Cathryn Rae Complete Body Therapy

01/04/2026

Post 3 of 5
More Than Muscles: Stress, Sleep, Headaches & the Treatments That Help
Week 3 | Topic: Stress, Sleep & Everyday Wellbeing
People often assume that holistic therapies are just for physical injuries. But some of the most meaningful work I do is with people who come in not because something snapped or strained, but because they're simply exhausted.
Stressed. Not sleeping. Anxious. Headachy. Carrying the weight of the world in their neck and shoulders.
These are some of the most common reasons people walk through my door, and the results can be profound.
Why does stress show up in the body?
When we're under pressure, our nervous system shifts into a kind of low-level emergency mode. Our breathing becomes shallow, our muscles tighten, our sleep suffers, and everything just feels harder than it should.
The body and mind aren't separate systems, they're deeply connected. Tension held in the shoulders can feed a persistent headache. Poor sleep can amplify pain. Anxiety can lock the jaw, clench the gut, and stiffen the whole spine.
"When the body is constantly bracing, it can't rest, repair, or regulate. My work is to help create the conditions for it to do exactly that."
Whiplash: a condition that keeps travelling
One condition worth mentioning in this context is whiplash — most often from car accidents. What people don't always realise is that whiplash doesn't stay put. The initial injury affects the neck, yes, but the ripple effects can travel down through the whole structure over time, showing up as back pain, headaches, or even changes in posture and breathing.
What I might use
For stress-related conditions and general wellbeing, I draw on a blend of approaches depending on what your body needs:
Shiatsu, working with the body's energy pathways to calm the nervous system
Reflexology, accessing the whole body through the feet
Cranial Sacral Therapy, a very gentle technique that helps release deep tension in the skull and spine
Sometimes people fall asleep on the table. That's not a problem, that's the body finally feeling safe enough to let go.

If stress, poor sleep, or persistent headaches are affecting your quality of life, I'd love to help. Feel free to message me or book a consultation.

10/03/2026

Post 2 of 5

Frozen Shoulder: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How I Treat It
Week 2 | Topic: Frozen Shoulder

The name says it all, really. A frozen shoulder feels exactly like your shoulder has been locked in a block of ice, stiff, painful, and almost impossible to move freely.

It's one of the most common conditions I see, and one of the most misunderstood.

How does a shoulder actually freeze?
Frozen shoulder can develop for several reasons: arthritis, an old injury that was never quite resolved, or even a fall, sometimes one that happened years ago and felt minor at the time.
Here's the thing about impact injuries: when you hurt yourself, your body does something clever. It restricts movement on that side to protect you while you heal. That's brilliant short-term. But if the movement never fully comes back? Over time, the shoulder quietly freezes.

"It's not always a dramatic moment. Sometimes a frozen shoulder is the result of an injury the body simply forgot to fully recover from."

The causes can be surprising too, I've treated frozen shoulders originating from horse riding accidents, cycling falls, football impacts... even a fall on the opposite side of the body that sent a shockwave up through the whole structure.
The rotator cuff: a quick note

The shoulder is one of the most complex joints in the body. A group of four muscles called the rotator cuff support the movement of the shoulder blade, and when these muscles lock down due to restricted space or lack of movement, the whole joint suffers.

How I approach treatment

This might sound counterintuitive, but I always start with the other shoulder, the healthy one. This gives you a chance to understand what my touch will feel like before I work on the frozen side. Trust and relaxation are part of the treatment.
From there, I work gradually on the tissue and bones around the affected shoulder, creating space, improving mobility, and encouraging the joint to remember how to move again.
Have you or someone you know dealt with a frozen shoulder? I'd love to hear what your experience has been like. And if you're wondering whether I can help, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

24/02/2026

I have recently been doing a review of my treatments from the past year to see what the most common reason people contact me.

Over the next 5 weeks I will be making a series of posts starting with Back pain.

Post 1 Back Pain & Body Assessment
Post 2 Frozen Shoulder
Post 3 Stress, Sleep & Everyday Wellbeing
Post 4 Sports Injuries: Runners & Athletes
Post 5 The Power of Breath

Post 1 of 5

Why Your Back Pain Might Not Actually Be About Your Back

Week 1 | Topic: Back Pain & How We Really Assess It

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people come to see me, and almost without fail, they arrive having tried everything. Physio, painkillers, heat packs, GP visits... and still the ache persists.
Here's what might surprise you: in many cases, the back itself isn't the root of the problem.
So where does it start?
When you first come to see me, I don't just ask about your back. I take a full medical history, what medications you're on, what treatments you've had, what's helped and what hasn't. I want the full picture before I touch anything.
Then I ask you to lie on my treatment table, and I simply look. I observe how your body presents itself:
Are your legs the same length? Are your hips level? Are your shoulders balanced?
How are you breathing? Is it shallow, tight, restricted?
All of these things tell me a story, and very often, that story points somewhere other than the lower back. A tension in the neck, a restriction in the shoulder, a compensating pattern the body has been holding for years, any one of these can rob the spine of the space it needs to work freely.
"The back is often the messenger, not the cause. My job is to find out what it's trying to tell us."
What happens next?
Once I've identified what seems to be having the biggest impact, I focus there first. It's a holistic approach, meaning I'm treating you as a whole person, not just a sore lumbar region.
Over the coming weeks, I'll be sharing more about the conditions I see most often and how I approach them. Next up: frozen shoulder, a fascinating (and often misunderstood) condition.

