A New Yorker in Worcester
I wanted to share my experiences at the British Fascia Symposium, which was held last week. I learned so much, had the chance to teach and just felt reinvigorated about fascia science advancements and what’s next for the MELT Method.
Last week was my very first trip to England, not London but the countryside of Worcester (pronounced Woo-ster) for the British Fascia Symposium. In March I was invited by the amazing Julian Baker to speak at this event. As the other people speaking were Gil Hedley, James Earls, Dr. Jean Claude Guimberteau, and Carla Stecco, how could I say no? If you haven’t read some of my past writings about these people, let’s just say they are the preeminent authorities on fascia science and human anatomy.
After a long travel day of over 15 hours I hop into a car and head to the hotel. When I arrive I hand the man 80 Euro only to be told, “Ah, these are Euro, we use the English Pound.”
I head into the hotel and ask the receptionist, “Where is your ATM machine?”
Her simple reply, “Oh we don’t have one of those. There’s one about 3 miles from here.”
I’m not off to a stellar travel stint thus far. As the taxis here also don’t take credit cards, so I have to find a manager and have her find money from petty cash to pay the taxi driver. Such are the mishaps of travel, minor embarrassment as an ignorant European traveler.
The event was held at the Bank House hotel, a quaint, old-world hotel with rolling hills and a golf course outside my window and a spa and gym down the hall. I decided to check out the place, head right to the spa, get a massage and sit in the steam and sauna for an hour. I’m feeling much better.
I was hopeful to find a place to go for a run. No such luck. After putting on some running gear and asking the gal at the front desk if there were any foothills or paths to go for a run, she points me to the golf course where I basically, find nothing but the golf course. And as we all know in the states, you can’t run on a golf course. I ask a few folks yet no one knows where to go. A man tells me that I can run on the sidewalk past the round about and there are waterfalls and some nice views in the other direction.
In less than 2 miles, well after nearly dying due to the sidewalk being about 1 foot wide, right next to the roadway where massively sized trucks go blazing past me, I practically feel the side of the truck hit my shoulder, I turn around and head back as dying today would be a bad idea. My husband would be furious.
I go to the gym instead and spend some time MELTing to de-stress from a run on a road not made for pedestrians.
Back in my room I review my presentation slides and re-tweak all three for the events here. I’m not sure what to expect or if there will be good response to my events but I’m optimistic that the Brits will find the concept of MELT and my lecture on the pain cycle to be at the very least entertaining and unique.
By now I realize it’s 8 p.m. yet the sunlight outside looks more like midday. The summer solstice is tonight so the light will be out for a bit of time I’m sure. At about 10 p.m. the sun begins to set and the light from my window dims down. Not only is it June 21st and the summer solstice, it’s the first time in 70 years that it’s a full moon and the summer solstice. I can only imagine sleeping tonight will be chuck full of interesting dreams. I pull out my eye mask, close the curtains and fall asleep.