Devon Burke

My name is Devon Burke. I was born in Jamaica, and came to England at the age of ten where I met my parents for the first time. When I was reunited with my mother, my natural instinct was to rub her head and shoulders. It was natural for me to communicate through touch. From that age, my interest in touch therapy and spirituality became a fixture in my life. My spirituality has been enhanced through my life changing experiences. I believe that I have a purpose in life, and that I can make a difference.

In the late 1980’s I was encouraged by friends and family to pursue a path in spirituality and complementary health care. My philosophy in life is that we are all spiritual beings on a human journey. Every day is a lesson. We live to learn and we learn to live with the energy some people may call life-force, chi, God or the universe. I believe we all have some of that energy, although sometimes it needs to be rebooted or reconnected. The lives that some of us have to live is so fast that it can leave us with no time for ourselves.

We should recognise that the power of thought, emotion and action, governs who we are as individuals. Having the right positive thoughts will evoke positive emotions thus leading to positive actions.

I see my role as a therapist, as being able to treat each client physically, emotionally and spiritually – encompassing the whole being in a holistic environment.

I have worked within the statutory and voluntary sector organisations and agencies since 1993, working with a wide range of adults, groups and adolescent services. I have worked with bodies such as Scope, Age Concern, Greenwich disability resource centre, Bromley leaving care 16+ and Locus. I have also assisted in the development of complementary body psychotherapy and MindBody Tuning massage in conjunction with Alter~Native, a division of One & One Psychotherapy Services.

I currently practice at various places across London, including my own centre the MindBody Therapy Centre in Forest Hill.

The Story https://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2016/09/how-childhood-chores-in-jamaica-led-to-massage-therapy-in-lewisham/

I’ve been with Blackheath since 2003 but I’ve been involved in complementary health since 1993, doing work on a voluntary level involving adult groups and young people such as Age Concern, Bromley 16+, Locus (for people with mental health issues) and Scope. I’ve been a qualified therapist since 2001 and have since worked with organisations, companies, schools offering a wide range of therapies and group work from myself and our team. We have worked with a wide range of people from mature to very young children; to people with disabilities; to mental health; to carers and community work continues to be at the heart of what with offer, with a low cost clinic offering for those who may need it.

My training is as a massage therapist specialising in deep tissue massage. When I started off in the 1990’s I took numerous training courses such as Aromatherapy, Tibetan healing and Bodywork classes but eventually I had to go back to college. I took an ITEC Diploma course in Anatomy & Physiology, which is the core qualification for all bodywork therapists and also a Diploma in Massage. I also have other qualifications such as Indian Head Massage, Crystal Healing, Guided Imagery & Visualisation and added mini courses such as Stretch massage to improve my repertoire. I am also a Reiki Master.

Well, I try to treat every client as an individual, so from the moment they walk through the door of my treatment room, I want them to feel the warmth and glow of being in a safe and special place. I want them to leave the outside world behind and begin the voyage of relaxation and journey, towards a deeper sense of calm and well being. From the incense in the room, the sounds, the candles, the warmth and the respect I give them, I hope that every client I have feels at home and relaxed enough before the treatment even begins.

In my opinion, for the healing of mind, body or spirit, one has to be comfortable and feel at ease, not only with me as the therapist but also the environment. This is so that any spiritual, emotional or physical blockages that are causing any problems can be unblocked. This is called the MindBody Therapy Approach, which is the framework within which I work.

Following on from what I’ve just said, it is the creation of a holistic environment whereby the client can feel safe to discuss and find solutions to physical, emotional and spiritual problems without any pressure, blame or judgement. It uses a broad range and/or a combination of any of the treatments mentioned.

In this fast moving world that we are living in, it is very difficult to find or create space for oneself. A 60 – 90 minute or even 120 minutes out of your week/month, I think, can prove vital for one’s sanity in this modern world.

As you enter my treatment room, I hope to put you at ease as soon as possible. Whether the treatment is a full body massage or a top and toe, whereby the client remains fully clothed, I treat all clients with the same dignity, care and respect.

Each client is treated as an individual and catered to specifically for their unique needs. Whether that need be physical, emotional or spiritual, I will go as far as the client is comfortable, in order to meet them exactly where they are at. Many clients come for one thing or are not sure what they want but will end up going home totally relaxed, feeling fulfilled, at peace and with a sense of being totally re-aligned and balanced.

There are many methods that I use, sometimes bringing two or three techniques into one treatment to achieve the best effect for the client. One of the techniques is my heated massage treatment which uses a blend of heat, sounds and scents. The heat uses the body’s natural tendency to feel calm, soothed and cosseted when in a safe, warm environment thus allowing healing to take place on several levels.

The many areas with which my treatments can help with are:

• relieves headaches, tiredness/lethargy, depression
• helps with anxiety & psychosomatic symptoms
• assists in the elimination of toxins, improving circulation
• assists in mobility and freedom of movement
• reduces the effects of stress, thus facilitating sleep
• helps unblock congestion throughout the body

Originally the basics were taught unwittingly to a young boy in Jamaica, as part of his chores, he had to blend coconut oil with camphorated oil and heat it over a kerosene lamp and rub it into his Grandfathers aching neck and shoulders. Even though he may have moaned and grumbled about doing it, unbeknown to him, he was being taught a skill. He left Jamaica as a young boy and went to England.

