For anyone interested in ageing with grace and ease. As we age muscle mass declines and we risk losing core strength which is essential for balance.
The Alexander Technique helps you to identify and lose the harmful habits you have built up over a lifetime of stress and learn to move more freely and comfortably.
Bringing Alexander Technique wisdom to the exercise class Kathy will use gentle activities to help you extend your exercise safely. Focusing on balance and strength to bring grace and stability to your movement.
Goose Green Clinic 59 E Dulwich Rd, London SE22 9AP
Whether you’re dealing with depression, anxiety, or plain old stress, good sleep is essential. Sleep is when your brain processes information, repairs damage, and builds new neural connections. Without proper sleep, you’re not only less productive, you’re also worse at focusing, regulating your moods, and seeing the big picture when you encounter emotional challenges. This can cause problems in the short-term and increase your risk of developing or worsening a mental illness in the long term.
Despite the importance of sleep, many people sleep fewer than six hours per night. While it’s common for people to put sleep at the bottom of their priority list, clocking fewer than seven hours per night is a bad move for mental health. If you’re tired of feeling on edge the day after a sleepless night, use this advice to finally take control of your sleep.
The Goose Green Clinic offers a variety therapies which can support your overall wellness and improve your sleep. These include Craniosacral therapy, Energy healing, Acupuncture and Reflexology. For enquiries, complete this form!
Sleep Hygiene: The Basics
A good night’s sleep starts with proper sleep hygiene. No, we’re not talking about freshly laundered sheets and a shower before bed. Rather, sleep hygiene refers to the practices and behaviors that promote quality sleep.
Good sleep hygiene starts with your bed. Everyone should have a comfortable bed that’s used exclusively for sleep — not for watching TV, catching up on work email, or any other activity that doesn’t belong in the bedroom. Mattresses should be replaced every 7-10 years and outfitted with appropriate bedding for the season. The signs of a mattress that’s past its prime can be subtle, but if your mattress is more than 10 years old or you’re waking up achy, it’s probably time for a new one.
Bedtime routines are the other half of the sleep hygiene equation. Just like eating lunch at the same time each day trains your stomach to start grumbling on schedule, going to bed at a consistent time makes it easier to fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. In addition to a regular sleep-wake schedule, avoid stimulating activities before bed — that means keeping not just TVs, but your phone out of the bedroom, too.
Coping with Sleeplessness
For most people, cleaning up their sleep hygiene is enough to solve sleep problems. But for people with mental health problems, the roots of insomnia go far deeper. Designing an ideal sleep environment and committing to a bedtime won’t stop your mind from racing with worry late at night or erase the upsetting dreams that wake you up. However, that doesn’t mean your sleep problems are unsolvable.
Daily exercise can help with both sleep and mental health challenges. Exercise elevates your body temperature, triggering sleepiness when it later cools. Exercise is also a known mood-booster, with people reporting lower levels of anxiety and depression following physical activity. However, some people have trouble sleeping after afternoon or evening workouts. If that’s the case for you, schedule your workouts in the morning.
If you find yourself ruminating in bed, there are a number of relaxation techniques that can help you get to sleep. Many anxiety and depression sufferers swear by breathing exercises and mindfulness meditation, but if you struggle to shut off your mind in total silence, try guided meditations and imagery instead. You can also create a more calming and relaxing environment by organizing and decluttering your home.
It doesn’t take long to feel the benefits of better sleep. After just one restful night, you’ll find it easier to focus and regulate your emotions. With consistent sleep habits, people with depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions could see their symptoms improve dramatically. However, while sleep is a critical part of the equation, it’s not the whole answer to better mental health. In addition to improving your sleep, work with your therapist to develop a well-rounded plan for improving your mental wellness.
Localgreens is a brilliant small business which provides local organic produce to the community. We’re delighted to be affiliated with and help support this great scheme by providing a contact-free collection point and I can personally recommend their lovely veg!
Check out their Instagram page @localgreensveg to find out what’s in this week’s bags! You can also read more about how it all works and about the farms they work with on their website. www.localgreens.org.uk
Here is an interview they did with us, published on their blog, which you can read to learn more about the clinic, including its interesting history and what we’re up to at the moment..
