MY JOURNEY

Let me introduce myself. I am Jean Yvon Bouvet. I was born in 1962, in France.

My journey started in Brittany, north-west France, in the city called Rennes.

My work essence came to life in the hotelier business, after three years of study at the “Lycee hotelier de Dinard”. Working with food and people there, the seed of creativity and communication was acknowledged and watering began. Thereafter, I gained employment, has a “Chef de rang” in various 5-star Hotels in France. Cooking is still a passion today.

Then, in 1980, I moved to London to learn English. I had planned to travel the world, but I enjoyed England so much my plans changed, and I lived in this wonderful country for the following 22 years.

Due to an injury to my lower back in 1988, I had to stop working in catering on the recommendation of my surgeon. During my convalescence, I saw a documentary on Japanese Floral Art known as “Ikebana”. I felt drawn to it and wanted to know more, and with the help of my corner florist, Tom Vach, I found a master of Ikebana.

Thus, the art of Ikebana came to be a part of my journey. It was the start of one of my greatest discoveries, flowers and plants.

I trained in Ikebana, with Master Shige Suga from Tokyo Sogetsu School, in London. In 1990, I began working as an apprentice for Harper's & Tom's, the enterprise of Tom Vach, who by this time had a beautiful shop in the heart of the Portobello market in West London. I loved learning from this loving and creative master of flowers. Tom Vach was my teacher, but he encouraged me to develop my own style and my self-confidence grew. By 1994, I was one of Harper's & Tom's designers and planners for big events. I also started to develop my own client list.

In 1995, I felt the need to travel and discover more about myself. I decided to travel to Australia, and Magic! In Sydney, one day, the universe brought me to that place where I would experience my first massage. It was the biggest revelation of my entire journey. I loved the experience of both the body and the mind letting go and of the feeling of simply being. My masseur was called Thomas. He had learned this wonderful skill from a Buddhist, and I wanted to learn it too. Thus, when I came back to London, and while I worked at Harper's & Tom's, I trained in parallel at the “Bodywise School of Massage”, which was run by Buddhists. Again, a seed had been planted, and the healer began to grow.

In 1997, I started my professional massage work. Soon I developed an interest in Usui Reiki healing. In 1998, I trained with Reiki Master, Martha Sylvester and today am myself a Reiki Master. I am sixth in lineage to the Grand Master Dr. Mikao Usui.

In 1999, I successfully completed an Accredited Practitioner course in Reflexology at the “Philip Salmons School of Reflexology of London.”

From 1997 to 1999, I worked on a voluntary basis for the London Lighthouse, Notting Hill and Links, Camden Town, working with terminally ill patients.

There, I concentrated on increasing the physical and spiritual well-being of clients who typically live extremely hectic and demanding lives, and in creating for them a space for peace, harmony and balance. This experience taught me above all the importance of the Touch, an interaction essential to all human beings.

I also worked closely with a registered Osteopath and Psychologist, both of whom refer clients to me as part of their treatment. I am discrete, sensitive and caring, with a professional approach, and I firmly believe that complementary and orthodox medicine can work very well together.

My journey into the world of complementary therapy permitted me to work on various people from all social classes, including celebrities from the worlds of opera, music, fashion and film.

In 2001, the seed that is my love was planted, and in 2002 I moved to Berlin in Germany to share my life with my loved one, where I established my first massage studio. Previously, I had visited my clients in their homes. I enjoy the benefit of having a safe space where clients can come to me to relax - body, mind, and soul and restore their physical health.

I am still in contact with my London, Paris and Berlin clients, and I enjoy working over there from time to time.

In 2008, I traveled to South Africa. I immediately felt under the beauty of the country and it´s people. On my second travel, I took part in a massage course “Brandon Raynor´s” International school of Natural Therapies. I loved developing my massage skill and learning is always so much fun and so fulfilling. November 2008, I successfully ended this wonderful course. Now, I can also offer the fruit of this magical technique to my clientele and this makes me very happy.

This year 2009, I decided to live and work in Cape Town. I'm based at the House of Holistic Healing in 70 Barnet Street, Gardens, Cape Town. Make an appointment and call us on +27 21 465 2870.

One of my mottos for life is:
The path is the goal, not the destination.

I very much enjoyed reflecting on and then sharing my journey with you. I would love to think that you too might have had as much pleasure reading about it, and feel safe to cross paths.

Love and peace.

Jean Yvon Bouvet