What others say...

“I highly recommend Alys. I have done a course of 6 one-to-one sessions, to help me manage and recover from post Covid fatigue and anxiety. Through these sessions, Alys has taught me a suite of techniques for dealing with anxiety, relaxation and resting the nervous system, to boost healing. These have included breathing, centring and body-based techniques, for resting the mind while awake. The approach has been tailored to my needs and objectives, with a focus on practising techniques and incorporating them in my day to day life. Alys brings a wealth of insight and understanding from her own experience of recovery from chronic fatigue. She bases the sessions on her breadth of knowledge of both the physiology and psychology of fatigue. Drawing from this, she tailors the sessions to the bespoke needs of the individual. This is all delivered through her wise, gentle and nurturing approach. In my opinion, what Alys offers fills a vital gap in support for people with post Covid fatigue and anxiety. Taking this course with Alys, has resulted in a fundamental step-change in my understanding, acceptance and management of fatigue. She has provided me with a box of tools for managing and dealing with both fatigue and anxiety (acute and chronic). I am extremely grateful to Alys for helping me to substantially move forward in my recovery from post Covid syndrome”

Jane, Lancaster

"I came to Alys with health problems linked to a post-viral illness. At my first meeting with Alys I was all over the place, but during that first conversation I was struck by her deep empathy and listening skills. It was a tremendous relief to find someone who I felt I could trust to help me. The hours I’ve spent working 1-to-1 with Alys have been so valuable - she has introduced me to many amazing techniques to help manage my condition and helped me slowly understand my illness and how I can learn to live with it. Alys has a brilliant knack of listening to how I am doing, then taking me through some practice, which could be based on breathing, body work, gentle exercise, the nervous system – the list goes on! She is always spot-on in terms of helping me at that point in my journey, and I leave every session feeling better and inspired by our time together. It’s been a really amazing and empowering experience working with Alys, and I’ve learnt things that will stay with me forever"

Maria, Lancaster

"I began working one-to-one with Alys following a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, after a period of sustained anxiety and depression. I was suffering with chronic fatigue. Alys is a sensitive and highly skilled somatic practitioner with a holistic, person-centred approach. Initially Alys supported me to accept the pain in my body and to relate to it with compassion. She has offered me a toolkit of calming breathing exercises and powerful movement techniques that have reset my energy levels and given me agency. Alys has empowered me to trust that I have solutions to resolve pain and restore energy. I would highly recommend Alys. She has a sensitive, gentle and compassionate way of working and a wealth of experience that has made a profoundly positive change to my wellbeing”.

Jilly, Lancaster

"I highly recommend Alys' Support to Rest Group. I have had ME/CFS for 20 years and have found meditation and breathing exercises very helpful. Alys provided me with a safe space to learn some new techniques for my system - a calming toolkit. I found the sessions incredibly relaxing, the small group felt welcoming and there was always time to chat about our experiences if we wanted to".

Gill, Lancaster

“Alys is steeped in the practices she offers, and she has a wonderfully calming, attentive presence. It has felt very healing and supportive, and I love having this via zoom. When I’m very tired I can just stay home, and continue to rest after the session finishes. I had a course of one-to-one sessions with Alys which I found extremely beneficial. At this time, I was experiencing a lot of anxiety. One way to describe the overall benefit from Alys' expertise, was one of befriending my nervous system, which can hold a lot of anxiety. Alys has a very calming intuitive, warm, non judgemental presence. She has a vast amount to offer anyone who wants to learn/experience new ways to soothe their frayed dysregulated nervous systems. She helped me to notice habitual patterns of tension which were held unconsciously/habitually in my body, breathing and mind. Each session was bespoke and dependent on how I was feeling physically and emotionally on any given day, Alys was able to draw from her deep well of experience and offer a range of practices which felt like a very welcomed balm. It was healing to sense her attentive presence (via zoom) focusing on helping me and encouraging a greater sense of ease with my own system. I learnt a variety of practices which I still use. I can wholeheartedly recommend Alys"

Lorraine, Lancaster

I very much enjoyed Alys' Support to Rest sessions as she provided a very safe space to explore different practices aimed at down-regulating the nervous system and thus promoting deeper rest. I have ME as well as Dysautonomia and my nervous system tends to be quite dysregulated, especially as I get more and more fatigued. Even with rest and adequate sleep it isn't always easy for me to feel refreshed but the practices that Alys introduced us to were especially helpful in promoting the deep restful states that I need. Alys’ teachings are based on a true understanding of how our autonomic nervous system works and what it needs to be supported. It was clear that the exercises we learnt were not only backed by science but also very effective. Alys’ calm, gentle and paced manner promoted a very supportive environment where I felt personally welcomed and nourished. I have continued to use the practices I have learnt on a daily basis and they have made a real difference to the quality of my resting periods. I found the self-havening exercises and the breathing practices especially helpful. I look forward to more offerings from Alys as I believe that the somatic approaches she offers are essential for and very supportive of my self-healing and management of my neurological conditions.

R.R.

FEEDBACK ON SUPPORT to REST COURSE

I have really found these sessions extremely helpful in easing my stress levels and informative about good strategies for better management of M.E.

The sessions were utterly relaxing not only because of the practices we were introduced to but also because of Alys's wonderfully calming voice and reassuring manner which exudes unconditional acceptance. Each session has given me further insights into the reasons for quality rest times and provided lots of tools for me to use.

The work Alys did on the vagus nerve was excellent and although I found it hard to grasp because of my cognitive difficulties I have the resources that Alys provided there to reread. The sessions were all really well prepared and structured. Alys even provided our M.E. brains with a reminder email on the day. She followed up every session with an overview of the content we had covered and provided audio copies of specific techniques such as body scans.

As the Support to Rest course was held weekly it reinforced all the important principles that we were learning about. I have tried to regularly listen to the audio recordings in particular and found them to be so good in giving me a deep rest. I would thoroughly recommend this course and for me, personally, I would like to have follow-up sessions- which is something I can look into.

Janet, Cheshire, October 2023

"I had no idea I had a vagus nerve and what its purpose is until I joined Alys’s mega informative group sessions. I am learning to look after myself more; the benefits of relaxing and daily practices are all helping my menopausal body"

Mags, South Wales

“Alys' group sessions provide the perfect opportunity for taking time for yourself, exploring many different ways of tuning in and really listening to your body, connecting with it and learning what it has to communicate to you. Alys also has the perfect voice for this valuable work, soothing, calming and gentle”

Christine, Lancaster

"I did a course with Alys and found it extremely interesting and useful. I found the sessions themselves relaxing and also I was able to learn about, and bank for the future use, many techniques that were new to me. Alys is professional, personable, knowledgeable, and presents her ideas very clearly. I found the course to be extremely good value for money"

John, Granada, Spain