Patients testimonials for Maria Mercati's Bodyharmonics Clinic

picture of patients testimonials bodyharmonics clinic thai massage therapist tui na chinese medicine"My energy has been restored"

says Jo Oldham, 33, from Cheltenham

"Working as a flight attendant on long-haul flights every week takes its toll on my body. After several trips I feel exhausted, irritable and feel that my posture is’ incorrect’. As my Thai massage therapist starts to work I feel my body re-align itself and immediately feel my vitality being restored.

It’s hard work – I get hot (as if working out) and perspire a little, but mentally I start to feel happier. I get also a kind of release from the tensions and negative thoughts I’ve harboured; I can’t help feeling that if I could have a Thai massage every day, I’d be as fit as a gymnast.

Afterwards I’m left to rest alone for a while, and feel energetic and happy. I don’t want to lie still – I want to get up and do all the things I thought I didn‘t have the energy to do!"

"Tui Na massage helps my body and soul"

by Mary Barratt, Gloucestershire

‘I’ve been having Tui Na massage on a regular basis for two years. I find the process relaxing and love the way it can be adapted to suit my needs – it works on a particular part of the body as the need arises.

I used to experience a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders, which has been relieved by Tui Na. I think it’s also helped me to become more aware of how stress affects me – and I’ve learned to cope with it in a different way. Tui Na massage has helped me balance my physical and emotional well-being.

"Rub it better"

says architect Caroline, 37

'I'd had a stress headache for a few days that painkillers wouldn't shift, so a friend recommended a Tui Na head massage. The effect was amazing - it went immediately.'

The techniques of healing treatments

Tui Na head massages, which work on acupuncture points on the neck and head and include kneading the scalp and stretching the neck, can relieve congested sinuses, ease toothache and blitz headaches. And that's only the beginning. Traditional Chinese Medicine has used Tui Na techniques for thousands of years to encourage the flow of Qi, or 'life energy', throughout the body.

The words themselves mean 'push' and 'grasp', which gives the general flavour of the treatment - squeezing, pummelling and vibrating your body until its 'energy channels', known as meridians, are positively humming. As Tui Na has only recently been introduced to the UK, finding a practitioner can be difficult but in Step-by-Step Tui Na (Gaia Books, £ 14.99*), Maria Mercati, who studied the massage in China, illustrates some of the techniques.