About

Mohamed Mourad

Massage therapist, trained in Egypt. A studio in NW6, and visits across London.

Folded white towels stacked on textured linen in warm, low light

A massage therapist trained in Egypt, with a studio in NW6

I trained in Egypt and have been practising massage therapy for twelve years. The training covered anatomy, physiology and pathology alongside the hands-on work, and the early years in Cairo were spent mostly in clinical settings, treating people referred for back pain, restricted movement and the aftermath of injuries. That grounding is still how I think about a treatment: find where the problem actually is, work on that, and check it is helping rather than following a set routine.

What drew me to it was straightforward. Hands-on work produces changes you can feel in the room, in a way that talking about pain rarely does. A shoulder that would not turn at the start of an hour turns more freely by the end. That is the part of the job that has kept me interested.

I moved to London and built the practice around going to people. There is now also a small studio in Kilburn, NW6, for clients who would rather come to a fixed room, but the visiting work is still the larger part of it. Most of the people I treat are dealing with the same handful of things: a desk job that has tightened the same three or four muscles for years, marathon or triathlon training that has gone past what stretching alone can fix, sleep that has come apart under a stiff neck or lower back, or the specific ache that follows a long-haul flight.

Every visit travels with the same kit: a professional folding table, fresh linens for that client alone, hypoallergenic oil, and a speaker for music if it is wanted. For a visit, all you need to find is a clear stretch of floor roughly two metres by one, and about ten minutes at each end for setting up and packing away. At the studio the room is already set up.

Book a treatment, or read more about the studio and the prices.

His approach

How a treatment is run

Before anything else I ask what you want from the session, what has been bothering you, whether anything is injured or recently operated on, and how firm you like the pressure. If you have had massage before and know what works, that is the quickest way to a good treatment. If you have not, we start medium and adjust.

During the treatment the pressure is checked as I go, around the halfway point and whenever I move to a new area. Firmer, lighter, longer on one spot, skip another: saying so is expected and does not interrupt anything. Most people go quiet within the first ten or fifteen minutes and I work in silence unless you would rather talk. Either is fine.

Injuries and health conditions change how a treatment is planned rather than ruling it out. Some areas are avoided, some are approached more gently, and occasionally the sensible answer is to check with your GP or physiotherapist first, in which case I will say so. Nothing is done that you have not agreed to, and anything can be stopped or changed at any point.

A therapist's hands resting mid-stroke along a draped back

Origins

One of the oldest treatments there is.

Massage is among the earliest recorded medical practices. The best known depiction sits on the wall of a physician's tomb at Saqqara, just outside Cairo, carved around 2330 BC. It shows practitioners working on the hands and feet of their patients, and the inscription alongside it reads as an exchange between them, one asking not to be hurt, the other answering that he will work so as to please.

That exchange is still the whole job. A client says what they want and what they would rather avoid; the therapist works within that and checks it is landing well. The techniques have been refined and the anatomy is better understood, but the basic transaction has not changed in four and a half thousand years.

Mohamed Mourad trained and grew up in Egypt, a short distance from where that tomb was carved, before bringing his practice to London.

A dark glass oil bottle beside a rolled towel on a wooden surface

Qualifications

Qualifications and insurance

The full detail is listed below. Certificates are available on request.

ITEC Level 3 Diploma in Massage, awarded by ITEC (International Therapy Examination Council), 2019.
Diploma in Therapeutic and Remedial Massage, Cairo, 2014.
Member of the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT), membership number 168540.
Public liability and professional indemnity insurance to a limit of £6 million, through Balens, renewed annually.

Certificates available on request.

A folding table set up and made ready with fresh linen in a front room

What to expect

Welcoming a stranger into your home should feel considered, not uncertain.

A short summary is below. Open the panel for the full walkthrough of a first appointment, draping, pressure and working around injuries.

01
He arrives about ten minutes before the booked start time and sets up the table, linens and oil in whichever room has the floor space. That setup is not part of your hour, so the treatment itself begins on time. He will confirm how long he needs to pack away at the end, usually another ten minutes.
02
Before starting he asks what you want from the session, what has been sore or restricted, whether you have any injuries, allergies or recent surgery, and how firm you like the pressure. If you have a preferred focus, say so now; if you are not sure, the session starts general and narrows to whatever needs it.
03
You undress to your comfort, in private, usually to underwear, and lie under a towel or sheet. Professional draping is used throughout: only the area being worked on is uncovered at any time, and it is re-covered before he moves on. If any part of the routine is not something you want, it is left out.
04
Pressure is checked as he goes, around the halfway mark and each time he reaches a new area. Firmer, lighter, longer on one spot, skip another entirely: all of it is normal to ask for, and none of it interrupts the treatment. Most people settle into quiet within the first fifteen minutes.
05
Injuries and conditions are worked around rather than treated as a reason to cancel. Some areas are avoided, some are approached more gently, and if massage might not be suitable at all he will say so and suggest checking with your GP or physiotherapist first.
06
At the end he leaves you to get up in your own time and packs away while you do. Payment is by card, bank transfer or cash. He will mention anything worth doing afterwards, such as drinking water and keeping the area warm, and you can book the next appointment then or later.

More questions are answered on the contact page.

Aftercare

After the treatment

Have a glass of water and give yourself a little time before getting up and moving on. Keep the areas that were worked warm, and move gently rather than sitting rigid at a desk straight away. A warm bath or shower later helps.

After firmer work, some tenderness in the treated muscles is normal for a day or so, similar to the day after unfamiliar exercise. It settles on its own, and the area usually feels looser once it does. Leave hard training for 24 hours after a deep tissue or sports session, and keep the day before a race light.

Get in touch if a spot feels sharply sore rather than generally tender, if tenderness has not eased after two or three days, or if anything does not feel right. It is always worth a message.

Coverage

A studio in NW6, and visits across London

The studio is at 230 Belsize Road, NW6, in Kilburn. Travel is included within five miles of it, covering Kilburn, Maida Vale, St John’s Wood, Swiss Cottage, West and South Hampstead, Queen’s Park, Hampstead, Marylebone, Fitzrovia and Notting Hill. A small charge applies from five to twenty miles, taking in Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Kensington, Soho, Westminster, the City, Canary Wharf, Islington, Richmond and Chiswick.