Lowood Natural Therapies

19/12/2025

🎄⛄️We would like to wish everyone a safe and blessed Christmas break; one filled with love and laughter. We also extend a heartfelt thank you to our community for the incredible love and support you have shown us this past year. All of us here at LNT look forward to caring for you into 2026 and beyond. ⛄️ 🎅

18/12/2025

When you were young, someone likely taught you about physical hygiene. You learned how to wash your hands, brush your teeth, and cover your mouth when you were sick. You learned that these things mattered not only for your own health, but for the health of the people around you. We understand this instinctively now. We know that unaddressed physical illness spreads, weakens, and affects entire systems, not just one body. But very few of us were ever taught about emotional hygiene.

No one sat us down and explained that emotions, when left unattended, also move through systems and are carried in tone, posture, breath, and nervous system state. How chronic stress, unresolved grief, unprocessed anger, or long-held fear don’t stay contained neatly inside one person, but ripple outward, shaping relationships, households, workplaces, and even the bodies of those nearby.

Science now shows us why this happens. Emotions are not abstract experiences; they are biological events. Every emotional state creates a chemical response in the body. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline surge through the bloodstream. The immune system shifts. Inflammation rises. Heart rate and breathing patterns change. Over time, a body living in chronic emotional strain begins to show physical symptoms. Pain increases, sleep becomes disrupted, and digestion falters. The nervous system stays on high alert, exhausting the tissues it is meant to protect. And just as physical illness is contagious, emotional dysregulation is too.

The nervous system is designed to co-regulate. We unconsciously mirror the states of those around us through facial expression, vocal tone, body language, and subtle cues processed by the brain long before conscious thought. This is why being around someone in chronic distress can leave you feeling drained or unwell, even if no words were spoken. The body is reading signals and responding as if danger or imbalance is present.

Emotional hygiene is not about suppressing feelings or being endlessly positive; it is about tending to the inner landscape with the same care we give the physical body. It is the practice of noticing when emotions need movement, expression, rest, or support before they harden into patterns that strain the nervous system and spill into the tissues.

In the bodies I have worked with, I have seen what happens when emotional hygiene is ignored. The fascia tightens like fabric being pulled too long in one direction. Muscles brace as if waiting for an impact that never comes. Breath becomes shallow, and pain appears without an apparent injury. I have also seen what happens when emotions are given space and gentle attention. The body softens, and the nervous system exhales. Healing begins not because something was fixed, but because something was finally tended.

So, why does this matter? Because emotions live in the body. They influence physiology, immunity, pain, and resilience. And when we care for them with intention, we don’t just protect our own health; we create healthier systems for everyone we touch.

Emotional hygiene is not a luxury, and it is not optional. Just as a virus can move unseen through a room, unprocessed emotional stress moves through the nervous system, the fascia, and the people around us. The body does not distinguish between external and internal threats. Chronic emotional strain activates the same stress pathways as physical danger, elevating cortisol, suppressing immune function, altering inflammation, and reshaping how the brain and tissues respond to the world. When emotions are never tended, the body eventually takes on the burden of expression through pain, fatigue, illness, or shutdown. This is not a weakness. It is biology asking for care.

So I invite you to consider this not as self-improvement, but as responsibility. Tending to your emotional hygiene is how you protect your body, your nervous system, and the spaces you move through. It is how you show up cleaner, clearer, and safer for yourself and for others. Just as you would not knowingly spread illness, you can learn not to carry unexamined emotional weight into every room, relationship, and touch. When emotions are acknowledged, metabolized, and given space to move, the body softens. Systems regulate. Healing becomes possible. This is not about perfection. It is about care. And the body has been waiting for us to understand that all along.

15/12/2025

Just a FRIENDLY REMINDER our clinic will be closed tomorrow while our much needed new air conditioning unit is being installed.
Bookings can still be made via our website OR leave a voicemail at the clinic 5426 2808 and we will contact you when we are back!! Thanks for your understanding 🤗

Send a message to learn more

12/12/2025

CLINIC CLOSED
Tuesday 16th of December
After sweating it out these past several weeks, our new AC unit is being installed, hooray!!

