Julia's blog

People do come to me saying, I just don't feel right.  Don't feel balanced.  Well acupuncture is a great choice of therapy.

It's all about balance.

If you were to go to a Life Coach they would talk about the "Wheel of Life" and you would look at all the areas of your life:  Work, Money, Relationships, Fun, Health etc.  And you might see that your wheel was wobbly - all work and no play, or too much worry and not enough work - then strategies would be employed to get your wheel turning smoothly.

An acupuncturist will question you about all these areas and also about the major systems of the body.  We will want to know about your appetite and digestion.  Whether you catch colds easily or have a strong immune system.  We need to know about your sleep patterns.  Your mood.  Your energy.  Read more...

Today looking into the garden, it is definitely still Autumn.  The colours of the leaves sing out yellow and orange and are  carpeting the earth beneath the cherry tree.  Still lots of leave on the tree though.  But each little breath of wind and a few more drift across my view. A  5 Element Acupuncturist especially,  keeps an eye on the changing seasons.  Why?  because of the cycles.   So many people say - as winter approaches - " I just want to go into hibernation" or "I feel so low when the sky is always grey".   

So perhaps I need to help the fire within, to build the spirit and the energy to lift and keep going through winter. Read more...

The Organs associated with the Metal Element due to their association with the Season of Autumn are the Lungs and the Colon.

As the season marks the change from the Activity (Yang) of summer, to the Hibernation / stillness (Yin) of winter perhaps we can see that it is about letting go.  But to let go, we must take in.  So this pair : Lungs - take in the good, the pure (air) and the colon and the skin too, sometimes called the 3rd lung, get rid of he rubbish so that our whole being functions with clarity. Read more...

So, are we yet in Winter?  Almost I would say, but not quite.  Leaves still on my cherry tree though mostly on the ground, not quite.

Primroses blooming, what a funny year.  Time still to do the last gardening jobs - preparation for winter.

Makes me think, what do I need to do to prepare for winter.  Want to sleep more - that's a sign, more rest, more putting something back.  Keep warm, Keep warm.

My cat is sleeping more (if that is possible).  Not the time for heavy tasks once winter really arrives, so lets get the outside work done in the next couple of weeks because then it will be here and if you feel exhausted at the thought, book that treatment.

Because acupuncture can really help you recharge and realign with the season.

HEALTH   STRENGTH   LONGEVITY

No it is not, and we all know it don't we, and, most of us at sometime will have acknowledged the part our mind can play in bringing us down, making us tired, or indeed revving us up!

This is where acupuncture scores.  The very reductive western medicine model, looked at symptom first.  Acupuncture is a Tradition that looked at how it was to be well, before things went out of balance.  How was the Qi (Chee) moving?

Understanding this we can see how four peoples headaches might come from a different glitch in the system.  And, therefore require different treatment.

Acupuncture can be a wonderful preventative medicine, in that you learn to tune in to your own needs in a way that cannot be ignored.  Read more...

or, layers of opportunity.  When things go wrong with our system, automatically the imbalance filters through the layers.

Simplistically: you are worried, obsessed about things that are wrong, worried and afraid about the future - more than likely you will have some physical symptoms.  Headaches, tummy upsets, constipation, could be any of an endless list. 

Space in mind and body is what heals, one to the other: practice relaxation or meditation exercises  which both bring health giving space and oxygen to the system, so that things can move.

I'm not talking about hours of either, but regular. 

When we are feeling lost, or out of sorts, then we are being prompted to enquire - what do I need to do to get back to myself. 

Often we try "thinking" our way out, and that only compounds our frustration and anxiety! Read more...

Well, a story - The woman who asked that question came with a bad shoulder, very painful which had last recurred some years ago, at which time, after a little treatment she recovered quickly.  Since then she has developed High Blood Pressure, has had a Stroke which she recovered well from and had developed another challenging problem.  

At first treatment didn't seem to be helping the shoulder, however, her sleep had improved.  The next session she told me  the other difficulty had had a sudden improvement then returned to a much less troublesome level. 

Between these sessions she had visited the dentist, always a trial. "I was relaxed it was first time ever!  The dentist commented how easy it had been, obviously he'd been expecting a difficult time. Read more...