About Clinical Massage London
Hi! I’m Natalie Heng, a clinical and sports massage therapist based in London. I run a treatment space called Clinical Massage London in Newington Green, North London, and am also a resident therapist at The Soma Room, one of London’s best rated massage centers’ on Tripadvisor. Over the years I’ve helped hundreds of clients get out of pain, improve their movement and feel better in their bodies.
Why I Love being a Massage Therapist
I love that massage lies at an intersection of artistry and science – a good massage isn’t just about technique, it’s about intuition and communication.
I think it’s fascinating how our central nervous systems process and react to the mental and mechanical challenges of daily living through physical tension and posture, which can sometimes lead to discomfort, pain or even injury.
As soft tissue therapists, we have a unique opportunity to intervene in the feedback loop between pain and the brain. Massage therapy is the perfect vantage point from which to explore our roles as caregivers operating under a biopsychosocial model of care, where physiological, psychological and social factors are thought to reciprocally influence each other within a multidimensional view of pain.
From the more clinical aspects of assessing a client’s needs and delivering a targeted treatment; to the less tangible but equally valuable role of making people feel heard through mindful and empathetic touch - massage therapists are in a unique position to fulfil not just the ‘bio’, but also the ’psycho’ and ‘social’ elements of care.
How I Got into Massage
I began my transition into the world of manual therapy in 2018, after moving back to the UK where I had previously lived and completed a B.sc. in Biology in the early 2000s.
My background in science, and years as a journalist (I was a freelance writer and in-house features writer for national daily The Star in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) have always been led by a curiosity for how things work and what makes people tick.
I also love connecting with people, and believe in the power of empathetic touch. In this respect, clinical and sports massage therapy offered much to explore, and I decided to embark on a three year diploma in Advanced Clinical and Sports Massage at the Jing Institute in Brighton.
Four years on, and the rest is history. I absolutely love what I do, and can’t imagine a universe where I didn’t get to come to work and make people feel better everyday. :)
