It's World Acupuncture Day today and I thought I might share my personal experience of Five Element acupuncture as one of the questions I am frequently asked is how I got 'into' acupuncture, particularly Five Element acupuncture.
So, early 2000s, I was working in my 'dream job' but it had turned into a nightmare; I hated it. I was so busy, so stressed, but I just had my head down and was trying to power through it. Long hours, partying hard at weekends, eating badly, living for holidays and avoiding the bigger issue which was that I was a bit lost. Knowing what I know now, it's no surprise my back went into a massive spasm - my body was trying to take me down so I would stop and actually think, instead of avoiding taking my issues head on. At the same time I also had pretty terrible eczema, seven types of eczema actually, all over my body. It was in my scalp, on my face, chest, nipples and almost everywhere else. I have had eczema since I was a kid but it had never been this severe. I mean, I guess I knew it was stress related (and related to all the unhealthy coping mechanisms I had in place to copy with my stress) but I just kept on slathering on the steroids, using the emollients, Anyway the spasming back was the straw for this camel, and at the time I happened to be working opposite a Five Element acupuncture clinic so I staggered in for an emergency appointment. No idea what to expect. The first session was a long one, I was there for almost two hours, answered loads of questions. Was my back less sore when I left? Yes, absolutely. But something else too. I felt noticeably lighter. A little more 'like myself', whatever that meant. Over the subsequent weeks what became apparent was that not only did acupuncture seem to be improving my physical health but something really remarkable was happening to my mental and emotional health. I recovered my confidence and sense of clarity. What the actual eff was I thinking? I could choose where to work, so why not choose somewhere better to spend most of my day? I resigned and felt lighter again. My skin continued to improve and as I felt better in myself my life continued to change in lots of positive ways. I drank less, ate better, exercised more and generally began to treat myself with a bit more respect and love. And so began my love affair with Five Element acupuncture and a personal evolution that has taken me so far away from who I was and so much closer to who I truly am. This may not have been the first time I had come across the body / mind connection, or alternative therapies (a period of depression in my early 20s had seen me dabble my toe in these waters) but this was the first time I had ever experienced so powerfully what happens when you approach body mind and spirit as one and treat them together. Over the years since then acupuncture has been my constant. It supported my through the devastation of a late miscarriage, helped me navigate subsequent fertility issues that took years to resolve, fertility treatment that failed twice and fertility treatment that succeeded. It supported me through a nerve-wracking pregnancy, helped me prepare for labour and birth. Postpartum it helped me deal with night sweats and the loss of identity that can come with motherhood. Over the years I have worked with some tremendous practitioners, and acupuncture is a non-negotiable part of my self care as well as a lodestar for my life journey, offering me a way to return back to my most authentic self time and again, to keep me aligned with my personal dao, my way, my path. It is really this simple and this profound; Five Element acupuncture is medicine for your body, your mind and your soul.
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Let’s talk about daddy issues, shall we? Especially apt at this time of the year, Autumn, when the Metal Element is at its most manifest.
Absent fathers, abusive fathers, distant fathers, stressed out fathers, hardworking fathers, cheating fathers, fathers with two families, stepfathers, absent fathers, doting fathers, authoritarian fathers, DIY fathers. Whoever they were, or weren’t, they have shaped your life in the most formative way. Your relationships with men, with women, and most importantly with yourself are fundamentally shaped by them. Metal represents the father Chinese Medicine, ergo the kind of father we had impacts the spiritual, emotional and sometimes physical health of our Metal Element within. If Mother represents home and hearth and unconditional love, Father represents how we interact with the world around us. ‘He’ gives us our values, our sense of quality and (self)respect. This element is the masculine aspect that shows judgement, discernment, that gives us our ability to leave things behind as we go forward. Mother wants us to stay home. Father wants us to get out there and make our mark on the world. *but not in that dress young lady. So if you consider your relationships with the male caregivers in your life through this lens, what does that look like for you? Do you have a strong sense of self-respect, a healthy self-image, a comfortable relationship with intimacy, sexual pleasure, good friends around you? Is your life one of smart-ish choices and partners who offer you their best self? Reaching true maturity means coming to a place in life where decisions and life choices are yours, and yours alone. Where you are able to please yourself, properly. This doesn’t mean not caring about the people in your life or considering them but it does mean placing your needs and desires and dreams right up there at the top, a filter for your decision making. Doesn’t mean you always choose yourself first, but when you don’t, you are aware you are doing that. And guess what else it means? It means realising that you are your own father. Going to say that again, as its a bit wild. You are your own father. Yes, you. You are the one who knows what is best for you, who understands how special you are, who knows which people are best for you, and you are your biggest cheerleader as you take the risks that move you forward and help you grow. YOU. Supporting your Metal Element at this time of the year help you work with that really powerful energy, day by day, year by year, until it’s true and as instinctive to you as breathing. |
Claire DabreoPassionate about the pins. Archives
March 2024
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