fishpondsvoice
January, 2018
29
n CULTURAL FIX WITH ANNA BLIGHTMAN
A time for nourishment ... THE January chill. Party season is over, and everyone looks to set goals, ambitions and challenges for themselves in the coming year. Some will succeed, others fail, but we are an insistent bunch and set them anyway. In particular we tend to think it is a good time to detoxify the body following the purge of Christmas, driven by a desire for a clean sheet, internally and externally. However January and the cold winter months are actually a time for the body to rest, and a need to nourish both the body and the soul is never more apparent. (Nourishment doesn’t mean twenty mince pies and a box of Quality Street washed down with three bottles of fizzy wine by the way!) We should be looking at ways to replenish our stores with warm cooked foods in order to be ready for the busyness of spring. Traditional Chinese medicine is based on the theory that the body’s vital energy “Qi” flows
through channels called meridians that have branches connecting to our bodily organs and functions. Qi can get blocked, become stagnant or deficient causing the body to become weak or “ill” and then begin to malfunction. This can be caused both by external and internal factors which include the foods we do (or don’t eat), as well as our lifestyle and emotions. I spoke with Roland Lewis who runs The Healing Space, an acupuncture clinic on a Thursday evening at the Steiner Academy. He set up the clinic in order to make acupuncture more affordable and accessible to those who may not have experienced it before. An acupuncturist uses specific points on the body which will help to move and clear blocked or stagnant Qi, thus restoring the body to optimal health. Whilst the common myth is that acupuncture is for treating pain, it can be helpful with all sorts of functions and conditions within the
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body. Including hyperthyroidism, eczema and asthma. Acupuncture has also been associated with helping infertility with a huge 40 per cent increase in effectiveness when undertaking IVF treatment. Toddlers and children have been known to have very quick reactions to the treatments. I went along The Healing Space (which costs between £20 and £30 for a session) and, following a detailed questionnaire and consultation, found myself on a couch with four needles up and down my left arm (I’ve had a complaint there since May) and a couple in my feet. It wasn’t painful, in fact it was rather meditative to lie still, yet I definitely felt a shifting internally that put me at ease. When the session was finished, we chatted through reactions Roland had noticed, and what further sessions would hope to achieve. Personally, this feels like a much more productive way to move the body’s energy around and begin
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afresh. There is no starving, no restrictions and no raw food! For more information please contact Roland Lewis at The Healing Space: https://www. bristolcommunityacupuncture. co.uk/ anna@thedistantfuture alwayssoundslovely.com
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