Sarah Bradden’s incredible story of recovery – and how this led to The Bradden Method

0:00Sarah Bradden:This show is sponsored by Primadine, a clean, natural and science-based spermidine supplement that's been a long-time staple in my own longevity stack. Because studies suggest that through autophagy, spermidine increases healthspan and upregulates a range of health markers, from memory and cognitive function to heart health, hormone balance, fertility and even hair growth. Plus, you can be assured that all ingredients undergo rigorous third-party testing. Buy Primadine now at OxfordHealthSpam.com and use the discount code DrSophie, that's D-R-Sophie for 20 % off. This show is sponsored by Microbes, an award-winning liquid probiotic that's now a staple for me, because Microbes, with a Z on the end, is different.

0:47Sarah Bradden:For one thing, they source directly from the soil on their Wiltshire farm, meaning more diversity, with at least 15 strains of good bacteria in every single shot. It's brewed so it can survive in the stomach and a remarkable 92 % of customers say it makes a difference. Plus they offer micro-friendly cleaning, gardening and even microbes for dogs. Buy now at microbes.co.uk and use the discount code SOPHIE20 for 20 % off. Hi, I'm Sophie and this is Age Well with Dr. Sophie Schotter, a space devoted to all things health, wellness and longevity. because for me, aging well is about looking and feeling like the best possible version of ourselves inside as well as out.

1:31Sarah Bradden:So together with my producer Fee, I'll be deep diving into the latest research, sifting fact from fiction. I'll also be talking to all kinds of trusted experts tapping into their knowledge, along with bringing you conversations from a range of interesting women and men finding out how they age well. So this is my show. Welcome along. And as always, thank you so much for listening.

2:01Sarah Bradden:Sarah, I feel as though this chat has been a long time coming because so many of our previous guests have spoken glowingly about you. And I think it's fair to say that you've kind of gone viral. Your fans range from royalty and celebrities to some of the UK's biggest influencers and journalists. But I think what's most fascinating about you is your story. You created the Braddon Method on the back of your own incredible challenging health journey, which of course means you're living proof that it works. Would you mind telling us about your story and just how unwell you were and explain what was happening in your life and what were the key moments, I guess, or mechanisms for change?

2:38Dr Sophie Shotter:Well, thank you so much for having me. My journey really began around 20 years ago. I ended up homeless with my two very small children. They were three and two. I was in a very toxic relationship So I ended up homeless, but I was completely depleted. So physically, emotionally, spiritually, I developed chronic illnesses. So cystic acne, I was in and out of hospital, abscesses all over my face. I'd gone down to about five stone. My stomach looked as though I was pregnant and not just a little bit pregnant, like a full blown pregnancy and in and out of hospital. They didn't really know what was wrong with me.

3:23Dr Sophie Shotter:And so I was kind of on different medications, antibiotics, lots of colonoscopies, you know, things that lots of quite invasive examinations to try and get to the bottom what was going on. I was misdiagnosed with bowel cancer. Thankfully, that was a misdiagnosis, but it showed just how baffled they were by what was going on. in the end they did diagnose me with diverticulitis and clinical depression and they wanted to remove part of my bowel and at that time I was like 30 or 31 and something inside me just thought to myself this feels like a guessing game and the only really reason why they want to remove part of my bowel is because they don't really know what's going on other than if they take this bit away from me it's going to help and so the following day once I'd kind of made that decision I found an acupuncturist and that was my first time really of having acupuncture and something happened to me in that session obviously I wasn't healed in one session but some I felt a physical change of energy happen in my body it was like somebody had gently started the motor again so I then went down this road of having regular acupuncture and working on the facial acupuncture as well because then that was also helping healing the acne the abscesses that was all over my face and also helping with scarring so everything that I bring into the method today is what literally brought me back to life physically emotionally spiritually so I guess I really speak from the horse's mouth of just how powerful these treatments can be and what long-term stress does to us and how the body remembers everything.

5:16Dr Sophie Shotter:Well, as Sophie said, you really are living proof that it works. And I've been fortunate enough to have recently had the Braddon Method and I know Sophie is booking in very soon too. So I'll share my experience shortly. But can you, before that, firstly offer a top-line, I guess, explanation of what it actually is because it's so unique to anything else available. And we love that it's often described as not only a natural facelift, but a spiritual reset. So we will, of course, dig into the detail, but it would be great to get a little overview first. So the Bradder method, I guess, is a complete system of what I like to think of soul and skin repair.

