Welcome back for another round of Thoughtful Thursday. This week we have a very special guest editor – a blast from the past from Marylebone! But first…Clinic Updates

We have a bit happening at the moment...Little reminder that we would ask you to please wear a mask while you are in the building (it can be removed during treatment).

We do have some practitioners bouncing all over the place over the next month or so:

• Sammy from Fulham is back and also covering next Saturday, August 15th as Mike is having a lil rest. So if you would like to see her on a weekend, give us a shout.

• Brad from Kew is off from lunchtime this Saturday, August 8th and back in on Tuesday 18th. Paul and Gopal will be in a bit more to help you all out.

• Erana from Tooting and Marylebone is off for a long weekend from Friday, August 14th. Sneak in earlier next week if you would like to see her specifically. If not, our usual suspects will be covering.

• Ami-Bree from Putney is coming in on Saturday, August 22nd but is then off on vacay. She returns on Monday, September 7th. Grant will be covering some extra time, or we can sneak you in at Fulham with Sammy.

• Bryan from Putney is working Tuesday, August 18th then takes off for a break. Back on Tuesday, September 1st. Michael from Tooting will be doing a Putney cameo! And Craig and George will be in a bit more to look after you all, too.

• We are just finalising Massage at The Berkeley Clinic (Marylebone) and looks like we may have someone in from the week of August 10th but definitely will from the 17th. Email us for deets.

Podcast(s) of the Week

It’s quite possible Craig may have exhausted his guest list and has taken a break this week! But, fear not, if you’ve missed any or would like to revisit your favourites, you can find them all on our website here.

Now, please welcome our special guest Laura Adamson, who used to manage our Marylebone clinic. Since then, she’s had a cute little bub, moved to the country and fully embraced all aspects of #mumlife (while also being a wellness advocate and my Virtual Assistant!). Take it away, Laura!

Shameless Plug(s) of the Week by Laura Adamson

Hello from beautiful Cirencester and welcome to the mama addition of Thoughtful Thursday!

When you're up all hours with a child, sometimes the only company can be online. Especially during lockdown, finding community online has been essential to some of us! So most of these shameless plugs you’ll find on Instagram, where I hang a fair bit for work, community, information and a bit of beauty.

As it's World Breastfeeding Week, it would be very remiss of me not to highlight one of my favourite accounts. Maria from @milkmakingmama is wise, kind and informative. With the UK having one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the world, getting support is vital if this is something you want to do. I also found having a doula come around after Caitlin was born to be really helpful; to provide quiet calm advice in my own home after the intensity of birth. It's much more reasonable than you'd imagine, too – @doulauk is the place to start.

Another voice I adore is Illy from @mixing.up.motherhood, who is a midwife and birth rights activist raising awareness of racial inequality in maternal care. Her episode on @mrsgifletcher's Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast is epic and her posts are always spot on.

One of my all-time favourite parenting books is by @sarahockwellsmith called The Gentle Sleep Book. Her weekly questions are incredibly helpful, especially as we learn how to navigate two-year old emotions!

I do love to cook but like most of us, I fall into the same old 10-12 dishes routine. I really love Tieghan's @halfbakedharvest Insta and website. Her food photography is stunning, her recipes always work, and everyone loves them! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

I may not get to read books as much as I used to, but I always make time to read @morganharpernichols’ posts when I see them. She is a poet and artist and her words are MAGIC.

Finally, when the days are long but the brain won't switch off (yes, yes I know, I've had too much screen time!) I love to use a Yoga Nidra meditation to calm my racing mind or get back to sleep after a 3am toddler wake up. I've recently started listening to Verred Hamenahem on SoundCloud (and you can find her on Insta @verredrose). I never hear the end of any of the tracks as I'm out like a light!

If you’ve enjoyed my little shameless plugs today and would like to stop by my page for a chat, you'll find me @flaurish talking all things essential oils, cloth nappies, food and general hippy dippy mama stuff!

Thanks for asking me to be this week’s guest editor, Drew, and hope you all have a great weekend!

Ask the Team

Ami-Bree Said DC answers your question…

What should my child’s posture look like and why is good posture so important for children?

Poor posture may be an indicator of neuro-biomechanical dysfunction and is important to be properly assessed in order to correct any imbalances – it is much easier to correct a problem as it develops rather than to leave it to accumulate poor movement patterns and compensations. Below is what a child’s (and adult’s) posture should look like:

From the back

• Head and neck straight (eyes on the horizon) and in line with the tailbone

• Shoulder height even on both sides, without rotation

• Waist and hips level on both sides, without rotation

From the side

• Ear in line with the middle of the shoulder (no chin jutting)

• Shoulders in line with hips

• Hips in line with knees and ankles

• Three natural curves of the spine

If you’d like to know more about what can contribute to poor posture and simple ways to help correct it, you can check out my blog post on the subject here.

​Thanks to our resident mum Laura for her help with today's pointers on parenthood. Hoping it was a nice change of pace to have a normal human being write this! We use her essential oils in the diffusers in clinic if anyone would like a smell test!

Will get Sammy to write you all something for next week. Will likely point towards the ‘Mums & Bubs’ crowd again as we have had a few questions come in lately. Sorry if it’s not your cup of tea, but we promise we’ll change it up soon.

I hope you are all doing okay. If we haven't seen you and you would like some advice or a chat, please do pick up the phone for a natter – we are more than happy to help!

Over and out,

Drew