
Transcript
Gill Jarrett: Holistic Massage Therapy
Episode 63

Welcome to the Loved Called Gifted podcast.
This is your place to come for musings about spirituality, identity and purpose.
I'm your host, Catherine Cowell.
C: So I'm really chuffed to be joined by Gill Jarrett, in her treatment room in Shrewsbury.
G: Yes.
C: I've had a really, really lovely day.
So I've come to Shrewsbury and we're by the river and you gave me a hot stone massage earlier and then we've been to a delightful cafe for some lunch.
G: It's been brilliant.
C: And we met at a wellbeing day organised by the University of Staffordshire and you were lecturing.
G: Yes.
C: And I was really interested to hear you talking about massage.
G: I'm very heartfelt and passionate about massage and the difference that it can have. Massage done correctly is a very powerful healing tool which can really make a difference.
C: And you've done some research into kind of the difference that that makes to people.
G: So I have just finished the BTEC professional diploma in advanced clinical and sports massage and my research is the effects of the Jing method on anxiety, depression and stress in healthcare professionals.
C: So tell us a bit about what you did in your study and what you found.
G: Yeah.
The study, the 12 week programme, so six weeks was a control period where they completed a depression, anxiety and stress questionnaire over the six weeks.
And then six weeks of hands-on, which was the Jing method, a multimodal approach.
It's using things like building therapeutic alliance, looking at the Biopsychosocial model, using a blend of techniques such as hot stones, Myofascial release, trigger point therapy, acupressure points, teaching self-care and some stretching.
The self-care aspect's really quite important. So it's about empowering clients to take ownership and control in that they can actually help support themselves.
So before participants started the study, we did a consultation. So I took a detailed history, so I had a good picture of where that person was at right now within their life.
And the results were really interesting because the depression and anxiety started to reduce during the control period.
My theory was that maybe the impact of the consultation and being listened to, feeling heard and the fact that maybe they were looking forward to six weeks of massage treatments.
Stress didn't reduce until the six weeks hands-on period, but it definitely reduced during that time.
And there was also a questionnaire which was sent out at 16 weeks where levels had remained low.
So the impact was really positive.
C: Sounds really interesting.
So one of the things that struck me when I heard you talking about it at Staffs was that this wasn't just that somebody came for massage, but that they had a number of weeks.
And you were talking about the way that actually people's responses to massage sort of shifted over those six weeks.
G: Yes.
It was really interesting within the first couple of weeks, for example, people were exhausted and that showed up after the treatment where they would actually start yawning towards the end of the treatment, and then feeling like they needed to go home and have a rest.
Then over the last few weeks, like week five and week six, that transitioned, in that people felt energised, They felt motivated. They made comments like, "I feel like I could go and run a marathon" or "I feel like I can go and get my jobs done".
So that shift in motivation was really apparent in three out of four of the participants. It was such a positive impact that I wasn't expecting. That whole shift and change in energy.
C: I think quite a lot of people, if they've experienced massage, they will have done it - you know, you go on a spa day and you have a massage - and then you might not do it for months.
But it sounds like part of what you're finding is that there's something about that consistency that makes a difference for people.
G: Yeah.
I think because our lives are very stressful and I don't think we really understand that we are walking around in our "fight or flight" most of the time because of the impact and the bombardment of life generally, there aren't many still times that we truly have unless we're sleeping.
Also, touch is not really quite a done thing now, unless it's by people that we're really close to.
So being able to provide and have a safe space for touch where you feel truly nurtured and safe is really healing.
Also, I feel really privileged that people are able to let me look after them and help them feel safe and let me into their space. I never take that for granted because a lot of us, we don't let many people in, I think, truly.
And so the power of being able to open up and be vulnerable, I think allowing somebody to have a space where they can be vulnerable.
How do you feel? after you've been with me now, because you've been with me and you've had a treatment from me? How are you feeling?
C: It was really very, very relaxing.
And as you were talking about those people who were coming out and feeling that it could do with a nap, I can sort of identify with that.
It was a really interesting hour because time sort of stood still.
