Rachel Glendinning has recently relocated to Harrogate with her family and her holistic back pain and stress solutions business. She invited Mumbler along for a taster session at her new premises – The Serenity Centre. I must say the invite couldn’t have come at a better time for me as I have been struggling with shoulder pain for a few months now and had been meaning to do something about it!
I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I went but Rachel explained that her relationship with the body and wellbeing started as a child, when she practiced yoga and meditation. During her career, she has taught at yoga studios, led private and corporate classes and hosted international retreats and workshops. She was also the principal teacher at the Light Centre in Belgravia and was chosen as the yoga teacher for the Government’s Slow Down London campaign.
Rachel uses The Grinberg Method to address issues with back pain and stress. For a novice like me she explained that The Grinberg Method is a structured way of teaching through the body, focusing on body attention, perception and each person’s individual experiences – it was developed in the early 1980s by Avi Grinberg.
Rachel invited me to The Serenity Centre on Montpellier Street in Harrogate – it was very spacious and relaxing. Rachel started by explaining a little about The Grinberg Method before taking a look at my feet! The foot analysis is a tool Rachel uses to assess and define the aim of the process and adapt it specifically for my needs. She asked me a few questions about my lifestyle and then somehow from my answers and the magic foot analysis she was able to analyse my personality traits pretty well! Without even feeling the tension in my back and shoulders she was able to tell I am someone who struggles to sit still and switch off!
Rachel then started to target some of my problem areas, lower back and neck. As well as massaging the areas Rachel got me to focus on my breathing and to increase the oxygen to these areas, not only did this help reduce the tension in my muscles it really helped me to relax. After working down one side of my back she changed to the other and finished with my neck. The sessions are much more than a massage, Rachel was actually teaching me techniques and exercises that I could do myself to help self-manage the tension pain I had been feeling. At the end of the session Rachel spent five minutes showing me the breathing exercises that I could do at home and she followed this up with an email after the session which reminded me of the techniques.
I left the session feeling really relaxed but I also felt my movement in my back and shoulders were a lot freer and I felt like I had grown a good couple of inches!
I struggle to take time out for myself (don’t most busy mums!) but I really enjoyed the session compared to other treatments I have had in the past as it was adapted to my personal requirements and Rachel really took the time to understand my lifestyle and create a plan of how I could self-help myself as well.
If you’re suffering from back pain or stress and looking for a holistic solution I would definitely recommend Rachel’s services. She is offering these taster sessions for £39 until the end of December as well as free 20-minute office wellbeing neck and shoulder sessions for employees. For more information visit www.rachelglendinning.com
* Mumbler received this taster session free of charge but our reviews are always honest
