MICHELLE Roques-O’Neil is a shining star in the field of spiritual transformation, wellness and holistic body work, a renowned aromatherapist with a wealth of expertise in everything from shamanism and energetic re-patterning to reflexology and reiki.
Her vast wellspring of disciplines and innate gifts as a healer merge in Therapie, a platform for both her wellbeing products and her treatments at the Folly Mews Therapie Sanctuary.
Michelle Roques-O’Neil
Her signature Aroma-Resonance Body Therapy treatment, with its rejuvenating and emotionally releasing effects, gets your energy flowing and breaks through blocks which she believes have caused disease or precipitate its emergence in the future.
My session with Michelle opened me up to see the sunlight, flowers and colours again during a super stressful time as I was preparing to leave my loved ones and home for six months – with so much to organise before my flight. I’d been juggling anxiety with childish tears, contrasting with times of feeling strong and grounded, for a month or so.
Michelle Roques-O’Neil with a singing bowl
Visiting the Folly Mews Therapie Sanctuary, tucked away in a tree-filled mews, just off my beloved Portobello Road, was life changing for me. Michelle and I settled down like old friends pretty fast, as she offered me her own warming fortifying tea and mineral water.
Her presence is very grounding and I notice that she retains eye contact, constantly checking my wellbeing as she intuits, remarks on and questions my state of being. She pulls me in from my scattered, fearful in-a-hurry frame of mind, like a fish on a line, seemingly knowing much more about me and what I need emotionally, physically and spiritually than I do.
I find her positive and kind, never invasive, like a loving guide using her wisdom to transport me to a better space within myself and on the planet, offering me hope and visions of a joyous future.
I soak up her ideas on actions I can take to improve my wellbeing, such as writing free flow pages to clear the head in the morning, then building positive affirmations for the day, by turning negatives around – I am unsupported, becomes I am supported and so on.
Breathing in her restore aura spray, holding for five breaths and breathing out with a strong Ha! I hope I’m not giving away too many secrets here.
She notes that my face has relaxed, as I am already feeling more serene and hopeful. I feel she knows exactly what I need and completely trust her, something I find difficult, especially with body work.
Therapie Cherish serum
Moving onto the treatment couch, tucked under a weighty cotton throw ,a skylight above soothes with passing clouds streaming, then blocking off light from my eyelids. Michelle begins by warming my feet, places a hot stone on the right side of my abdomen, where I had been having pain but hadn’t told her, then silently moves around me, touching points gently with a finger, intuitively working on me.
I mesmerised by the singing bowls, crystals, stones and her own glass-bottled Therapie products, all close to hand while she massages my feet and legs.
A range of Therapie crystals and products
Small Buddhas watch over as my face is worked on by hand, then stroked with a crystal, which penetrates into those tight spots around the end of the cheek bones and below the ears. I sense all the time energy moving, my chakras activated by vibrationally nourishing tuning forks, pressure points released, shoulders, neck and hands brought to life through soulful massage, all culminating in a heavenly craniosacral therapy.
I feel my self open and close like a wave, visualisations in deep pink purple and green, whole seas, suns and vistas, travelling to multiple destinations, exploring myself, my possibilities, I move thru pain to joy and end up in a place of least resistance.
Soporific, bathed in sounds, singing bowls, bells and other angelic frequencies resonate around me until I’m gently reawakened to the world by a melodic chime. I feel lifted , as if back from a holiday and she promises the effect will build over the next 48 hours, it takes time for this new vibe to settle into me fully.
I emerge into a busy London afternoon on a hazy autumn day. Peaceful and happy, my friend calls from a Baltic beach, as I journey home, tiny fishes swarm through her fingers in the sun. She had taken a risk and left London to be free and urged me to do the same. Cloaked in the wonderful aromas, heady lavender, frankincense and neroli, my inner child just wants to go play in a forest.
The next evening I dine with an old friend, who it turns out has been trying to track down Michelle since the 1980s. She says she’s the best and that my treatment has brought back the essential me, the person that she first met, a younger, lighter, more buoyant me.
She is not alone, I notice that all the people who I cross paths with since have a more friendly, interested approach to me.
Hawaiian Lava Foot Soak
I hear we can now revisit the ancient Chinese tradition of foot bathing with Michelle using Therapie’s Hawiian Black Lava Salts, I can’t wait!
by Sara Kirkwood
Contact Michelle Roques O’Neil here