Category: News

News

Meet Natalie: Hypno-Psychotherapist, Yoga Teacher and Pilates Teacher

Post author By Natalie
Post date June 26, 2021

I’m conscious we’ve had a lot of new visitors to the site lately who may not know me, so here’s a little post to introduce myself and Aurora Mind and Body.

I’m Natalie and I’m a Hypno-Psychotherapist, Yoga Teacher and Pilates Teacher here at Aurora. I grew up in Australia, I’m married to Nick (who is Aurora’s Personal Trainer and Life Coach) and have 3 wonderful children. I have worked in technology for a few well-known corporates for over 20 years and no matter what I do in life, there’s one constant and that’s that I make change happen. Whether I’m managing technical change or helping you change your mind and body, facilitating change runs in my blood and it’s part of who I am. Give me an idea, and I’ll help you make it so.

You might have heard of Aurora Mind and Body but what you might not know is that we’re NOT a big brand name and we don’t have a business premises as we operate online. We haven’t always worked online though.

I set up Aurora in 2015 after completing my psychology degree and diploma in hypnotherapy and psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy was the first service I offered, when yoga and pilates were but a pipe dream in my head. It took me a while to find my niche in the therapy world but I finally settled on complementary healthcare. I’d been on the receiving end of GPs not providing much support for the mental health side of various common ailments such as chronic pain, weight management, IBS, anxiety and stress. Referrals for treatment on the NHS also take a long time and are usually limited to CBT and nothing else. Being an integrative hypno-psychotherapist, I have many tools in my toolbox so I can use different approaches with you and your therapy will be as individual as you are. I’m passionate about making a difference to the lives of those who’ve struggled to get the support they need from elsewhere.

Being an integrative hypno-psychotherapist, I have many tools in my toolbox so I can use different approaches with you and your therapy will be as individual as you are.

Yoga came along to my service offering in 2017 and Pilates followed in 2019. I love teaching both and as they’re mind and body forms of movement, they’re the perfect complement to hypnotherapy and a great way to help you manage stress and anxiety long term, and get some healthy movement into your day.

Prior to the pandemic, I used to rent local spaces in The Counselling & Psychotherapy Centre in Old Town, Swindon and run yoga and pilates classes in gyms, workplaces and community centres in the local Swindon area. The pandemic obviously stopped all of that and the only way to keep Aurora running was to think about how I could be more flexible and do things differently. It’s safe to say that Aurora would not be here today had we not adapted to the changing situation.

[Yoga and Pilates are] the perfect complement to hypnotherapy and a great way to help you manage stress and anxiety long term, and get some healthy movement into your day.

Moving online certainly hasn’t been easy and there have been times when things have been tough, but we’ve persevered and kept going anyway. After 18 months operating completely online with therapy appointments and classes on Zoom and pre-recorded classes On Demand, we now have clients from all over the UK attending online therapy sessions and online yoga and pilates classes, which is fantastic. While COVID-19 has been trying at times, I’m so grateful to have been able to help so many lovely clients from near and far.

So that’s me! What’s your story?

Tags Online hypnotherapy, online pilates, online yoga

News

12 Days of Fitmas

Post author By Natalie
Post date December 18, 2019

We launched our 12 Days of Fitmas on social media last week and we’ve been posting mind and body fitness tips each day. So far we’ve focused on pilates posture, a couple of yoga poses, walking and the importance of looking after your mental health. Today is Day 6 which means we’re half way through. How are you getting on? We’d love to know! If you haven’t seen our videos yet, have a watch over on our YouTube channel.

Need motivation?

If you struggle with working out at home and need the discipline of a trainer to motivate you, why not ask about our yoga, pilates and personal training? We offer classes and private sessions. Or if you’re wanting to take care of your mind fitness, get in touch about hypnotherapy or hypno yoga. We’re just a contact form or phone call away.

News Personal Training

Nick’s journey to personal trainer

Post author By Nick Young
Post date May 19, 2019

Written by Nick Young – Personal Trainer.

Hi, I’m Nick, Aurora Mind and Body’s personal trainer and I’d like to tell you a little bit about me. You may have noticed over the last month or so that I’ve written a few blog posts at Aurora Mind and Body, but I realised I haven’t formally introduced myself. Today (19th May) is world IBD day, a subject that is near to my heart. IBD is totally ingrained in who I am, so this seemed like a good day to do it.

Looking back to my younger days I was quite an active child growing up but at the age of 16 while studying for GCSE exams, I began experiencing some worrying symptoms which would change my life forever. With numerous trips to and from the hospital to see specialists for tests, I was eventually diagnosed with a condition called Ulcerative Colitis.

Ulcerative Colitis

This condition is one of the main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and is often discussed as a condition that causes ulceration and bleeding of the lining of rectum and colon. As with many other autoimmune disorders it can affect the body in other ways too, such as fatigue, pain, diarrhoea, weight loss and anemia. I have experienced all of these symptoms.

While there is no cure, the symptoms can often be managed with medication although surgery can often be the end result. In my case, at the age of 17 I’d had so much time off through ill health and hospital stays and visits, that I left college early. When my symptoms were more under control through an extensive cocktail of drugs, I entered the world of full time work.

Fast forwarding a few years, I started a career in the computer software industry, where I remain today. This is a varied and interesting job with many facets. Many hours of my day are spent sitting in front of computer screens looking at data, writing software, building and testing computer code and helping customers with queries. But one of the mainstays is that it’s quite a sedentary job and as I have to travel a long distance to work, I also spend quite a bit of time in the car.

Sedentary lifestyle

Many years of doing this, on top of the medication and a lack of physical activity on my part all took its toll on my body. Now into my thirties, I had done no real strenuous activity for many years. At the age of 35, my elder son was a strong swimmer having learned at school and my younger son wanted to learn but the school no longer offered swimming lessons. So I overcame my fear of the water and we learned together in the baby pool at the Oasis!

The gym!

Realising I needed to become stronger to be a better swimmer and to better support (or keep up with!) the kids, Nat and I joined us all up to a local gym which also offered a nice swimming pool. Having never set foot in a gym before and not knowing what to do, we took up the opportunity of a gym induction and signed up for some personal training with an amazing lady who taught us how to use the gym equipment safely. She would go on to transform my relationship with exercise.

Macho me!

I remember that first training session well… I’ll never forget it. Ego and a brain that thought I was still 20 took over. I did everything that was asked of me and then some. And then the session was over and I realised that the gym was upstairs and I needed to walk downstairs. Oh dear! I suffered with muscle soreness for days afterwards. This was the point in time where something changed in me, as I had a stark realisation of just how unfit I had become. I needed to get fitter and stronger to set a good example to our kids and make sure I could carry on doing the things I enjoy doing into later life. Most importantly, I wanted to keep up with the kids as they grew up!

Why I became a personal trainer

Some years later I wouldn’t say I’m a well-oiled fitness machine like some people seem to be. But for the first time, I’m actually ok with that. We don’t all have to be elite athletes to enjoy life, to improve ourselves and our mental and physical wellbeing (which are all closely linked). For many people (me included), the world of fitness can be quite intimidating, especially as a newcomer and when you don’t know what you’re doing, the advice and support of a caring and knowledgeable fitness professional can make all the difference. I’m lucky that in my case I had lots of support from my personal trainer and from my family. This realisation was the reason I decided to study to become a personal trainer myself, to ‘pay it forward’ so I can help others on their physical and mental fitness journeys. I’m enjoying the challenge.