Natalie's Natural Therapies

04/06/2022

Just wanted to thank all of my amazing clients over the years! But due to circumstances changing I will no longer be able to continue doing Bowen Therapy for the unforeseeable future! Take care!
Thanks Nat

23/12/2021

Wishing all my wonderful clients a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2022! Thank you for your patience this year!

08/05/2021

Hi my lovely clients! Just letting you all know that my hours will be a little restricted as of Monday. I have started a new exciting position and will mainly be available after 4pm and weekends for appointments. I will endeavour to do my best to still be flexible and fit you in! Have a amazing weekend!
Cheers Nat

18/01/2021

The Psoas move is never a favourite of clients but it helps on so many levels! That’s why it’s my fave Bowen move!!

🔈 WHY ARE THE PSOAS MUSCLES CONSTANTLY CONTRACTED DURING PROLONGED PERIODS OF STRESS?

Whether you run, bike, dance, practice yoga, or just hang out on your couch, your psoas muscles are involved. That’s because your psoas muscles are the primary connectors between your torso and your legs. They affect your posture and help to stabilise your spine.

The psoas muscles are made of both slow and fast twitching muscles. Because they are major flexors, weak psoas muscles can cause many of the surrounding muscles to compensate and become overused. That is why a tight or overstretched psoas muscle could be the cause of many or your aches and pains, including low back and pelvic pain.

👩‍🔬 ANATOMY

Structurally, your psoas muscles are the deepest muscles in your core. They attach from your 12th thoracic vertebrae to your 5 lumbar vertebrae, through your pelvis and then finally attach to your femurs. In fact, they are the only muscles that connect your spine to your legs.

Your psoas muscles allow you to bend your hips and legs towards your chest, for example when you are going up stairs. They also help to move your leg forward when you walk or run.

Your psoas muscles are the muscles that flex your trunk forward when bend over to pick up something from the floor. They also stabilize your trunk and spine during movement and sitting.

👩‍🔬 THE PSOAS AND FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE

The psoas muscles support your internal organs and work like hydraulic pumps allowing blood and lymph to be pushed in and out of your cells.

Your psoas muscles are vital not only to your structural well-being, but also to your psychological well-being because of their connection to your breath.

Here’s why: there are two tendons for the diaphragm (called the crura) that extend down and connect to the spine alongside where the psoas muscles attach. One of the ligaments (the medial arcuate) wraps around the top of each psoas. Also, the diaphragm and the psoas muscles are connected through fascia that also connects the other hip muscles.

These connections between the psoas muscle and the diaphragm literally connect your ability to walk and breathe, and also how you respond to fear and excitement. That’s because, when you are startled or under stress, your psoas contracts.

In other words, your psoas has a direct influence on your fight or flight response!

During prolonged periods of stress, your psoas is constantly contracted. The same contraction occurs when you:

➡️ sit for long periods of time
➡️ engage in excessive running or walking
➡️ sleep in the fetal position
➡️ do a lot of sit-ups

💡 Here are some tips for getting your psoas back in balance:

✔️ Avoid sitting for extended periods
✔️ Add support to your car seat
✔️ Try Resistance Flexibility exercises
✔️ Get a professional massage
✔️ Release stress and past traumas
✔️ Stretch

💡 HOW TO STRETCH

Roller Psoas Stretch
Use a foam roller for this passive, relaxing stretch that lengthens your psoas, one of your deep hip flexors.

1. Place the roller perpendicular to your spine and lie with your sacrum (the back of your pelvis) — not your spine — on the roller.
2. Pull your left knee toward your chest, keeping your right heel on the ground. You should feel a stretch on the front of your right hip.
3. To increase the stretch, reach your right arm over your head and open your left knee slightly out to the left.
Hold for 30 seconds, then switch legs. Repeat as needed.

07/01/2021

Looks like 2021 will be a good year!! 😂😂

It's going to be a good year! 😉

21/12/2020

I would like to wish all my wonderful clients a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2021!

27/10/2020

Time for a recharge?

We make sure our phone batteries are topped up sufficiently to last the day ahead. What would happen if we treated our bodies and minds the same? Tell us below how you "recharge" yourself every day!

21/10/2020

🔈THEREE CLASSES OF JOINTS

Three classes of joints are described, based on the manner or type of material by which the articulating bones are united:

1. The articulating bones of synovial joints are united by a joint (articular) capsule (composed of an outer fibrous layer lined by a serous synovial membrane) spanning and enclosing a joint or articular cavity. The joint cavity of a synovial joint, like the knee, is a potential space that contains a small amount of lubricating synovial fluid, secreted by the synovial membrane. Inside the capsule, articular cartilage covers the articulating surfaces of the bones; all other internal surfaces are covered by synovial membrane. The bones in, normally closely apposed, have been pulled apart for demonstration, and the joint capsule has been inflated. Consequently, the normally potential joint cavity is exaggerated. The periosteum investing the participating bones external to the joint blends with the fibrous layer of the joint capsule.

