Meet the Master: Sophie Crutchley

NO HANDS Masters have completed the full journey from zero strain bodywork, through potent and transactional bodywork to being able to offer truly Transformational Touch Therapy. Master Sophie Crutchley became a Master in 2017 and works in Birmingham. 

In her own words…

My NO HANDS Journey so far…

When I was at school trying to decide which career path to follow I had a conversation with my uncle who suggested I go down the holistic route as he was a holistic therapist himself and, as he pointed out, I was always interested in his treatments.  We decided it would be a good idea to start training in Beauty Therapy as an introduction into working with clients. After leaving school I went to college for two years and qualified in Beauty Therapy NVQ level 3 - a perfect introduction to Massage and really helped my confidence with working with clients.

I struggled to find work as everywhere that I would have liked to work wanted a minimum of two years’ experience.  I then fell lucky and went for what I thought was an interview at a brand new health club that was opening for staff at my local hospital (where my Mom worked and had been over to investigate for me!) The ‘interview’ consisted of the health club manager showing me my new room and talking through room rental etc.  So that was that: I left feeling stunned, but very excited at the prospect of starting my own business!!

I built my client base quite quickly.  I was lucky to have a captive audience and also fortunate to be able to work from 6.30am until 9pm.  I believe that having the freedom to be available for clients to have treatments before and after work enabled me to see lots more clients therefore creating lots more word of mouth referrals…

By the time the NO HANDS leaflet came through the post the second time (oops!) I had been working  75 hours a week for quite some time, which was lovely but was taking its toll on my hands and wrists.  It was definitely time to rescue them from all their hard work so I booked on and began my NO HANDS journey! The main thing I noticed on the course was the massage I was learning was truly a way of massaging my clients without injuring myself.  Woohoo!! I must admit though that on the second day I wondered how my legs would cope as the amount of work they were doing was quite a struggle! Just before the end of the course I met my now-good friend, Hang, who happened to live 20 minutes away from me and we both signed up to "immerse" and continue our NO HANDS training.  Fun times ahead. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more and more fantastic techniques that I could use in my treatments. I carried on to Mastery, even though throughout my immersion year I had no intention to do so - it all sounded way too sociable for me, I just wanted to massage!

It turns out I can be sociable and massage! My first year of Mastery was so exciting as I felt I was able to give my clients control of their massage, that they were able to have the massage that was right for them every time they came.  A very special feeling.

Each year on Mastery I’ve gained more skills to give my clients the best massage I can possibly give, which has been helped by improving my breathing techniques.  This was one of my biggest obstacles for achieving this Masterful Massage and I feel it’s an ongoing progress. Mastery has been a place where I can work on my personal ‘stuff’.  I regularly put my hand up to contribute to a group session as I feel that what I have to say could be helpful to others in the group. I continue to do this time and time again even though my heart feels like it is going to explode just from the thought of speaking in front of the group.  I think that having so many hours of experience with my clients has given me something useful to share with others so it’s worth speaking up and I’m sure eventually my heart will feel calm whilst I’m speaking. This feeling of wanting to help others progress on their NO HANDS journey was what convinced me to put myself forward for my Mastery Assessment.   

My first live treatment session was an interesting experience and certainly gave me something to focus on and practice.  I needed to be able to show other people how Masterful my massage could be when I was in my cosy little treatment room. I was very nervous each time I did a one of these live treatment sessions in front of the group but it got easier each time to block the group out and focus on myself and my client.  I really enjoyed my actual Mastery Assessment. It wasn’t obvious that I was being watched and assessed the whole time which meant I could relax and enjoy the treatment.

I was also supported by the distraction of trying not to be sick as I had my tiny baby growing inside my tummy and was feeling very nauseous.  It felt lovely, like it was a team effort and we were giving our client the massage she had asked for, Masterfully…