Recognition by the Complimentary Medical Association

It’s been a while since I last wrote – almost six months, in fact, and I’ve genuinely missed keeping in touch.

During this time, life has delivered a powerful lesson in impermanence. I tend to be quite private by nature (it’s the Scorpio in me), yet I feel moved to share a little of that journey with you.

My dear landlord of six years, who had become like a grandfather to me, passed away on 2 August. His family gave me just three weeks to leave his house. Finding somewhere to live, packing, and moving in so little time was incredibly challenging.

These are the moments when a daily practice shows its true value – even when the mind is screaming, “There’s not enough time.” With gentle somatic movement, regular tuning in, breathwork and, of course, the Buttafly Technique, I managed to stay grounded, resilient, and resourceful enough to navigate such sudden change without a meltdown.

Against this backdrop, it was a particular delight to discover that I had been shortlisted for the Innovation in Healthcare Award at the Complementary Medical Association’s Global Excellence Summit in October.

I didn’t win this time, and I’m honestly at peace with that. The bar for excellence is high – and I’m grateful for it. It tells me that the Buttafly and the Buttafly Technique are being recognised in serious company, and it encourages me to keep refining the work for next year.

Several exciting opportunities have already arisen from the event. One that I’m especially pleased about is being approached by a leading school of massage to offer training as part of their curriculum. It’s a sign that natural spine health and gentle, intelligent approaches to back care are beginning to find their way into more mainstream education.

Watch this space – I’ll share more as these developments unfold.

What this means for you

You might be wondering what any of this has to do with your own back pain, your yoga practice, or your day-to-day life.

For me, this recognition is not about status. It is about validation that a different way of approaching spine health is not only possible, but needed.

It reinforces a few things I want you to know:

• Gentle, well-informed support can be more powerful than force.
• Your body’s signals are meaningful, not an inconvenience.
• You do not have to push through pain to be “doing it right.”

The Buttafly and the Buttafly Technique are simply tools to help you listen more clearly to your body and to give your spine the conditions it needs to unwind, realign, and recover. The fact that organisations like the Complementary Medical Association and established training schools are interested in this work suggests that the wider health community is beginning to recognise this too.

If you feel called to explore this work

If any part of this story resonates with you – the experience of sudden change, the weight of ongoing pain, or the sense that your body is asking for a kinder approach – there are a few ways you can explore this work more deeply:

You are always welcome to start small: one conversation, one new way of sitting, one moment of listening more closely to your body. These seemingly small choices are often where real change begins.