2. The articulating bones of fibrous joints are united by fibrous tissue. The amount of movement occurring at a fibrous joint depends in most cases on the length of the fibres uniting the articulating bones. The sutures of the cranium are examples of fibrous joints. These bones are held close together, either interlocking along a wavy line or overlapping. A syndesmosis type of fibrous joint unites the bones with a sheet of fibrous tissue, either a ligament or a fibrous membrane. Consequently, this type of joint is partially movable. The interosseous membrane in the forearm is a sheet of fibrous tissue that joins the radius and ulna in a syndesmosis. A dento-alveolar syndesmosis (gomphosis or socket) is a fibrous joint in which a peg-like process fits into a socket, forming an articulation between the root of the tooth and the alveolar process of the jaw. Mobility of this joint (a loose tooth) indicates a pathological state affecting the supporting tissues of the tooth. However, microscopic movements here give us information (via the sense of proprioception) about how hard we are biting or clenching our teeth and whether we have a particle stuck between our teeth.

3. The articulating structures of cartilaginous joints are united by hyaline cartilage or fibrocartilage. In primary cartilaginous joints, or synchondroses, the bones are united by hyaline cartilage, which permits slight bending during early life. Primary cartilaginous joints are usually temporary unions, such as those present during the development of a long bone, where the bony epiphysis and the shaft are joined by an epiphysial plate. Primary cartilaginous joints permit growth in the length of a bone. When full growth is achieved, the epiphysial plate converts to bone and the epiphyses fuse with the diaphysis. Secondary cartilaginous joints, or symphyses, are strong, slightly movable joints united by fibrocartilage. The fibrocartilaginous intervertebral discs between the vertebrae consist of binding connective tissue that joins the vertebrae together. Cumulatively, these joints provide strength and shock absorption as well as considerable flexibility to the vertebral column (spine).

21/10/2020

Are you overdue for a Bowen??? Get your body firing correctly again!

It's all connected! Your sore knee might stem from your ankle or your shoulders. Or the source of your headaches might be your gut. That's why we use a whole-body approach in Bowen therapy!

14/09/2020

🔈 TIGHT MUSCLES THAT MAY BE THE CAUSE OF LATERAL PELVIC TILT

🔒 There are several kinds of pelvis tilts that are unhealthy for our body:

1. There is the anterior pelvic tilt, where the front of the pelvis is tilted downwards.
2. There is also the posterior pelvic tilt, which is the opposite of the anterior pelvic tilt, where the front of the pelvis is tilted upwards.
However, the lateral pelvic tilt is unique, in that the pelvis is tilted to the side where one side will be higher than the other.

🔒 Symptoms of a Lateral Pelvic Tilt

Other than one hip being higher than the other, the presence of a lateral pelvic tilt can have a drastic chain effect which reverberates not only from the pelvis downwards, but also up to the shoulders.

Uneven Hips – This is the obvious symptom. Now that we have briefly discussed what a lateral pelvic tilt, we now know that this is a tell-tale sign of its presence.

Uneven Shoulders – From the image above, you will see how the hip which is higher will usually result in the shoulder on the same side, being lower than the other side. This can cause someone to notice or think that they have uneven shoulders, when in fact it is a problem that stems from having a lateral pelvic tilt.

Leg Length Differences – Someone with a lateral pelvic tilt may think they have one leg longer than the other, or one leg shorter than the other. However, this is a myth as it is the tilt in the pelvis which makes it feel like the hip that is lower down is longer because the other leg doesn’t reach the ground when you stand.

There are such things as true differences in leg length but most of the cases are misdiagnosed. The truth is that uneven hips creates this illusion. The best way to rule out a true leg length difference is to measure both legs. If you do have a true leg length discrepancy, then it is unlikely that these exercises I am about to discuss will be of use to you.

Leg Rotation – You can see from the diagram that the bones of the leg usually rotate internally as a result of a lateral pelvic tilt. What’s not to be ruled out, is that the internal rotation of all these bones could also be the cause of the lateral pelvic tilt. If it is the cause, then it starts all the way down at the foot. Typically, one foot will be pronated where the ankle is rolled inward, this could be a flat foot or a collapsed arch. When one foot becomes pronated, the shin bones and the femur rotate inward and the hip will drop.

🔒 Causes of a Lateral pelvic tilt

a) Muscular imbalances: (Sagittal plane)
A Lateral pelvic tilt can result from an imbalance between the Quadratus Lumborum, Adductors and Glute medius muscle.
Other muscles involved: Obliques, Tensor fascia latae
b) Sub-optimal habits:
Do you lean on one leg?
Do you sit more on one butt cheek than other other?
Do you always sleep on the same side?
If you do, then you have postural habits that may encourage the tilting of the pelvis!
c) Neurological conditions
Any condition that impacts the nerves that supply the control of the pelvic musculature may result in a laterally tilted pelvis.
(The superior gluteal nerve supplies the glute medius)

🚩 How to Fix a Lateral Pelvic Tilt
There are a couple of angles that can be taken to fix a lateral pelvic tilt. The first is to fix the flat feet (if you have them) and the other is to correct any muscle imbalances that may have developed that causes your body to hold onto the lateral pelvic tilt position - massage and proper exercise. The final step is to address the bad posture that causes the problem in the first place.

01/09/2020

Less is more! Bowen therapists aim to find a balance between just enough input to invite change in your body without being too much to overwhelm.

31/08/2020