5:55Dr Sophie Shotter:So it combined traditional TCM, so Chinese medicine techniques, so working with acupuncture, body and facial. I work with the auricular work. I do a lot of fascia release and I love intuitive healing as well. So the treatment is very intuitively led and kind of the more advanced wellness tools that I love to use are LED light therapy, so the PEMF, EMF mat, infrared, and I work with hydrogen, oxygen and activated oxygen as well. So it works on every single level of the body. So body, mind, spirit. Like you say, some clients call it the natural facet with the spiritual reset. For me, it's just about anchoring somebody back to them true selves.

6:47Dr Sophie Shotter:And that always starts from baseline, no matter where or how they come and see me. I mean, I had no idea what to expect. But I will say that when I came to see you, as you know, I was feeling really run down, extremely congested around my sinuses. And when I left, my headache had gone completely, my jaw had loosened, and I felt just really floaty. And that was such a gift. But do you know what surprised me the most, I think, was how much I loved the facial massage and the various tools that you used. It was definitely firm, but I felt so released afterwards. And I realised that so many of us are used to having our backs or our shoulders massaged, but it doesn't occur to us to release the muscles around the face.

7:28Dr Sophie Shotter:What were the tools that you used and what's like the thinking behind all of this? And by the way, yes, I was completely glowing and lifted afterwards, so thank you. Well, the face is, again, another really powerful microsystem in the body. So in TCM, we see the face just more as just the face. You know, it's a map of the whole body and we hold a lot of emotion in our face. So for me, it's really important that, you know, working with the acupuncture, that we're doing a lot of that release as well as any kind of aesthetic beauty work but also emotionally as well so I use fascia release tools really my favorite tool working on the hands for that kind of release is my hands and the fascia release tool and I use a particular tool called a heskier which for me is probably one of the best fascia release tools I've come across you're laying on the mat what I call the magic mat I cocoon you in LED light you know for me working with the oxygen as well is all a really big part of the treatment.

8:35Sarah Bradden:Like me you're also a huge fan of light therapy and I know you use it on the body as well as on the face can you explain to listeners your thinking behind this?

8:44Dr Sophie Shotter:I believe we're very much like plants we need good light good nutrition good environment for us to really grow and flourish so whilst most people are very used to working with the led lights on the face very often clients aren't aware of just how led can be so supportive of organ function as well so i like different colors and different frequencies for supporting organ health as well so i will always start with blue light gently like on the stomach because the liver likes the blue light to start with so it's like a gentle detox not enough to bring on the unwanted detox symptoms but it's just a general little help with the liver function and then I go on to using the different frequencies and wavelengths to support the rest of the organ system and it's also great for working with any kind of bloating in the stomach really helps with digestive health and also intestine so for me red light therapy was a big help with reducing the inflammation in my intestines, which was a big problem for me back then.

9:50Dr Sophie Shotter:And can you also expand a little bit on why and how you use activated oxygen? So I combine the hydrogen and the activated oxygen together. So I'll always start with the hydrogen and then we go on to the activated oxygen. For me, working with those two together, the ultimate in cellular health. So they really feed the mitochondria. They're really great for, you know, increasing the energy production and really help accelerate repair. And the great thing about working with the hydrogen as well is because the molecule is so much smaller, it's also great for boosting brain function. And I don't know about you, but I need all the help I can get with brain function.

10:35Dr Sophie Shotter:And also, it's really great for working with the gut microbiome as well. So working with these two, and they're delivered via a nasal cannula, so up the nose and around the ears. It's a really gentle flow as well. So most clients kind of forget they're even kind of wearing any kind of nasal cannula. But the activated oxygen is delivered in the body really quickly, so instantly. So the clients feel clearer, brighter. The skin really goes. It's like you've just been re-energized, like you've been plugged back in.

11:05Sarah Bradden:In many ways, you're the human embodiment of this podcast because we love aesthetics, but we're also huge fans of all things alternative and complementary. And one of the things that people love about you is the spiritual side of the Braddon Method. You're, from everything I've heard, deeply intuitive. And how does this side of your work show up for you?

