I’m Ana (she/they) and I’m an Advanced Clinical Massage Therapist, specialising in LGBTQ+ people, particularly Transgender clients. I won Inclusive Therapy Business of the Year, co-wrote the qualification on Trans anatomy in manual therapies and my work is currently used internationally. I’ve worked within the Brighton Queer community for many years, supporting people to reconnect with their body, reduce pain levels and practice better self care. The majority of my clients are Transgender and I work to support them through their bodies changes whilst accessing hormone therapy or gender affirming surgeries. Outside of body changes, I work a lot with LGBTQ+ people experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety and grief and their associated pains.
My original background is in frontline trauma and I bring this experience into my work to create a practice which is trauma informed and understanding of the physical impact of stress and trauma on the body. To this end, I am passionate about the use of active consent, breath work and gentle affirmation through out my work. As a person with Autism and hypermobility, accessibility is a key value in my work and I work to make sure my practice is accessible, safe and disability friendly.
At the start of 2024, I took the leap and opened my own clinic called Silk. Silk is an LGBTQ+ specialist wellbeing space in Brighton, UK, where I continue to practice and now support a whole team of other LGBTQ+ inclusive practitioners who work with me at Silk. My day ranges from supporting a Trans person in recovery from a gender affirming surgery to holding space for someone going through a difficult time and in need of embodied rest and care. I’m immensely proud of my work and its impact on the Transgender community and even prouder of Silk. If you are looking for safe hands to work on your Trans body and help you understand it better so that it can feel like a happier and safer place to be: it’s me. I also have a great selection of stickers which I hand out at the end of my treatments. :)
In my spare time, I like gaming, spending time in nature and reading. Key areas of anatomy I geek out on are the Parasympathetic Nervous System, how mental health interacts with our bodies and looking the Anterior Triangle (its a very important part of your neck which tightens when you are stressed or scared!)