Vicky Evans

My Path to Practice:

My journey with holistic healing began over twenty years ago, when I first stepped into an introductory Shiatsu course in 2002, drawn by a longing for deeper relaxation.  At the time, I was teaching dance in schools, raising our three wonderful children in the Wye Valley, and exploring the world of healing through Aromatherapy and Reflexology, which I qualified in back in 2004.

Though I remained deeply involved in creative education, something in me stayed curious.  I knew there was more to discover about how we move, heal, and relate to ourselves and the world.  In 2018, I needed to pause and reflect on life, work and my purpose.  A series of Shiatsu treatments offered me something unexpected: a dialogue with the body that was both silent and profound.  It felt, in many ways, like dance, a subtle, intuitive and deeply personal conversation between giver and receiver. It was then I knew I’d found something that could finally bridge my creative and holistic worlds.

Movement, Nature, and the Wider Landscape

Beyond 1:1 work, I also lead creative wellbeing projects and group experiences bringing people into somatic movement within natural landscapes.  My MA in Arts Practice (Arts, Health & Wellbeing) focused on how we can use movement to foster emotional and embodied resilience.  These sessions invite a return to the wisdom of the body, and a reawakening of our relationship with nature, self, and creative expression in line with Shiatsu principles.

A Safe Space to Come Home to Yourself

Many of my clients are women in transition—navigating menopause, life shifts, or subtle callings they can’t quite name.  Others come with stress, longstanding or chronic conditions resulting in aches or fatigue.  Quite often there is a longing to feel more connected. 

What unites them is a need for stillness, presence, and a safe space to feel what’s true.

I believe our bodies hold stories.  When we take time to listen, we find not just pain or tension, but also potential.  I help people reconnect with themselves during times of transition, uncertainty, pain or quiet yearning for change.  It is at this point, healing can begin.

Sessions are conducted in a warm, welcoming space where you remain fully clothed, usually lying on a futon on the floor. For your comfort, cushions can be provided, or Shiatsu can be received in a seated position or on a massage couch.  I will consider your medical history and current needs in dialogue with you to create a suitable treatment plan (sometimes using a Hara diagnosis, sometimes drawing on Five Element theory or intuitive understanding of you and your needs). I also can use Clean Language* techniques within the session to help you explore your body/mind connection more deeply.  Techniques such as stretching, acupressure, joint manipulation, and holding are all employed to support the smooth flow of Qi throughout your body.

*Clean Language questions help clients to get to the heart of physical problems to engage the mind in the process of the body and to create somatic change.   Nick Pole.