11:26Dr Sophie Shotter:I guess the intuitive side is really at the heart of my work. I've always been very intuitive, even as a child, as smell was my thing. So I would always be able to particularly smell people, which used to embarrass my dad terribly, you know, going around sniffing the neighbours. And thankfully, my skills have evolved a bit since then. But smell's definitely a big part. So the intuitive side is such a natural and a big part of what I do. I can really sense where energy is blocked and I can do that through aura colours I do that when I'm talking to somebody so the chat before we get the client onto the bed is a really important part of where I tune in and that can be from how somebody's holding them any downloads that I get the ears tell me a really big story as well the slight obsession with ears it's hard to explain how I read someone except that I just get these messages and that can be forming colour, smell or it will be like a message from whoever, the universe.

12:33Dr Sophie Shotter:And yes we do want to ask about your obsession with ears. Can you explain why you were so happy that my ears bled which I know sounds really awful but if you can explain like exactly how and where and all the stuff like that and we'd also love your thoughts on ear seeds and just your general thinking on working with ears. The ears are such a powerful microsystem and it really is the map of the body. There's over 220 points in the ears, all correlating to something or somewhere in the body. I will always start with the ear. It's like having a direct line to the brain, you know, and it's very attached to the vagus nerve.

13:13Dr Sophie Shotter:Even if somebody's running in or they're really frantic, it is a great one for anchoring and centering quite quickly. so by stimulating the ear we can calm the nervous system release stuck emotions it's great for balancing hormones there's not much really that we can't help with working with the auricular points and they're probably the most sensitive ones in the sense that when I do the acupuncture lots of my clients will tell you that is true although you're definitely not here to see me for a torture session but they're the ones really that I feel really move and clear that any stagnation that's going on in the body and I particularly use a lot of those points with some of my clients are going through chemo as well and some more kind of sensitive health issues so the blood release for me it's a sign of clearing unblocking and usually most clients patients ears will bleed but it will just depend on a different kind of level you know some of it's a very small amount some of it might be a little bit more that doesn't gush out it's just you just need to mop up the ears a bit and it's a really positive effect from the treatment it really shows me and also it's an indication of where you've released the stagnation the most so for example the lungs so if somebody's holding on to to grief stuff from the past and things like that or intestinal work or I'm working with somebody who's going through the menopause so really balancing the endocrine system and supporting them where they are in their journey so for me I'm always really happy to see the blood release in the ears and you always have to reassure clients particularly maybe on the first session and they can feel a bit or should that be happening I feel like my ears are bleeding and then you know they're quite happy once they realise no this is a good thing they're like oh okay cool I'll go with that so for me it's like having the remote control for the whole body.

15:14Sarah Bradden:And we've focused here so far on the Braddon method but of course this isn't the only thing you offer can you briefly explain the other treatments that you do?

15:22Dr Sophie Shotter:I do ear seeding wellness as well so again working with the ears so if somebody hasn't got time to come in and have a full like hour or 90 minute session they can come in and see me where we would then place the ear seeds for whatever reason, from jet lag to hormones. I'm a big fan of microneedling. And I work with Cell Story as well, which is like a microsphere, which is a non-microneedling needling. That's a Korean technology, which is an amazing way of microneedling the skin, getting the same results, but without having the downtime. I love skin boosters. So I'm a big fan of Profilo and all the other amazing ones that are out there at the moment I limit my choice because there's so many out there but I just cherry handpick the ones that I feel that really complement the Bradder method and the ethos around that as well and nervous system reset and not energy medicine but just somebody coming in for a pure energetic healing reset so if they're not somebody that's a fan of acupuncture for whatever reason they may have epilepsy they may just be terrified of needles so we just adapt kind of the bradham method way but without the

16:37Sarah Bradden:acupuncture so what about your usual routine at home what are the practices and protocols that are non-negotiables for you especially following your journey from being so unwell back to health what is it you do to keep yourself there and any wellness hacks or habits that you like

16:56Dr Sophie Shotter:I get up really early I'm definitely a 5am-er and I will always do some kind of body movement so whether that's kundalini yoga I'm a big fan of kundalini yoga and pilates so if I don't have time to do a quick flow of both of them I'll either do one or the other and that will be 20-25 minutes I always do the lymphatic bounce which I see a lot of that now on Instagram like people bouncing around to get the lymphatic moving. We learned so many of these kind of rituals when in TCM in acupuncture school. It's really the kundalini yoga and that's not about dynamic moves that's more really about my the mental space like really being grounded getting rid of that stagnation and the pilates for me is really about keeping everything moving.

