embodied health – Yvonne Cattermole

‘Yvonne was a great help to me during my treatment and recovery from breast cancer. Throughout our weekly sessions her approach was both flexible and supportive. The therapy I received was personally tailored to how I was feeling that day. I enjoyed massage, reflexology and yoga. I always felt more relaxed afterwards and I am sure our sessions together contributed to me regaining full movement of my arm after surgery.  More recently I have continued to enjoy weekly group yoga / meditation classes with Yvonne that are thoughtfully planned and mindful of our individual circumstances’ (Anon.)

‘I can’t recommend Yvonne highly enough and I really do value her therapies, kindness and friendship. I initially went for my first consultation (2013) as I was struggling with some on-going back/neck problems (a lifetime of nursing) and some frustrating menopausal symptoms – night sweats, tiredness, insomnia; unsurprisingly I was not feeling myself and felt like I was losing the essential ‘moi’.

I would like to think (as a nurse) that I have always been open-minded with my attitude towards alternative therapies and how valuable they can be in supporting more ‘conventional’ therapies. I certainly did not want to start taking HRT – mainly because I wanted to take a natural approach to the menopause if I could, as it is after all a natural (but frustrating) process.  Reflexology has definitely helped improve my symptoms and ability to cope with a wide range of symptoms.

Several years on I am nearly symptom free and I still enjoy the feeling of wellbeing that reflexology gives me; overall it has been a great restorative and helped me to feel ‘balanced’ (and in control) again. More recently I have been introduced to Thai massage for my neck and I can completely trust Yvonne’s judgement on which therapy is likely to be best for me.’ (Julie)

‘Having received some amazing healing reiki from friends over the years, that had quite unbelievable results, I decided that I wanted to know more about it. I regularly see Yvonne for reflexology and thai massage, knew that she was a reiki master and found that she was running a course on reiki I very soon. So I signed up and was lucky enough to have one to one tuition! I’ve just spent two wonderful days with Yvonne exploring energy and chakras, dowsing and crystals, cycles of the moon and seasons, amongst other things. Her room is so welcoming and calm and feels like a safe place to be and learn.  I’ve absorbed so much in just those two short days, about reiki and many other things.

After the atunements I feel much more receptive to and sensitive to energies and I’m keeping a diary of my own reiki practice to see how my journey progresses. I can’t wait to do do reiki II with Yvonne and feel very lucky to have found such a brilliant, knowledgeable and experienced teacher who passes on her knowledge with gentleness, warmth and humour.’ (Lizzie)