It was like being in this very warm, very lovely bubble, sort of outside of time and my mind kind of completely relaxed I think.
So it was a really, really special experience. Very lovely.
And I really liked the hot stones.
That was cool.
G: Yeah, so I seem to be known for hot stones.
It's all about calming the autonomic nervous system, helping people's bodies reset.
And I think when I first trained in hot stones, it was something that really resonated with me. I felt like it was really special to use heat.
I know there's a lot of things where people are using ice baths and cold water swimming, but my personal take is for heat and the sensation that it brings at calming our nervous system down.
You know, if you feel pain, you'll get a hot water bottle possibly and that safety and the feeling that that brings.
So I don't think there's one element of making a successful massage treatment, but I think it's this multimodal approach that really is key.
And I'm always learning, I'm always developing, I'm always learning new techniques, whether it's scar tissue or myofascial release or the acupressure points. There's always something that I can add into creating this holistic treatment.
And each client that I see, like everybody's unique, everybody is different. Everybody's life experience is different. People's stories to where they come to when they see me is different and unique.
So being able to create a bespoke treatment for each individual person is really key.
So being able to make sure I've done a consultation, have a real understanding of somebody's needs, and where they're at right now and each week can be different. So once a client comes in, whatever's happened during that week can be different. Different things can surface for them.
So bodywork for me is really healing, and we can hold memories, trauma within our body. And sometimes having an opportunity within my room, for example, where they're feeling nurtured, feeling safe, then these things can surface.
And I work with other professionals as well. So I know lots of counsellors. I like working with PTs, so making sure people have got movement in. So self-care is really important to me.
So being able to empower clients and just talking through what do you need right now to get to the best version of you. What is happening? Is that an emotional aspect? Is that a physical aspect? you know, work with nutritional therapists. So that whole holistic approach is required.
And also, as I was saying, like multimodal is a really important word for me.
I don't think there's one fix for anything in particular. It is this whole holistic approach, but it's been able to tap in too and using that intuitive side of me.
So I've got quite a background where I have good empathy skills and just that intuitive feel. I think being an empathic soul, you're able to really sort of feel how somebody's feeling and having that skill is actually quite important in identifying what somebody can need and also feel how somebody feels and really have an understanding and being able to give them what they need at that time.
C: Yeah.
So for you, the connection with the person that you're working with and building something of a rapport, and getting to understand them as a person is really, really key.
G: Definitely. It's definitely key.
But also that interest. I'm interested in knowing somebody's story. I'm interested in how can I help? Is there anything that I can help with? And also realistically, can I? And if I don't know, then I will help signpost them to somebody that they do need.
C: How did you get into massage therapy in the first place?
G: Okay.
So I had a 10 year relationship, which was of domestic violence from the age of 18.
And I just left that relationship one day with two children and I was working doing secretarial work, but I wanted to retrain.
I went to the local college and I was looking at courses and it was massage that took my eye. So I signed up for a year course in Swedish massage, which I absolutely loved. And it was just, I knew that it was what I loved and wanted to do.
Past that and I did a Balinese massage course, and an Indian head massage course.
And domestic violence was very different then. There wasn't the support that you can have now.
And even though I'd managed to get away, it's probably things that I put into a bit of a box that surfaced years later where I was able to sort of resolve that trauma through counselling and through massage.
I mean, massage has been really part of my journey in healing, but also the learning aspect as well has helped.
C: So did you have massage yourself from other people as part of your healing?
G: Yes. Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Through the friends that I've met, body work for me is especially helping, connect to our body. I think we can have a disconnect and we can almost be living in our head quite a lot, and maybe not aware of what's happening within our body.
So that relationship between massage and being able to connect to how we feel within our body is quite powerful and a healing process on its own.
C: I'm wondering whether, in those years of domestic violence, whether you had disconnected from your feelings in your body?
G: Yeah, definitely.
I think you are in a state of fight or flight because you don't know what's going to be happening and also you do what you can to survive really.
And lack of self-worth, a lot of negativity towards my own body, I suppose, because of the type of conversation that used to happen.
