My Warm Table ... with Sonia
My Warm Table ... with Sonia
Harnessing Community and Healing Touch with Tamala Bosveld
What if you could transform your life through the power of community and touch? Today, we sit down with the incredible Tamala Bosveld, a mother of five, marathon enthusiast, and compassionate massage therapist, whose work has touched countless lives.
Join us as Tamala shares her inspiring journey, from balancing family life to organizing a family-friendly running event that brings people together. You'll hear about the planning behind these events and the profound sense of belonging they foster.
Imagine the healing power of a single touch. Tamala delves into her expertise in remedial and oncology massage, offering a glimpse into how these therapies can provide immense relief for those dealing with physical and emotional pain. From dynamic cupping to specialized oncology care, learn about the holistic benefits that make a world of difference to the patients. We'll also uncover the emotional impact of massage, especially for cancer patients, and how these therapies improve their quality of life.
Tamala also shares the joys and challenges of managing a busy massage practice and a large family. This episode is a testament to the beauty of life, the privilege of growing older, and the power of giving back.
Join us!
Links:
Soul Runners
The Essentials Collective
Positive Impact Massage Therapy
Warm thanks to:
Sponsor: Females Over Forty-five Fitness in Victoria Park
Sound Engineering: Damon Sutton
Music: William A Spence
... and all our generous and inspiring guests around the warm table this season!
Please rate and review this podcast - it helps to share the love with others!
You can also follow My Warm Table on social media and join the conversation:
Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
Catch up on all episodes. You'll find My Warm Table on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Buzzsprout and more ...
My Warm Table, translated into Italian is Tavola Calda. These were the words my Papa used to describe a table of good friends, good food and good conversation. I always aim to create a tavola calda in my life and I hope this podcast encourages you to do so too!
And it's so close to my heart. I lost my father to cancer five years ago and I was able to help him with pain reduction. There's anxiety. It helps nausea. It gives relief for nausea. So many factors come into play when you're having treatment through cancer and neuropathy. The chemo treatments give so much pain and there's constipation from pain medication and these people are so busy going everywhere to treatments so it's just getting them on the table. It's a gentle touch and just to be able to give back to somebody who is suffering so much.
Speaker 3:Thanks for joining me, sonia Nolan, around the warm table, or the tavola calda as my Italian papa used to call a welcoming table of acceptance, positivity and curiosity. My Warm Table podcast aims to create that and more, as we amplify stories of Western Australians making our communities better. My Warm Table, season 3, is proud to be sponsored by Females Over 45 Fitness, with a studio in Victoria Park and also online all over Australia. So now please take a seat and join us for Season 3 as we explore stories of hope. I've been a long time big advocate for the portfolio life and the multi-dimensionality of particularly women who juggle family, homemaking work and all things that life throws in the mix. Today's guest is a woman who inspired me with her quiet confidence and philosophy to get on with things, be a good person, do the right thing and contribute to community. Tamala Bosveld is a mother of five, a massage therapist and a marathon runner. She's my guest around the warm table today and I'm delighted and looking forward to learning more about her. Welcome, tamala.
Speaker 1:Thanks, sonia, it's great to be here.
Speaker 3:It is great to be here and you know what? Know what? When we met, we were actually about to sit in front of a microphone, like we're doing today, so it's a little bit deja vu. And at that time we were talking about the Soul Runners and the support your running group was offering, the charity that I chair the Essentials Collective. So tell me about the Soul Runners and then I'm going to shamelessly tell you about the Essentials Collective. I'll get my word in first. Get your word in first. That's right, tell me about the Soul Runners.
Speaker 1:Okay, so my husband and I love to run my husband more so than me.
Speaker 3:He's actually just gone for a run just as we're recording this podcast, yeah.
Speaker 1:Dropped me off and ran. So we love to run and take part in organised events. However, Sunday is our worship day and most organised runs were held on Sundays and instead of, you know, complaining and whinging that we can't join in, we sat down with some friends and we said, right, let's organise a run that we can do and get others to join in. And we thought a family-friendly event to get people in families joining in, to get active, enjoying the sunshine. So, yeah, we sat down and we asked some more friends to join us in the committee and Soul Runners came about and it's a 5-kilometre, 10-kilometre or 21.1 half-marathon event that we hold once a year.
Speaker 3:That's wonderful, and so the term Soul Runners. That, I guess, reflects the faith-filled Christian ethos of the group.