“East Dulwich’s Goose Green Clinic joined the fold of Local Greens collection points late last year. This winter period is a test of our resolve and health like none before, and it is fortuitous that we now have a home of holistic health practitioners as part of our community. Please learn more about the connection of mind and body health from Lisa Yonetani, the clinic’s practice manager. Lisa has been developing her healing skills since 1995. She is fully qualified in Craniosacral therapy, Medical herbalism, Nutritional therapy and Theta healing. She is a Reiki Master (Usui and Seichim), an Egyptian Sehkem Master, and has trained in and learnt a number of other healing techniques. Her wide repertoire of skills, which she is continuously expanding and refining, together with her ongoing personal and spiritual development, allows her to offer a truly integrated approach to healthcare and wellbeing. Lisa brings compassion to all of her work and is committed to helping and empowering others to heal. She strives to foster a sense of community and eco-friendly business practices within the clinic.
Local Greens: What is the history of the clinic and how do all the practitioners work together?
Lisa Yonetani: The building has been linked to community healthcare since it was built in the 1880s. Interestingly, historical ordnance survey maps seem to indicate that it was originally used as a vaccination centre – which must have been part of the small pox vaccination drive of the time – a curious fact given the COVID-19 vaccination drive the UK is now going through! It was also a GP practice for many years. Ravi Parbhoo, who inherited the property from his doctor parents, established his osteopathic practice here in 1999. From around 2011, with my management support, and later also with the help of my lovely receptionist colleagues, the practice gradually expanded as a multi-disciplinary, holistic health centre.
As of February last year – just weeks before the pandemic struck – Goose Green Clinic was re-established as my own practice at its original location on the ground floor of number 59. It has been scaled-back in size, offering three beautiful rooms, but continues to host a wide variety of therapies and classes. At the time there were over 30 self-employed practitioners working here – all fully qualified in their fields, insured and highly skilled. We’ve always tried to foster a sense of community at the clinic, and while everyone is independent, there is substantial cooperation between many of the core practitioners and teachers. This supports a holistic approach as we can make internal referrals and our clients are able to easily access a network of services to meet their different needs.
LG: What is your connection to the Dulwich community and your favourite thing about it?
LY: I’ve been fortunate enough to live in East Dulwich since 2008. My favourite thing about it (at least before the pandemic) was the abundance of great pubs, cafes, restaurants, independent shops, the North Cross Road market and Picture House, all together with the community feel. I sincerely hope all these great businesses, which define East Dulwich, survive the pandemic.
LG: What are the benefits of holistic health and how are you different from other centres?
LY: Living through a pandemic is reminding many of us just how important it is to promote and maintain our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health – and that these aspects are closely interlinked. This is why a holistic approach to health is so important. Holistic and integrated healthcare, which encourages the combination of orthodox with complementary medicine, has the potential to improve health and wellbeing on a deeper level, going beyond addressing specific symptoms to looking at their root causes, the person as a whole and how she or he lives. It has the potential to address chronic conditions as well as to prevent illness – aspects often given less attention by standard, modern medicine. It addresses all aspects of a person’s being, and helps to empower people to take more control of their own health.
The clinic serves a really diverse clientele who travel here from both near and far. Some are “regulars”, and many, if not most, come on word-of-mouth recommendations while others are just looking for support, or to try something new. I am always happy to make introductions and help with advice.
The Goose Green Clinic is different from many other centres in its approach and energy. It has a warm, welcoming and homely feel and people have frequently commented on its special energy and atmosphere. This is no doubt partly down to the building’s lovely, Victorian features, but mostly, I believe, it’s engendered by the kind, people-centred approach, as opposed to a more clinical and business-oriented one. Of course the many, lovely practitioners who are cherished members of the Goose Green Clinic family make us special. I am grateful for their support and proud of the positive feedback and reputation we have built.
LG: Any surprising or unique benefits people receive from your treatments?
LY: My own practice – craniosacral therapy and diverse, tailored energy work – has plenty of surprising and unique benefits. It impacts every level of the body, and every session is unique and so interesting. As with any therapy, everyone responds differently but it usually has very powerful responses, such as rapid relief of anxiety or physical symptoms, and it’s all the more interesting when the client is able to notice things happening during the treatment. My clients are often surprised by other benefits they weren’t expecting through our work together, such as sleeping better or feeling more balanced and centered. Another surprising aspect is that I can do this work remotely, so I am still able to reach more people despite all the current restrictions. I understand that some people can be very skeptical or curious and am happy to answer questions.
