About Me
My passion for massage and healing is part of a family tradition inherited from my Burmese grandmother, ‘Burma Granny’, from the Shan State in Burma. My parents were Anglo-Indian/Anglo-Burmese. I was born in Brunei in the Far East before moving to the UK, so my roots and traditions combine both East and West, just as my practice draws upon both Eastern and Western traditions.
My interests always developed through solving problems. I’ve done this in various ways over my 35 plus years in the public, voluntary and private sectors in town planning, project management, mediation and community development. The basic connection has always been about helping people and improving conditions in various ways. I’ve always been into sports, mainly badminton, so dealing with injuries became another personal problem-solving challenge for me.
All these different aspects of my journey have come together in what I’m doing now. It’s about looking at the bigger picture, identifying key issues, and formulating practical solutions – moving from the strategic, bigger picture down to the practical, hands-on detail. I know what it’s like to work within a large corporate structure as much as a small community based organisation. I understand the strategic struggles facing organisations as well as the day to day turmoil of communities and people under stress.
But most of all, I too have been through my own personal challenges and traumas, moving countries and starting afresh at a young age, living with anxiety and depression, facing redundancy, career changes and loss of income.
For me now, the most fulfilling part is being hands-on, having someone walk in and generally walk out feeling better as a direct result of what I do. And what resonates with me the most now is working as a trauma-informed therapist and Body-Mind coach where working with the whole person, I get to do my best work.
In addition to my one-to-one work, I get to offer massage and Wellbeing Retreats and events to organisations. I give presentations and talks on Holistic Health, Chronic Pain and Trauma to events like the Integrative Health Convention in London, Health & Healing Festivals in Leeds and the Ilkley Complementary Medicine Fair. I also have featured on several podcasts, run workshops at international community development conferences and co-host an international group on ‘Holding Space’.
In my spare time I enjoy playing badminton competitively, and am proud to still represent my county of Yorkshire and England in Veteran badminton competitions.
"There are maps through your bones and skin, to the way you've felt and the way you've been."
— Christopher Poindexter