Bohemia Village Voice

Tutor Nicky Smith and Iona Jardine

Nicky Smith decided to call her business “Body Wisdom” to promote the philosophy that the human body knows instinctively how to heal itself. By simplifying our lives, we re-attune ourselves to that innate wisdom. Using her experience and techniques, Nicky aims to create the space for her clients where they can recognise and allow that natural wisdom to operate.
She says, “It’s all there – but we’ve forgotten how to access the information. It’s getting to the place where we’re in touch with our instincts. I’m offering support for that. It may be through yoga or through massage.”
Nicky originally ran Body Wisdom on her own, but is now running it with her sister, Fiona Smith. The business is an umbrella for natural therapies, and includes the Body Wisdom School for yoga practitioners, where the sisters work with other teachers and therapists to create different types of training. They also run weekend and week-long retreats every year. Currently they are running an annual retreat in County Cork, Ireland.
Nicky runs yoga classes for the over 50s at the Southwater Centre, and 1-to-1 yoga sessions at her home. “I want to offer people different ways in which to develop more awareness of their health; to develop their own tools and understanding, enabling them to look after their health better in day-to-day life. Empowering. I’m not making anyone better, I’m creating a space where people can help themselves.”
She also has two books to her credit,  Thai Massage and Thai Massage and Shiatsu Body Work (Nicky Smith and Hilary Totah). Nicky is planning to set up yoga workshops on Saturday afternoons where people can ask questions in depth as well as practise yoga. “Yoga and massage have a high range of benefits from physical injuries to emotional stress. Amazing results can come through the first yoga session if the person is ready – but it’s more as if the door has been opened and has let in sunlight.  We’ve got to keep the door open to find that natural ease of being.”