11/12/2025

All of the treatments that we practice at Lowood Natural Therapies address these Trigger points and places of stagnation.

I invite you have a read and deepen your understanding of your body.

Today I want to bring you into the quiet interior world of the body, a place where science and sensation coexist, and where even the smallest structures hold stories. Before we explore the deeper art of myofascial trigger point therapy in my next post, I want to lay a foundation that feels both beautiful and true.

Many bodyworkers were never entirely taught the science behind trigger points, and many clients know them only as “knots.” But the truth is far more elegant, far more human, and far more poetic than that. When we understand them correctly, the body's whole landscape begins to make sense.

Inside every muscle are tiny contractile threads called sarcomeres. I often imagine them as thousands of delicate accordion folds lined up end to end, expanding and contracting in a rhythm that mirrors breath. In a healthy state, these folds open and close with ease, like the petals of a flower responding to light. But life doesn’t always keep its softness. A moment of stress, a pattern of overuse, a season of guarding, or the quiet residue of something emotionally overwhelming can cause a cluster of these little folds to clamp down and refuse to release. They hold tight, far tighter than the body ever intended. This is the beginning of a trigger point, a small place in the body's fabric where movement stops, and holding begins.

When these sarcomeres remain contracted, blood flow cannot fully enter the area. The tissue becomes a tiny pocket of drought. The body calls this ischemia, but you can imagine it as a river narrowing until only a trickle can pass through. Without fresh blood, oxygen cannot arrive, nourishment cannot circulate, and the natural byproducts of muscle activity begin to collect instead of being washed away.

These metabolites, harmless in motion, become irritating when trapped. They gather like stagnant water behind a dam, slowly altering the tissue's chemistry until the nerves around them begin to react. This is why a trigger point aches, burns, radiates, or surprises us with sharpness. It is not just tension; it is nature trying to move again.

Fascia, the body’s great communicator, becomes part of this story too. Because fascia is one continuous web, a single small obstruction can create distant echoes. A trigger point in the neck might send pain into the jaw or temple. A trigger point in the glute might imitate sciatica. A point in the diaphragm might reshape breath and ripple into the lower back. These are not accidents. These are the fascial lines speaking their language, sending signals through the body’s interconnected map. What happens in one place is felt everywhere.

And hidden beneath all of this is something more subtle, something more tender. Trigger points often form not only from physical strain but also from emotional tightening. The jaw clenches around unspoken words. The diaphragm holds back tears. The belly tightens around fear. The hips brace for imagined impact. Over time, these emotional reflexes crystallize into physical ones. The body remembers its history in the places where it stops moving.

This is why understanding trigger points is so important. They are not random knots; they are small dams in a river that longs to flow. When we release a trigger point, we are not just softening tension; we are restoring circulation to a starved pocket of tissue. We are dissolving chemical stagnation. We are freeing a section of fascia so the whole body can move with more grace. We are interrupting a protective pattern the nervous system has been holding onto, sometimes for years.

In the next post, we will step into the artistry of how I approach myofascial trigger point work, the breaking of the dam, and the waves of release that can change an entire region of the body. For now, let this be your gateway.

Trigger points are small, but the story they tell is vast. And once you understand them, you begin to understand the deep intelligence of the body that carries them.

09/12/2025

Do you need a massage? Availability has opened up this afternoon and Friday for Vannessa

Do you need a massage?
Spots have become available for this afternoon and Friday.
Jump on the link, message or call us at Lowood Natural Therapies

https://www.halaxy.com/profile/mrs-vannessa-robinson-griffiths/remedial-massage-therapist/1674781?clinic=696981

04/12/2025

🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩FLAMINGO FRIDAY🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩
YEP!! It's that time of the week again 😏where we bust out our best (and possibly even; do I dare say it; a little ugly) flamboyant flamingo get up! Lowood-ians, we neeeeeed you😆 Lets bring a bit of bright fun to the end of our week in this great little town we call home!! Jump on board; get your workplace and friends on this and share your flamingo fun with us and add a pic 📸to our comments. Lets paint the town in Flamingo every Friday together

02/12/2025

Are you looking for a special gift for those who have made an impact of on your life?

Or maybe wanting to pay it forward in gratitude?

