I wanted a more morally satisfying career

Rebecca Clarke is a 34-year old acupuncturist based in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire.  She studied acupuncture and herbs at LCTA, graduating with a BSc in Acupuncture in 2005 and with an MSc in Oriental Herbal Medicine in 2008.  Prior to studying at LCTA, she was an IT consultant.  Here she answers some questions about her studies and her experience in setting up a practice.

What made you decide to retrain?

I wanted a more morally satisfying career and I didn’t want to work weekends and evenings – hah that one didn’t work!

How did you find LCTA?

I began my studies in the North of England but due to a job change that brought me down to Hertfordshire, I decided to relocate my studies as the commute was unbearable. I found LCTA through the internet.

What were the main factors that influenced your choice of College?

LCTA was the closest College to my new job and the open day impressed me.  A course was about to start and I had recently had a particularly nightmarish weekend journeying up to York and jumped at the chance of not having to do it again.

What was your favourite aspect of the course?

The way it changed the way I think about the world I live in and the people I live in it with.

What were your fellow students like?

Fabulous, most of us still meet up a couple of times each year.

What did you think of the LCTA staff/tutors?

They are a diverse and interesting bunch of people with a great deal to offer.

Was the course/College what you expected it to be?

It was tough but it was rewarding.  I don’t think I knew what to expect from it.

What was it like to be a student at LCTA?

It was a journey and a privilege.

What kind of practice do you run and where are you based?

I work in Harley Street, Chiswick and Rickmansworth.  In Harley Street and Chiswick I work with a team of other acupuncturists and we do a lot of fertility work, although not exclusively. Chiswick and Rickmansworth are both multi-disciplinary clinics where I work with practitioners of other therapies.

What was the transition from student to practitioner like for you?

Slow, it takes patience or possibly marketing. I continued studying for two and a half years after qualifying and was still in another full-time job for nine months before I was able to become a full-time practitioner.

Is there anything you would have done differently?

I think I should have waited and started my herbs course after acupuncture graduation. I was trying to hold down a full-time job whilst doing acupuncture finals and starting a herbs course. It  was too much for me.

What are you plans for the future?

Oh my plans are huge! I want to learn Mandarin, study herbs in Chengdu, get a horticultural diploma at Kew and study Quantum mechanics. I haven’t decided which or which order as yet….oh and to start doing a daily qi practice.

Do you have any tips for current or prospective students of TCM?

Although I think people did try and tell us this, the one thing that is hard to face is that you are running a business, you do need to make a living. Separating or perhaps actually integrating the ‘I want to help people to be well’ from the reality of earning a living is not easy.

[Via http://acupuncturetraining.wordpress.com]

Help vs. Harm

In my search for better wellness, I have been reading and trying new types of healing.

Now, I  feel I am a pretty typical person. I trust doctors to give me good care, just as I trust teachers to teach me well, business people to treat me honestly, and friends to offer friendship.

I have faith in Western treatment because it worked for me–I had mobility back for several years after my diagnosis, and no pain.

I also have faith in non-Western treatment because it worked for me. I have gone to acupuncture and received other Oriental Medicine treatments throughout my disease–in pain and in peace–and have experienced many healthful benefits.

In the past year an a half, however, I have felt especially unsatisfied by a strictly Western approach–my cocktail of medicines are not giving me the results that I had hoped for, and I am experiencing some of the side effects (hair loss, cracking nails, fatigue, stomach upset, dizziness) more profoundly than I once did.

I intend to remain on these medicines, however, because I believe in their efficacy to reduce my overall inflammation. I just hope to reduce the amount and frequency that I take them.

I want my body to begin healing itself.

Because autoimmune diseases are diseases of oneself, it can be confusing what is helping and what is harming. I like the way Wikipedia defines autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis: Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells.

If my own body is attacking itself–how can I fight back?

