If you had unlimited money, what would you buy? Perhaps travel, a ferrari or a live-in, michelin star chef is first on your list. Personally, I would choose a masseuse. I just don’t think you can beat the luxury of having all the stress pummelled out of your upper back every evening. Imagine sitting down for the night with a glass of red and your favourite TV series, with that post-massage, warm, fuzzy haze. In terms of quality of life, I can’t imagine it gets much better than that.
Unfortunately for most, whether it be the fault of a bank account or a busy schedule, the luxury of therapeutic treatment is rarely acquired. Michelle and Les Stanton, founders of Natural Therapies, are out to fix that. Through their upcoming “Be Your Own Complementary Therapist” workshops, the pair hope to teach class goers how to self-care their way into living and aging more healthily at home. Aromatherapy, massage and relaxation techniques will be covered, in a supportive and engaging environment where no one’s going to give you the side eye for questioning how reflexology actually works. The beautiful part about all of this is that what you end up learning can be done in your own time, on your own terms – whether that’s part of a Sunday reset, a quiet evening in, or a ritual unwind once the kids have gone to bed.
For those who want to try before they buy, Natural Therapies are hosting an open weekend on the 15th and 16th November, where members of the public can book in advance to attend classes, learn more about the practice and enjoy refreshments. Julie from Wrappable will also be present, offering a selection of curated gifts and treats. In the future, Michelle and Les hope that their classes will be available for corporate bookings, giving employees wellbeing hacks they can lean on in a lunch break or after back-to-back stressful meetings.
If you’d rather someone else did the work for you, Michelle and Les offer plenty of treatments from their clinic in the heart of St Ouens. Combined the pair have over 40 years of expertise, demonstrating a lifelong dedication to the field that has been filled with continual professional development. For Michelle, her specialities are complementary therapies focused on helping those with health or wellbeing issues, whilst Les is an expert on all types of massage – whether that’s clinical, Swedish or sports.
The ethos of Natural Therapies is ultimately to deliver Complementary Therapies in a safe, confidential and comfortable environment, emphasising the importance of home practice and adherence to clinical standards. Both practitioners have clinical backgrounds and value collaboration with medical professionals, seeing multidisciplinary cooperation as essential for many clients’ needs.
Should you decide to head out West for a client assessment, you’ll find that your tailored plan could draw on a wide range of restorative therapies. These may include the calming effects of clinical aromatherapy, aromapsychology, or prescriptive blends, alongside advanced clinical massage, deep tissue or sports work, and supported stretching to ease muscular tension. Gentle yet effective options such as hot stone therapy, myofascial release, or trigger point therapy may also feature, while treatments like Indian head and facial massage, reflexology, acupressure, or Amma fusion provide deeply grounding benefits.
If your needs are more specific, they also offer pregnancy massage, lymph drainage, and even red light therapy, offering a truly holistic approach designed to make you feel totally relaxed.
Natural Therapies Open Weekend, 15th and 16th November.
Route du Marais, St. Ouen. 01534 605005