17:49Dr Sophie Shotter:We'd also love to know what's in your supplement stack, if anything at all? Bone broth. I know it's not a traditional supplement stack, but I'm obsessed with bone broth. I make it every week. I love NAD supplements and I use Dr. Nicola's. It's probably the one that I've noticed that actually does something. I felt actually something within the first two weeks of taking that, being much more energised, my sleep being better somebody who's menopausal sleep can be really disrupted I try not to take too many supplements so I only really pick a few so I take digestive enzymes activated charcoal and I take a really good vitamin c and then I'll have a break from the only one to happen had a break from is the NAD supplement but I do take actually H &M Brave their pre and pro biotic that's been brilliant because I've just been traveling and with flying my stomach will expand I did really notice that really helped massively so I'm a big fan of their pre and post biotic but then I will always give my body a bit of a rest as well because I find that we don't always need everything at the same time it's like with my clients when we're doing Chinese herbs I take Chinese herbs you know our bodies don't always need everything so I'll always kind of have a bit of a break and then revisit and see what I feel that I need or I'll go and have a bloodstun and see what I'm lacking.

19:18Sarah Bradden:What about skincare? What products and brands do you love?

19:23Dr Sophie Shotter:I love lots of balms. I love oils, which probably doesn't surprise you, but I also really love active. So I love allies of skin. It's really agreed with my skin actually, because sometimes I find when my skin's a bit sensitive if it's too overactive I can really react and not in a good way so allies of skin I also love Orveda subtle energies and there is another one actually that I just started working with and it's AAV they're a really small brand they created this oil that's chamomile base so it's really this beautiful texture so it's great for me with my menopausal skin so if I'm feeling super dry it can just go on and really helps calm but really gives a lot of luminosity and hydration to the skin.

20:15Sarah Bradden:As you said you're a huge fan of bone broth do you fancy sharing with us your ultimate recipe?

20:22Dr Sophie Shotter:Oh so I made some yesterday actually so I dropped down to my butcher I go and get my marrow bones it really has to be organic or free range I have turned into my mother where I now have that slow cooker and I just put all the bones into the slow cooker you can roast the bones first of all if you want to but I just throw them all in I don't really have time for them roasting and then doing something else something else so I just put it all in all at once so marrow bones celery garlic ginger some spices fresh herbs peppercorn apple cider vinegar and really whatever you've got laying in your fridge that you think oh like I put a few carrots in there yesterday and then I will let that cook probably for about 16 hours so when I left this morning that you know it's still going so the house always smells of like this lovely warming bone broth and then I will just then drain it and you kind of leave it to set in the fridge and then you just take the fat layer off the top and then I just decant it so then I've got like these freezer bags of bone broth that I take out like every day or every week then I either add them to soup so I just put them in my flask and I drink it but you can add anything that's the beauty of it so you can either add it to some chilies or whatever and you can make it a really nice kind of ramen adding it to your bolognese sauce or soups or what or whatever it is it's a really good staple to have and I it is literally medicine for the body love that thank you do you both drink bone broth I've just started actually yeah I I just supplement with a really good

22:10Sarah Bradden:collagen.

22:11Dr Sophie Shotter:Yeah, oh, the collagen is a supplement I do take. I forgot about that one.

22:16Sarah Bradden:Let's move on to some quickfire questions. Can you recommend one spa, one hotel and one restaurant all in the UK?

22:24Dr Sophie Shotter:It's not a spa. It's the remedy clinic in Battersea in Nine Elves. So it's a bit like a spa. You always get given a robe and lovely pair of slippers. But it's a really amazing place for having all treatments done. I love how they've really combined the holistic world and the beauty and the holistic side together. But that's the Remedy Clinic in Nine Elms in Battersea. I love the Dover, the restaurant just on Dover Street. That's a really cool, nice place. It's not too crazy busy. It's just really lovely food. And hotels, I think I still love Claridge's. It's just that old school, really beautiful, decadent, really quite traditional.

