Memories of Goswell Road

The first clinic move

I joined the Islington and Clerkenwell Chiropractic Clinics shortly after I completed my Sports & Remedial Massage training in 2010.  At the time the clinic was in the parade of shops in th Packington Estate. This was then going to be redeveloped (now completed) and so we had the first clinic move.  This was when Goswell Road first became a part of my life.

I remember first seeing the building site that it was when I was first shown around it by Charlotte.  Even in the dirt and grime and building waste, I could feel the potential in the space, especially the gorgeous Studio 2 (the carpeted one at the top of the building), and I felt immediately like this was a great space.

I don’t have any photos from that inital visit, but as I returned during the subsequent works I started taking photos of the spaces as the started getting to clinic available.  Some of these can be found below, do swipe through the gallery to see the different spaces as they were refitted.

Massage room on the ground floor

Before the Pandemic changed things so dramatically, the main massage room was in Room 3 down on the ground floor. It was a lovely cosy space.  Although there really wasn’t much room to swing a cat.

Monday Meditation, Reiki Attunements, and clinics

I loved the rooms upstairs, especially Studio 2 and I always felt very comfortable in them.   It was in those rooms that I started to expand my skills from just the bodywork world and into leading and teaching others. 

But I was happy, eventually, to be challenged by Charlotte to organise and run my first ever Reiki Attunements.

Shortly after that I was again encouraged to start leading a Monday meditation class, where people could pop in for a 30 minute guided meditation to start the week witha bit of calm.

Yoga and courses

Yes, one of the biggest changes was add teaching yoga to my repertoire of skills.  My wonderful yoga teacher, Bridget Thornborrow, had been suggesting I should learn to teach the Scaravelli inspired yoga that she was teaching me ever since I first attended her classes in 2011. I adored the wonderful 500+ hour equivalent course run by the London Yoga Teacher Training Group (LYTTG) and was spoilt rotten as the courses were held at Goswell Road, 2 days per month for 2 years.  They were amazing times and I had a great time with my fellow yogis and yoginis during that course.  It really wasn’t long before I started to teach my yoga classes, ahead of my Monday Meditation classes

The Pandemic, MFR courses and onwards

So the Covid Pandemic hit and the doors to Goswell Road closed, temporatily.  As it did for so many people, the Pandemic and the route out from the Lockdowns put a massive spanner in the works and there were changes to the clinic.

The most dramatic was trying not to overlap people as they were moving through the clinic, to aid that Elisha and I were moved upstairs to the glorious Library.  I am not going to lie, I couldn’t believe my luck. The room was wonderfully large and spacious, and it has been such a lovely space to work in.  Although I will not miss the afternoon heat and the noise from the traffic.

I also managed to get Ruth and Linda of Myofascial Release UK to come and teach some workshops here, which was a delight.  I even ran the first of my MFR masterclasses under their umbrella, and I know that there will be many more options and chances ahead of me to run the courses.

Leaving Goswell and the future

It was with great sadness that the Directors of the Clinic made the decision to not renew the lease for Goswell Road.  The increase in the overall costs (rent, rates, utilities, etc) has meant that the clinic needed to move on as Goswell was larger than we needed.

So, at the end of July I spent my spare time helping pack up the clinic and then spent the day moving them out from Goswell Road. Yes, it was hard for the Directors to make the decision.  It has been hard for me to let go of my connection to the wonderful space of Goswell Road.  But I do think that the new space at 45 Beech Street will be amazing.  It’s only just down the road, its so quiet, and has air-conditioning!  Although with the way this year’s weather has been we’ve been more into the heating.

I will always have very fond memories of the 11 years I spent Goswell Road, but it is time to look forward to the new space in the City of London.