About Me
Background and Journey
Mark is a qualified massage therapist, Bowen Technique practitioner and yoga teacher. He is registered with the Complementary Therapists Association (CThA), and is fully insured.
Prior to becoming involved in bodywork, Mark was working as a travel writer with credits in The Independent, Independent on Sunday and Daily Express. Prompted by the changes brought about by Vipassana meditation, he undertook a science-based Access course at the Guildford College of Further Education in 2003. The unexpected enjoyment he gained from study motivated him to go on to a BSc (Hons) in Therapeutic Bodywork at the University of Westminster, graduating in 2008. The emphasis of his training was on clinical practice and Mark now does a lot of remedial massage work. Mark’s interest in the Bowen Technique began principally with being curious about light touch, and whether this could be as effective in dealing with long term chronic conditions as the deeper touch to which he was accustomed. In 2010, following several sessions in the Bowen Technique from Anneke Loode of the Bowen School for Healthcare Practitioners, he completed the practitioner training, qualifying in 2011. Mark now practices only in Tavistock.
His interest in Yoga began in February 1999 when he met Brenda Brown and attended his first yoga class in Woking, Surrey. It was the philosophy of yoga as well as the physical aspect, which Mark found really interesting. Since then he has also developed a meditation practice, motivated by a further two ten-day Vipissana meditation retreats, as well as a number of mindfulness-based meditation retreats at Gaia House in Devon. Becoming a yoga teacher seemed a natural progression. Mark completed the two-year teacher training course with Rosamunde Jordon and Marilyn Freedman at Morley College in 2009. The influence of this course was the philosophy and approach to yoga of Vanda Scaravelli (Awakening the Spine), an approach he finds really helpful in his own practice. He has also studied further with Sama Fabian of the Aurolab Yoga Project; including a two-week intensive yoga retreat at Auroville, Tamil Nadu, in January 2011. Mark likes to teach but doesn't define himself as a teacher. He just likes to share what he feels appropriate in the moment.
Since 2017 Mark has been studying A Course in Miracles. It is very personal and Mark likes the way it is self-study. The reflections (the links to Mark's blogs and e-books can be found under the Resources icon) began in 2021- and they will finish in October 2025. There was never a goal behind them but, if there has to be one, it is to inspire people to pick up ACIM and/or to begin their own spiritual path.
Mark felt very comfortable with A Course in Miracles at the beginning and it was definitely the right time and the right place. However, it is not for everyone. If it feels right for you, Mark hopes you will keep plugging away at it. Only then does the essence of its message become clear.