The other main treatments offered at the clinic include osteopathy, acupuncture, various massage therapy and reflexology, all of which have their own unique benefits.
LG: What’s your favourite part of working at Goose Green Clinic?
LY: It’s all about the love! I have met so many lovely people through the clinic, practitioners, staff and clients and made a number of deeply cherished friends. As corny as it may sound, being of service and knowing that we are positively impacting so many people’s lives and helping support the community is humbling and rewarding.
LG: Why did you decide to partner with Local Greens as a collection point?
LY: We’re delighted to be affiliated with and help support a local, green, sustainable, health promoting and women-run business and the wider community in this way. What could be more perfect? It’s wonderful to see the front garden being used as a collection point for such a worthwhile enterprise.
LG: How do your offerings compliment Local Green’s mission of sustainable, local food?
LY: We are all about health and wellbeing, and a healthy diet, incorporating plenty of fresh fruit and veg, especially organic, is a crucial part of this. I’m also a qualified nutritional therapist so can fully appreciate the value of the beautiful organic produce Local Greens supplies. I believe we share the same green, health promoting and community serving values and ethos, and our work can be seen as a wonderful extension of each other’s.
LG: How have you survived or adapted throughout the pandemic?
LY: COVID-19 measures have dramatically changed who can work, and how we need to work for the time being. Business at the clinic has inevitably been a lot quieter and more of a struggle at times, but I am very grateful that we have been able to stay open since June and able to help support people who really need it, especially those in physical or mental/emotional pain. Since June 2020, in line with government rules, only the osteopaths, primarily Will Westwood, and acupuncturists, Rahul Pillai and Deborah Warden, have been allowed to continue practising uninterrupted at the clinic. Another eight or nine of us have been able to come back in person, on and off, according to the changing rules and best practice guidance from our governing bodies. We have implemented full COVID safety and cleaning protocols, including sanitising between every patient/client, and I’m very grateful to the practitioners for their cooperation with this. It’s been tough for everyone, including the practitioners and teachers who have been unable to work fully. We’re all looking forward to the clinic being able to function at full steam once again. I see our services as being essential support, which also takes some pressure off of the NHS.
LG: What is new and exciting at the clinic for 2021?
LY: We’re taking things day by day at the moment, as it’s hard to plan much ahead in the current climate. That said, I do have some more courses lined up to further develop my own practice, which I’m really looking forward to. Rest assured, we will all be back at work as soon as possible and are looking forward to brighter times ahead!”
As part of the government measures to tackle the coronavirus, a QR code Test and Trace scheme poster is now on display at the clinic.
You can download the app onto your smartphone from here and use it to scan in when you enter the clinic, though this is not mandatory. The data collected by the app is anonymous and you cannot be personally identified by it, however, if you choose not to use it we would be obliged to pass your contact details on to the NHS Test and Trace scheme should the clinic be contacted by them. You can read some FAQs about the app here.
Recording customer details: how we use your information
To support NHS Test and Trace (which is part of the Department for Health and Social Care) in England, we have been mandated by law to collect and keep a limited record of practitioners, clients and visitors who come onto our premises for the purpose of contact tracing.
By maintaining records of practitioners, clients and visitors, and sharing these with NHS Test and Trace where requested, we can help to identify people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
As a client/visitor of Goose Green Clinic you will be asked to provide some basic information and contact details. The following information will be collected:
~ the names of all clients or visitors, or if it is a group of people, the name of one member of the group
~ a contact phone number for each customer or visitor, or for the lead member of a group of people
~ date of visit and arrival time and departure time
The venue/establishment as the data controllers for the collection of your personal data, will be responsible for compliance with data protection legislation for the period of time it holds the information. When that information is requested by the NHS Test and Trace service, the service would at this point be responsible for compliance with data protection legislation for that period of time.
The NHS Test and Trace service as part of safeguarding your personal data, has in place technical, organisational and administrative security measures to protect your personal information that it receives from the venue/establishment, that it holds from loss, misuse, and unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.
In addition, if you only interact with one member of staff during your visit, the name of the assigned staff member will be recorded alongside your information.
