About me...
Hello, I'm Laura
Mother, wife,
lover of life.
Healer, creator,
healthy food maker.
Explorer, obsessed with health and being in nature.
Dancing, learning and deep existential yearning.
I suppose that's me in a nutshell!
What brought me to this work
I was naturally drawn to helping others heal, long before realising how much I needed the same healing myself. For most of my life I dealt with a whole string of things I thought were separate issues - overthinking, anxiety, panic attacks, constipation, sleep issues, mouth breathing, irritability, short temper, procrastination, people-pleasing, emotional eating and drinking and brain fog.
It took decades to realise they were all connected to the same thing - having a dysregulated nervous system. Intuitively I had started learning and educating myself about the nervous system, long before working out I was going through this exact thing myself. I wish I'd found this out 20 years earlier and had someone to help me. Now I want to help others resolve their issues quicker than I did, without the same long, drawn-out process of not understanding themselves or how their body and mind works.
How it all started
While travelling around the world from the age of 18, across six continents, on and off for 9 years, I experienced different cultures and ways of life. Long bus and train journeys (no phones in those days!) allowed spaciousness, deep introspection and meditation. One thing that struck me the most during this period was how happy some of the poorest populations were. The societies that had the 'least' from a material point of view, seemed to have the most in terms of joy. It was one of my first lessons in life that 'things' don't make us happy and actually it's simplicity, connection and presence that does.
My love of massage began during this time too. I was lucky to receive regular massages whilst spending time in Thailand, India and Cambodia. Then, in my early twenties, a difficult breakup left me with debilitating anxiety and panic attacks. I was recommended alternative therapies, which had an immediate and profound effect on me and with regular treatments, my symptoms were soon under control. That was when my whole world opened up to natural health.
I decided to train in Reiki and around this time I started to become more interested in various natural and alternative methods to prevent health. I introduced eating healthy, colon cleanses and various alternative therapies into my life and alot of my ailments started to disappear.
After my first daughter was born, I found myself in a constant state of fight-or-flight and my anxiety returned. I started having regular Reiki sessions and they made such a difference. Each one felt like I'd been put under a spell that lasted until the next treatment. Consistent regular treatments transformed me; I became calmer, more grounded, more present with my daughter and more patient and understanding with my husband. I also had more resilience to deal with the strains of everyday life as a busy working mum. It wasn't just me who benefitted, it affected my whole household.
Going deeper
I reached a low point in 2017 around the time I attended my first shamanic plant medicine ceremony and I had a profound awakening. This started a long journey of introspection, shadow work, mindset work and deep healing. I worked hard on self-awareness, understanding my triggers and my low tolerance for stress.
During the 2020 lockdowns, I wasn't allowed to work, and this allowed me to go even deeper into meditation, yoga, somatic movement, breathwork, journalling, grounding, nature, clean eating, gut health protocol, detoxing and juice fasting and gratitude and forgiveness practices. Over time these small, consistent habits became my new normal and slowly and steadily my life and mindset began to improve for the better.
Nervous system regulation has now become something of an obsession for me - probably because I've spent most of my life trying to master it for myself. When something becomes your life's work, a little obsession is not a bad thing! I live and breathe this, so that I can show up every day thinking about how to help someone else who's been through what I have.
The birth of Talk Touch Heal
In 2013 I founded Talk Touch Heal to offer private treatments that heal on a deep level and events and retreats that allow people to come together in a safe space - sometimes in collaboration with others I admire, who offer complementary skills. From treatments to wellbeing events and retreats to sound healing, Talk Touch Heal is built around inclusion, wellbeing, curiosity and creativity. I help people to reconnect with themselves, regulate their bodies, revitilise their minds and reclaim their power.
Private 1-2-1 treatments
Massage and Reiki and my signature Talk Touch Heal treatments, which is one of a kind and blends a safe, judgement free space for talking, with different styles of massage and bodywork, plus Reiki healing, to soften the body, calm the mind and create balance.
Make and Meditate
Seasonal wellbeing events where a group of like-minded women come together to make something creative, share healthy homemade food and finish with meditation and Reiki drum sound healing.
My approach
I don't believe in quick fixes. Modern life has caused us to expect instant change and gratification, but most things worth having take time to cultivate and grow - a seed doesn't rush to become a plant and real positive change can't be rushed. The body and mind need time to shift into new ways of being. And it's the small, consistent habits that compound over time that create real transformation. One treatment will likely leave you feeling good and relaxed, but a course of treatments is recommended for sustained change.
Who I work with
I work with professionals, creatives and busy mums, as well as people navigating big life changes such as divorce, house moves, grief, menopause and unexplained health issues. I also have experience treating teenagers, people with disabilities and elderly clients. All treatments take place from my private treatment room in Devizes, Wiltshire.
Training and experience
My work is the culmination of 30 years of life experience, research, curiosity and my own healing journey. I have certificates and qualifications, but I merge this with my experience of other cultures, living and working in other countries, overcoming my own challenges in order to understand first-hand what methods actually works.
Qualifications
Holistic Massage with Anatomy and Physiology
Deep Tissue Massage
Trigger Point Therapy and Neuromuscular Technique
Postnatal Massage
Massage for Trauma / Restorative Bodywork
No Hands Massage
Seated Acupressure
Event Chair Massage
Reiki Level 1 and 2 - Usui
Reiki Master Teacher Usui and Tibetan, Karuna Reiki, Akasha Process, Reiki Drum Technique
Further experiences
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Munay Ki Rites and ancestral healing
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Plant medicine ceremonies
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Women circle attendance and facilitation
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Decades of yoga practice, meditation and journeying
Ongoing personal study in nervous system regulation, stress responses and emotional triggers, shadow work, inner child healing, Buddhism, natural health, nutrition, gut health protocols, juice fasting, colonic therapy and somatic practices
I'm a dedicated learner and lifelong student and I continue developing my skills every day so I can be the best therapist I can be. I've also been fortunate to win multiple awards for my work.