Speaker 1:Exactly. We love what we've been given and we love to give back and to be able to run and enjoy. Creation is definitely a gift, so our soul is very much enriched with the running and the friendship and everyone's support.
Speaker 3:So we're all runners and it's a big event. I had the privilege of running in it this year and I'm shamelessly telling everybody that I ran a marathon which is, look, it's a little bit of a stretch, really. Look, there was a marathon in the title of the event, correct, even though it was a half marathon and I the five kilometre version of that. But you know it was a marathon event. I'm going to stick with that. Yes, and I'm proud of you. And look, and everyone's shocked that I did a five kilometre marathon but it was good fun it was.
Speaker 1:It was a great day. We had wonderful weather and, yeah, families, everybody can join in.
Speaker 3:I was astounded at what a big event it was actually, Tamala. So tell me what goes into organising something like that.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we have a committee of nine people now. Everybody has their jobs, so it's towards the event itself. It gets quite hectic, but leading up to it, you know, we have somebody who organised council permissions and somebody else will organise the toilets, the facilities that we need, and other people, medals, shirts. Then there's also, you know, selling the tickets. We have a ticketing system, someone organises there's insurance. Oh gosh, so much isn't there. Advertising, facebook work, yeah.
Speaker 3:And I think you had about 750 runners this year, is that right?
Speaker 1:Yes, we sold that amount of tickets, 10% to 20%. Don't turn up on the day, but yeah, we had quite a few there, about 700 running.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was amazing, and it was along the Swan River on the most glorious morning.
Speaker 1:It was, and just to run around that distance. If you've done it before or you haven't, it's a distraction. Yeah, it makes running so worth it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was wonderful. So is it held in every April?
Speaker 1:Yes, it usually works around school holidays. We try not to keep it in the school holidays, but yeah, it'll be either before or after in April.
Speaker 3:And that's wonderful. So it was April this year, 2024, the Swan Half Marathon and run by the Soul Runners. So an excellent, excellent thing to be doing just to keep healthy and fit on a Saturday so that it doesn't interfere with the Sunday worship for your faith yeah, wonderful. What was really special for me and how I learnt about it, was, of course, because of the Essentials Collective. So each year you choose a charity through the Soul Runners chooses a charity to support with the ticket costs. Is that correct?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's correct. So we have sponsors who kindly donate money and funds and we do advertising for them in return, and then the ticket sales is what usually is the gift to a charity at the end, and we usually choose a charity that really helps the underprivileged, you know, because, like I said before, we've been given so much we can give back. So, while the charity is not the BL and the reason of the run, it's just that by-product that, yeah, gives us much joy.
Speaker 3:It's just such a lovely tie-in and something so generous, and so the Essentials Collective was the beneficiary this year and we were delighted with the amount that we were able you were able to raise for us. And just an aside, as I said, I was going to shamelessly tell everyone about the.
Speaker 3:Essentials Collective. So I'm very privileged to be the chair of that, and the Essentials Collective is a very grassroots WA charity which supports disadvantaged people, particularly women and children, and what we do is we collect hygiene essentials. So things like shampoo, soaps, toothbrushes, toothpastes If you can think of what you did this morning to get ready to face the day all of those products are things that we take for granted and yet they are really hard to come by for some people who are at a very low point in life. So we work with the beneficiaries, so we work with organisations that support people of disadvantage and we supply it to them because they're actually not funded for those essentials which we were just so surprised to find. So we fill that gap.
Speaker 1:And what an amazing difference to a day. If you can feel clean and prepared, your life might not be going great, but just to have those basics is an essential of life.
Speaker 3:It's an essential of life. Yeah, and it's just that first step that helps you then get out and maybe go to that job opportunity, or makes you feel a bit more confident in yourselves to be a kinder mother that day, or whatever it is're really. We're so excited by the support from the slow runners, so thank you for that. The other thing that you do, as I said, you're a marathon runner we talked about that but you're also a massage therapist. Tell me about your massage therapy, tamala.
Speaker 1:Oh it's a job I love. I do it from my home, I can do it around my children school hours, other family church commitments. I studied back in 2012, and it was never a career I actually thought for myself. I was never really very touchy-feely Is that the word? Touch-orientated? However, my husband had a accident and he the scaffold collapsed at a friend's job site that he was at and he shattered his foot and in the rehabilitation of that his physio said well, you go home and you get your wife to massage your foot every night. I did make him put it in writing.