23:14Dr Sophie Shotter:It's a classic. Can you recommend anything sleep or bedtime related? So whether that's bath oils or candles or pyjamas or apps, anything at all that really, really helps your sleep besides the new Cheeto, which you've already mentioned. So thank you. I will have a magnesium bath every night with some oil and that it's usually got some chamomile or lavender or I will blend my O but with definitely some magnesium in there and I will always try and do a sleep meditation with my headphones in when I get into bed and no phone near my bed. YouTube have got some great 10 minute wind down breathing exercises that it's just about trying to empty your mind as much as possible before going off to sleep and that's sometimes not easy when there's a lot going on in planet earth can be a bit of a nutty place to live sometimes so it's about really just it's for me I think after being so poorly my sleep routine I had to become almost like that baby that child again like okay this is what I do so my body actually starts to recognize and starts to realise, okay, I'm winding down for bed, but I'm not firing on that cortisol or whatever it is, or, you know, organising my day for the next day, like this is now wind down time.

24:37Dr Sophie Shotter:You know, and some days I might only have half an hour for that, you know, the weekend, it might be different, but even in the week and the craziest of weeks, I have to have a bedtime routine. And who does your hair? A gorgeous girl called Liz Tor. She's not in a salon base, I was really lucky to be introduced to her. She does lots of celebrities' hair and she's always hard to pin down. And when she's in London, I like beg her to do my hair, saying, please come and see me, please do my hair. Liz Tor, she's amazing.

25:10Sarah Bradden:What about alternative or complementary therapies? Who do you see and who's in your little black book?

25:16Dr Sophie Shotter:So being a big fan of Kundalini Yoga, Jane High Times Yoga is a big part of my wellness must do so I will do her classes online she has a practice that I try and go to once a week in London that is a really big thing for me also Jessie at Heartcore which is where I do my Pilates and it's much more than just working out on a Pilates it's a it's almost like a spiritual practice the way that she teaches her Pilates and for me everything has got to be about being a 50 something year old woman my bum needs also lifting off the back of my legs I think from being so poorly nothing is more important to me now the centre of myself, like how I feel.

26:11Dr Sophie Shotter:And working with Jess, doing the Pilates like that, does both. So it helps the muscles and it helps the mobility and all of those things. And it's a really beautiful spiritual practice as well. So she's really clever in how she creates her classes and her staff. This is a great list. Thank you so much. We're going to be jotting all of these down and besides family and friends tell us about a woman that you admire oh gosh because there's so many but I think if I was had to say one it would be Maya Angelou

26:45Sarah Bradden:perfect answer yeah and what's your signature scent you can have more than one if that's what

26:52Dr Sophie Shotter:you like I think I go back to being that classic Chanel number five I just love that smell and I I think it's, well, no, there are lots of other scents, but actually that's the one that I always go back to, is Chanel No. 5. I really love it. And what would we never guess about you from your CV? Well, I was cabin crew for BA many years ago. It feels like a previous life now, but I was Concorde. And that's something that people don't know about me, so I used to fly Concorde. So that's like my claim to fame. Oh, yeah, I was on Concorde. amazing and was it amazing it was amazing it was a bit like flying in a long tin can you know it's quite narrow and quite small I mean I'm only five foot three so I didn't really have much problem with standing up in there but it was definitely a smaller space to what you're kind of used to now but yeah that was I mean that they were brilliant times and I would never have I would never have missed those days they were it was great times and last question what is the best piece of advice you've ever heard actually it's from my dad and you just don't worry so much and I know that's so simple but I think now I get to this age and even going through all of the stuff that I went through it will be all right like don't worry so much about what people think what you're doing stay in your own lane be true to yourself and I think that just comes about we worry about what other people think more than we worry about ourselves and that has stayed with me for so long because I actually never thought I would probably even be here today to even speak like this let alone be doing the work that I love and that really sits with me is just don't worry so much.

28:51Dr Sophie Shotter:I love that.

28:52Sarah Bradden:For all of you listening Sarah is available for treatments at the Najati Clinic in London and you can make a booking and find out more at all the W's sarahbraddon.com and do follow Sarah on socials at sarahbraddon. Thank you so much Sarah for sharing so much with us this morning.