NHS Test and Trace have asked us to retain this information for 21 days from the date of your visit, to enable contact tracing to be carried out by NHS Test and Trace during that period. We will only share information with NHS Test and Trace if it is specifically requested by them.
For example, if another customer at the venue reported symptoms and subsequently tested positive, NHS Test and Trace can request the log of customer details for a particular time period (for example, this may be all customers who visited on a particular day or time-band, or over a 2-day period).
We will require you to pre-book appointments for visits and possibly, to complete a form on arrival.
Under government guidance, the information we collect may include information which we would not ordinarily collect from you and which we therefore collect only for the purpose of contact tracing. Information of this type will not be used for other purposes, and NHS Test and Trace will not disclose this information to any third party unless required to do so by law (for example, as a result of receiving a court order). In addition, where the information is only collected for the purpose of contact tracing, it will be destroyed by us 21 days after the date of your visit.
However, the government guidance may also cover information that we would usually collect and hold onto as part of our ordinary dealings with you (perhaps, for example, your name, date of birth and phone number). Where this is the case, this information only will continue to be held after 21 days and we will use it as we usually would, unless and until you tell us not to.
Your information will always be stored and used in compliance with the relevant data protection legislation. The Goose Green Clinic would never misuse your personal data or transfer it outside the UK, the EU or to anywhere else.
The use of your information is covered by the General Data Protection Regulations Article 6 (1) (c) – a legal obligation to which we as a venue/establishment are subject to. The legal obligation to which we’re subject, means that we’re mandated by law, by a set of new regulations from the government, to co-operate with the NHS Test and Trace service, in order to help maintain a safe operating environment and to help fight any local outbreak of corona virus.
By law, you have a number of rights as a data subject, such as the right to be informed, the right to access information held about you and the right to rectification of any inaccurate data that we hold about you.
You have the right to request that we erase personal data about you that we hold (although this is not an absolute right).
You have the right to request that we restrict processing of personal data about you that we hold in certain circumstances.
You have the right to object to processing of personal data about you on grounds relating to your particular situation (also again this right is not absolute).
If you are unhappy or wish to complain about how your information is used, you should contact a member of staff in the first instance to resolve your issue.
The Data Protection Officer for Goose Green Clinic is Lisa Yonetani, contactable at enquiries@goosegreenclinic.net
If you are still not satisfied, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Their website address is www.ico.org.uk.
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We’re delighted to welcome a lovely new yoga teacher, Iqra Amin, and announce our first in person class since lockdown.
It’s starting from Sunday 13th September and will be running from 9.30am-10.30am, with strict COVID safety guidelines in place and limited numbers only. For more info please see here 🙂
Mindfulness Based Stress Relief (MSBR) FOLLOW ON COURSE with Jonathan Clark Taught as two one-‐day workshops Sundays 15th & 22nd September 2019, 10.30am to 5.30pm
At The Goose Green Clinic, 57/9 East Dulwich Road SE22 9AP
Practice new skills to deal with the stresses and strains of daily life. Mindfulness is an ancient way of living in the present and experiencing life moment by moment.
Mindfulness-based approaches to stress relief have helped millions of people overcome the effects of stress and anxiety and find peace of mind in a busy world. On this 2-‐day course you will learn simple skills to manage stress and develop greater inner calm and
stability. There will be plenty of space for discussion and personal exploration. The course will be equally suitable for people new to mindfulness and also to people who have already done a course and are looking for a refresher.
Cost £100 for both days or £55 per day(workshops also stand alone).
Jonathan Clark has been teaching meditation, mindfulness and MSBR courses in London for nearly 20 years. His gentle and down to earth style of teaching alongside his broad knowledge and mature understanding makes him a very popular teacher.
He is also director of the Brixton Buddhist Centre.
For more information or to book a place please contact Janet Evans:
jevans238@hotmail.co.uk
or email or call the clinic.
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Goose Green Clinic, together with our wonderful practitioners, Deborah Warden (Acupuncturist) and Hannah Adams (Reflexologist) got a mention in the Sun! http://bit.ly/2Gu1U80
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“Truth comes to meet us when the crowds are gone…”
Join us for an afternoon of gentle Yoga and Meditation exploring experience of mind, body and feelings. Developing greater calm, clarity and self awareness.
Cost – £35 (£25 concessions)
Please contact Janet for further info or to book a place: jevans238@hotmail.co.uk www.yogajanam.com
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