The Cotswold Academy - Complementary Health & Sport

22/12/2025

🎄 Holiday Closure Notice 🎄

The Cotswold Academy is now closed and will reopen on Monday, 5th January.

During this time, we’ll be taking a little break to recharge and reflect on a wonderful year with our amazing community.

We wish you a peaceful festive season and look forward to welcoming you back in the new year!

21/12/2025

Reflexology, a therapy where small points make a big difference.

Reflexology teaches you to read the feet like a map – noticing patterns, understanding imbalance, and helping the body shift back towards ease. It’s hands-on, calming, deeply intuitive work that supports the whole person, not just the symptom.

If you ever wondered why the body does what it does, or you’re drawn to helping people feel grounded, cared for, and more themselves, reflexology is a beautiful skill to learn.

This is your invitation to explore something meaningful, practical, and surprisingly powerful.
Your journey could begin with a single step – or a single foot!

21/12/2025

NOTE THE SKELETAL MUSCLE CLASSIFICATION (Based on Shape/Fiber Arrangement)

✅ Skeletal muscles, which perform voluntary movement, are named and classified by their gross shape and fascicle arrangement. This shape classification determines the muscle's functional capability, such as the force it can generate versus its range of motion.

🤝Circular (Orbicular): Fibers are arranged in a ring around a body opening. Their function is to close an opening or act as a sphincter.
Example: Orbicularis oculi (around the eye) and orbicularis oris (around the mouth).

🤝Parallel (Strap): Fibers run parallel to the long axis of the muscle. These muscles are long and produce a greater range of motion, but less force.
Example: Sartorius (longest muscle in the body) and re**us abdominis.

🤝Fusiform: A variation of parallel, these muscles are spindle-shaped—thick in the middle and tapered at both ends.
Example: Biceps brachii.

🤝Triangular (Convergent): Broad at the origin and converging to a single, narrow insertion point. This arrangement allows for maximum force production.
Example: Pectoralis major (chest muscle).

🤝Pennate (Feather-shaped): Fibers insert obliquely (at an angle) into a central tendon, resembling a feather. This structure allows for many short fibers, increasing the cross-sectional area and thus generating greater force, but with a smaller range of motion.
Types: Unipennate (fibers on one side of tendon), Bipennate (fibers on both sides), Multipennate (multiple branching tendons).
Examples: Deltoid (shoulder, multipennate) and re**us femoris (thigh, bipennate).

20/12/2025

Chris demonstrates some basic massage moves that can be used on the neck. This is part of our level 3 sports massage diploma course!

20/12/2025

19/12/2025

19/12/2025

Exciting news! Find out more over on the website!

19/12/2025

When the legs and ankles aren’t moving well, the rest of the body pays the price—compensation kicks in, tension spreads, and referral pain shows up far from the source.

Let’s fix it! Gain an understanding of body reading to identify structural imbalances and asymmetries. We will explore the concept of locked long and locked short muscles, shedding light on the intricate interplay between muscle tension and postural integrity.

You’ll gain insights into common pain patterns associated with the legs and ankle, empowering you to effectively help address these issues.

Furthermore, our course will provide a review in detail of the muscle and bony landmark anatomy, ensuring you develop a comprehensive understanding of the underlying structures involved in function.

Last but not least, you will acquire practical hand skills and massage techniques tailored specifically to unlock imbalances, enabling you to deliver targeted interventions that promote optimal health and function.

Next course - 17th April 2026

18/12/2025

18/12/2025

We have some exciting news to close the 2025 chapter! Read the newsletter here - https://mailchi.mp/cotswoldacademy/pd0m1nlc81-3119411