We can organise a little teacher gift pack ready before school breaks up. 💝 🎁

01/12/2025

A few rare spots available today for Remedial Massage! Get in before the Christmas rush! 10:45am, 2:30pm & 3:30pm. Call or PM to make it yours!

Send a message to learn more

27/11/2025

Fantastic read on how the mind, body and soul are connected. Give yourself the permission to sit here for a few minutes💌

The vagus nerve is one of the most extraordinary structures in the human body. It is the bridge that spans the divide between the brain and the heart, the lungs and the diaphragm, the organs and the emotional self. It is the primary pathway of the parasympathetic nervous system, which means it governs our ability to rest, digest, restore, and feel safe. When the vagus nerve softens, the entire body follows; when it tightens, the whole system braces.

This nerve originates at the brainstem, emerges through the jugular foramen, and descends through the throat, passing through the vocal cords, the pharynx, the carotid sheath, the heart, the lungs, the diaphragm, and deep into the gut, where it wraps around the stomach, liver, pancreas, and intestines. It is a living story cord, carrying messages in both directions. Eighty percent of its fibers run from the body to the brain, which means emotional regulation is influenced far more by sensation than by thought. The vagus nerve speaks the language of feeling long before it speaks the language of logic.

This is why bodywork can profoundly shift a client’s emotional landscape. When we touch the fascia, guide the breath, soften tension in the diaphragm, or release constriction in the jaw, the vagus nerve listens. It perceives these changes as signals of safety, and the entire system recalibrates. Heart rate slows, breath deepens, digestion resumes, muscles release and the emotional body begins to thaw.

One of the simplest and most effective tools for vagal activation is humming. Because the vagus nerve innervates the larynx and pharynx, vibration created by humming stimulates its sensory branches. This mechanical resonance enhances vagal tone, which in turn improves heart rate variability, stress recovery, and emotional stability. Clients often report feeling warm, heavy, or deeply settled within moments. The hum is a conversation between sound and the nervous system, a way of telling the body, “You are safe now.”

The diaphragm is another essential gateway. As the primary muscle of respiration, it is both mechanically and emotionally tied to vagal function. When the diaphragm is tight, breath becomes shallow, the vagus nerve stiffens, and the system moves toward fight or flight. When we release the diaphragm manually or guide clients into slow belly breathing, the vagus nerve is stretched and soothed, promoting a shift from sympathetic activation to parasympathetic rest. This is why diaphragmatic work can bring tears, warmth, memories, and spontaneous emotional release. The diaphragm is the emotional hinge between the upper and lower body.

Cranial work also influences vagal health. At the base of the skull, the vagus nerve emerges adjacent to the occipital condyles and upper cervical fascia. Gentle decompression at the cranial base can reduce irritation, improve vagal tone, and soothe the entire central nervous system. Even a light touch can shift someone from a guarded state into a deep exhale that feels like relief.

And then there is the belly. The deepest branches of the vagus nerve wrap the visceral fascia of the digestive system. When we perform gentle abdominal massage, organ-specific work, or slow fascial holds, we support motility, reduce sympathetic nervous system firing, and help the body process emotions. The gut is sometimes referred to as the “second brain,” but in reality, it serves as an emotional archive. Fear, grief, shame, and instinct live here. When the visceral layer softens, the stories held there soften with it.

My Parasympathetic Reset, which many lovingly refer to as the Sleep Therapy Massage, weaves all of these techniques together. It uses sound, fascia, cranial stillness, diaphragmatic release, and visceral unwinding to restore balance to the vagus nerve. Clients often drift into a dreamlike state because the nervous system finally feels safe enough to let go. Muscles melt. The breath widens. The heart quiets. The mind stops bracing. This is not simply relaxation. It is neurological reorganization. It is the body stepping out of defense and back into belonging.

For bodyworkers, this is some of the most meaningful work we can offer. Touch becomes communication, stillness becomes medicine, and breath becomes transformation. By supporting the vagus nerve, we not only ease pain and tension but also help clients return to themselves, regulate their emotions, and feel at home in their bodies again.

24/11/2025

🌼HAPPY MONDAY!!🌼

20/11/2025