Many people say their lower back and ribs feel stiffer once the weather turns cooler. This note looks at a few ordinary reasons why that might be, and at what a slow shiatsu session at Pure Cloud Valley can and cannot do about it. Read more →
Sleep is the most obvious form of rest, and it matters. Still, plenty of people sleep seven or eight hours and wake up tired. Sleep and rest are not always the same thing, and this note looks at the difference in everyday terms.
Many people notice that they breathe mostly into the upper chest, especially when they are rushed. That is not a character flaw. It is what tends to happen after years of crowded trains, open-plan offices and small flats, and this note explains how a breathwork session approaches it.
People ask this question fairly often before a first visit. The short answer is that shiatsu uses sustained pressure on specific points and does not involve oil, undressing or the kind of kneading most people associate with massage. The longer answer is about how the two approaches are done, and it is worth knowing before you book.
First sessions at Pure Cloud Valley tend to follow a similar shape. There is a short conversation at the start, the session itself, and a few minutes at the end to sit up slowly and ask questions. This article describes what that looks like in practice, so you can arrive without having to guess.
Most people who come to the stillness sessions at Pure Cloud Valley say the same thing at the start: they are not good at sitting still. Our answer is usually that nobody is, particularly in a busy city, and that the session is not about being good at it. It is about doing it with some structure around you.