Dakota Therapies

Just a snap from my cousins dairy farm in Southern Minnesota. I fly back to the UK next week. If you would like an appointment DM me or book online. I am back in the clinic April 13th.
Classes will resume from then...

Wednesdays 1230-130 for yoga all abilites

Sundays (2 per month) 6pm- 730 (slow flow chillout)

I also teach at David Lloyds

Friday 8am / 935
Saturaday 1135

Thanks to everyone who joined us yesterday for our Equinox celebrations

Smores
Cake
Yoga
Sound

We had inversions we will never forget!!!! 🤪😍😁

Sending love to all!!!!

https://mailchi.mp/a52c9738378f/equinox-and-mothers-day-gossip

Equinox and Mothers Day Gossip Danielle is off to America to see her family for the Easter holidays! She has a few spaces available this coming weekend and next week if you’d like a treatment before Easter. Her last day in the clinic before Easter is March 23rd.

I am off to America to see my family for the Easter holidays! I have a few spaces available this coming weekend and next week if you’d like a treatment before Easter. My last day in the clinic before Easter is March 23rd. I will be back in the clinic April 13th.

While I am away, Rosie and Ginny will be available, so feel free to book a session with them through the booking system if you need an appointment.

Lauren and I are doing an equinox THANG at Taffside Sauna March 22nd 330-7ish...

You can book that online through my website ( or Laurens) and get £10 off with the code

SPRINGEQUINOXSALE

If the does not work message me directly...Im terrible with tech and I often set these things up wrong.

Oh and mothers day. £10 all gift vouchers with the code

MOTHERSDAY26

Wishing you all love and light. I hope my trip home to America is safe and that people are kind to my daughter and to me regardless of our beliefs. We are all on the same side... last time I checked I was a human.

Lets celebrate this time of hope and fresh energy. Let’s embrace the positivity running through us and make it super contagious — starting a crazy epidemic of love.

Love to all.

Join us on Sunday April 19th for a blissful 90-minute Yin/Yang workshop at the Newton Institute in Porthcawl! 🧘✨

We’re bringing together the best of both worlds to leave you feeling absolutely incredible:

FIRE IT UP: We’ll start with a warming asana flow to wake up your muscles and get that energy moving.

COOL IT DOWN: Then, we’ll melt into deep, restorative Yin poses to soothe your soul and stretch it all out.

DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE: Explore the magic of pranayama. This breathwork will clear your head and help you find your sweet spot.

We have comfy mats, bolsters, blocks, and straps—just bring yourself and a smile.
All abilities are welcome.

£15 for the session. You must book via the website.

Unwind with us at on select Sundays. Our chill out Sunday sessions include:

Massage and adjustments

Restorative Yoga

Pranayama (breathwork)

Meditation

Yoga Nidra

£15

Book online via our website!

Mens beginner/ intermediate yoga course.

In a couple of weeks I will be starting up our popular Mens beginner yoga. It’s on a Monday evening 6-7 pm - the men’s yoga classes are aimed for the ‘unbendy men’ who are new or feel uneasy about attending a large yoga class .

These will take place in Cambrian Buildings Mt Stuart Square, Cardiff CF10 5FL

They are suitable to beginner / intermediate men who would benefit from yoga practice.

The sessions will be on Monday evening at 6-7 pm . Come a little early to get changed . You just need shorts and a t shirt . Also , bring a bottle of water . Bring a jumper/ top for the relaxing part at the end .

The sessions will be in blocks of 3 classes and the cost is £30 for the course. We take cash or card .

Next sessions will hopefully start on Monday 26 January , if I get enough interest.

Please DM me or text 07779572756 Mike

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16rvTRw85y/

Lipedema. Lymphedema. Lipo-lymphedema.
So many of our clients arrive with these words written in their chart, but very few have ever had them truly explained.

I like to imagine these conditions as what happens when the body’s rivers and riverbanks begin to struggle. The lymphatic system is the river that carries excess fluid, proteins, immune cells, and metabolic waste back toward the heart. Fascia and connective tissue form the riverbanks, guiding and containing that flow. When either is overwhelmed, the landscape changes.

In lipedema, the change begins in the fat tissue itself. It is not “just weight.” It is a chronic, progressive disorder of subcutaneous adipose tissue, almost always affecting women, in which fat cells and the surrounding connective tissue become enlarged, tender, and inflamed, most commonly from the hips to the ankles, while the feet are often spared.  Clients describe aching, heaviness, and easy bruising. Research shows micro-inflammation around blood vessels, fibrosis in the fascia, and early lymphatic overload, which means the very terrain that should glide and cushion instead feels crowded, pressurized, and sore. 

