Holistic Anger!

I have a confession to make: I'm writing this whilst my insides simmer away with frustrated anger! Because of this I am afraid that this blog may cause some people to smart and turn away, but I'm o.k with that I think as there is a subject that needs to be aired and sorted out.

Here in the beautiful English isle there has been a division that has arisen over the past century that basically states Holistic Therapists and Skin Care Therapists are two different species and their disciplines should not mix.

Why?!?!

My indignation has been fuelled over the past month to the point where I can not stay quiet any more. I have been working in the world of Skin Care and Body Work for the past 12 years, but really all my life as my Mum was a Massage Therapist before she retired, so I believe that I am entitled to say that the Holistic field of work is known to me. The conversations that I have with Holistic Therapists always seen to end up with them asking me why I bother to incorporate Skin Care in with Advanced Clinical Massage; they simply can't imagine why doing a facial for someone would be useful if the client that I am treating has had a history of pain or pathology. It's as if Skin Care Therapy is superfluous and holistic body work is the only thing that matters; it's the pinnacle of understanding and learning.

The Free Dictionary on line states that Holistic means:

a. Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.

b. Concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation into parts.

The analysis of separation is what I am afraid we will end up with pretty soon and it needs to be halted.

Skin is our largest organ; it keeps us protected, it pumps out the waste that our body doesn't want, it regulates our temperature and basically without it we would be a puddle of body parts on the floor. It's vitally important. However, as it is the one part of us that hits the environment and gets roughed up with clothes and surfaces it has a tenancy to get grumpy. We get dry skin when the heating is taking all the moisture out of the air, our genetics may mean we flare with acne or excema, and we all fight against premature ageing and overgrown eyebrows! So why does the care for this amazing organ have to take a back seat in our world of body care?

I can tell you that I have a neck problem that is my bug bare as it sends radiating pain patterns down through either side of my shoulder blades. It's not nice and it can go apoplectic when I get stressed. I can cope with that if my skin is glowing, my makeup has gone one easily and I know that my eyebrows are not looking like the Amazon jungle; I can face the world looking together and healthy. The pain in my neck and shoulders is my problem and not something that I want the person at the checkout seeing on my face!

My clients come to me knowing that although they may have had backache for 20 years I can still make sure that they are facing the world with confidence in how they look as we treat the pain. 

We judge people within 20 seconds based on they appearance and so it is vital that people who carry pain and pathologies aren't judged simply by that 'pain history'.

Holistic Therapy should be the sum of all parts. Skin Care and Body Therapy. They make one person very happy.

So, for all the therapists that I know who read this blog I challenge you to rethink how you look at Skin Care and the dedicated therapists who put a lot of work into understanding how they can regulate the largest organ of the body.

It's about time that we care for our clients totally and without snobbery; one therapy is not better than any other as they all have the potential to make our clients radiate with glowing skin health and help control the pain they may be going through.

I look forward to reading your comments!