It's been a funny start to spring this year - although the winter seemed to drag on a long time, it wasn't really that cold - and yet the snowdrops were out very late. To me, at any rate, it feels like the welcome upturn in light levels has been well in advance of it actually feeling like spring. And now, bizarrely, it's suddenly nearly April and the whole Easter parade of artificially generated shopping hype (chocolate, bunnies, chicks) is in annoyingly full throttle. Apologies to all my … [Read more...]
The turn of the year
It's New Year's Eve as I write this, and the last few days have been perfect examples of nature at its most ... wintry. My long-standing clients know that I like to hibernate in the winter, for 2-3 weeks if possible - but for the last three mornings I've made sure I've been up and dressed in my thermals, thick jacket, hat and gloves in time for sunrise (8.13am this morning), so that I could be out walking across the fields in the frost. Why do this? Well, apart from the sheer and stunning … [Read more...]
Now – or near enough.
I feel a bit like someone making a confession ... "It's been several months since I last wrote a blog post". It's been eating away on my conscience, yet I haven't found either the time or inspiration to sit down and write. So this has got me thinking - about how obligations rather than inspiration so often rule our lives; about how hard it is - when life is chucking challenges at you left, right and centre - to take time to do something you enjoy; about not being able to see the wood for the … [Read more...]
Summer of love, summer of heartache
I've been brewing this post for the past couple of months - but typically for this time of year, there's been so much jostling for my attention (work, family stuff, gardening, exercising and more) that the actual writing has had to wait until a sleepless night got me out of bed very early. So, what's been brewing? Well, it's been thinking about love, relationships, the highs and the lows. Our love life, or lack of it, or disappointment and disillusionment with it, occupy a big part of our … [Read more...]
Navigating smoothly through transition
I'm in the incredibly fortunate position of having decided, back in November of last year, to walk every day - and to live in a village with beautiful countryside accessible from my doorstep. Armed with my trusty iPhone, I've been taking photographs every day of my walks - and am now delighted to have a library of pictures which (with no deliberate plan) are providing me with an archive of seasonal change. And this is very timely as I'm acutely aware, in my own life and the lives of friends, … [Read more...]
Spring gateways
I'll be honest with you - I just couldn't get round to writing a blog post in March, even though I try to do one every calendar month. Why? Well, I think it was because I felt so uncertain about whether spring had really arrived, and I didn't want to write something about fresh starts and enthusiasm only to find that winter had a nasty trick waiting up its sleeve ... like last year. So I dithered (unusual for me), and ended up doing nothing while feeling a touch frustrated at myself. Well … [Read more...]
When is spring coming?
It's always at this point in the year - as we get near to the end of February - that I see lots of fed-up people in my treatment room. Winter feels like it has been going on for ever, and although the days are clearly lengthening that's not enough to lift the spirits. We're confused, aren't we, by the weather conditions? All the rain and flooding in the past few months, but hardly any frost and no sign of snow round here. We are cheered by the sight of snowdrops when the sun comes out, and … [Read more...]
Emerging from hibernation
Despite the fact that January and February tend to be the winter months that people most dislike, for me this is clearly a time of rising energy as the days slowly but noticeably lengthen. Tomorrow I start work again, after a break of nearly four weeks. I can't say this time has been totally restful, but it has felt really important to have plenty of unattributed time in amongst the usual obligations of family, shopping, appointments etc. But now I feel a distinct restlessness, a need and … [Read more...]
Midwinter musings
We've just passed the winter solstice, and although this means the days are now getting longer, it feels dark, dark, dark. And so it should - we need the ebb and flow of seasons to give our year rhythm and context. It's just that in our modern culture, driven by bright lights and a 24/7 mentality, we are exceptionally disconnected from those rhythms. Take the last few weeks ... the build-up to Christmas is madly hectic for many, and stressful with emotional pressure. Clients who know me … [Read more...]
The gift of clients
In the client-therapist or patient-practitioner relationship, there is a clear exchange - you obviously pay me for my therapeutic skills and time. But at its best this relationship can mean so much more, and I want to honour and appreciate that. I have a principle in my work of holding you in the highest personal regard (which means that, even if I might sometimes find your behaviour or opinions challenging or contrary to my own values, I come from a place of acceptance that you have a right … [Read more...]
