About

Who is Lothian Massage?

My name is Sarah and I have been living and working in Edinburgh since February 2009, having previously worked from my own clinic in the Highlands.

The majority of my work is clinic-based, and I am fortunate to work alongside a great team of therapists at Active Health Ltd, located in Polwarth Gardens, Edinburgh. Our multi-disciplinary team includes Physiotherapy, Massage, Pilates, Podiatary and Cranio-Sacral therapy.

Living with Chronic Fatigue for 7 years, I found massage was one of the few things that gave me relief from my symptoms and contributed hugely to my recovery. When my health had recovered sufficiently to pursue a course of study, I trained in Swedish Massage, and I have not looked back since!

I have had a number of opportunities to work with professional sportspeople over the years. I spent 2 years as Edinburgh Rugby’s Massage therapist, during which time I also worked with The All Blacks, The Italian National Rugby Squad, various teams at the Scotland Sevens tournament, Scotland Ladies and Under 21s Squad.

In Summer 2014, I was a volunteer in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, providing massage for the divers at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh. Inspired by my time working with the athletes, I even took up diving lessons a month after the end of the Games!

Following my experience at Glasgow 2014, I was fortunate enough to travel to Azerbaijan in June 2015, where I was Field of Play Team Leader for the Diving competition in the inaugural Baku 2015 European Games.

Where massage has taken me

As a member of Athletes’ Angels, I have been part of a team providing massage at outdoor events, including the Loch Ness Marathon, Martin Currie Rob Roy Challenge, Glencoe Marathon and many more. After 6 years of working with the company, I have finally been talked into taking part in one of the events as part of the Athletes’ Angels relay team for the Artemis Kindrochit Quadrathlon 2015…

I love to travel, and my work has taken me all over the world! In 2010, I spent three very happy months in Chiang Mai, Thailand, training as a Thai Massage Teacher. I fell in love with Thailand and I now return every winter to further my training.

I have also toured with the Edinburgh based Irish Dance group “Absolutely Legless” as their massage therapist for festivals in North Carolina and Slovenia.

Sarah's Special Interests

From the very beginning of my training, I had a special interest in working with people living with Cancer. I started my training with the IRIS Cancer Partnership in 2010, including workshops, courses, case studies and hospital work to become a Level Two qualified IRIS Practitioner. I actively fundraise for IRIS and I also run workshops teaching basic massage techniques for carers.

This is where my real passion lies, and in 2013 I spent three weeks volunteering in the National Cancer Hospital in Hanoi. During my time here, I trained members of staff in the Physiotherapy department, and worked one-to-one with patients family members in the palliative care wards and paediatric wards, teaching basic massage techniques. This remains one of the most challenging, rewarding and incredibly humbling experiences of my life.

As a tutor for Scottish Massage Schools, I teach the On-site Massage course, as well as running Thai Massage Workshops. I also co-ordinate groups of students to work at events such as the Edinburgh Marathon, supporting charities including Breast Cancer Care and Cancer Research UK.

I feel incredibly lucky to do a job that brings me so much pleasure, allows me to meet some truly inspiring people provides me with some simply unforgettable experiences.

Qualifications and Workshops attended:

Diploma: Swedish Massage

(June 2008, Scottish Massage Schools)

Diploma: Indian Head Massage

(November 2008, Black Isle Complementary Therapies)

Sports and Performance Bodywork

(March 2009, George Kousaleous)

Diploma: On-site Massage

(June 2009, Scottish Massage Schools)

Pregnancy Massage

(July 2009, Equilibrium)

Diploma: Sports and Remedial Massage

(August 2009, Scottish Massage Schools)

Hands Free Massage

(August 2009, Equilibrium)

Hands Free Massage Advanced

(November 2010, Equilibrium)

Thai Table Massage

(March 2010, Institute of Thai Massage, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Basic Human Anatomy Observation

(March 2010, Chiang Mai University)

Certified Advanced Practitioner Training in Thai Massage

(April 2010, Institute of Thai Massage, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Massage For People Living with Cancer

(April 2010, Gayle MacDonald, Western School)

Hot Stone Massage

(January 2011, Sabai De Ka Massage School, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Diploma: Advanced Remedial Massage

(March 2011, Scottish Massage Schools)

“Elbow Massage”

(December 2011, Ong’s Thai Massage School, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Thai Traditional Massage

(Nuad Thai) (December 2011, Baan Hom Samunphrai Traditional Health and Massage School, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Diploma in Sports Event Massage

(March 2013, Scottish Massage Schools)

Diploma in Reflexology

(October 2014, Scottish Massage Schools)

“Womblifting”

(January 2015, Baan Hom Samunphrai Traditional Health and Massage School, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Thai Refelxology

(January 2015, Baan Hom Samunphrai Traditional Health and Massage School, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Herbal Therapies

(January 2015, Baan Hom Samunphrai Traditional Health and Massage School, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Reflexology and Cancer

(March 2015, Therapy Training Centre, Scarborough)

Language of the feet

(June 2015)

150 Hours Advanced Therapeutic Thai Massage

(January 2016, Baan Hom Samunphrai Traditional Health and Massage School, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Fertility Massage

(January 2016, Claire Blake, Fertility Massage Ltd)

200 hour Yoga Teacher Training

July 2016, Avid Yogi, Meadowlark Yoga

150 Hours Thai Massage Course and Internship

February 2017, Baan Hom Samunphrai Traditional Massage and Health School,
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Professional Membership:

Scottish Massage Therapists Organisation
Athletes’ Angels
IRIS Cancer Partnership Advanced Practitioner