The Buttafly

The Buttafly Natural Back Care & Spine Health
Home of the Buttafly & the Buttafly Technique

Even after many years of practising yoga, I'm still learning.Sometimes the biggest shifts come from changing a single wo...
11/07/2026

Even after many years of practising yoga, I'm still learning.

Sometimes the biggest shifts come from changing a single word.

What does it mean to be in relationship with your body? A personal reflection on body awareness, yoga and returning to yourself.

Can Stress Make Back Pain Worse? Part 2: The Psoas and Muscle ToneMost people have never heard of the psoas (pronounced ...
01/07/2026

Can Stress Make Back Pain Worse? Part 2: The Psoas and Muscle Tone

Most people have never heard of the psoas (pronounced so-az), yet it plays an important role in how we move, support the spine and respond to stress.

When we're under pressure, the body naturally prepares to protect itself. The problem is that modern stress often lingers, and so can the subtle muscular tension that comes with it.
Over time, that can leave the lower back feeling stiff, held or persistently uncomfortable—not because you've injured it, but because your body has quietly adapted to living in a state of readiness.

In Part 2 of my series, Can Stress Make Back Pain Worse?, I explore the connection between stress, muscle tone and the psoas, and why lasting relief often involves much more than simply stretching.

Read the full article here:

Read how chronic stress affects the psoas and muscle tone, and why a body that stays braced can contribute to persistent back pain.

A few months ago, Althea, creator of The PainFree Method™, invited me to talk about the Buttafly Technique and the journ...
23/06/2026

A few months ago, Althea, creator of The PainFree Method™, invited me to talk about the Buttafly Technique and the journey that led to its development.

It's always slightly strange being on the receiving end of the questions, but I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.

We explored the origins of the Technique, my evolving understanding of the spine, and some of the observations that continue to inform my work.

The podcast is now available.

If you suffer from back pain at all, or know anyone who does, I'd love you to support our work by tuning in and sharing.



Loulou James introduces the Buttafly Technique, a gentle method for natural back care and spine health through nervous system calm.

Originally, the focus of the Buttafly Technique was structural — the spine and alignment. Over time, it's become clearer...
21/06/2026

Originally, the focus of the Buttafly Technique was structural — the spine and alignment.

Over time, it's become clearer that what unfolds here is also a nervous system response, particularly in how we organise around stress and override.

I share a recent personal experience in this week's blog post: https://thebuttafly.com/beyond-the-spine-the-nervous-system/

The original focus of the Buttafly Technique was structural: the spine and alignment. Over time, it's become clear there's a nervous system response.

Have you tried everything — and still live with back pain?Conventional therapies tend to treat the spine with manual adj...
07/06/2026

Have you tried everything — and still live with back pain?

Conventional therapies tend to treat the spine with manual adjustments or strenuous exercise. While these applied forces bring brief respite, lasting freedom comes from establishing the conditions where your body safely releases in harmony with the whole person.

This is why A Healthy Spine for Life begins from a completely different premise: your body is not broken—it is seeking balance. Given the right conditions, it already knows how to heal.

https://thebuttafly.com/event/a-healthy-spine-for-life-course-june-9-2026/

Led by Loulou James, retired Physiotherapist and Founder of the Buttafly Technique Have you tried everything — and still live with back pain? Conventional therapies tend to treat the spine…

Most courses are built around doing more. Learning more. Achieving more. Acquiring new skills, techniques or information...
07/06/2026

Most courses are built around doing more. Learning more. Achieving more. Acquiring new skills, techniques or information.
While there will certainly be practical learning, that's not the heart of this course.

The heart of this course is learning to listen.

Over the years, both through my work as a physiotherapist and through developing the Buttafly Technique, I have become increasingly convinced that self-awareness is one of the most important foundations of health.

Read more: ➡️

Self-awareness is one of the most important foundations of health: the question is not whether the body is speaking so much as "are we listening?"

Discover the difference between back care and spine health, and how supporting a healthy spine can help you feel more at...
06/06/2026

Discover the difference between back care and spine health, and how supporting a healthy spine can help you feel more at home in your body.

Read my latest blog:

Discover the difference between back care and spine health, and how supporting a healthy spine can help you feel more at home in your body.

Think about the word crestfallen.We use it to mean "disappointed" or "deflated" —but it is also a precise physical descr...
02/06/2026

Think about the word crestfallen.

We use it to mean "disappointed" or "deflated" —but it is also a precise physical description. When we feel let down, we fall at the crest. The chest drops. The shoulders round inward. The gaze goes to the floor. It happens before we have decided to do anything at all; the body simply reads the emotional signal and responds.

That is not a metaphor. It is anatomy.

Every breath you take has the potential to lift and open the chest — or to compress and close it. When we are calm and well, breathing tends to be slow, deep and three-dimensional, moving through the ribcage in a way that gently decompresses the spine with each inhale.

When we are stressed, anxious, or low, that pattern changes. Breathing becomes shallower. It shifts upward, into the chest and throat rather than down into the belly. The diaphragm — the great dome of muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen — stops moving through its full range, and the lower ribcage moves less.

Click below to read more.

The short answer is yes, stress can make back pain worse. Read our blog to understand how stress affects breathing which in turn affects your posture and spine .

AN INTRODUCTORY TALKMany of us have been given the same advice for a healthy back: strengthen your core, improve your po...
23/05/2026

AN INTRODUCTORY TALK

Many of us have been given the same advice for a healthy back: strengthen your core, improve your posture, stretch more. Sometimes it helps, often it doesn’t. But rarely does it explain why some people who spend their whole lives bending, lifting and carrying never develop back pain at all.

This talk offers a different premise.

Drawing on her professional experience, personal healing journey, and the development of the Buttafly Technique, Loulou James shares a holistic approach to natural back care and practical steps to build a healthy spine for confidence, ease and vitality.

In this talk, we’ll explore:

- Why back pain continues to rise despite decades of research and different treatments
- How the body’s innate intelligence relates to posture and spine health
- What the Buttafly Technique is, how it was discovered, and what people consistently experience

The mowlem Studio, Wedn 27 May, 7-8.30 pm.
Tickets £10, cash on the door. No booking required.


An introductory talk with Loulou James, MCSP Many of us have been given the same advice for a healthy back: strengthen your core, improve your posture, stretch more. Sometimes it…

Having recently been accredited as a training provider for CIMSPA (the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport a...
15/04/2026

Having recently been accredited as a training provider for CIMSPA (the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, the UK's leading professional body for setting standards and offering recognised pathways for people working in sport and physical activity), the Buttafly Technique for Natural Back Care and Spine Health training programme is now CIMSPA-endorsed.

I have developed the Buttafly Technique through years of clinical work and lived experience, and have come to understand more deeply how body wisdom relates to the spine, and how the right support can allow profound change to happen from within.

I now offer this as a clear learning pathway to support natural spinal alignment and ease in the body.

The practitioner training offering 10 CPD points is for professionally trained, hands-on practitioners (for example, sports massage therapists, bodyworkers, and other movement professionals with appropriate hands-on experience).

If you work with clients who present with back and neck pain, asymmetry, or long-standing compensation patterns, and would like to learn more, please get in touch.

Loulou James MCSP ☺🙏
Founder of the Buttafly and the Buttafly Technique



Join a new generation of practitioners bringing a gentle, pioneering approach to back care. Rooted in clinical experience, embodied practice, a holistic

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