I have a few ideas that I want to pursue–diet, acupuncture, physical/occupational therapy, massage, healing sessions, meditation, yoga (of course). I know that none of these individually will heal me–but I have to try.

I bet that many people with chronic illness get to this point–I am willing to make my health a priority, even if it inconveniences me to do so (oh, how I will mourn chocolate gone from my life!).

I am willing to try anything to be well. I am hopeful that I can cultivate kindness (yes, my intention) inside my cells and in my world.

[Via http://theopeningyear.wordpress.com]

Spinal Conditions from A-Z

This is one of my favorite sources to give to my patients.  They obviously come in with a wide variety of spinal problems and everyone’s pain level and needs for treatment differ.  The only common bond that they each have is curiosity!

Spinal Structure

I may be able to explain to them what their ailment or condition is in the office, but 9 times out of 10 they will go home asking themselves the same questions again.  I always tell them to reference this site if they are in need of more answers or want to share the information with friends or family.  Check it out for yourself by clicking here.

The great benefit of our clinic is that we are able to treat most of these conditions right here in our office with our great doctors, state-of-the-art equipment and natural supplements.

If you are ever involved in a personal injury case and need medical treatment, Wellness Medical, S.C. is the place to go.  We offer full service chiropractic, holistic healing, acupuncture, sports therapy, physical therapy, personal injury treatment and much, much more.  We love new patients and love to see and hear about the physical and emotional progress they will make by calling for an appointment today!

Dr. Timothy Durnin

[Via http://drtimothydurnin.wordpress.com]

West Country Massage Association Meeting

Today I attended the first biannual meeting of the year of the West Country Massage Association (here after which will referred to as the WMA).  The WMA is made of members who have trained   and qualified in massage or another recognized bodywork therapy qualification.  Most members of the WMA are alumni of The School of Complementary Health based here in Exeter, but membership applications are welcomed from people who have trained with any recognized provider of alternative and complementary health training whether within the west country region of the UK or not.  The catchment area for attendees at a typical meeting is usually made of folks mainly coming from south and mid Devon, but there are or have been members at meetings who have travelled from Cornwall or Somerset.  The format of a typical meeting consists of 2 guests speakers  along with a break for tea and cake in-between the first and second speakers, finally there is an any other business opportunity slot right at the very end plus lots of opportunity to socialize and network during the breaks as well as before the start and at the very end of the meetings.

The guest speakers are usually practitioners of an alternative or complementary health therapy modality who give us a theoretical as well usually a practical overview of what they do.  Alternatively, the guest speaker could also be talking about some other subject which practitioners might be interested in such as practice management, marketing, new approaches, etc.

Today’s first speaker was an acupuncturist who had initially trained as a registered nurse before deciding to undergo a 3 year degree program in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) based acupuncture at Westminster University in London.  She continues to practice nursing alongside supplementing acupuncture in for some of her patients which has resulted in a number of successful clinical results.  We had the basic concepts of acupuncture introduced to us: the background of Chinese medicine, ying / yang balance, meridians, excess / deficiency, tongue analysis, pulse taking, needling, as well as various other approaches of point stimulation including moxibustion and cupping.  Most of this introductory theory I was familiar with from my Shiatsu training.  An interesting side note which I took away from this presentation which will mean something to those who understand this, but if not don’t worry just let it pass on by, TCM and 5 element are 2 distinct schools and approaches to acupuncture – I always thought that 5 element was a subset of TCM?  I have yet to try out a moxibustion or cupping treatment myself, but sounds very pleasant and goes on my growing list of bodywork treatments to experience in the future.