Have you been struggling with back pain that just won't shift? Drop a comment or send me a message, I'd love to hear your story.

17/11/2023

My Tip For Today

Remember always to breathe in deeply through the nose. Allow the out breath to drop out of your mouth. Practise a few of these breaths.

Concentrate only on breathing in, this focus will encourage the body to facilitate change and also help the bones and muscles to release. This will also help the breath to be taken into the bottom of the lungs and make you feel better.

Watch your posture, make sure that your knees remain soft and that your hips and shoulders are in line with each other. The moment we lock our knees our structure creates a force which reverberates through the joints and muscles and is held in a problem area or will create another force somewhere else.

When we breathe in more deeply through the nose the rib cage moves too and its movement will also help create space in the body where tension is held.

We focus on breathing in through the nose as this is the normal way we breathe.

Try it

A complete body therapy My extensive training enables me to assess my clients properly and help them towards a recovery. I offer a ‘Complete Body Therapy’ approach where I can apply many of the different disciplines I practise to bring about an effective and lasting change. Get in touch for.....

29/11/2022

I am constantly amazed with the feed back I receive from my clients after just one session.

It is interesting and a real privilege when there is a real shift in the healing process that occurs.

There is nothing magical about this process.

It simply comes from a place where I am able to enter into a partnership with my client that encourages their own innate healing power to wake up and find a safe place to help them recover.

My only focus is listening to them, and to provide a place where our energies flow so the combined force creates a new energy resulting in change x

15/01/2022

https://www.cathrynrae.co.uk

So here is my website relaunched today

A complete body therapy My extensive training enables me to assess my clients properly and help them towards a recovery.  I offer a ‘Complete Body Therapy’ approach where I can apply many of the different disciplines I practise to bring about an effective and lasting change. Get in touch for a...

09/12/2021

So I have been really busy in treatment room lately.

I am very diligent about keeping my clients safe and so take a Covid Test each week to check that all is ok.

I have received such good feedback from many new clients who have expressed surprise and delight that they feel much better after I have treated them in my very safe treatment room in Ingatestone.

Thank you too, to all my regulars who continue to re-book another session when they need to , and also to the lovely Linda Goddard who wrote a very positive review about me on Ingatestone News, which at first caused me a little bit of anxiety but reinforced my protocols and how I been trained to treat the body x

Merry Christmas everybody with love and appreciation Cathryn x

28/09/2021

Well - it’s ages since I posted anything

I am back to work and enjoying every second in my little sanctuary.

Lots of new clients by recommendation and my lovely regulars.

I never know what the universe will bring me but I always start with breathing as a pre-requisite once that’s in check the body reveals where I need to go next.

So glad to be back .

08/03/2021

Just doing some Baby Cranio Sacral therapy in my bubble with one of my granddaughters x

01/08/2020

I heard the best news yesterday, after teaching Hypnobirthing remotely “Thrilled to share our little boy - arrived last night at 9.15pm, weighing 7lb. We’re totally in love! And we managed to do it naturally -. Thanks for everything again “x This message brought tears of joy to my eyes! KG Hypnobirthing is the best preparation for birth x

09/07/2020

At last! I am opening on Monday - for the meantime I am taking two clients a day.
Just wanted to reassure my clients, who have been so patient, and supportive That I have carried out a risk assessment and will follow the strict Government Guidelines - (after each session the treatment room will be cleaned thoroughly and I will use face masks and gloves to keep everyone safe x a big thank you to all my lovely clients who are already booking themselves in x the best news

08/07/2020

So I am hoping that soon I will be able to begin treating my clients again. Just waiting, with a smile, for the Government go-ahead.

During the "Lockdown" I have, however, been teaching Hypnobirthing remotely. This process has been a real privilege and is a great opportunity to help new parents feel safe, and release their fears in respect to birthing their babies in these uncertain times.

I have been teaching new parents, through a video facility and use Face Time, Whats App and Zoom. This amazing KGH Hypnobirthing Course is one I highly recommend. So it can be done without leaving your home.

Even though we can't meet in person, because of the necessary restrictions for new pregnancies, once you do enrol on the course I will be with you right through your pregnancy until your baby is ready to be born and beyond.

KGH Hypnobirthing is the home of Hypnobirthing....