Getting that summer-body feeling

Does it affect me when I am wearing shorter skirts in the summer, or am semi-naked on the beach? There might be a flash of self-awareness that makes me wonder what my wobbly bits look like as I get out of the sea… but I am mostly too busy keeping my children afloat and their SPF topped up to expend any more thought on it than that.

I have never used a cellulite cream, serum or scrub. I do not believe any ‘potion’ can clear years of deep dermal accumulation in a holistic or sustainable way. I also care more that my body is strong, healthy and resilient. We are little miracles after all: complex connections, clusters of cells and networks of bone and sinew.

Martine de Richeville understands this. Her unique, intuitive massage technique is called Remodelage. ‘Manual body remodelling’ works to drain the body’s adipocytes; once ‘deflated’ you see a smoother silhouette. I had a treatment with the gifted Pauline de Jessey, at Grace Belgravia, and my cynicism was dispelled in 50 minutes.

It was painful at times – when you hit residual build-up of toxins, deep in the adipose tissue, it’s squeal-inducing – but the full-body treatment, which also targets backs of arms, tummies and knees, was so sympathetic to my own physiology (her intimate knowledge of nutrition, yoga and meditation made the treatment truly holistic, too), that I stood up a different person.

Yes, I still had some cellulite – but, over the course of the next three days, when I made sure I drank a lot of filtered water and herbal tea to support all that lymph drainage, my body felt released. Posture aligned, sore pockets alleviated, and puffiness dispelled. This I can believe in (even if I cannot afford a repeat performance at £180 a session).

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Read more from Eminé on our #360me channel on Life Labs here. Eminé Ali Rushton is Psychologies Health and Wellness Director.

Photograph: iStock