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, are you sure that's what they said? That was exactly what.
Speaker 1:I thought, and yes, the physio actually wrote that on a note for me. Yes, and then I thought, well, I actually don't know what I'm doing. Yeah, so I found an introductory massage course and I just fell in love. It was a two-day course, it was hands-on, and it was just like how amazing we can make changes to the body or to make people feel better by touch. And so then I just from there I went and I completed my diploma and yeah, oh wow, Wow, I didn't realize it had such an interesting start.
Speaker 3:Your massage therapy Okay.
Speaker 1:And so this husband who shattered his foot I mean, it's not all my doing, but he now runs ultra marathons, 200 milers, and all on this foot with half screws and lots of little bits floating around in there.
Speaker 3:And some fabulous massage therapy along the way. Yeah, oh gosh, so it started. Did it start with feet therapy or did you sort of then move up the body?
Speaker 1:Yeah, no it was just going to that course was full body. But yeah, I asked questions there about the feet and they told me how to you know work around it and with injuries, the pain, and, yeah, how we could make change.
Speaker 3:So tell me more about that. So what is the benefit of massage therapy?
Speaker 1:Numerous, you know. We can help rehabilitation from injuries, chronic conditions such as, you know, fibromyalgia, pain that people have had all their life. It can relax them, it can create more movement, joint movement, create more movement, joint movement. Yes, there's just so much. It's hard to tell.
Speaker 3:It's hard to articulate it because there's so many benefits.
Speaker 1:There is and it goes mental, physical, spiritual yeah, that touch is. So many people actually live this life without touch.
Speaker 3:And bringing that to someone is a real blessing, isn't it? It is, yeah.
Speaker 1:And we can do that in peace, or they can. Sometimes I feel like a counsellor. I should probably have some more training in that but no, we can have some great conversations or we can just be in harmony and peace while we work on their body.
Speaker 3:Do you feel people or have you seen people get really quite emotional during the therapy session and actually be, you know, sort of tears and feeling quite emotional with the touch?
Speaker 1:Yes, definitely, and there'll be times when they don't even know it's going to happen. They'll either be talking or they'll be in peace, and next minute you feel them like shudder and they may be crying, or they may just be in a world they've not been able to get to before in their mind.
Speaker 1:It's quite powerful, isn't it? It is, yeah. So lots of remedial. Remedial is really about helping injuries or issues that they have, but it's not just the physical aspect. So we have a lot of requirements to call it a remedial massage assessment beforehand to see where and what's going on, and then we also have the treatments and afterwards the aftercare we have to give them. But it's never, you know, to have a provider number, say for HBF, that's what's required, but it's never mentioned the whole body effect that we have.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the whole experience of it. So you do remedial massage but you also do oncology massage. Yes, I really wanted to understand that, because that's special, I think that's special, it is and it's so close to my heart.
Speaker 1:I've lost my father to cancer five years ago and I was able to help him with pain reduction. There's anxiety. It helps nausea. It gives relief for nausea. There's anxiety, it helps nausea. It gives relief for nausea. So many factors come into play when you're having treatment through cancer and neuropathy. The chemo treatments give so much pain and there's constipation from pain medication and these people are so busy going everywhere to treatments so it's just getting them on the table. It's a gentle touch and just to be able to give back to somebody who is suffering so much.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a gift, that's a real gift, tamala.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it just fills my cup. And we've had friends that I've been able to work on and then I thought you know they're going through so much. What if I'm not doing the right thing? So then I went training for it. There's special courses, just so you know the contraindications, where you shouldn't massage or where you should. You know they have medical devices, radiation, where they'll have burns, yeah. So just where you should and shouldn't, yeah, and how you can help.
Speaker 3:And also, I guess, the skin sensitivity. You talked about the burns, but sometimes your whole skin is sensitive. Yes, and so knowing which oils to use yeah, there's a lot to it.
Speaker 1:There is positioning like a lot of people get PTSD from other radiation or always being in medical care. So you know, maybe face down isn't right, so and some people prefer to be fully clothed because you know they feel very exposed with all their treatments already. So it's just working around every issue they have.
Speaker 3:So do you spend a lot of time just getting to know your clients?
Speaker 1:Yes, and they love to talk to somebody who understands what they're going through, but it's not telling them what to do. They have us for an hour or whatever time that they have with us and they can talk about their concerns, they can ask questions. They can ignore that they're unwell. So it gives them lots of relief.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and people come to you or do you travel, oh?
