Meet Jeni
Moor-dweller, avid hiker, yoga practitioner, lover of fairytales and magic, trained chef, global adventurer, occasional runner, karate enthusiast, medieval history nerd, passionate about wellness, anatomy geek, brownie connoisseur.
Welcome and thank you for dropping by!
Let me share a little bit of my story with you.
I began my journey into body and breathwork in 2008 after over two decades of living with the devastating and life-limiting effects of emotional and physical trauma and chronic pain.
I ricocheted around the health system for over twenty years, being variously diagnosed with chronic fatigue and ME, eczema, chronic myofascial pain, depression, anxiety, IBS and a range of autoimmune conditions. I took drugs, I tried talking therapies, I self-medicated, but nothing seemed to help.
We now know of course that trauma is a common thread that connects all of these things. If we had known that when I was 13 things might have been very different for me.
But they weren’t, and by 2008 I had gone past breaking point.
That’s when I decided that something had to change, and that something was me.
I had what at the time was a relatively novel idea – that exploring emotional anatomy – how our life experiences are stored and expressed through our physical bodies – could be the key to working with the problems I was experiencing.
There were no easily accessible books on trauma or nervous system regulation at this time. I’d never heard of ‘bottom up therapies’ and I still don’t know where this idea came from.
All I know is that I realised that talking hadn’t worked, so maybe my body could be a different way in?
It turned out to be the stroke of inspiration that changed my life.
Not only was it a different way in – the transformative power of bodywork, breathwork, movement and touch changed my life forever.
I started practicing yoga and attending bodywork sessions in earnest. I began karate and running. I started meditating (infrequently). Later, I immersed myself in the power of breathwork and emerging theories and education about trauma, the nervous system, chronic pain and many other illnesses. I trained in several different bodywork modalities, including holistic massage and myofascial release therapy.
Most importantly, I began to pull all of this knowledge together to create my own system and toolkit of approaches to support my wellbeing.
It wasn’t all plain sailing. Sometimes I felt I was making huge progress, sometimes I felt like I would be stuck forever, sometimes I felt optimistic for the journey, and sometimes I felt like I’d ventured so deep into the rabbit hole that I’d never find my way out again.
But as time went on I could feel that change was happening and that I was healing. Then one day I noticed that somewhere, somehow, without quite realising it, I had moved beyond trauma. I no longer identified with being depressed, sick, anxious or traumatised. I felt good in my skin and safe in my life.
And I’m here to share my system and the benefits of these incredible practices with you, and to give you the support you need to reclaim your wellness, step into your power and change your future.
My focus
My work focuses on several key areas including:
- Supporting people living with anxiety and trauma to feel safe in their body and breath.
- Restoring balance in the nervous system where fight/flight has become an ever-present state.
- Recovery from injuries.
- Managing and reducing pain.
- Addressing postural imbalances.
- Restoring functional breathing and movement patterns.
- Helping you to rediscover your joy.
- Empowering you with the tools you need to feel good physically, emotionally and spiritually.
My approach
I take a holistic approach to therapy, considering a range of things – including your emotional and physical experiences – to develop an integrated treatment package. Your personalised package will include a blend of modalities that I find to be particularly effective, including Myofascial Release Therapy, Vagal Toning and Embodiment Techniques, Breathing Therapy, Meditation, Embodied Movement, Holistic Therapeutic Massage, Nervous System Regulation Therapy, Pain Education, and Somatic and Breathing Self-Care Practices.
I created my signature journeys to enable you to really dive into understanding the issues you are experiencing and how you can begin to work with them. Transformation of this kind takes an investment of time and energy. Committing to a journey will help you to build and maintain the momentum you need to make real progress, as well as giving you direct access to support between sessions, which is often when the real shifts happen! Take a look at your journey options.
My aim always is to hold a safe space for you to find your own way to healing through your body and breath. With this in mind, we work at your pace and everything is tailored to your needs. The emphasis is always on inviting and enabling rather than forcing change to happen – creating space in body and mind for healing to take place naturally.
Having said that…you’re here for a reason, which is to make progress when it comes to your healing. So I’ll be your best cheerleader, keeping you motivated and inspired, holding you to account (in the most loving way), celebrating your successes, and helping to maintain the momentum of your journey!
Qualifications & training
I have over 800 hours of bodywork training in Advanced Integrated Myofascial Release Therapy, Functional Breathing, Holistic Massage, working with trauma, deep massage and energy healing. This includes in-depth study of anatomy, pathology and physiology.
My Myofascial Release Therapy training was and continues to be with Myofascial Release (MFR) UK under Ruth Duncan, one of the original and foremost practitioners and teachers of MFR Therapy in the UK. My breathing training is with Oxygen Advantage. I have also trained in Holistic Massage with the Bristol College of Massage and Bodywork under Sarah Cohen, Deep Massage with international teacher David Lauterstein, Anatomy with internationally renowned teacher and bodyworker Jambo Truong, Energy Healing with Felicity Weston at Ookushana Healing School, and Hatha Raja Yoga Teacher Training at Indaba Yoga London with Ambra Vallo.
I am fully insured and am registered with the Massage Training Institute (MTI). I am DBS-checked, follow the MTI code of ethics, have regular supervision, and invest in ongoing professional development to support my learning and practice.
I hold certificates in:
- Oxygen Advantage® Advanced Breathing Instructor
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Body Reading
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Structural Series Part 1
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Structural Series Part 2
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Structural Series Part 3
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Advanced Upper Body
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Advanced Lower Body
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Axial Skeleton
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Skills Masterclass
- Integrated Myofascial Therapy: Unwinding
- Therapeutic Approaches To Pelvic Health
- Therapeutic Approaches to Scar Tissue Management
- Deep Massage: The Lauterstein Method
- NICABM: Treating Trauma Master Series
- Beyond Trauma: The Body As Resource
- Holistic Massage (with Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology): Level 4
- Usui Reiki Level 2
- Hatha-Raja Yoga Teacher Training
Memberships
