By: Jools Sampson | April 28, 2019
We are delighted to have the very talented Amanda Tizard on our retreat team and we take her to as many retreats as we can! With over 10,000 one to one sessions and more than 15 years professional experience as an advanced Massage and Craniosacral Therapist, Amanda is highly regarded within wellbeing circles and has been described as one of the top body fixers in the world.
Amanda uses her extensive knowledge of advanced bodywork techniques during each tailor-made session, including slow deep tissue massage, acupressure, guided visualisations, trigger points, breath work and myofascial release. At the heart of her work is her ability to listen and connect with her clients inviting them to let go of self-judgement, attachments, expectations and dive deep into their bodies. There is a lightness and sensitive nature to her approach enriched with appropriate boundaries, laughter, kindness, deep compassion and respect for the receiver’s journey.
Amanda’s training to date includes Holistic Massage, Deep Tissue, Meridian Acupressure, Trigger Point Therapy and Soft Tissue Release, Hypnotherapy and Meditation. She is a Transformational Breath® Facilitator, a certified Craniosacral Therapist and Wataflow Practitioner (a bodywork technique carried out either in a pool or the sea). In addition she completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training with Suzanne Faith and further studies in yoga nidra and yin yoga with Melanie Cooper and Jennie Wadsten.
Her interest and journey in the Healing Arts began 35 years ago when she attended her first yoga class aged 16 in the 1980’s with her mother. After this she readily started to educate herself by receiving different healing modalities. “I would spend any spare money I had on receiving Traditional Medicine at a time when the industry was tiny, and you had to really seek out the good teachers and practitioners. This was long before the internet existed! I was hungry for knowledge and deeply curious about the relationship between mind and body.”
How do your sessions add to a retreat experience?
“When people come from their busy day to day lives to a retreat, they have the space and time to stop and feel how they feel. Every part of them is being opened up in yoga and as there are two long yoga practices each day some big shifts can happen. It can be challenging for participants particularly if they have been suppressing emotions in order to cope with daily life back home. They begin enquiring inwards, reconnecting to themselves, getting grounded, connecting to their internal universe. The landscape within and our relationship to ourselves and others moves quickly on a retreat like this. It is an amazing opportunity for letting go, forgiveness and growth. The bodywork and sessions I do with them provides another opportunity to go deeper and it also soothes and supports them to process any challenging feelings and emotions that arise.
Having the time to rest, reflect and process gives the opportunity for participants to nourish the part of us that craves pleasure. Even if someone has regular bodywork or a daily yoga practice at home they rarely have so much time to process what comes up. The joy of hanging out with a group, the feeling of community, fun and friendship can provide a vessel for a new gratitude for life and an understanding of themselves. I love watching the interaction in the groups, the energy and the love and support guests exchange, even the challenging moments are fantastic opportunities for learning.
This connection that people experience is where I find the most joy in my work. When people are fully present and connected this is when they have an opportunity permanently release some of those holding patterns. I am being there for the receivers to allow initiation of the inbuilt healing mechanism of their body to let go of old emotional blockages and ancient traumas and move forward in their life.
What are you favourite retreats to work on?
Iceland and Tuscany are my favourite so far, especially Iceland as the energy there is powerful and the landscape view from the cabin I work from is mind blowing. I love being in the cold but all wrapped up, feeling the history of those ancient lands and people. The local people are so warm and that water is the best water I have ever tasted! Italy is one of my favourite countries in the world. I can never get enough of that place!
What makes a great therapist?
Amanda is without doubt a great therapist. We have seen the positive impact she has on our retreat guests time and time again. We asked Amanda what she thought makes a good therapist and she gave us this quote by Peter Levine:
“Presence, the ability the remain centred and resonate in a primitive way with your clients. The ability to connect with their inner world, nervous system to nervous system. Let difficult feelings and sensations move through you, showing your client how to feel their feelings, and then let them go. Do your own work so you can resonate emotionally. The treatment modality is only 15% of the therapy, 85% is the relationship you develop together.”
If you’d like to find out more about Amanda or book a session with her click here. Join her for some deep work in Tuscany and Iceland.