Do you sit at a desk all day and then find you have low back pain or neck pain? Have you ever woken up stiff and achy? Do you have a persistent pain or niggle that you put down to “one of those things”? If that sounds familiar, then you might have “stuck stress” living in your body. Over a period of time, this “stuck stress” or dehydrated connective tissue can lead to more chronic pain problems. Most of us live with some sort of pain, which we think we need to put up with. Maybe you’ve got carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, fibromyalgia, disc degeneration, osteoporosis, RSI, tennis elbow or you might suffer with neck or low back pain.
Becoming a MELT Instructor, has meant I can help clients as I’m passionate about letting people know they don’t have to put up with unnecessary pain.
So, what is MELT?
It’s a question I get asked frequently. This is how some of the MELT Instructors describe MELT:
“MELT is a gentle technique using soft rollers and balls to promote healing in your body.”
“MELT is a self-treatment to help your body prepare for exercise and heal faster afterward.”
“MELT creates better stability in your joints and improves muscle timing so movement is more efficient.”
“MELT enhances mobility and stability – especially important as we age.”
“MELT is a technique that’s easy to learn and helps you feel better, move better and age actively! It’s good for the body, mind and soul.”
You will see from all the quotes that MELT is gentle and is a self-treatment, which means as an Instructor, my job is to educate clients through my classes to then be able to practice the techniques at home. Cell dehydration is a daily occurrence, so by doing MELT daily, we can start to unstick the stress.
I also think this quote on the MELT Method website sums MELT up perfectly:
“MELT Method is a gentle self-treatment technique that enhances mobility, stability, and performance and is clinically proven to reduce persistent pain while easing the mind and restoring overall wellbeing”
As I write this, I have just completed my first half term of MELT Induction classes and what a success they have been. I began my MELT journey last February, when I started to attend some online MELT classes and quickly realised that I wanted to become an instructor as I felt it would complement my Pilates classes. I became a Level 1 Instructor in September 2021 and I’m so pleased I did, the feedback I have had has been really positive. One of my clients no longer has issues with her ongoing tennis elbow, another client has said she is now sleeping so much better and a number of clients have said they no longer feel overwhelmed by life.
How do my classes work?
As MELT is so different to anything, my clients have done before, I run four face to face induction classes in my studio in Wokingham for six weeks, which allows me to teach all the techniques and moves, I studied in my Level 1 training. This includes the hand and foot treatments using the balls and the lower and upper body sequences with the rollers. By being face to face, it means I can adjust clients with the positioning of the rollers. However, if someone lives too far away to do a face-to-face class, I offer online 1-2-1’s. As it is a 1-2-1, rather than a class setting, I usually do two to three 1-2-1’s.
Once all my clients are up to speed on the moves and terminology, they then join my online classes. At the moment, I am running two classes a week for 45 minutes on a Monday lunchtime and a Thursday evening. You can find my MELT classes here.
I ran my first class and it was a great success. One of my clients said; –
“Oh my god! I had THE BEST night’s sleep in weeks; I feel like a new person this morning”.
Another client said she definitely woke up feeling less achy and stiff.
There are five levels of training in MELT and I have already started my Level 2 training which I will complete in May and then it’s straight onto Level 3 in the summer. There is so much to learn and I am soaking up all the new information. We use the analogy of a sponge in MELT to describe how we rehydrate the tissue by working fluid into a sponge, then, just like a sponge, once you’ve got it moist, you squeeze the sponge out so when you let it go, it can absorb the fluid more efficiently. I feel as though my brain is like a sponge, as well, as I can honestly say I learn something new every day with MELT. The MELT Instructor community is a great place to ask questions and learn. I can then use all this new found knowledge, both as a MELT and Pilates instructor, so it is a win-win for my clients.
I love how MELT helps my body and my clients, but don’t take my word for it, here is some feedback from a couple of my clients who have recently started to add MELT into their daily routine.
“I have had a couple of MELT 1-2-1s and have been carrying out some Level 1 exercises for a few months. Within a few days I could already feel a difference and a couple of months on it has really helped ease my pain, and helped my mobility. Lisa is really thorough with her learning and passes on her newly gained knowledge so enthusiastically. She is a brilliant, patient teacher and also hilarious at times. I am definitely converted to MELT and cannot wait to learn new exercises as Lisa’s training develops. Everyone should try MELT with Lisa!”
“Just managed to stand while cooking and no back ache. I could cry; never felt this good since before I had open heart surgery in 2007. It is magic to not suffer from all the problems from cerebral palsy.”
If you would like to know more about how MELT can transform your life, please get in touch.
