Virtual sessions for people with MCAS

We host regular exercise, creative and community Zoom sessions, as well as stand-alone, topical sessions.  If you have any questions, you can contact us here. You can view and book all of our virtual sessions here.  

Our virtual sessions are hosted through Zoom and are free to anyone with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or for those supporting someone living with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. Our sessions are only suitable to those living in the U.K, this is due to our funding and due to the differences in medical systems, benefits, treatment and medications around the world. If you live abroad you are more than welcome to explore our free resources on our website or view our videos on YouTube.

Any donations received go towards us being able to provide more virtual sessions to those in need within our community. If you are able to donate, no matter how small, it will be gratefully received. You can donate here.

Accessibility

We host our sessions through Zoom, if you haven't used Zoom before and would like to learn then watch this tutorial video here. Our goal is to create an inclusive environment where everyone can fully engage with our content and discussions. If you have any questions/suggestions regarding accessibility, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Your feedback helps us continually improve our efforts to ensure that all participants feel welcome and supported.

We are committed to making our virtual sessions accessible to all and we understand that some individuals experience electromagnetic sensitivity (EMF) or prefer hard copies of materials for various reasons. For individuals who prefer/require hard copies of materials, we are happy to provide alternative formats whenever possible. Please reach out to us here. We will do our utmost to assist you and ensure your experience is as comfortable as possible.

Dance for Wellbeing - with Margaret Morris Movement

We are excited to launch our new weekly Dance for Wellbeing - with Margaret Morris Movement sessions hosted by Sara Shackleton. Join us Thursdays from 2:30-3pm.

These sessions are about more than just movement – they are a chance to nurture your body, mind, and spirit in a gentle, supportive, and inclusive environment.

With a focus on co-ordinating simple breathing patterns with whole-body movements, this series aims to support good posture, relaxation, and a sense of positive wellbeing. Whether you’re looking to ease tension, gently mobilise your joints, or simply enjoy moving to music, these classes offer something for everyone, with seated and standing options to suit all levels of flexibility. Find out more and book your place here.  

Virtual self-massage session with lymph drainage introduction

Due to it's popular demand, we are thrilled to announce that Ellen from Flexback will be returning to run a monthly Virtual Massage session for us. The next session will be on Wednesday 12th March and you can book your place here.  

Come along, meet Ellen, and learn some self-massage techniques to help you relax and spend some time thinking about self-care. This session will also feature an introduction to lymph drainage. All techniques will be optional, so feel free to join in with the movements that you feel comfortable with.

Ellen is a qualified Level 5 BTEC Clinical Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist and specialises in the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and pain – both sport and work-related.

You can read more and book your place here. 

Unlocking MCAS: A GP Webinar Event

Do you know a GP or healthcare professional who is interested in learning more about Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)?

If so, please share this free webinar with them. We would love for them to join Mast Cell Action and Dr Lulsegged on Tuesday 18th March between 7-8pm for an informative GP webinar, designed to help healthcare professionals recognise, diagnose, and manage MCAS more effectively.

Dr Abbi Lulsegged is an experienced consultant physician and endocrinologist, practising in a number of clinics in central London and southern England. Dr Lulsegged has a special interest in unexplained medical conditions, obesity, fatigue, and reversal of type 2 diabetes. 

To read more or share the link, click here. 

Dysautonomia

Join us on Wednesday 19th March from 7-8pm for an exciting new event on Dysautonomia, hosted by Roselle O'Brien. Roselle is a psychotherapist, creative arts therapist, educator, holistic life, health & nutrition coach, and licensed nurse. Find out more about Roselle here. 

Dysautonomia is an umbrella term used to classify multiple disorders in which the autonomic nervous system isn't working properly. Join us! Together we'll explore this vital area of health--our nervous system--and the important role that mast cells play in nervous system function. We'll examine some specific health conditions within the dysautonomia category to better understand how a nervous system-mast cell connection informed approach can augment interventions and strategies for improving health, wellness, and symptom management.

Find out more and book your place here. 

How to be Heard - Advocating for Yourself in the NHS 

Join us on Friday 21st March from 7-8pm for an exciting new event on advocating for yourself within the NHS hosted by Vicky Pearson. Vicky was diagnosed by the NHS in December 2023, after a two year period of working with immunologists at Hull Royal Hospital. After a four year fight to be heard, she managed to push through referrals within the NHS, to finally be the first MCAS diagnosis that her immunologist had ever confirmed.

This event is designed to help individuals learn how to approach MCAS whilst accessing medical care within the NHS and how to advocate for yourself as a patient.The discussion will cover some basic steps patients can take at the moment, to aid in their own diagnosis, working with their doctors.

Find out more and book your place here. 

Pillars of Health

Join us on Wednesday 26th March from 7-8:30pm for a session on the pillars of health hosted by Deborah Bircham. 

Regardless of what medical diagnosis you have, there are certain things that are foundational to health for all of us, and working on these ‘pillars of health’ can only improve the situation for any health condition.

What are these ‘pillars’, and how do they support our wellbeing? Why are they so pivotal to health? And how can you implement simple strategies to support your body in each of these areas?

Join Deborah Bircham, from Live Well with Chronic Illness, as we explore each of these foundational ‘pillars’, and look at how they can benefit us when we live with MCAS.

Find out more and book your place here. 

Foods and Inflammation

Join us on Wednesday 23rd April from 7-8:30pm for a session on the interlink between foods and inflammation hosted by Deborah Bircham. 

How can what we eat affect how we feel? Do our food choices influence the inflammation that we experience?

