Portobello Road Market, a famous thoroughfare stretching over half a mile long, offers charming antiques, conversation piece collectables, vintage clothing and enticing sundries. Having leisurely perused the above, one might enjoy a hearty lunch at one of Nottinghill’s many fine restaurants or modern eateries; visit The Ledbury, Essenza, De Amicis Ristorante Italiano.

Wind down and conclude this busy day with the perfect personalized treat to revive, soothe and replenish mind, body and spirit. Available to you within an hour at your home, hotel rooms or venue of your choice, are Viva Therapies’ exceptional therapists, holding first rate international qualifications. Viva Therapies offers therapeutic relaxation and professional grooming at its very best. Choose from our excellent premier menu. For Massage, we offer classic, aromatherapy, deep tissue, holistic, relaxing, Thai yoga, Indian head, lymphatic drainage, reflexology, sports and pregnancy massage. For Beauty, we deliver superb holistic facials, manicure, pedicure, nail enhancements, waxing, make-up, hair dressing ~ top to toe luxurious pampering. Please enquire about our excellent fitness programmes. Like the colourful parades and bracing rhythms of The Nottinghill Carnival, Viva Therapies will revitalize your core energies. We hope to enhance and lighten your day.

Along the stately lanes of Westbourne Grove and Clarendon Cross, you will find the villagesque landscape and elegant settings for high-end shopping and exquisite dining. Visit Nottinghill’s landmark restaurants, preparing cuisine from all over the world, for leisure, celebration, or simply romance.

“Stress is a constant. But though a situation may be beyond your

control, how you respond to it isn’t,” says Kathy HoganBruen, a clinical

psychologist and senior director of prevention for the National Mental

Health Association. HoganBruen says physical health and mental health go

hand-in-hand, and the steps that promote one also promote the other.

“Just generally taking care of yourself is a key,” she says. “Start with

exercise and healthy eating, and getting enough sleep. “Aerobic

exercise has been found to reduce stress and depression,” HoganBruen

adds. “And when we eat better, we feel better. A lot of people’s

self-esteem is related to their body image, so when you’re looking

better, it helps a lot of people feel better.”

Other aids to stress reduction include:

Meditation. “It can help a lot of people,” HoganBruen says.

Spirituality. “There is evidence to suggest that faith can be helpful,”

she says. “We do find that people with an active faith life report fewer

mental health problems.”

Relaxation. “Lie down with candles and soft music,” HoganBruen says. “Or

get a massage. It’s hard to be stressed when you’re getting a massage.”

The most common sources of stress are work, relationships and money,

experts say. But distant events are increasingly heightening the stress

in our lives. Eric Dlugokinski, a psychologist in Oklahoma City, says

that modern mass communication has greatly expanded the list of things

we worry about. “We’re now impacted by things that go on at the other

end of the world,” he says. “The world is our place of residence.”

Events both near and far can stir our emotions. But we shouldn’t be

frightened by our emotions, even angry ones, Dlugokinski says.

Four-step approach

“Feelings are automatic. You don’t have a choice,” he says. “What we do

with them is what matters, not that we have them.” Dlugokinski,

professor emeritus at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center,

advocates a four-step approach to dealing with stressful emotions:

Try to put a word – or several words – to the emotion you’re feeling.

Just describe the feeling as best you can and you’ll feel better.

Pause. Take a deep breath. Count to 20. Give yourself a chance to think before you react automatically.

Think of ways to express the feeling that don’t hurt yourself or other

people. “I’m irritated because I feel I was treated unfairly,” for

example.

Act. Do something that makes sense to you right now. It may not make

sense next week, and it may not make sense for someone else. But if it

makes sense for you, right now, then do it.

“People who learn to cope more effectively with their emotions can

reduce the impact of what they’re feeling,” Dlugokinski says. “People

with unresolved feelings experience a toxic effect. “They go to

alcohol, they go to drugs. They become depressed, they become phobic,

they become mentally distraught,” he adds.

Men and women – different reactions

And when it comes to dealing with stress, men and women can learn from

each other, says Amy Flowers, a psychologist in Macon, Ga. “Men and

women tend to deal with stress in different ways,” Flowers says. “Men

may tend to do something more physical: run, go to the gym, go to a

ballgame, have sex. Women tend to talk to their friends more when

they’re stressed. Women are more likely to use their support system,”

she notes. “I think the most successful people are the ones who have a

variety of options,” Flowers adds. “It’s nice to have a support system,

but it’s nice to have other outlets, too.” “When you have only one

particular coping style, that can get you in trouble when you can’t use

it or it doesn’t work,” she says.

Massage involves acting on and manipulating the body with pressure – structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving – tension, motion, or vibration, done manually or with mechanical aids. Target tissues may include muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, joints, or other connective tissue, as well as lymphatic vessels, or organs of the gastrointestinal system. Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, and feet. There are over eighty different recognized massage modalities. The most cited reasons for introducing massage as therapy have been client demand and perceived clinical effectiveness.

In professional settings massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor. The massage subject may be fully or partly unclothed. Parts of the body may be covered with towels or sheets. Those who practice massage as a career are referred to as masseurs, masseuses, or, if certified somehow, as massage therapists.