Speaker 1:I can travel, but most of my clients that currently are well enough to come to me or be taken to me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that's in Golden Bay, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah yeah, beautiful Golden Bay Beautiful suburb?
Speaker 3:It is, yeah, just south of Rockingham there, yeah, yeah, tell me about cupping, because that's another thing that you do.
Speaker 1:Yes, so there is different types of cupping, because that's another thing that you do. Yes, so there is different types of cupping. It can cause negative pressure, so you use, like the cup, it's, a plastic or silicon device which you create suction in and it brings blood flow to the surface. So my type of cupping is it's called dynamic, so the cups are mainly moving. You also get the stationary cupping, where people therapists will put cups on your body with quite a large amount of pressure and leave it there for a while and you get those big.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, the big round, the round circles like avians, have landed.
Speaker 1:Yeah that's right, but you don't do that you just keep it moving. No, I do it moving, yeah, and that just releases the fascia, softens the fascia, changes the shape of the cells, brings in water and fluid. It's not permanent change. Otherwise, you know, people would be doing it for weight loss and they'd be walking around with cups on their body 24 hours a day. That could be interesting.
Speaker 3:Because I've been asked. Do you know what? Don't discount it, because anything is possible in the future.
Speaker 1:really, Well, this is exactly it. But yeah, no, it's just. It really softens the fascia, which is one of the biggest organs in our body. It travels through all our organs under our skin, and that is really what massage is about. It softens the fascia, it gets moving and flowing, so skin and organs, they can all move on top of this structure called fascia.
Speaker 3:Fascia it gets moving and flowing, so skin and organs they can all move on top of this structure called fascia. Fascia, Ah yes, Now I've heard about, you know, fascia massage and how important the fascia is, but I hadn't really understood it. So tell me more about the fascia.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like I said before, it's the structure in the body that just connects everything. I don't know if you heard as a kid you'd say you know, if you didn't have your skin, your body would fall apart. Actually, you have your skin, it's the fascia that keeps it going. Ah, okay.
Speaker 1:Yes, that connects everything and it's only recently been discovered as a major thing to work with in the body, like it used to be, say. I mean this might sound a bit awful, but like when they were doing autopsies and that they would just remove parts of the fascia to get to see what was everything was wrong. But now they realise that that actually is what connects it all and flows through the body, and so where it may hurt in one part of the body, that connects to another, because it's connected by the fascia and the issue is not always where the pain is.
Speaker 3:That's so interesting, and so with the massage, it's, it's warming it's releasing that.
Speaker 1:So any adhesions in any places that you know the structures aren't moving over each other smoothly, warming up the fashion can help release that.
Speaker 3:Oh, very good. Oh, there we go. So we're learning something. And how does that work with them with deep tissue massage?
Speaker 1:Okay. So massage increases inflammation, so inflammation can be healing. It brings blood flow heat to the area, so it loosens things up. I'm not very great at describing these things.
Speaker 3:No, you're doing a great job. You need to just describe it to like the five-year-old me, so then I can understand it.
Speaker 1:Okay. So basically, inflammation is it healing blood flow? So blood carries so many good properties and we are just getting that to move and change structures in the body. So we're not. You know, as a massage therapist we can't diagnose anything, we don't necessarily heal anything, but we promote healing. So, and that's the same when it comes to oncology massage, we can't do deep tissue because there is so much inflammation going on in the body. Deep tissue actually could cause more pain. Your body's already under great stress, Say, if you've got biochemical treatment like the chemo, the fatigue, it'll just be too much.
Speaker 3:So that's a soft, slow movement, trying not to create inflammation, yeah, and more holistic and more I think you used the word cradling the body.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, and just as a whole, it's whole hand touch it's being present. So it can actually be hard for somebody who's used to a life of deep tissue massage, you know being. They come in they say, oh, I've been belted up all my life, you know, and I like the elbow yeah, yeah, and I and I said I'm sorry, I just can't, you will. You will thank me tomorrow because if I did what you really would like me to do, you'd be in a world of trouble.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, no, so you know what you can and can't do.
Speaker 1:Pain is not always the greatest game, or it doesn't always give the greatest game.
Speaker 3:No, no very good words. Tell me about pregnancy massage, though, because, again, that would be something that you'd need to be quite careful with. Yes, because, again, that would be something that you'd need to be quite careful with yes, I think with pregnancy massage.