So yeah, definitely a disconnect.
When I went on my course, it was very empowering, both on the educational level, but also on that physical healing level as well.
C: I'm just thinking that there's kind of two things there, isn't there? There's that disconnect that you really want to heal and bring back that kind of whole sense of self. But on the other side of that is the fact that, that disconnect would have been there as a survival mechanism.
I wonder how scary it was actually in those first moments of kind of bringing those things together, whether that was fairly easy or whether that was a bit traumatic.
G: Honestly, I think it's a process and it doesn't happen in just one stage.
It takes years and it takes little pieces that come back together.
I think I'm quite stubborn character. I think I'm quite stubborn. I've also got good humour.
But it was a type of knowing that things could be different.
And I have got a positive outlook. My mum was very positive. She was a very, you know, she had quite a lot of trauma herself, but she was like always good humour. She was always kind.
And I feel I've had to work very hard just working and always have this commitment to life and positivity. And there was an element of hiding where I sort of kept hidden and kept myself protected.
But through the support of good friends and people that have maybe seen my skills and seen me and seen my potential, and learning to have that belief in myself, that I've been able to step into a feeling of security.
And sometimes it is two steps forward, one step back, but it's also having that awareness of why do I feel like that? Why have I needed to step back into that protective mode? What do I need to do to keep moving forward? What do I need to let go of?
C: So it sounds like those two things are kind of running in parallel, your own reconnection with yourself, but also your own kind of growing sense of self and sense of courage to kind of go out and contribute to the world, and do the things that you're passionate about, kind of offer what it is that you had to offer.
G: Yes, definitely.
C: Are there moments that you can think of where you had a real sense of 'actually that massage' or 'that moment' has kind of healed something within or created a connection?
G: There have been some really quite powerful moments.
So I've got a really fantastic network of therapists that I've met on my sort of educational journey. And I've had treatments from various people and they've always been extremely powerful where I felt very emotional after.
Also recognising the stress that I was under and being able to use the tools and techniques. For example, humour has been a big one for me. If I'm feeling negative, being able to tune into my humour, which changes that energy, uplifts the energy into a more positive space.
I like listening to music to sort of shift my mood.
But a lot of it is about that connection to me and my body and how I'm actually feeling.
And there were times where I was like, running on, 'I need to do this', 'I need to do that', but the massage brought me back into my physical body into, 'okay, this is what's happening. This is how you're feeling. What do you need to do to move forward?'.
So alongside the research of anxiety, stress and depression, I was sort of living it as well, I suppose. So I've been my own experiment.
And as you know, Catherine, when our own journeys can help support others and the things that we've been through, you know, to really have that understanding and being able to know, actually, this is what's happened, I've done it, you can too.
And have that real belief in yourself so you can help others believe in themselves.
C: Yeah, yeah.
It takes a lot of strength to leave a relationship, doesn't it?
G: It does take a lot of strength. It does take a lot of strength.
It takes a lot of courage and we can feel very settled.
I think for me, there was this... I wasn't able to fully invest in myself and my business and support people.
So I'm a big believer in being able to help people. That's what drives me and motivates me.
This is a really strong feeling, that I'm doing - and I am exactly where I need to be right now, in my life. Where I didn't have that feeling before and I didn't have that feeling for a very long time.
So to be able to have the feeling that I am doing the right thing, right now, for me and for other people is powerful.
C: Yeah.
So looking back to when you were quite a lot younger, have you always been somebody who sort of connects with the world and understands the world through your body, do you think?
G: I don't know if I connected the world through my body. I would say I was quite a dreamer if I'm honest.
And I think there was lots of things going on in childhood. I was brought up in a predominantly white area. My background is a mixed race. So my mum was from Trinidad.
So fitting in and feeling different. Feeling different was very strong with me. I didn't really fit in at school, you know. There was racism, there was a disconnect on a level where I think I withdrew.
I had quite a lot of experiences where actually, you know, that daydreaming that helped me get through. It was like a lot of my guidance came through in my dreams.
