About

I'm Millie Ironmonger, a Holistic Physiotherapist and Somatic Movement Facilitator. I integrate evidence-based physiotherapy with hands-on bodywork, self massage and functional movement training to help people heal the root cause of pain, reconnect with their bodies and move through life with greater freedom, confidence and trust.

I hold a First-Class BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy from the University of Liverpool and am an HCPC-registered physiotherapist. Alongside my degree, I have completed qualifications in Sports Massage, Spinal Mobilisation, Kinesiology Taping and a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training.

My clinical background spans the NHS, private musculoskeletal practice, sports rehabilitation, post-operative rehabilitation, falls and bone health, neurological and vestibular assessment, prenatal pilates and rehabilitation for elite rugby teams. This breadth of experience gives me a strong understanding of the body from both a medical and performance perspective.

What makes my work different is that I don't separate the body from the person living in it.

In holistic physiotherapy and bodywork, a somatic approach recognises the connection between your body, mind, emotions and nervous system.

Pain, injury and persistent tension rarely exist in isolation. Our movement, nervous system, emotions, beliefs, relationships and lifestyle all influence how our bodies adapt and heal. My role is not simply to reduce symptoms, but to help you understand your body, restore trust in its wisdom and create lasting change.

My approach has been shaped just as much by my own healing journey as by my professional training.

For over ten years I lived with persistent back pain caused by a significant scoliosis. As my curve progressed to 50 degrees, I was advised that spinal fusion surgery was my only option. At the time I was already working as a physiotherapist, helping other people recover while feeling increasingly disconnected from my own body and in chronic pain.

I couldn't accept that surgery was my only path. Movement had always been my greatest source of joy through dance, pole, aerial arts, acrobatics, and yoga and I wasn't ready to give that up.

I left my career in the UK and spent several years travelling and studying throughout Thailand and India, immersing myself in a wide range of holistic healing practices including yoga, Ayurveda, bodywork, acupuncture, cupping therapy, Qi Gong, intuitive movement and somatic therapies.

Although I learnt a tremendous amount, I also experienced another important lesson.

I realised that healing doesn't come from endlessly trying to fix yourself or perfectly following someone else's rules. Despite doing everything I believed was "right", I found myself back in familiar patterns of control, perfectionism and disconnection from my own needs. I became underweight, lost my menstrual cycle again and experienced recurring IBS and Candida.

Everything changed when I discovered Somatic (body based) Therapies. Somatic means relating to the body, particularly how you experience and feel sensations within it.

Through consistent somatic work - therapy, bodywork and mindful movement training, I learnt to stop forcing my body and start listening to it.

Rather than exercising because I "should", I began moving in ways that genuinely felt nourishing. I stopped chasing perfect nutrition and started eating intuitively. I rebuilt strength through gym training, mobility work, acroyoga, walking, self-massage and dance, but this time with presence instead of pressure.

As I learnt to trust my body, I also learnt to trust myself.

I expressed my needs more honestly, developed healthier boundaries and created a greater sense of safety within my nervous system. As that happened, the protective tension my body had held for years gradually dissolved.

Today I live pain-free despite my scoliosis. I continue to dance, lift weights, practise acrobatics, across yoga, arial silks and move in ways I was once told might never be possible.

This experience transformed how I practise as a physiotherapist.

I believe every person already possesses an incredible capacity to heal when given the right understanding, environment and support. My role is not to "fix" you, but to guide you back towards the intelligence already within your own body.

Being a dancer and having practised pole, aerial silks and circus arts for over ten years also gives me a unique understanding of rehabilitation for dancers, aerialists, performers and active people wanting to return confidently to movement after injury. Alongside recovering from scoliosis-related pain, I have personally rehabilitated repetitive shoulder injuries, an ACL tear and the challenges of living with hypermobility, giving me both clinical knowledge and lived experience of long-term rehabilitation.

Working closely with women through physiotherapy, somatic coaching and dance therapy has also shown me how often pain exists alongside patterns of over giving, people-pleasing, perfectionism and burnout. Helping people reconnect with their bodies is therefore about far more than relieving symptoms - it is about developing self-trust, expressing needs clearly, creating healthier boundaries and living from a place of authenticity rather than survival.

My mission is to help others:

• Live free from persistent pain.

• Feel safe in their body.

• Move and eat from self-trust, joy and intuition rather than fear or control.

• Feel connected to their sense of purpose, creativity and direction in life.

• Feel safe expressing themselves authentically and honestly.

• Dance into old age by build strong, mobile, resilient and bodies and minds that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.