Living with MCAS can mean we have a lot of inflammation going on in our bodies, and sometimes if can feel as though we are helpless and at the mercy of our mast cells!

In this talk, we will be exploring some of the foods that can provoke inflammation and some of the foods that can help reduce it, and how we can use these foods to help us with MCAS.

Find out more and book your place here. 

Diet and MCAS: Q&A Session

Due to popular demand, we are pleased to announce a further Q&A session on Diet and MCAS on Monday 12th May from 7-8pm. 

Join us for an informative and engaging Q&A session with Chloe Hall and Alison Holloway, two leading dietitians and experts on Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). 

Chloe and Alison will be answering your questions on topics such as reintroducing foods after trial diets, urinary symptoms and food, losing weight/gaining weight and much more.

As this is a Q&A event, please feel free to submit your questions in advance to faye@mastcellaction.org.

Find out more and book your place here. 

Gratitude

Join us on Wednesday, June 18th from 7-8:30pm for a session hosted by Deborah Bircham exploring gratitude and how it can help us. We often hear mainstream media and celebrities talking about gratitude practice, and how good it is for us. But gratitude can feel really inaccessible for us when we live with difficult conditions and daily illnesses, like MCAS.

Join Deborah Bircham, from Live Well with Chronic Illness. In this talk, we will explore what gratitude practice is, and the evidence for how it affects us. We will be looking at what this means in reality for us when we live with pain or illness, and how we can find gratitude practices that work for us, and which can support us with our health and wellbeing. This session includes a practical Gratitude practice experience.

Find out more and book your place here. 

Seated Pilates

We are excited to launch our new weekly Seated Pilates sessions hosted by Leanne English from Mobilates. Join us Mondays from 10-10:30am and Thursdays from 5-5:30pm. These sessions will be gentle, accessible seated movement classes that focus on the key principles of Pilates including alignment, breathing, focus and moving with control.

The classes will aim to help you strengthen your joints, ease your aches and pains, enable you to move more freely, and give you the confidence to show you what you can do and how you can exercise safely.  Leanne will adapt to your needs, so if you need to join us from your bed, your wheelchair or need to stand, you will be supported and encouraged to listen to your body and find a movement that works for you. 

These sessions have been made possible due to funding from Sports England. Find out more and book your place here. 

Mindfulness Drop In

Join us on Wednesdays from 1-1:30pm for a half hour session of you time to relaxed and friendly mindfulness session hosted by Ann Garratt. These sessions will be running every Wednesday till the 30th April with breaks on the 9th and 16th April. 

Bring along a cuppa and get yourself comfortable, as you completely unwind, restore and feel supported. Included will be a short guided meditation, mindfulness practice or breathwork practice each week.   

Each week, Anna Garratt will guide you through a wellbeing practice. Subjects covered will include mindful awareness of the body, self-compassion, forgiveness and breathwork. 

Find out more and book your place here. 

Weekly Qigong sessions 

We are delighted to share our new weekly Qigong sessions with you! These sessions are open to anyone with MCAS or caring for someone with MCAS (or suspected MCAS).

Qigong (sometimes alternatively spelled Chi Gong or Chi Kung) is an ancient practice that makes up one of the branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine, alongside acupuncture. Check out our YouTube video for more information about Qigong.

Come along and meet Duncan and enjoy a session of deep breathing, mindfulness, and removing energetic blockages, to help energy flow more smoothly throughout the body and create an overall sense of well-being. 

You can find out more about Duncan and Qigong here or book your place here. Please book a place for each session you would like to attend. 

Unleash Your Creative Spark!

Are you someone with a passion for creativity or perhaps you've been wanting to ignite that creative spark within you? Mast Cell Action are excited to share our Creatives with MCAS sessions, which on the second Tuesday of each month at11am-12pm. 

This is your chance to express your artistic talents, whether it's through the magic of poetry, the strokes of a paintbrush, the moulding of pottery or any other form of creation that stirs your soul. Come along and share your creations with a like-minded community, whether you're a seasoned artist or someone just starting on their artistic journey. There will of course be an opportunity for lots of chat, MCAS or otherwise while we get crafty! You can read more and book your place here.

Theme for March: Create a collage about you, or write something with the line “if I could” in it.

Weekly community zoom sessions

We are delighted to launch our weekly community zoom sessions for those living in the UK. The sessions will run every Thursday from 7-8:30pm.

Our Community Champion volunteers Amie and Alice will be hosting these weekly sessions, along with our Community Engagement Coordinator, Charise and previous volunteer Deborah Bircham. The sessions will be informal meetings that create an opportunity for people living with MCAS to connect with others, share stories and experiences and seek support from each other. We will be running this session virtually through zoom, so feel free to join us to chat about all things MCAS! Find out more here and book your place here.

Join our WhatsApp Group to connect with other members of our Community Zoom Sessions. The WhatsApp group is a space to continue conversations from the sessions, speak to others who attend and seek/give support. Please note, this WhatsApp group is not moderated. Please report any issues by email. 

Rest and Unwind Class

Update: These sessions are temporarily paused. We will post an update as soon as new sessions have been scheduled. 

These sessions are designed for people who have MCAS or care for someone with MCAS, these sessions will be gentle and inclusive. This is a 30 minute class that welcomes you to unwind from your day;15 minutes of gentle stretches to ease tension held in the body and 15 minutes of deep relaxation. 

Allowing ourself time to release tension that accumulates in our body can feel supportive to our nervous system and general overall health. 

Join us on Mondays at 6pm for these virtual sessions. Places are limited so if you wish to attend, please register in good time. Find out more and book your place here.