I'd have a lot of dreams where I was flying or out of my body, but also a real sense of, I knew how people felt. I knew if my mum was sad or my dad was cross or the teacher wasn't very happy.
C: And is that something you kind of felt in your body, or was that more of a head thing?
G: That was a head thing. I didn't have an awareness of my body.
The only thing I remember having an awareness of my body is I used to have a lot of tummy ache at night, but now looking back, I actually know that I was just hungry.
C: So you did need that disconnect for protection.
G: Yeah.
C: So it's really beautiful to have been able to kind of heal that and bring that back together in adulthood.
G: Yeah. You know, that sort of not looking after myself and not knowing that I had to look after myself. And I think a lot of people may be at that time, so I'm 52 now, you know, there was quite a lot of things growing up that weren't ideal.
But I think when you have like a spiritual perspective on life, I think you sort of realise that you go through things and there's a reason for it sometimes. And I don't have any regrets or... it just is - it is how it was.
And being able to actually move forward with the positive mindset of that experience, but being able to have that empathy and compassion for others.
There was bullying, you know, a lot of bullying when I was growing up, but it turns out that a lot of those children that were doing the bullying were going through really difficult times themselves.
So, you know, just having that broader perspective, that's empowering in itself. Being able to not feel like you're a victim, but actually feel like you're a survivor of circumstances and moving yourself forward.
Obviously I got into a very abusive relationship, but at the end of the day, I stayed for as long as I did. So I did have a choice. And so I did choose to leave eventually.
And I've got beautiful children, which I absolutely adore and love and trying to support them the best way I can.
And then as I grew and develop in my confidence that's led me to be where I am right now, and have that exploration into what has helped me heal and move forward in my life, and being able to help others.
C: Yeah. And so you've got this lovely sort of sanctuary space that you invite people into and help them to reconnect with themselves, I guess.
G: Yeah. Yeah.
So it comes sort of full circle where under the guise of having a massage, so people can have like, the different ailments that are going on, but really it's treating that person as a whole and adding that bit of friendship or humour.
And I said to you earlier, Catherine, for me, body work is like my artwork.
So, you know, when an artist is doing their paintings - For me, it's about working with somebody, and like massage is like my hands and my tools and my hot stones, being able to help that person through body work and being able to connect them through that touch and identify how they're feeling, and identify what they need to do to move forward is very key and empowering for individuals.
And it's also a healing space for them.
C: Yeah. As you've described it, it very much sounds like just as for me lying here, having a massage felt like this kind of timeless zone.
There was this sense that we were both in a bit of a timeless zone, that you were in no hurry either.
It sounds as if you really do kind of get in the flow when you're doing it.
G: Yeah, that's exactly the word flow.
There's a flow that happens and I find it difficult to stick to timings, but for energy wise, I need to. But being able to go into a flow, and feeling what that person needs, what does that body needs? There's an intuitive aspect that happens. And I'm always communicating with a client, what are you feeling? How do you feel? And they'll let me know, okay, I'm feeling it here or I'm feeling it there. And I'm able to be working with those areas.
And it's really special. I do get lots of lovely comments about having healing hands and, you know, dealing your magic hands and hot stones.
And it's really wonderful to create positive changes within individuals.
C: Yeah. So for those people who don't live around the corner from you and are available to come and have many massages, what might be some of the things that you think people can do for themselves to kind of reintegrate with their mind and their emotion in their body?
G: Self-care, things that I think are important.
Tapping into your humour.
Heat. So I think a nice hot bath with magnesium salts.
The breath work. So finding some type of breath work that works for you.
Yoga is really good, especially something like Yin Yoga.
C: So what is Yin Yoga?
G: Yoga is really slow when you hold the positions for longer, which works through into the fascia. Also yoga incorporates breath work.
Movement is really important for us. So good strength training, plataes,
Going for a mindful walk. So walking within nature is really lovely.
Music's really good. So have playlists, find things that you like to listen to.
I like to go into the car. I've got a playlist that I like to play.
