If you think osteopathy is all bones and bad backs, then renowned holistic women’s health osteopath, Ayshe Ibrahim, is here to myth-bust.

According to the founder of The Backbone Clinic in North London — who has over 20 years of experience — it is about creating balance in the body, looking at a fuller picture of alignment, circulation, muscles and joints, as well as everything else going on, from diet to lifestyle, stress, sleep and mood. As she puts it, “we’re like detectives creating a puzzle of the person: about regulating the body, finding the areas where it’s dysregulated, and working on each area”.

You will instantly feel at ease with Ayshe, who says that many of her patients experience an emotional release during a treatment, so no wonder she boasts a list of celebrity clients, including multiple actors (though she is too discreet to name them).

After training at The British College of Osteopathic Medicine, she started her career working in gyms as a sports osteopath. However, it was her own experience of being diagnosed with fibroids in her late 20s — and the ensuing operations, fertility issues, breakdown of her marriage and panic attacks — which inspired her to specialise in supporting other women with their health.

Most of her clients are postnatal or menopausal, or have underlying gynaecological issues, and she can help you to manage chronic pain from conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis and fibroids.

As part of this, she deepened her own understanding of the mind and body connection. “I started a journey to address this, using the body to manage what was going on in the head versus top down”.

So, she takes a uniquely multifaceted approach, having trained in Reiki energy healing, neuro-lingustic programming (NLP) and yoga therapy at The Minded Institute — combining all of this with her osteopathy practice.

She also teaches online remedial movement classes on breathing, core muscle activations and how to exercise the pelvic floor; and can recommend dietary, supplement and exercise changes.

You’ll begin with a one-hour session, where she sits you down to go through all of your medial history, any pain you’re having, as well as the emotional stuff — from what’s going on with work to family and mental health. Then you’ll have a physical examination, looking at different movements and breathing, to put together a treatment plan. After this, sessions are 30 minutes and she recommends weekly initially, before moving to around every six weeks.

Above all, Ayshe wants her clients to reconnect with themselves and feel into their body, so they know what feels normal or not, and where they hold stress. So much of this work is preventative as well as curative, she adds.

“The only thing you have in life is your body. It is worth investing time and money. People come in at 40 and blame it on age, but I have patients in their 60s who have been putting the work in and are functioning better than someone in their 30s! Just like a classic car, if you look after it well, it can keep running beautifully for a long time.”