As a grown man he returned to Jamaica on holiday and visited the hot springs in Bath Fountain, in the parish of St. Thomas. He had a fantastic massage on the edge of the hot springs. They used heat on his body which helped to ease and alleviate aches & pains.

In this same old parish where he used to live in St.Thomas, the memories of blending the oils came flooding back. He remembered that his grandfather had said it helped to soothe the pain, relieve the muscles and helped him to sleep better.

By then he was already an established complementary health therapist and felt urged to pursue this use of heat to replicate all these healing benefits. After many failed attempts, he finally came up with a heated massage treatment which he practiced for many years.

He can now say he specializes in heat treatment but wanted to give tribute to where it all originated, thus the name, Caribbean Heat Massage.

Caribbean Heat Massage is now available in The MindBody Therapy Centre in Forest Hill by the man who pioneered it, Devon Burke. It is a combination of the use of massage, oils, heat, sounds and guided imagery and visualisation to evoke the senses and take clients to wonderfully relaxed, chilled spaces. It allows the client to drift and travel to exotic and far reaching places which centre’s the mind, balances the body’s energy and helps clients to relax into a peaceful sleep like state. This enhances the body’s ability to heal itself and relieve aches and pains along with the feel of total pampering and relaxation which in turn rejuvenates energy thus promoting well being.

By using carefully selected essential oils, this massage is administered by the traditional gentle body massage and the use of heated pads. This treatment, whilst being soothing and relaxing can also bring relief and improvement to conditions such as stress, tension, depression, insomnia, backache, rheumatism and stiff / aching muscles and joints.

It is only natural to get up in the morning and yawn and stretch, stretching is also a great antidote to sedentary jobs as well as the obvious pre and post training/work out session. It was developed from listening to what people were asking for and/or responded to in my treatments. A good stretch session can work out kinks and restore range of motion and can be especially helpful for those who are involved in regular vigorous exercises, such as sports, dance and gym goers.

It is the process of gradually applying gentle force to lengthen and lubricate muscles and joints. It is a way to show you love your body because it requires a complete focus on yourself. Stretching has both neurological and mechanical effects on muscles and connective tissue. A stretch needs to be held long enough for muscles to relax so that they can be passively lengthened. As you hold a stretch, consciously relax the tight muscle and feel the myofascial tissues around it elongate. Once the muscle fully relaxes, the connective tissues can begin to stretch.

This treatment involves passive stretching. Passive is when someone else moves your muscle and when matched with massage can improve the benefits of stretching threefold:

• Can achieve a greater muscle stretch
• Control of stretch intensity
• Can increase relaxation during stretch by reducing muscle and joint tension thus helping you achieve a better range of movement
• Stretch, strengthen and stabilise muscles and joints; helping you to feel better thus aid natural recovery
• Can improve your technique and reduce the risk of injury during activity (eg. muscle pulls, sprains, aching joints etc)

A massage therapist is able to focus on isolated muscles or the whole body. A massage brings the body back into balance so that muscles are properly aligned. A massage can realign scar tissue with gentle force over a period of time as suppleness is restored to the skin. A massage therapist will make sure you don’t overdo muscle stretching if you are recovering from an illness, an athlete between workouts or not in good condition.

The benefits of combining stretching and massage include improving blood pressure and heart rate. You may believe that only people who excessively exercise have good body tone, but that is not true. Stretching can slowly lead to aerobic exercise but along the way your body will experience greater muscle tone. A massage may be passive stretching but it can offer active vitality in your life.

Before I started at Blackheath, I was working in Leytonstone at Alter~native (which I still do). Alter~native is part of One and One Psychotherapy Services. They were looking for ways of softening the effects of psychotherapy to some of their clients. I was asked to assist in finding a treatment that could run concurrently with psychological treatments in order to help those who had suffered traumas.

We came up with a treatment, which uses passive movements, guided imagery and visualisation, reiki and a small amount of massage. We found that it worked wonderfully well, not just with clients and their psychological problems but in tests, we found that it worked well across the board as well, taking other clients into a deeper sense of tranquillity, relaxation, healing and peace.

Some of the comments from clients were:

• ‘Fantastic, feels like I’ve had a full nights sleep’
• ‘Feel energised and was able to travel on a spiritual journey’
• ‘Feels like my body and conscious mind was able to totally relax which allowed my subconscious mind to take over leaving me feeling centred and grounded’.

MindBody Tuning treatment is a complete system of healing, developed from ancient traditions and medical systems, which promotes the balance and well being of the whole person. Utilising traditions and principles of psychotherapy, together with theology, tuning treatment adopts healing approaches for the mind (psyche), the physical body, the mental and spiritual body (emotion & feeling). Collectively this approach provides a powerful synergy for the holistic healing of the whole person.

The intimate links between the body and psyche (mind) are acknowledged. Therefore the tuning treatment, breathing and other bodywork are integrated with specialist talking therapy in order to provide you with an individualised programme of treatment.

Benefits:

• Reduces the effects of stress and anxiety which facilitates sleep
• Slows down the heart rate thus improving breathing
• Releases physical and mental tension which promotes feelings of calm and well being
• Helps to unblock congestion throughout the body enabling improved neural communication
• Releases tension and increases energy levels
• Helps with headaches, stiff joints, insomnia, tiredness/lethargy, depression, anxiety & psychosomatic symptoms, thus improving well being but also increasing self-awareness, confidence and a sense of control and balance.