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Bulletins

Integrative Health Consultation with Claire MacDonald

A whole-person approach to health, wellbeing and recovery. Health is rarely as simple as treating one symptom. Whether you're struggling with ongoing pain, digestive issues, fatigue, hormonal changes, stress, or simply don't feel like yourself, there are often many factors contributing to how you feel. My Integrative Health Consultations combine over 25 years of clinical experience as an Osteopath, alongside my qualifications in Nutritional Therapy and Homeopathy, to help uncover the bigger picture behind your health concerns. These 60-minute consultations are available in person at The Maris Practice or online, making them accessible wherever you are. What can an Integrative [...]

2026-08-07T09:50:06+01:00
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Meet Lesley — Craniosacral Therapy, Reflexology & Somatic Bodywork

We're delighted to welcome Lesley to the clinic, bringing over 35 years of experience in craniosacral therapy, reflexology, somatic bodywork, and breathwork -alongside ongoing training in counselling. Her work centres on the nervous system: how it holds stress, trauma, and emotion within the body, and how gentle, attuned touch can support it back toward regulation and ease. From anxiety and headaches to fertility support and birth preparation, her sessions work with the nervous system directly rather than just addressing symptoms in isolation. She has a particular focus on trauma-informed care, neurodivergent-friendly sessions, and support through pregnancy, alongside more general work [...]

2026-08-07T09:40:27+01:00
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Twenty-five years of The Maris Practice

And the story is still being written Est. 2001  —  celebrating our 25th year in 2026 This year, The Maris Practice turns 25 and we think that warrants a celebration. When the practice opened its doors in 2001, integrative health was still finding its footing in the mainstream. The idea that Osteopathy, Nutritional Therapy, Acupuncture, and a growing range of complementary therapies could sit together under one roof, that patients could be seen as whole people, not a collection of symptoms - felt radical to some and obvious to others. Twenty-five years on, the message is hitting more. We've navigated [...]

2026-08-06T20:34:24+01:00
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Why is it so hard to be healthy?

Last year I was at a meeting in a large UK town. I was finished by 9am. I wanted some breakfast, a fresh snack and a good coffee. I walked up and down the main high street and all through its shopping centre. I could not find one establishment that sold something freshly baked or something cooked with fresh produce. It was either something that had come out of plastic packaging or was a processed form of breakfast. There wasn’t a fruit and veg store, a fresh food bakery – nada. In a generation so much has changed. When my [...]

2026-07-28T17:11:30+01:00
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“There’s nothing wrong with you.” Then why do you still feel like crap?

What your blood tests don't show and what metabolic health can tell you instead. What is this ‘metabolic health’ that keeps popping up? And should we care? One of my patients asked me recently whether ‘metabolic health’ was just a rebrand on being healthy. In a nutshell - yes. But excitingly it allows us to understanding our health, with data. This can give us a window to what is happening inside our body – ideally before things go wrong. And that may be that moment, before serious illness takes hold, that can make the insight transformative for our current and [...]

2026-07-24T15:38:44+01:00
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The collection of JOY and giving yourself permission to feel it

I was chatting to a friend yesterday about the menopause. She's in the thick of it. Luckily I am on the other side. We got onto emotions, and she mentioned anxiety. It can be crippling for women during these changes. My story was a bit different - I lost my joy. Not in a dramatic way. I wasn't depressed or miserable. I just… wasn't joyful. For someone who is essentially a delusional optimist by nature, it was deeply weird. My hormones flatlined, recalibrated, and somewhere in that process, joy quietly left the building. For a few years I assumed this [...]

2026-07-22T12:51:45+01:00
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To supplement or not to supplement?

More isn’t always better - top tips on how to know what your body actually needs My husband works in the sports industry and this morning he asked me to look at a product to work out its value and potential efficacy. It’s something I get asked a lot in clinic too. Supplements can be amazing and used at the right time, for the right duration can be potent in getting us to optimal health, healing and recovery. But it is a supplement minefield out there. Walk into any health shop or even supermarket and you’ll find shelves lined with [...]

2026-04-29T12:12:08+01:00
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You’ve heard of Arnica, right?

Why a handful of tiny remedies still cause big reactions You’ve heard of Arnica, right? This is my usual ‘way in’ when introducing patients to Homeopathy. Some people have never heard of it, some love it, others out right dismiss it. I have found it to be very controversial, and can evoke quite strong reactions in people, positive and negative. I once posted about the benefits of a Homeopathic remedy on Facebook and someone appeared from the depths of the internet to strongly inform me that all Homeopaths are charlatans, out for money, and should be avoided at all costs. I can [...]

2026-04-24T14:44:50+01:00
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Bloating – Take a breath…

7 Reasons You Bloat and what to do One of those things that happens so often we’ve quietly filed it under “normal”. But as I say in clinic (on repeat), just because something is common doesn’t make it normal. For some it happens occasionally, for others it’s daily - either way it can be miserable. We’re talking: clothes suddenly not fitting by 3pm that heavy, uncomfortable, “I can’t quite stand up straight” feeling low energy, brain fog, general ugh And here’s the bit that often gets missed - bloating can also be a sign that we’re not properly absorbing our food. So [...]

2026-03-26T16:31:58+00:00
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Being in Your Body – It Might Save Your Life

Guest post by our brilliant, Claire MacDonald - find more here Being in Your Body - It Might Save Your Life What does that even mean? And why bother? Well, it’s free… and it might even save your life. My 15-year-old was recently talking about the bloating symptoms she regularly experiences. She even asked my advice on how to stop it (a heady moment for a mum of a teenager). But she also mentioned that most of her school friends experience bloating too — and that they all see it as normal. Just a side effect of eating, life, or [...]

2026-03-26T16:24:27+00:00
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