Speaker 1:Again, it's people want to be treated how they were before, but their body is changing. There's so many hormones, there's the relaxant going through them. So while you can give a firm massage, you can't be going in too deep and it's more of a nurturing one. There is, of course, involved with hips and back pain, but it's more, uh, just to relax the whole body is to give relief in a way that people don't aren't expecting. They they think that you have to, like I said before, the no pain, no gain thing. They think that you have to, like I said before, the no pain, no gain thing. They think that's what has to happen. But no. So pregnancy massage is something you know I didn't have a lot of during my pregnancies and I had one and it was quite unsatisfactory and I thought right, this is where I have to go in and do training, so I know how to improve that for others.
Speaker 3:That's a good reason to do it. I remember with my first child, I did have reflexology, yes, which I loved. It is great, it's amazing. And my baby responded Like they. You know, she would just go, you know, crazy. I'm assuming she liked it, or maybe she just didn't. She's like this is great, this is awesome, yeah. But yeah, and again, you have to be careful with which areas you stimulate when you're doing reflexology on a pregnant person.
Speaker 1:That's exactly correct. There are points in the body and this goes back to Chinese medicine, which is incredible. They feel can induce labour. So you've got to be very careful over those areas. You know the spots in the ankle, in the shoulder, so you learn how to avoid them or to work on them different without direct pressure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, so. Is that the sort of stuff that you've learned as well as a massage therapist the connection with the organs and the different parts of the body. Is that something that you do, or is that more sort of Chinese medicine that relates to that?
Speaker 1:So remedial doesn't really cover that type, and every year with remedial massage you have to do more training. So it would be the way that you chose what courses you chose to do. So I haven't really gone down that path only because I've been led others. But there is definitely mind-body connections. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's quite incredible. And the Chinese medicine goes back for many years and they are just so intuitive Totally, and there's so much we can learn.
Speaker 3:Oh, definitely, absolutely yeah, if you can get a really good Chinese healer, yes, quite extraordinary, quite extraordinary the deep knowledge that comes there.
Speaker 1:It is so I quite often see it like acupuncture Just brilliant. And we have adapted that in our Western massage with Pressure points. Yes, pressure points, acupressure, even the dry needling yes. So we use the acupuncture needles on acupressure points.
Speaker 3:So you do that as part of your no. No, that's not something that you, that's not a course I've done yet.
Speaker 1:It's very intense. I think some of them are like basically 80 hours of anatomy theory and that before you actually even get to the hands-on, which is really reassuring.
Speaker 3:Oh yes, if someone's going to stick a needle into you, that they know exactly where it's going to go. So I'm really pleased that there's that level of rigour in the training.
Speaker 1:And I've focused on this oncology massage so at this stage, I'm leaving that one yeah.
Speaker 3:But you've also done hot stone massage. Is that right? Tell me about the hot stones, because that's you know, every sort of day spa that you look at does a hot stone therapy. So what's so good about it? Because I've never actually had a hot stone massage.
Speaker 1:It's glorious, is it? It's relaxing, there's that just constant heat going through your body and you don't have to go deep with it because the heat of the stones would do that work for you. And it's more. When you say spa, it is actually the relaxation side of massage that just can have such good effects without having to be put in pain and you can just drift away on your own. Yeah, so hot stones is good for the therapist as well.
Speaker 4:I love holding stones.
Speaker 1:This hot stone therapy I was taught it's quite intense, so there's a lot of preparation work, the cleaning, the sanitizing and cleaning up afterwards and just safety measures with your client from the table. So it's quite an expensive modality but that's only because of the extra work that's involved.
Speaker 3:Well, that explains it actually, because they are always more expensive than the other treatments that you can have, probably why I haven't had one.
Speaker 1:Well, you'll just have to try that.
Speaker 3:I might just have to, tamela, I might just have to. So, in regards to the massage therapy that you've done, you've got ideas of wanting to do more training in this, or are you very happy in the oncology space and giving what you're giving there?