If I'm feeling particularly apprehensive, or low mood, or in a negative space, I will start listening to something like - I found accidentally, I put in 'positive affirmations' and music came up and it was men that were doing workouts, and they were sort of like "You've got to be your best" and "You've got to pick yourself up" and "You've got to brush yourself off", but it's finding something that's going to lift you and shift your mood and you can do it because a lot of this is mindset. A lot of it is in our heads.
You've got to catch those negative thoughts and you've got to do whatever you can to create those positive ones.
Phoning up a friend. If you've got good friends that you can talk to, going for a walk and really chatting it out.
I did actually connect with swearing. I have to be quite honest.
So a healthy swearing with a friend, make it humorous, make it comical can be quite shifting in changing your negativity.
And I think the fact of identifying that it is okay to have negative emotions as well. It's okay to feel angry and it's okay to feel sad. But it's when is that becoming destructive?
C: So there's those two things together, isn't there? The being really honest and mindful about how you are feeling. And then when you're ready to deliberately do something to shift it.
So it's not burying it. It's kind of acknowledging it and then find something that will help you to move on.
G: Yes. And everybody's different. Things work differently for different people so finding what works for you is really important.
I think it is important to recognize that it is okay to have negative feelings, but it's like I said before, not letting it get destructive and doing something about it to empower yourself to change it.
Because we all have that ability to do it. There's something deep inside us that really wants to survive and it's tapping into that.
C: Yeah. And my goodness you'd know.
G: Yes. [Laughter] Yeah. And it does take, you know, having the right people around us sometimes.
I've got the people around me that, you know, when I need it, they're there.
But also at the same time, sometimes I just need to go into my shell and I need to have those quiet days and I need to be on my own and, you know, having a good cry or just being like where I feel sad, or watching a movie that makes you cry and then you feel better.
C: Yeah.
G: Just allowing, I remember it being called a dismal swamp, it's like allowing yourself to go into this dismal swamp, because I think during our low points, you know, you've got to sometimes hit these low to get up to the high and recognize the high and the positives.
And that is part of the ebb and flow of life and just accepting these times and the self-care things that we need to do during those times and just supporting yourself and let you feel that you need it.
C: I'm wondering if it feels like there's anything else that's important to say or to share.
G: Just knowing that each of us has a unique journey and not to compare ourselves to anybody else.
And really tap into our own feelings of what's right for us and what's not right for us.
And another aspect actually that I didn't talk about was having our boundaries and learning to say no. If something doesn't feel right, don't do it - and trust that that is okay.
And there's another term of putting things in the freezer. Something's not right for you right now. Just put it on ice and move forward and being true to ourselves with that, you know, you really need to sort of know and understand yourself and to be your unique self and don't be scared of being yourself either.
Don't worry about what anyone else is thinking.
As long as you're being a true, honest person, the right people will come in and the right things will come in.
C: And if people are local enough to you to come and get a massage, where would they find you?
G: They will find me in Shrewsbury. It's Moonstone Therapies, so Gill Jarrett at Moonstone Therapist on Instagram and Facebook, and you can contact me through that.
C: Excellent. And you're also interested in sharing this stuff and doing talks and things, aren't you?
G: I am, yes. I think you had great benefit from listening to the workshop and talk at the University.
C: Yeah, it was really good.
And actually you introduced us to some basic massage techniques which were really helpful and some breathing exercises and things. So it wasn't just hearing you talk about it. It was pretty hands-on as well. So it was a really good workshop session.
G: Yeah. So the chair demo that I was demonstrating on the day, I think really gave good insight in how in a short space of time we can feel differently through touch.
But for me, there's important things that you need to do alongside it.
And I love the shift and change in energy that happens when people are working together in a group. I love the aspect of being able to read a room, being able to help change the dynamics, work with that energy that's going on, help uplift and motivate people. I think it's really empowering.
C: Yeah, that was really good. So if people would like to book you for a workshop, you're up for that.
G: I am definitely up for that.
C: Brilliant. Well, thank you ever so much for your time. And it's been a really, really good day. So thank you.
G: Thank you, Catherine. It's been lovely to connect with you.
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