This is the story of how a foot massage morphed into a somatic session that brought me powerful and unexpected emotional insights. So, first off, I really love having my feet rubbed. Not sure why - just has always felt great and, let’s face it, my feet do a lot of work. Whenever I worked with other massage therapists in the past I always noticed I felt sad that they didn’t work on my feet for longer but this time I decided that I would ask André to only work on my feet.

My name is Angel and I’m 30, I use they/them pronouns, and I’ve lived with chronic pain, out of control behaviours and bipolar disorder for years. Dissociation is part of how I’ve survived — shutting off from my emotions, from my body, from the world around me. There are still days when that’s my default. I still have very difficult moments. But the difference now is I have something to come back to. A relationship with my body that isn’t always terrifying.