Speaker 1:I love my oncology but there's more I can do for that. So I do hope to do lymphatic draining massage, because that's a lot to do. That's included in the oncology, but I'm not a specialist in the lymphatic, so to get more training on that would be amazing. A lot to do, that's included in the oncology, but I'm not a specialist in the lymphatic, so to get more um training on that would be amazing. And scar tissue oh right, because there's a lot of surgery, yes, quite often involved with cancer treatment so and sometimes the scars can become quite fibrous and, um, very thickened, and then it restricts movement, causes pain in internal structures. So just to be able to release that for clients as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh yes, there's so many elements that I guess we don't think about. Yeah, tamla, you also mentioned fibromyalgia, which is one of those illnesses that people really struggle with being taken seriously. That they've even got it it's really contested, but you treat that as well.
Speaker 1:Yes, and not through any training or aiming for it. I just have a number of clients who come in and they have chronic pain, skin issues. It's an autoimmune disease so they never know or they're not always sure what brings it on when they're going to have the flare up, but they just find that when they come in for massage it can calm them down. It calms down the symptoms, it calms them down and it just helps them to function in life. Totally not looked at seriously in lots of cases and it's just not fair.
Speaker 3:It's just not. No, no, it's not. So I'm glad to hear that you've got some. You know you provide that treatment for them in the sense of therapy, massage therapy. That at least validates the fact that they are feeling some pain.
Speaker 1:I have a sister-in-law who suffers from it and probably without knowing her and knowing her situation, I might not have even been aware and been the same as everyone else. So I suppose it's what you go through in life, and who you know and who you experience that you learn so much.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. That's the beauty of it, isn't it? Yeah, definitely, tamala. I'm interested in the fact you're such a giver, you're a real giver, and I dare say that, as you, you know, do these amazing therapies for people and you're giving and giving. How do you feel after you've finished a massage? I mean the person's feeling amazing. How are you feeling as a therapist?
Speaker 1:Amazing too. Yeah, yeah, it's just to be when you see them even relax. They don't have to say anything. You can see the change in their demeanour and the way that they leave and chat to you and you're like we've made a change and they feel better, and this makes me feel better. Not always the case, you know. There's always some people which it can be an energy thing. I don't really know how to explain it, but sometimes you'll have a client on your table who can drain your energy and it's not even necessarily the way they are to you. You might have a pleasant conversation, but either they needed something from you that I didn't have the energy to give today and I might think that is probably not the best massage. I didn't give them the best, but they will be back, yes, and that improves over time. So I think that's part of it as well, like we share a space and if we feel safe, then really whatever goes on in the session, if you feel safe, you will feel better.
Speaker 3:And that energy, so you can really feel the energy of your clients.
Speaker 1:Yeah, not in a woo-woo way.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's right. Yes, yeah, but I can.
Speaker 1:I can feel, as I'm working on them, whether they actually respond to the treatment or whether they're like I'm not ready to take this today, right, yeah, but they feel they are. They don't always know what's going on and why. They need that time out, yeah.
Speaker 3:I guess we live such busy, harried lives and you know sort of fitting in a massage is another thing for some people.
Speaker 1:you know They've got to squeeze it in, whereas that's not the point, is it? No? And some people will make a point of making a regular one because they know that it helps them to function and keep going on in life and it makes them just feel ready to cope with things. And other people are like I'm really sore, I'll just get this done. Can you fit me in today? And you can tell when they're a little bit upset if you can't, but you know, it's not that they're angry at you, it's just that they are feeling the need for something and you just haven't been able to help them at the time. Yeah, but we always try, we find a good time and we get there. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So when you say we, so you've got positive impact remedial massage, so is that your? Are you a sole trader or you've got people who work with you?
Speaker 1:No, I'm a sole trader. I used to work under my own name. Don't really like putting myself out there too much, so I'd change it to a business name and then, with the hopes in the future, to expand. Yeah, yeah, oh fantastic Maybe take someone else in, do something else.
Speaker 3:Well, I take it you're very busy and you've always got someone coming in and always got room for growth.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, so I have all my regulars and my books are pretty well booked out a few weeks in advance. But yeah, there's. You know, there'll always be spaces where I can take time for myself or a new client can come in. It's just we're looked after that way. Yeah, what's needed is given.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's lovely. And, of course, aside from a very busy massage therapist practice, you are the mother of five children, which in itself is a full-time plus role. So tell me about your family life.
Speaker 1:Oh, they're amazing, Of course. So only four live at home with us now, four boys. The oldest girl she's the one who made me a mum, beautiful, I was very proud of her. She's beautiful, she's a full-time. Oh, she studied as a nurse and now she's in the army and 10th Light Horse and she works basically full-time there at the barracks in Irwin now and she's also just taking a break at the moment but studying medicine. What an exceptional woman she is. I'd say to my husband she certainly doesn't take after me.