The gift of autumn
The population seems to be split pretty evenly between those who love the autumn, and those whom it fills with gloom. I'm one of the first group, barely being able to suppress my glee as days get shorter, and the leaves turn and then fall. And I recognise that, for many of the people who come through my door, it stresses them out as they contemplate seemingly endless months of chill and darkness. So, this short post is designed to inspire you to appreciate the autumn for what it gives us. … [Read more...]
Filling the storehouse.
People are always being encouraged to 'let go' - of old patterns, unhelpful behaviours, grudges and resentments. We're meant to do regular clutter-clearing. A gutter clogged up with leaves is likely to overflow and there'll be a mess to deal with. All this is true, and we all know that we carry stuff around in our lives that we'd probably be better off without - whether it's unresolved family tensions, relationships that have long passed their sell-by dates, jobs that make us ill ... The … [Read more...]
A nourishing harvest
This is such an interesting time of year. There's a palpable slowing down in some ways, like a long, slow out-breath, as the days gently start to shorten. Schools and colleges are on holiday, traffic levels around town are less, and in my household, the alarm gets set a little later as there's no school run to schedule. So even though people are still at work, it feels different to me. This shift is very much part of the move from summer to late summer in Chinese medicine. We're just … [Read more...]
A moment’s meditation
I think meditating is a wonderful thing. In the ideal world I'd meditate every day, and would make it a priority in my life. I'd tap in to a source of peaceful inner contemplation and my state of mind would most likely be calmer, more settled and better able to cope. And by meditation I don't mean doing a prescribed spiritual practice, requiring any faith or belief system. I mean finding a way to settle the mind by simplifying what it focuses on, and to gain mental / emotional … [Read more...]
To the Spring – and beyond!
It's extraordinary what the sight of daffodils (not covered with snow) can do for morale. Because the spring has arrived at last, albeit very very late and still mostly on the chilly side, the people coming through my treatment room are bringing with them a very different 'energy'. There are far more smiles, much more talk of plans for 'getting on with things', and generally a sense of increased optimism and hopefulness. And that's despite many people being rather overwhelmed with the … [Read more...]
Waiting … & waiting … for the spring.
This picture says it all. A year and a day ago, I wrote my first blog post - and we were in the middle of the best weather we had for all of 2012 (at the wrong time, but lovely nonetheless). I've just taken this photo in our garden, having struggled to muster together a few greenish twigs and buds to decorate our Easter lunch table. Of course, nature has its ups and downs, and each year is unpredictable, so why does this matter therapeutically? Well, we're confused mood-wise, it's hard … [Read more...]
“What Zero Balancing feels like to me …”
How each individual person experiences Zero Balancing is unique, and often hard to put into words. Many people find the work so deeply relaxing that they remember feeling that relaxation but not much more. It is common for a session to mean something to the receiver that is profoundly significant , but also private, and they leave my treatment room still processing what they felt. Now, that's absolutely fine and understandable - but when it comes to putting Zero Balancing testimonials on my … [Read more...]
Acupuncture Awareness Week – tone up for spring
We've got to believe that spring is on its way - that's why I've put a daffodil photo in this post! But even the most despairing winter-hater will admit that the days are getting longer, and a couple of milder sunny days have brought hope to our hearts. It's a great time to be thinking of booking some acupuncture treatments - to tone up your energy so that, once the spring gets into gear, you'll be ready to meet it with enthusiasm. The British Acupuncture Council's Acupuncture Awareness … [Read more...]
‘Tis the season to be … hibernating.
Over the 23 years I've been practising as an acupuncturist, I've got used to a continuous stream of patients coming through my door at this time of year full of gloom about the cold, the darkness, the ice, the snow - the sheer miserableness of winter. And in a bid not to lose rapport with these dear patients, I nod understandingly and offer morale-boosting treatments towards the end of January when it just feels like winter's never going to end. The truth is I love the winter - it's summer I … [Read more...]
Autumn reflection
Autumn tends to bring up strong emotions in people. Many of you, while conceding that the colours of the autumn leaves are beautiful, may find this time of year a touch gloomy. Or more than a touch. The reduction in day length, the realisation that summer is really over, the feeling that it's downhill all the way until the spring. When I did my acupuncture training, we were told that more people make their wills in autumn than at any other time of year - I have no idea whether that's … [Read more...]