Get to know more about Harriet and about her journey into sports massage, training experience and her new online course:
How did you get into Sports Massage professionally?
I was a competitive swimmer in my youth, full of back and shoulder injuries. No form of treatment was particularly effective so it wasn’t until a chiropractor poked a tool into my shoulder that I sat up with attention! From that moment I knew there was magic in soft tissue work and immediately asked how I could train in this.
When did you start training others?
A few years after qualifying in Sports and Remedial Massage I was approached by the University of Leeds to set up a course for undergraduates. It was something which would not only differentiate students from each other but the Sports Science school from other establishments. I qualified 10 students every quarter for 12 years.
What is your favourite thing about training others?
The ‘light-bulb moment’ I guess you would call it. Students will ask how do you know when it’s the right pressure?! A couple of tips and very quickly they are intuitively working with people’s soft tissue. It takes everyone varying amounts of time but it’s an absolute gift to give that to people. It makes me well up just thinking about it!
Why have you decided to teach online?
I had started filming last year but was very self-conscious on screen and nothing looked quite right without fancy equipment. I never did anything with the videos as I couldn’t get my head round how it would all work. We have all had to learn so quickly in Covid19 lock-down. I had never even FaceTimed anyone, let alone been on a Zoom call! It feels natural to combine my knowledge and skills from the past 18 years with my course content.
What will online students take from this course?
That massage isn’t difficult. Yes, I have been doing it for years but it is a set of rules/guidelines that need to be applied to some massage movements. If you keep those in mind when you have the right set up they can be applied to any area of the body.
Who is this course suited to?
Other therapists, yoga teachers, yoga students, yoga teacher trainees, personal trainers can all use it as an additional skill to communicate with their students/clients. Those involved in sport at an amateur and professional level or partners of athletes. Anyone interested in learning a new skill or who enjoys massage.
What would you like to see happen with your online course?
When positive touch has never been more needed in our community people are getting sore with new daily exercise routines. At first I saw it as a way of equipping others to work on people at a time when I can’t. I would love to share it with as many people as possible.
What has been your best moment in your sports massage teaching career?
Two of my students went on to open their own clinic together. One has gone on to be an Osteopath and the other to specialise in equine (horse) massage. We all find how we want to apply our skills to what interests us because as they say in Thailand we are all ‘same, same but different’.
What makes your course different from others?
There are lots of cheap courses out there but they seem to be predominantly theoretical and don’t bring a therapist’s experience into the mix. It’s only since I’ve been talking about my experiences in massage that it seems important to provide that element. We all love stories and with 18 years of practise there comes expertise that only that person can share.
What is your claim to fame?
Before massaging, I worked for ITV so have never been phased by ‘celebrity’. I have worked with some very famous bands, but I’ve never had so many offers to hold my oil bottle than with a booking for the Pussycat Dolls. Unfortunately they cancelled and chose to go shopping instead…that would have been one to write home about!
Enjoy 30% off Harriet’s online course, now £245 by signing up before the end of June here.
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