It was the most unusual, extraordinary and organic process.
And it required a lot of risk taking, trust and experimentation.
-
-
-
Seven years ago, I graduated with a Masters in Interactive Media and I was also working as a web and graphic designer.
I was truly burned out after the course and decided to take two months time off in India.
India was a colourful, spiritual and rich experience and made me realize I was ready for something brand new in terms of my work and contribution.
On my way back, I met my best friend, Miriam Kaush
She happened to be a massage therapist with a true passion for what she did.
I knew I wanted to move away from the pixels and screens, and felt a genuine connection with working with conscious touch and direct human connection.
Miriam taught me a few basic Swedish massage sequences and I started practicing on my flatmate at that time. I then began to practice on close friends and friends of friends.
I simply followed the joy it brought me and nothing stopped me from offering comfort through touch.
For the first two years I worked purely intuitively and merged massage and meditation.
I had great feedback from people and it encouraged me to keep showing up to do my work.
I was waiting to find my perfect massage course, not a dry anatomical, doctor like course, but a course full of empathy, sensitivity and depth.
While participating in a spiritual festival in Sweden; sitting around the fire, someone demonstrated a very short sequence from the Alchemy of Touch Massage. It was called "rocking the spine" and from the moment I experienced it, I knew I wanted to learn more.
I embarked on a second trip to India, and did an intensive Alchemy of Touch Re-balancing Massage with the founders, Tapesh and Anouk Paradiso. I returned to Scotland and while watching the snow fall, the inspiration to call my venture "Holiday Within" came.
Holiday Within made sense to me because this is what I actually offer: time out, time to restore, be nurtured, befriend your body and restore form the inside out.
There is no tropical place you need to escape to, just receive a massage for one hour of your time to feel completely different.
Continuous learning and refining what I offer is one of my main values, alongside kindness.
And being a good listener, of words as well as bodies.
{ I have trained once more with Alchemy of Touch, then learned Japanese Face Massage in Spain. }
{ Recently, I completed the highest level training in the UK in Holistic and Deep Tissue Massage with Jing Academy. }
{ And I also learned Reiki Energy Healing to bring into the sessions. }
So, what’s my superpower?
>>> I am a highly sensitive and attuned massage therapist. I work with soft tissue. I also integrate meditation and massage.
When I don't massage you will find me latino dancing, going on meditation retreats, taking power naps with my cat Elly and cooking.
- Andra Dobrescu xo
Founder and Massage Therapist at Holiday Within Massage and Meditation