After the intermission for tea and cake, the second speaker were a husband and wife team who run a local complementary health practice and between them have experience in Ayurvedic medicine, Ayurvedic nutrition, yoga and sports massage.  Nutrition was the main focus of this particular presentation, and whilst I decided long ago that this wasn’t an area I’d be particularly interested in specializing in, I have casually studied the various popular approaches as an occasional tasks running in the background.  Perhaps not to my surprise, I found huge contradictions between the various well respected authors on “what to eat” or “what is a healthy diet” which has only served to reinforce my own personal opinion that diet and nutrition falls much lower down the hierarchy of health addressable areas in a person than some advocates might otherwise suggest.  Having said that the type of approach to nutrition and food intake as advocated by our second set of speakers I found to be very much in agreement with my personally beliefs.  I’m not so much a fan of subscribing to a diet, where everyone can eat this, can’t eat that or worst of all deny themselves of a particular food that they’ll end up craving for an extended period of time.  So called dieting and the approach of denying our bodies something usually ends in failure as craving builds up to a head and we eventually crash in some way.

The Ayurvedic approach to nutrition is a constitution centred approach to food in take.  A constitution based approach says that it’s what we are actually absorbing through digestion from the foods which has a much bigger overall effect on our health than the isolated food items themselves that we are consuming, or put another way if we aren’t properly absorbing or digesting efficiently what we’re eating then no “healthy diet plan” that hasn’t been tailored to our own very individual constitution, metabolism and digestion needs is ever going to make a difference.  As much as we are individuals with varying personalities and personal preferences, so this recognition of diversity is equally applicable to our constitution and digestive systems.  To determine what type of constitution you have requires no more than a single visit to suitably qualified nutrition therapist who works in this way, in this case we happen to be talking about an Ayurvedic nutrition practitioner.  The practitioner will having discovered their client’s basic constitution type will then go on to educate the client in what effects certain foods have on that person’s constitution and digestive system.  Armed with this information that client is then able to make self informed choices and self monitor the feedback from their own bodies that their own food choices have.  This awareness may take some time for the client to become accustomed to tuning into, but ultimately it is designed to be self empowering and allows the client to experience what works for them as an invidual having been armed with the basic knowledge of their particular constitution and considerations thereof.  This type of system does not prescribe what exactly to eat (or not to eat) in terms of a diet traditional plan.  This approach allows also for the occasional mistake or over indulgence to be made, it’s OK, there is no need to constantly beat oneself up with stick over it, and to realize that we can give even more empowerment to ourselves by realizing that we can be responsible for rewarding ourselves for when we get things right.  The nutrition therapist’s role in this type of system is to merely coach and facilitate awareness rather than to prescribe.  This is very much the approach I prefer to take with my own clients too in regards to the bodywork therapies that I do i.e. to introduce the awareness of a new possibility and then for them to self manage from there and with further coaching to stay connected to that awareness as well as doing further self discovery themselves if necessary. What we are thinking about when we’re eating it was proposed also plays a more significant role in our digestion and (mal-)absorption than what it is that we’re eating, another factor I’m very much in agreement with, so for example do you have thoughts of pleasure or guilt in your mind as you eat something?  What can of stress or environmental conditions do you eat under?

To end with, we were introduced to a little bit of standing, but mainly some sitting yoga moves which helped us check in with our bodies and that to self assess our postures were evenly balanced and aligned.  Some interesting exercises which I will see if I can find some examples of on youtube which will save me type a thousand or so words here!

Our 2nd set of guest speakers also talked about a new service that they had just set-up in their Totnes based clinic to offer alternative / complementary therapies to sufferers of chronic conditions such as MS who were on low incomes but who needed at least weekly if not twice weekly therapy sessions for things to be anywhere near effective.   In these cases, a contribution would be acceptable according to the amount the client could afford to pay toward each session.

All in all, a very informative half day and was great to share and network with some other like minds too.

[Via http://henrytang.wordpress.com]

Pain Of Dysplasia In Dogs Relieved With Gold Treatment, Study Shows

Many animals and people experience chronic joint pain. In dogs, a common source of joint pain is hip dysplasia, a developmental defect of the hip joint. Implantation of gold into the soft tissues around the hip joints of dogs with dysplasia can relieve pain and lessen stiffness for several years.



