Pins and Needles

I recently had acupuncture for the first time. 

I had been overworking, over-thinking, over-stressing and it was starting to affect my sleep, my health and my moods. My GP would have prescribed anti-anxiety medication, so rather than go down that path I decided to go alternative. 

I am not alone. More people are turning to Alternative Therapy to boost their performance, treat stress, alleviate pain, treat sports injuries and even for weight-loss.

Chinese Medicine Therapy Acupuncture For Health and Well Being

Scroll down for a great offer on Chinese Medicine Therapy!

English golfer Ian Poulter uses acupuncture to aid recovery after his game. One of the most common ailments golfers experience is Golfer's Elbow, an often quite painful inflammation of the elbow, conventional medicine would normally include steroid injections in the affected area or pain medication, whereas Chinese Medicine seeks to restore the imbalances in the body to regain optimum health.

Acupuncture is a treatment derived from ancient Chinese Medicine, where needles are inserted at certain sites in the body for therapeutic or preventative purposes.

I wasn’t a complete novice when it came to Chinese Medicine. I knew about cupping, I'd seen those strange red circles all over the Olympian athletes bodies in Rio. Cupping is where hot suction cups are applied to the skin for several minutes which draws blood from the body. This therapy is thought to speed up muscular and soft tissue recovery after injury and strain.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy Cupping used by Athletes to Boost Performance

I’d also had Chinese massage before, ouch, it’s a whole lot of painful but it did ease my muscle tension and get rid of those knots created by too much time sat at my computer. So I wasn't going in totally bind but still I was a bit nervous, I was about to get needles stuck in my body....(okay so technically they're more like pins.)

The older and fairly serene Chinese man checked out my tongue, this felt strangely intimate, I was quite shy about showing my tongue. How funny that in Aboriginal culture showing the tongue is seen as an aggressive and defiant gesture. He also checked my pulse. Apparently my pulse showed that I was yin deficient. He could tell that I was anxious and analyzed everything to death, that I wasn’t sleeping and that I was tense and irritated. Yep Yep and Yep. 

Sometimes it's hard for me to switch off, my mind is always going 100 miles an hour, even when I'm crashing and can barely keep my eyes open, my brain is still ticking away. Most of the time I don't have a problem with this, I'm super creative, brimming with ideas and tons of passion, I love the way my mind works, its intricacies and quirks, and I'm super grateful for it. Without my mind I wouldn't have created Hales Golfwear or written children's books or screenplays, I wouldn't have traveled the world, I wouldn't have done a lot of the amazing things I've done.

Golfers Use Acupuncture to Treat Golfers and Tennis Elbow

Scroll down for a great offer on Chinese Medicine Therapy!

I’m definitely getting better at seeking out quality me-time (my adventures delving into the Scandinavian Hygge philosophy coming soon!) I’m also making sure my health comes first, eating clean and listening to my body and its needs.

The acupuncture pins themselves are tiny, and it actually doesn't hurt when they go in. My acupuncturist first swabbed the area and gave the pin a little tap, and voila it was in. It was strange to look down at my body and see twenty odd pins sticking out of it, it was however immediately relaxing, not what I was expecting at all. He tapped several pins into the crown of my head, some more in either wrist and a few went to my inside ankles.

Traditional acupuncture is thought to work with the body's own energy meridians, that any unease or illness is a symptom of a energetic blockage where the energy is not flowing freely along these lines, and can then cause imbalances. 

Celebrity acupuncture and Chinese Medicine enthusiasts include Jennifer Lopez who has used it for weight loss, US swimmer Michael Phelps has it to help boost his atheletic performance, Gwyneth Paltrow uses it to improve mental clarity and gain higher consciousness.

I fell asleep during my treatment. When I left I felt relaxed, content and calm. It felt wonderful. Am I sleeping better? Yes. Do I still over think? Yes. But I’m also able to let it go a little more easily now too. Is that due to the acupuncture? Maybe. Will I go back? Definitely. 

Find your acupuncturist here www.acupuncture.org.uk The British Acupuncture Council. 

**OFFER ALERT** Kings Cross TCM are currently offering a 65% discount on Chinese Medicine therapies Cupping and Acupuncture, click here for the offer!

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