Simply put. I didn’t want to leave. And I certainly didn’t want to get on a train and navigate my way home.

Andrea asked “Why have you chosen to come to visit me now?”

I considered, and replied

“Because I trust you. Because I know you know me well. Because I can be raw. I feel exhausted, and you feel safe.”

The more I’ve listened to my body, the more in tune with how I am truly feeling I’ve become. Ironically the more conscious I feel, the more exhausted my body feels. The less I can hide behind busyness or booze.

Andrea Lucas. Her work, her chosen location, her being, have created a potent majestic haven. I was in her company for  3 hours and if she’d given me any encouragement, I would have opted to sleep on that massage table.

On booking my appointment I hadn’t anticipated writing a review. I wanted to enjoy the experience rather than thinking about it. This was my time. I needed that. The day before I’d my regular Shiatzu with Simon. I wanted some space and time. My diary felt jam-packed. It felt like the next 6 months of my life were full and not necessarily with things I really wanted to do. Lots of doing. Not enough being.

But how do we create that? I enjoy doing. I enjoy spontaneity. But I also get to a point where all I want to do is check out. Don’t we all?

On Saturday I felt the remnants of my recent trip to A&E and subsequent self neglect. So here I was. In an outhouse, massage sun room, instantly relaxed by the serene surroundings, the all cotton white decor, and an armchair with sparking water handed to me as I arrived. Before I even lay on the bed, I’d consciously given my body over to her. To someone I trusted. To be tender with me. To heal. To work her magic.

Andrea knows my stuff. So as she caged where I was at, it didn’t take long for her to understand what I needed. As a credited psychotherapist, and with 25 years of clinical studies and experience, she knows how to emphasis, listen, reflect back and she’s not afraid to say what she sees and ask me what I believe I needed from her. She knows where tension is held, how its reflects the psyche and how to restore the body to health.

The worst thing about massage is knowing it’s going to end. We’re so constrained by time. A 60 min treatment often includes set up and wind down. You lie there knowing time is ticking down from that first touch. Here, I had no sense of time. Andrea worked in a different routine. Back to shoulders, to legs, back to shoulders. She worked hard. The pressure she applied was strong. She told me afterwards that she went easy on me. Really! My muscles were sore from 20 days of press ups (PTS challenge) and my legs from yoga. Each time she found the soreness. Each time I hoped she’d work the area without me having to say anything, and she did. And ohhhhh my neck. Did that need some stretching. She manoeuvred me into new positions, worked it, and I felt the tightness stretch and stretch until it began to ease.

It’s difficult to explain someone’s technique. Especially as I’m not a practitioner. I don’t know her methodology. What I do know, is that she worked every inch of my body. That she shifted from a soft touch on my stomach to intense work on my glutes, back and shoulders. At times I realised she had her full body weight on me, not sensing or hearing her jump onto the bed. She’s subtle. She’s sensitive. She’s understated.

Andrea.

We debriefed afterwards, but to be honest I could hardly speak. A splitting headache follow, a release of the discharged energy, and a body with some ‘un-treacle like’ movement between my muscles and fascia took itself off to the station.

Leaving the tranquil garden of roses. The privacy. No ticking clock. No noise. Just The Rose and her stunning rose garden. And with my weary body I went back into the crazy London world.

Thank you for this beautifully written review by Carmen Rendell, part of the Learn Shed Community and Founder of Soul Hub

Andrea Lucas: Therapeutic Excellence. Love. Mind. Body. Find Andrea at The Haybarn Spa or Daylesford House or visit her at her home in North London.  Or email us and we’ll put you in touch for an even more attentive session.