Joint pain in animals and man may be due to injury, wear or deformity. Hip dysplasia of dogs is a congenital defect that makes itself known during the growth phase, leading to varying degrees of pain and loss of function as the dogs age. Dog owners will as a rule notice that their dogs are reluctant to jump, that they lag behind on longer walks, or that they are stiff and sore when standing after resting. Some dogs also become lame after longer walks.

Early in the 1970’s, an American veterinary surgeon and acupuncturist described a form of pain relief in dogs that involved implanting small grains of pure gold into acupuncture points round painful joints in dogs. The theory behind the treatment was that the gold grains implanted into the acupuncture points would provide chronic stimulation of the points.



The method has been used both on dogs and people in the USA and Europe, although no scientific documentation of the pain-relieving affect of gold-implants existed. Gry Tove Jæger has in her doctorate investigated whether grains of metallic gold implanted around painful joints could reduce pain and improve function in patients, using dogs as a model.

Family dogs with pain and loss of function due to hip dysplasia were chosen as experimental animals. The dogs were divided randomly into two groups, one of which received gold transplants, while the other acted as control. Neither the owner nor the veterinarian assessing the affect of the gold treatment knew which group an individual dog belonged to. This is called double-blind experimentation. The study was designed to provide an answer to whether gold implantation had an effect or not, and any possible acupuncture effect was not considered.

After six months the effect of the treatment was considered. Statistically-significant differences were shown to exist between the two groups. The dogs with implanted gold had less pain and loss of function compared to those that had not received gold. As was expected, the dogs in the control group also improved, but the effect was greater in those that had received gold.



The dogs were followed for a further year and a half. After two years, 80% of the dogs still showed a positive effect of treatment. The hip dysplasia had not improved, and many dogs showed in fact an increased degree of calcification round the affected hip joints, but they lived better after the gold treatment. An inflammatory response was shown to have developed around the grains of gold, which may possibly explain in part the pain-relieving effect.

Implantation of gold is an effective treatment for chronic degenerative joint disease and the method has few serious side-effects. This study could not uncover if part of the effect was due to acupuncture, to the gold lying in the soft tissue, or to a combination of the two.

Cand. med. vet. Gry Jæger defended her Ph. D. thesis, entitled “The effect of gold bead implantation in a dog model with chronic joint arthritis – a method of pain control”, at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, on May 29, 2009.

With Gold Treatment, Study Shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 3, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/06/090626084633.htm

[Via http://wendtworthcorgis.wordpress.com]

Eastern Nutrition & Detoxfication Program

ilumina is excited to have Sherri Taylor L.Ac. offering two new services.

Eastern Nutrition Program

This is a program that involves the energetics of food to create balance in the body. Learn the Taoist system of the 5 elements and the 5 tastes of food to balance your overall diet. Circumstances that influence dietary choices and habits such as convenience and emotions around eating will be discussed. Food choices, places to shop, and recipes are recommended as well. This program is an overall wellness program that includes nutrition supplements, exercise recommendations and stress management techniques. Three appoints are necessary to receive all of these facets to the program.

Detox Program

This program is customized for the individual depending on their medical history and their energetic diagnosis. The detox diet includes a clean, balanced combination of foods based on Eastern nutritional principles. Along with the diet includes detox therapies to practice at home, supplements, and tea. The duration of this program is 10-14 days.

The detox program includes two different detox plans. Both programs are a whole body detox which cleanses the liver, large intestine, blood, lymph, lungs, skin, and kidneys. One program is more specific to candida that includes a yeast free diet and supplements to clear the body of candida.

For more information or to schedule an appointment please call.

In Health,

Dana Price DOM, L.Ac., Dipl.OM, FABORM

ilumina Healing Sanctuary

7520 E. Camelback Road

Scottsdale, Arizona 85251

(602)957-2602

[Via http://iluminahealing.wordpress.com]