would help with the build up of gas and digestive difficulties. My family are very healthy, no grains, and only fruits, vegetables, organic meats mostly white and fish. So going to bed with terrible stomach problems was worrying for my mother who couldn’t understand what was wrong.

I’ve been like that most of my life and I have seen countless nutritionists and dieticians all giving me strict or not so strict programmes to follow but I just couldn’t stick to because I’d go to bed crying with stomach pain and then live off rice and cooked apples for ages, or make myself smoothies and not eat very solid foods but even then I’d have the same problem.

When my teacher, Maureen, dug her hands into 3 bands of muscle in my stomach I yelped (in pain mostly) but also joy… because finally someone had FOUND THE PAIN!!!!! This is where I was always in pain…. doctors…. specialists…. osteopaths…. everyone had missed it but this Raynor Massage teacher had found it.

Maureen also explained that these 3 bands of muscle in my stomach on the right side were very tight and connected to the muscle in my right leg and down to my right foot and right toes. My right foot, though not a clubfoot has been experiencing years of pain and difficulties of its own because it’s been overcompensating for my left side. The right leg has now been turning outwards and my right foot is now turning completely outwards causing the most excruciating shin splints down the sides of my right leg. This terrible pain was the reason why I was prevented from having more driving lessons because I would get right side leg cramp when I had to stop in traffic. It was fine in an open road but as soon as I had to stop in traffic I’d just experience the worst tightness in tension ever.

Maureen explained that by working more on my feet and the bands of my muscles in my stomach tension can be released and hopefully then my digestive system will work better and my right leg and foot will begin to turn inwards. And believe me it’s only been a week or so since the massage course but my foot has definitely turned in more!

And this is why I know I am going to continue with Raynor Massage treatments for myself throughout my practice because it is so important to release my own tension whilst helping others release theirs.

An art psychotherapist graduate who had been on my training turned to me at an event we both found ourselves at and she said in a very patronising tone: Oooo I hear you’re now doing massage… and errr…. Reiki? To which I replied, well, bodywork therapy yes…. and she replied “Well, you know, you have to find what makes you happy in life and if that’s massage (she coughs)” I didn’t even wait for her to finish and walked off…. this is a girl who is addicted to smoking, bites her nails and fingers raw and won’t even talk about her own artwork despite telling others how they should be and has an art psychotherapist job in a psychiatric something or other. This same girl would roll her eyes whenever I talked about being born with a clubfoot how debilitating it was having an invisible disability and would tell me not to complain because I wasn’t disabled.

The connection between bodywork and psychotherapy is far greater than people realise and this cutting off of mind from body and mind from emotion and body from emotion is resulting in the build up of tension and ultimately overwhelming stress.

To those that say massage is at the bottom – oooh you’re a massage therapist…. I actually think they have lost the plot. Massage – when done correctly is at the top of all treatments because it releases the very pain that is holding you back. Pain in your legs after only 5 mins of walking? Oh I must sit down all the time, thus causing more pain in your glutes and lower back, but if you visit a Raynor Massage practitioner regularly  – a Raynor Massage practitioner are the ones who feel, who sense, are intuitive, are able to get a sense of your body. Raynor Massage practitioners can massage out the tiny pieces of tightly held tension in your toes then smooth out the tension through your feet, up your legs, up to your hips until pop. The tension releases.

The girl I was training alongside was able to pin down on the tension with 10x more strength than I ever could but I noticed that I could spot where the tension was coming from immediately, we worked well together when massaging our teacher as I could point out the tension and she could press down hard. Whilst I have been massaging friends and family, the biggest feedback I’ve had is: you’re so precise.

Here is my facebook status after I had almost an hour massage on my clubfoot from my Raynor Massage teacher:

“The massage therapy course I am training on is incredible. My clubfoot toes have been bunged up since 2004 , 3 months after my operation… for the first time ever, and out of every single thing I have ever tried, this is the only therapy to have worked for me. Now I can wriggle my clubfoot toes and my foot feels so much lighter! Am finding a Raynor Massage Therapist near me to continue this amazing journey and as for my stomach… let’s just say the amount of physical and emotional tension released was agony and heaven. No other therapy has ever performed as well. To all the clubbies, don’t worry, I’m training and I hope to bring you this fantastic therapy to you one day too!” – My facebook status

And I do want to add, I’m less in pain, less bunged up and my goodness just look at my feet!! Take a look to my feet back in 2010 (in the photos in my About Me and “Sexy clubfoot” pages and you’ll see the difference!!!

I’m overjoyed!! I start practicing in September so if you want a treatment – a full treatment is 2-3 hours long (yes 1 hour is way too short for us clubbies and you will see why when you experience a Raynor massage treatment!

  I was never able to flex my foot like this because it would cause cramp in an instant. Honestly, this is really amazing for me, and to be able to move my toes and flex them by myself…. wow!

If you live in the North of England and want to experience a really intensive treatment that really focuses on getting the tension out of your body I recommend my teacher Maureen. Her website is here: http://www.raynormassagepreston.co.uk/

Or if you want to train in Raynor Massage yourself contact: http://www.raynormassage.com/