Energy

My usual river walk with my handsome lurcher has been pushed to higher ground, while I wait patiently for nature to give me permission to reinstate my bare feet on the cool, albeit soggy, grass.

In the meantime, I am enjoying spotting the signs of spring on my dog walks. First the snowdrops nestling under woodland trees, the burst of sunshine as daffodils brighten up the landscape, the gentle blossom snowfalls as the wind scatters them to the ground, and my personal favourite: the catkins on a weeping willow.

I enjoy every season, embracing the change and all that comes with it – each season becoming my preference until the next one arrives. But spring is surely the perfect time to take on a new challenge. Regular Acu. readers will notice I’m a newcomer to the editorial team. This is my inaugural editorial as I embed myself within this highly experienced team of acupuncturists and herbalists.

As a 2022 graduate from the College of Integrated College of Chinese Medicine (CICM) – swiftly followed by a diploma in gynaecology, obstetrics, and IVF acupuncture – I am gently navigating my way to building my experience and business across two locations. My background and former life as a communications professional for local government, the police and a well known homeless charity where I focused my skills on promoting mental health and vulnerabilities – all helped me to become part of the Acu. team.

In this spring release, I was struck by Beverley De Valois’s piece for our new The Dawn of a New Dao feature. She talks of her desire to offer a bridge between professional communities and cancer survivors, her procrastination, her journey to find her writer’s voice through the six stages of learning, the heartbreak of editing out chunks of carefully crafted text. And then the excitement of the arrival of 11 years of work neatly bound in an evidence based and peer reviewed book.

I certainly understood Beverley’s words about the sudden and huge void as she no longer had to find everything else to do other than write. I remember my own home was never so clean as when I had to write a college essay or revise for an exam and the late-night, last-minute submissions.

Danny Blythe’s wonderful spring clean recipe is clearing stagnation, moving qi, calming shen and resolving damp liver. I will definitely be adding all those grounding and gorgeous ingredients to my next shopping list.

My strong leaning towards vulnerabilities and mental health made Julia Davis’s Way to Practise: Volunteering an inspirational read. Volunteering with World Medicine at their JRS clinics in east London, she talks about why she loves helping the Friends who come there to recentre with the support of the NADA technique.

As a new practitioner I always enjoy Just My Point – it really helps me to connect with the points, embedding my knowledge and depth of understanding. This season Peter Firebrace unpacks the healing power of DU 14, as well as offering some great combination points and a short case study to bring the magic alive.

Finally, at CICM I had the privilege of being taught by Peter Mole and well remember the conversations in our supervision classes on ‘less is more’ – something that has stuck with me during my practice. I often hear Peter’s voice as I pull back on overloading my treatments with too many points. So it was good to see his opinions in writing and hear more about why as practitioners, minimum intervention is more effective.

You’ll find all of the above and more in this glorious Acu. spring release. We hope you enjoy our energetic offering with its abundance of tips, insights and inspirations. The vitality and power of renewal awaits you.