Let there be light: What you need to know about Ockenden Manor’s new personalised spa treatment

Katie Light is the therapist behind The Light Technique.  It’s a uniquely personal approach to spa treatments that incorporates mind and body wellness and meaningful results. Having joined forces with Ockenden Manor to provide an introduction to this all-encompassing approach, she explains what The Light Technique is all about…

Where did the idea for The Light Technique come from?

Light is obviously my surname, and people have said to me for ages that I should incorporate it into what I do.  It’s really a combination of techniques and therapies to deal with whatever a client’s issues are. It’s about treating the physical, mental and emotional in a spa treatment.  

Someone might come in with a bad stomach or find that they can’t switch off mentally, but the actual issue is anxiety.  So I do a lot of work trying to get to the root of where that’s coming from before looking at how it’s affecting them. Then it’s using the therapy to rebalance and realign mind and body.  It’s a therapy that’s completely tailored to the individual and really listens to the client.

What does the treatment involve?

There’s a big diagnostic component, which is mostly conversation at the start.  For the team at Ockenden, we have put together a very thorough consultation and I have trained them in how to ask and analyse those answers.  That takes 20 to 30 minutes and it is just as important as the hands on part of the treatment.

The treatment itself can be a combination of any number of therapy techniques.  I think what hasn’t been delivered in the past is allowing therapists to use the full breadth of their skills. In this they’re not following a specific procedure, they’re using all their skills and working intuitively. They can deliver what they feel they need to for the client.  They have training in face work, aromatherapy and body work, but they’re allowed to build a real rapport with the client, which makes for a really fulfilling experience.

How did you come up with the spa treatment?

I have been a therapist for about 28 years and I have been very fortunate to travel in that time.  I’ve worked in Asia and America, with fantastic healers and therapists and have learned as well as worked there.  I have worked in conferences and summits. Personally I started as a massage therapist and beauty therapist, but I didn’t feel I was getting to the core of the problem for people.  I was working with the body physically but not the emotion or the mind. So I did my reiki training up to a Master level and I did my neuro-linguistic programming training at the same time so I could cover all bases. That’s looking at behaviours, how the brain works and how it relates to the body, as well as the energetic side of wellness.

I was also diagnosed the Type 1 diabetes when I was 28 and the only treatment I ever received that helped was reiki.  That was another reason I wanted to get into it, because it made such an amazing difference in my life. That enabled me to look at energy in the body and how, if your organs are under pressure, energy levels can change.  I think reiki can be classed as a bit of a nothingness sometimes, but I had this amazing record of it and could check my blood sugar levels and see the difference.

I do work quite practically.  I am intuitive, but I also want to know it works.  I want people to feel lighter after a treatment.

Why do people come to you?

A lot of people come with mental anxiety.  That can stem from so many things; not knowing who you are and what you want, too much time in the head, no focus and no clarity.  Once you know where it comes from it’s easier to understand.

There’s a lot of digital influence as well; too much time on the computer or phone as well as the impact of what you’re seeing in those places. There’s a big thing about that; people not spending enough time outside or switching their phone off in the evening. It’s just that constant flow of information. It’s a lot more about mental stress more than physical stress.

I spend a lot of time working on the face; lots of people hold tension in the jaw, neck and shoulders. For that reason we have put together the Mind Space treatment for Ockenden, which works on breathing.  People stop breathing when looking at emails - have you noticed that? It’s about getting people back into their bodies and grounding them.

There are a lot of issues around food and emotional eating.  Then there’s stress with relationships and helping people with life planning and what they want to achieve.

It’s an ongoing thing, it’s a management thing but you do see a difference and feel a difference after a treatment.  

What can people expect from the spa treatment at Ockenden Manor?

At Ockenden manor they do a version of what I do.  Some of the more in depth things like working on relationships is more personal to me, but it all stems from the same practice.  Therapists at Ockenden Manor are trained to offer versions of what I do; to tailor a treatment for the individual and use the spectrum of their skill sets.  That’s what makes it a really unique and personal experience.

The Light Retreat at Ockenden Manor starts at £590pp