Lymphedema is a different, but related story. Here, the lymphatic vessels themselves cannot keep up. Protein-rich fluid accumulates in the interstitial spaces because drainage is impaired, either due to a genetic weakness in the system (primary) or to damage such as surgery, radiation, infection, or trauma (secondary).  Over time, chronic swelling can lead to increased fibrosis, fat deposition, skin changes, and increased vulnerability to infection. The river slows and thickens; the banks harden.

When lipedema persists long enough, the overloaded lymphatics can begin to fail, and lipolymphedema emerges: disproportionate, painful fat plus true lymphatic swelling layered on top of each other.  This is often the client who tells you, with shame in their voice, that they have been told to “just lose weight,” even though dieting has never changed the shape or pain of their legs.

So how do we, as bodyworkers, help in a way that is both safe and meaningful?

First, we honor that this is a medical condition, not a character flaw. Many clients with lipedema or lymphedema arrive carrying years of dismissal and stigma. Our presence and language matter as much as our hands. We are not “fixing their legs.” We are helping a fluid-starved, overworked system find a little more room to breathe.

Second, we remember that these tissues are fragile, inflamed, and prone to overload. Deep, aggressive work is not helpful here. The research on lymphedema management consistently supports gentle manual lymph drainage, compression, movement, and meticulous skin care as core pillars of care.  Our work can harmonize with those pillars.

Gentle, rhythmic manual work can support lymph flow when we follow the anatomy. We always clear proximally first, creating space in the larger trunks and nodes near the abdomen, trunk, and groin before encouraging fluid from the more distal tissues. Think of it as opening the dam before inviting more water downstream. Very light pressure, skin-stretching techniques, and slow, wave-like motions are key. Lymphatic capillaries are superficial and delicate; they respond to whisper-light touch, not force.

Fascial work still has a place, but it needs to be re-imagined. Instead of sinking deeply into already painful tissue, we can focus on long, slow, melting contact that respects the direction of lymph flow and the client’s pain threshold. Restrictive fascial bands can act like tight rings around a swollen river, further impeding drainage. Gentle myofascial spreading around the hips, pelvis, abdomen, and diaphragm can help free these choke points and support better fluid dynamics without bruising or flare-ups.

Movement is therapy for both systems. Studies show that low-impact, rhythmic exercise such as walking, water aerobics, rebounder work, or gentle strength training in compression garments helps lymph pump more effectively and may improve symptoms in lipedema and lymphedema.  As bodyworkers, we can coach micro-movements: ankle pumps at the end of a session, diaphragmatic breathing to create a pressure piston through the trunk, and small gliding motions of the arms and legs. At the same time, the tissues are warm and supported.

We can also advocate for the practical tools that make a huge difference day to day: properly fitted compression, pneumatic pumps when appropriate, elevation, and collaboration with medical and lymphatic specialists. Our treatment room becomes one piece of a long-term self-care ecosystem.

Emotionally, these clients often live in bodies that feel “too big,” “too heavy,” or “betraying.” The shape of their legs or arms is not a reflection of willpower, yet the world often treats it that way. Our table can be the rare place where their body is met with curiosity instead of judgment. Where we name what we see: the peau d’orange texture, the cuffing at the ankles, the tenderness to touch, the symmetrical pattern that says “lipedema,” not laziness. Simply understanding the pattern is a form of relief.

In Body Artisan work, I like to think of sessions for lipedema and lymphedema as tending a tidal marsh. We warm the tissues. We invite slow tides of movement with our hands. We clear the main channels, then softly encourage the pooled waters to find their way home. We track the client’s nervous system the entire time, keeping them in a state of safety and rest so the body can prioritize drainage rather than defense.

No single session will erase a chronic fluid disorder. But every session can offer less pressure, less ache, more space, and more dignity. Over time, with thoughtful touch, movement, compression, and collaboration, the river and its banks can work together again.

To every client living with lipedema, lymphedema, or lipo-lymphedema: you are not your diagnosis, and you are not alone. Your body is not failing; it is adapting under enormous load. Our work as body artisans is to meet that adaptation with science in our hands, compassion in our hearts, and a deep respect for the quiet courage it takes to live in a body that feels heavy and keep moving toward lightness.

Lunchtime yoga is back from next Wednesday, January 14th. This class is for all abilities. Beginners are welcome also!!!!

We have an amazing little group who are welcoming and inclusive. Regardless of your level, you will love this class.

Wednesdays

1230-130

£10 drop in

DM or email Danielle for more information.

You can book online 🤗💜💫💥

See you on the matt!