Today’s Holistic Therapist – Julia Appleby

My first meeting with Julia Appleby was as a ‘client’ for one of her massage students on an adult education course. My friend was so full of enthusiasm and praise for Julia, his teacher, that he had persuaded me to come along to the class.  It was a dull, cold night but Julia’s energy and commitment to high quality therapy training brightened up the room and motivated her students.

I am so thrilled that Julia is now setting up her own training centre ‘Therapy Training Room’ in Bognor Regis, and delighted that she is a member and regular supporter of the Local FHT Support Group for Therapists which meets in Chichester. So over to Julia Appleby….

What prompted you to train in complementary therapy?

I am quite a tactile person and massage has always appealed to me. I did start a distance learning course many years ago, but due to life changes didn’t complete it.

Some years down the line I went to Chichester College on a ‘women returner’ course, where I studied and gained 6 GCSE’s.  That’s when I thought it would be nice to do massage.  Armed with my GCSEs I went to the Beauty department and asked if they would accept me on one of their massage courses.  I was persuaded to do a full time BTEC course in Beauty Therapy which included massage, not quite what I had in mind!

It was 3 years of hard work but I got the bug and carried on learning and gaining skills.  After 17 years I am still looking to the next course to do and have a list!

 What therapies do you currently practice?

I run a clinic from my home in Bognor Regis 2 days a week, where I offer Sports massage, Aromatherapy, Indian Head massage, Reflexology, Reiki, Ear candling, Hot stone massage, Manicure, Pedicure, Waxing, Eye lash tinting and Facials. I am very pleased to have so many tools in my ‘tool-box’, it means that I can give a truly holistic treatment tailored for the needs of each individual client. I am a member of the Federation of Holistic Therapists.

 Describe one time when you felt that complementary therapy had really made a difference to someone.

I have to sing the praises of the healing qualities of the Hot Stones here.  Shortly after training in Hot Stones, 6 years ago, I had a fall and fractured my wrist leaving me unable to work for 6 weeks or more.

Realising my wrist would be too weak to do any deep tissue work I decided to use the Stones (with my clients’ permission).  After a few weeks I realised there was very little discomfort in my wrist and it was a lot more flexibility, I was able to resume normal work quicker than expected.  To this day my wrist remains strong and I put it down to the kinetic healing qualities and heat from these basalt stones.

Can you share any holistic tips that have worked for you?

As a sports therapist I would recommend some gentle stretching to the body parts that tend to tighten up or cause problems on a regular basis.

Also keep a tennis ball handy for those tight muscles, place the ball on the offending muscle and lean against a wall so the ball is pushing into the muscle, no need to go beyond your pain threshold, this should help relax the muscle until you can get to a sports therapist and have it dealt with.

What path are you hoping to follow in the future?

After teaching for Adult Education for the past 10 years, I thought the next step would be to run my own school.  It is something I have wanted to do for a long time but never really believed it would actually happen.

In September 2012, I set everything in motion and am very pleased to say have been accepted by the VTCT as one of their training centres.  The hardest part I found was finding a name for the school, but with a bit of ‘mind mapping’ from my daughter and her friend, we came up with ‘Therapy Training Room’ .  I am hoping to start teaching here early in the New Year and my web site (therapytrainingroom.co.uk) with all the courses will be live before Christmas.  In the mean time I can be contacted on julia.appleby@tiscali.co.uk

Good Luck to Julia from Mary Atkinson Holistic Training Courses in Chichester!