Paul and Beccy Hopfensperger have opened the Body and Mind Studio – the town's first walk-in chair massage centre – at their premises in Risbygate Street.

On offer is a chance to sit, fully-clothed, on an ergonomic chair for a massage lasting from seven to 30 minutes.

"These are short treatments so you don't have to book any time off work," said Beccy, 33.

"If you have a particularly bad morning, you can have a massage and go back to work feeling invigorated and ready to start the second half of your day."

Paul, 45, a Suffolk county councillor for Tower Division, swam the English Channel in 2007 to raise money for Beccy's chosen charities when she was Mayor of Bury in 2006.

Swimming up to 38km a week, Paul needed regular massages, which was when Beccy stepped in and started training as a masseuse.

"I thought it would be a way to help him achieve his goals," said Beccy.

"When we started seeing the results, I thought about doing this for a living."

Beccy also offers Swedish massage and a sports injury clinic using the Kinesio Taping system.

With a separate treatment room, Paul offers Neuro Linguistic Programming (NPL), sports, business and personal coaching as well as nutrition and weight-control advice through Herbalife herbal products.

Paul said: "There are a lot of people who have different problems in areas of their life. It is fantastic and so satisfying to see people changing."

For more information about the products and services offered at the centre, visit www.bodyandmindstudio.co.uk


Click here to go back to our main news index.