Using unique Palpation diagnosis, a trained Acupuncturist is able identify the key points where the body is experiencing strain or over-taxation and can to help regulate the flow of Qi throughout the body by using precise stimulation at the acupuncture points.

This is done by using a combination of pressure and gentle stimulation with very fine, sterile disposable needles, or by using Moxibustion, which is a pleasant warming technique used to treat points which have become cold, and Qi Gong, which facilitates deep relaxation. Guasha and cupping may also be used to clear areas of long-standing stagnation. Chinese Herbal medicine, Nutritional therapy and Lifestyle Management may be used to promote continued healing.

Most people (even needle-phobics!) are pleasantly surprised that acupuncture does not have to be painful to have its effect.
In fact, many of the people who have been treated in this clinic have become so relaxed during their treatment that they fall asleep.

Children have also been quite happily treated in this clinic, and are usually excited to tell their friends that they were ‘brave enough’ to have treatment and that the treatment did not hurt.

Moxibustion is the name given to the burning of the herb Artemesia Vulgaris, commonly known in English as Mugwort, in Chinese as àiróng - meaning ‘velvet of mugwort’, and in Japanese as mogusa or Moxa. It is used either on or above the skin to warm and invigorate the channels of the body and to expel Cold. It can be used to encourage the smooth flow of Qi and Blood and to strengthen the Yang, as well as to tonify the body and to prevent disease.

One of the most famous preventative moxa therapies is to treat a point on the lower leg called Zu San Li [ST 36], which means "Foot Three Miles" and is known to increase endurance, promote digestive power, and stimulate the immune system.

“A person without disease should moxa themselves
for a long time (ie, regularly)…
Although one cannot obtain immortality,
one can achieve longevity of more than 100 years.”

- Bian Que, 500 BC
From the Bian Que Xin Shu
(“Bian Que's Book of Heart Teachings”)

Guasha:

Guasha has been used for centuries in China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to treat a variety of problems, such as:

• muscular pain
• myo-fascial restriction
• post-trauma syndromes
• immune dysfunction

Guasha is also known as ‘Scraping’, ‘Spooning’ or ‘Cupping’ and a similar technique, known as ‘Venduzas’, is practiced in Traditional Greek Medicine. Modern western Chiropractic utilises the technique under the pseudonym of ‘The Graston Technique’.

Guasha is considered to be an Adaptogenic technique and facilitates the restoration of normal function of the muscles, fascia and immune system. Gua Sha is used to clear areas of stagnation from the muscles and connective tissue, to stimulate healing and to allow fresh blood and nutrients to flow properly again.

The term Sha refers to Stagnation of Blood in the tissues of the body and had been translated as: “Sand-sickness” or “Sediment” in the flesh. Sha is different to simple muscular tension, because the condition is usually more chronic or long-standing and will not resolve with or respond to standard massage techniques. A practitioner skilled in Palpation or ‘touch diagnosis’ can identify Sha by the characteristic changes in the texture of the flesh that occur due to the deposition of metabolic wastes. The presence of Sha can be felt as toughness, tightness, grittiness or knots within the muscles and connective tissue. A western-trained practitioner might also call Sha “Fibrositis.”

To perform Guasha, the skin over the affected area is first coated with a thick ‘chest-rub’ style liniment to protect the skin from friction. The skin and muscles are then pressed and scraped with the curved edge of the Guasha tool, (often a Chinese ceramic soup-spoon), to raise the irritants out of the knotted muscles and into the dermis, where the rich blood-supply can then flush them away.

Cupping is done using a smooth-edged glass cup in which a vacuum is briefly created, through the induction of a cool flame. The cup is quickly applied to the skin over an area of stagnation and is used to draw stagnation out of deeper muscle structures. Cupping is commonly used to treat old or lingering sporting injuries.

Guasha is not painful, but it can leave a temporary mark on the skin that disappears completely in 2-4 days. This is a normal and intended side-effect and does not harm the flesh at all.

An important fact to note is that: if there is no stagnation of blood, then there will be no mark induced. This can be seen after repeated treatments, when the sha can no longer be raised in an area previously treated.

The effect is usually immediate relief.

People report feeling relieved of pain and stiffness which has been plaguing them for months or even years. Mobility is usually restored to previously trapped muscles and joints and increased flexibility is usually observed.

Qi Gong translates literally as: “Working the Qi”.
It is a meditative, internal martial-art that has been cultivated by Taoists in ancient China for thousands of years. Qi gong, along with Tai Ji Chuan and acupressure massage, are methods of treatment and self-regulation designed to balance and harmonise the energy within.

Using an individually formulated Traditional Diagnosis, Chinese Herbs may be prescribed to assist and enhance the capacity of the body to function in a healthy way.

Different herbs perform different functions, according to their nature and the conditions that they treat. Some herbs provide substances which help the body to repair or build healthy cells, while others act as a catalyst to stimulate body functions such as immunity, or elimination.

Vitamin and mineral therapy can also be given according to the same principles as herbs, to treat deficiencies and illnesses.

In this Clinic, we choose to use the
highest quality products, including:

Nutritional Education:

Good nutrition is fundamental to good health. Food, along with the air we breathe, is the primary source of the fuel that we use to make the energy for all of our daily activities – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Every thought, feeling, action and reaction involves a complex range of chemical reactions throughout the body, requiring a consistent supply of the right kind of nutrients.

A balance of the Five Flavours is the ideal way to eat, harmonising Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter and Pungent flavours.

Enjoying foods from the whole colour spectrum red, orange, yellow, green, purple, will ensure a full and rich supply of nutrients.

"Let Food be thy Medicine,
Let Medicine be thy Food..."

Hippocrates
5th Century BC

Lifestyle Management:

"A person who waits until they are sick
to attend to their health is like a person
who digs a well when they are already thirsty..."

- Qi Bo, 3rd century BC

The practical knowledge of Yoga, Qi Gong and physical therapy can be applied in various exercises designed to relieve musculo-skeletal problems, and to help release unhelpful physical (and mental / emotional) habits.