CHINESE MEDICINE AND ANNA
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a great passion of mine. I began practising Tui Na (Chinese Medical Massage) in 2003 and it ignited my desire to learn more about this extraordinary form of medicine. This resulted in a 4 year BSc Honours Degree in Traditional Chinese Acupuncture followed by a one year Diploma in Paediatric Acupuncture. In 2024 I completed a 1 year Diploma in Yang Sheng (Nourishing Life) looking at lifestyle and dietary impact on our health and wellbeing. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) food is understood from an energetic viewpoint as to how it impacts our body and mind. We therefore adapt the diet to the individual’s TCM diagnosis. I am so inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine and I now realise it will be a lifetime quest, which is why I am constantly undertaking Continuous Professional Development courses.
In October 2011 I visited the Himalayas on a Five Element Chinese Medicine Retreat to learn more about the Five Elements (Five Elements is one of the two styles of acupuncture that I practise : see “About Acupuncture” page on this website).
In April 2013 I visited Beijing for a month, to study with a great Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dr Wang Ju-Yi at his private clinic and at Huguosi Hospital in Beijing; sadly Dr Wang Ju-Yi passed away in 2017. Dr Wang Ju-Yi specialised in “Applied Channel Palpation” which adds another dimension to how I diagnose my patients, deepening my understanding of each patient’s case history.
I also practice a family line of Traditional acupuncture called ‘Master Tung Acupuncture’, which is particularly effective for treating pain.
In October 2015 I visited Nepal with a charity, Barefoot Clinics, to train Buddhist Monks and Nuns in the use of an auricular acupuncture protocol to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after the major earthquake there in April 2015. We also ran some clinics and treatment camps in the worst hit areas.
A team of 7 of us treated 160 people in one village in one day.
PAEDIATRIC ACUPUNCTURE
I completed a one year Diploma in Paediatric Acupuncture with Julian Scott http://www.eyebright.me.uk/ graduating in Dec 2012. I treat babies and children of any age. Needles are not always used but massage and moxa sticks (creating warmth) can be used to help a wide range of conditions such as constipation, diarrhoea, sleeplessness, colic, eczema, failure to thrive, squint, asthma and many more.
In 2016 I trained in a form of Japanese Paediatric Acupuncture called Shonishin which doesn’t involve using needles, so this is ideal for children upto 5 years of age. It’s a very gentle stroking along the channels and gentle tapping on acupuncture points. After 5 years of age it’s usually necessary to use some acupuncture with a very fine needle to supplement the Shonishin treatment.
In 2018 I trained with Elisa Rossi in Paediatric Tui Na (therapeutic traditional Chinese Massage for children and babies).
YANG SHENG ‘NOURISHING LIFE’ : Dietary and lifestyle
In 2024 I completed a one year Diploma in Yang Sheng. In TCM we look at food energetically and eat in harmony with the seasons in order to obtain a healthy body and mind. For example, we shouldn’t eat cold, raw foods in winter when we need to keep warm. We should also rest more in the winter so that when spring arrives we have the energy to cope with longer days and lifestyles that become busier. If we have an internally ‘hot’ condition, we should avoid foods that are heating such as chillies, coffee and sugar. Whereas, if we have an internally ‘cold’ condition, coffee can be helpful. In Taiwan they have restaurants that change their menus every 2 weeks in accordance with the season and how it’s evolving. Certain foods can help conditions such as diarrhoea or constipation, depending on what’s causing these conditions, and that will vary from person to person, depending on their diagnosis. So much of our state of health is impacted by our lifestyles and diet.
WORKING AS A CLINICAL SUPERVISOR and MARKER
Since 2023 I have worked as a Clinical Supervisor in the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine’s student practitioner clinic. In the last 9 months of the students Acupuncture degree course they practise under supervision in the college’s student practitioner clinic. Helping students to become fully fledged Acupuncturists brings me great joy and fulfillment. It also keeps my knowledge current and maintains ‘a beginner’s mind’ approach, always learning, seeking new methods to help my patients.
I also mark course work and exam papers for CICM’s Acupuncture degree course, which also keeps my knowledge upto date and relevant.
FIRST AID TRAINING
I maintain a full First Aid Certificate with regular updates and refresher training courses.
TRAVEL
I have been lucky enough to travel widely, growing up in the Middle East, working in Australia and France and travelling extensively through India, Pakistan, China, South East Asia, Brazil, America, New Zealand and throughout Europe. On these travels I learned alot about different cultures and various forms of medicine.
HOBBIES
I practise Qi Gong (known as “the mother of Tai Qi”), Kum Nye (a Tibetan form of Yoga) and Meditation; I have found these practices invaluable in how I have evolved as a practitioner over the past 34 years. I love reading, gardening, snow and water skiing, walking my dogs, cooking and reading and learning about Traditional Chinese Medicine.
MY AIM
To become the best possible practitioner of Traditional and Classical Chinese Medicine that I can be, so that I may help my patients in the most suitable way for them as the unique individual that they are. To assist my patients in fulfilling their potential both in terms of their health and their innate capabilities.