Daniel Baines Osteopathy
Dan has a Masters degree in Osteopathy and is an Anatomy in motion and Neurokinetic therapy practitioner and Yoga anatomy teacher. In his spare time he can be found exploring everything dance and movement based. He runs his ‘Daniel Baines Osteopathy’ clinics from Hastings, Eastbourne and the One Aldwych hotel health club on the Strand in London.
What, when and where was your first experience of complementary therapies?
While I was touring with the show Stomp the rough and tumble of flipping around a stage with dustbin lids strapped to my hands left me with a string of chronic injuries. I was lucky enough to meet a fantastic therapist who patched me up, and enabled me to extend my career by another 3 or 4 years. That experience inspired me to study osteopathy.
What made you decide to treat others?
I love working with people and am intrigued by the human body. I love the challenge of unravelling the story behind a patient’s presentation and to understand the compensations that have led them there. Most importantly I love being a small part in an individual’s journey to rediscovering their potential for pain free human movement. What and incredible honour.
What influenced your treatments the most?
I am blown away by osteopathic philosophy, however it was a chance meeting with my now good friend Chris (a non osteopath) that really inspired me my on my current journey and led me study Anatomy in Motion and then Neurokinetic therapy. He constantly challenges me to think outside of the box when treating and never ceases to amaze me when I get the chance to sit in and watch him work.
Describe holistic in less than 10 words
As soon as holism is described it has boundaries which prevent you from seeing outside of the box. In ten words holism to me is:
‘Being in the moment without rules or preconceptions and asking why’
(ok that was 11).
What role do your therapies play in the way you live?
Movement never lies, so I constantly watch people as they walk down the street, train in the gym or stand at a bus stop. I have found myself following people with a curious limp or interesting gait pattern and mapping there movement in my body to try and understand how they feel and to embody their pain. I guess it has kind of taken over how I live and turned me into a ‘movement stalker’. How very worrying.
What do you hope your clients to experience when they get treated by you?
My sessions are unconventional from a time and treatment perspective. By the end I want my clients to understand why they have pain, have home work to help manage it and have enjoyed the process of unravelling their jigsaw.
What is the most rewarding thing about what you do?
I get to geek out every day exploring the potential of the human body, while helping people move out of pain.
Do you eat ice cream, drink coffee or any guilty pleasures?
Yes, yes and yes!
I am currently off alcohol for 2 months, but my weakness is King Cobra beer (hard to find but oh so worth it when you do) and Zaibatsu restaurant on Trafalgar Road in Greenwich (check it out on trip advisor and you will see why).