Speaker 3:You've got to take credit here, tamala, you've got to take credit.
Speaker 1:No, she's a real go-getter. And then I have the four boys. And yeah, Caleb, he's amazing, he works as well. He does what his dad does fitting cabinets. And then there's Logan, our middle child. He's great too. He's doing an apprenticeship at the moment. And then I have two at school, still one going through year 12, Rory he's a real studier. He works very hard, he's very dedicated. And then there's Fletcher, the youngest.
Speaker 3:There you go, so you're still very much in mum mode, with kids still at school as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but they've been so good for me as well, and they help out at home and yeah, so they've allowed me to work, which I think is great.
Speaker 3:They do get very upset because I don't always give them a massage very often. I was just going to ask whether there's any free massages going in your house. You'd be full-time employed just in massaging all five of them plus your husband.
Speaker 1:I honestly don't do it enough, and that is one thing I do feel bad enough about. But they're very forgiving.
Speaker 3:Yeah, fair enough. Fair enough. Well, you can't do everything. You can't do everything. No, that's right. Well, Tamala, there's just so much going on with the way that you approach life. You know, like I said at the beginning, like I'm just so, I was so inspired when I met you. We just really clicked like that time when we were going to talk about the half marathon event and you know, you were talking about the Soul Runners and I was there to talk about the Essentials Collective on Sunshine FM, I think it was we were being interviewed and we then went for coffee and I was just so inspired by you and the work that you do and just who you are as a human. So I just wanted to, you know, revisit that conversation by bringing you around my warm table, and I'm just so delighted that you said yes to coming to talk about your work.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you. When we went for coffee, I was just like this is just somebody I could talk to for hours. Excellent, she was lovely. You're such a great listener. Oh, thank you. Yeah, you're welcome and you're just encouraging. So, yeah, you're welcome and you're just encouraging. So, yeah, that was great. Oh, thank you and like, yeah, you're so accepting. You know, like, we live different lives, we do different things in our life, but we are who we are and you just love to learn about people.
Speaker 3:I really do, and that's the whole purpose of the warm table is, you know, that, curiosity and acceptance and just constant learning. So I'm delighted, and I'd like to end with a quote that I saw on your website Positive Impact Remedial Massage and it really does sum up what you're doing in your life, which is a single act of kindness can cause ripples of healing. I loved that.
Speaker 1:So true, so true. We don't know how we can affect people with just words, deeds, actions. It's yeah, and I think that's what we have to aim for in life. Like I said, we've been given so much. We have our faith, and what can we do but share the joy and the love?
Speaker 3:It's a wonderful thing and I'm just so delighted that we crossed paths and thank you for coming around my warm table.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me. I've had a great time.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone. I'm Kelly, the founder and head coach of Females Over 45 Fitness, or FOFAs we like to be called. The studio is located in Victoria Park and we also have an online program for women all over Australia who are unable to attend the studio. Foff is proud to again sponsor my Warm Table podcast with Sonia In Season 3, we are bringing you stories of hope.
Speaker 4:My name's Lisa. I just recently turned 50. I'm a Valentine's babe. Where did that time go? I'm super lucky to have a beautiful partner, adorable rescue fur baby and amazing family and friends. I love traveling, music and anything to do with the water. The beach is my happy place. I train at FOF two days a week and it's been a game changer for me. I'm a four times cancer survivor and finding FOF helped me regain my sense of myself and increase not only my physical health but also my mental health too. It's the safest exercise space I've ever come across, full of supportive, non-judgmental, caring and inspiring women. Hope for me means knowing that even in your darkest hours there's always something to look forward to and a reason to smile. I know growing older is a privilege not afforded to all and waking up each and every day is a blessing. With all of the beautiful things life has to offer and all I've been through, I'm grateful to wake up older each and every day.
Speaker 3:Thanks for joining us around the warm table. My warm table is produced, hosted and edited by me, sonia Nolan. It's my way of amplifying positivity and curiosity in our community. I invite you to share this conversation with family and friends and follow my warm table podcast on Facebook, instagram and LinkedIn. And follow my Warm Table podcast on Facebook, instagram and LinkedIn. Also, you can subscribe and follow my Warm Table on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and maybe even leave a review, because it helps others to find us more easily.
