ABOUT YOUR ACUPUNCTURIST

There is always a before and an after.  We all experience many turning points in one life. One of those, for me, is the before and after my discovery of Yoga. Having practiced many forms and expressions of this holistic lifestyle and philosophy since 2014, it has changed my approach and experience of life in countless ways. Better put - it is changing. I believe the finished product of who we are arrives only in death (and, who knows, maybe rebirth). The finished product is our collection of experiences and actions. An unpolished repertoire of a life lived. Yet one of our biggest challenges in modern society is to remain present, in this body, to live this life. To be lost in our own minds and dissociated & disconnected from our bodies is a reality many of us spend far too much of our time in. Skipping real life. This disconnect translates into our relationships to other people and the natural world around us. Establishing the mind-body connect is the beginning of true change and maintaining its upkeep, a lifelong practice. 

 

A sure-fire way to live outside of our bodies is to have a disregulated nervous system. All the tools that I work with are intended to work to build nervous system resilience, a bouncy, pliable nervous system that can handle life and connect to others. I share this as someone who has always been extremely sensitive to stress & someone who was, most certainly, not born cool, calm and collected.

 

Part of my professional story is that, over time, I began to notice a sense of conflict and unease around the way breathing was often taught and encouraged. At the same time, I was navigating my own mental health challenges, including anxiety and OCD. While I sometimes felt disconnected from the way these practices were being shared, my love for Yoga remained strong.

 

As someone with diagnosed Narcolepsy*, meditation was always nigh on impossible. My first experience of Pranayama (simple Nadi Shodhana) was revolutionary - who knew breathing alternatively out of different nostrils could elicit such a calm, grounded peace/high. Over the years, I practiced and explored many different approaches to breathwork. 

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Acupuncture, on the other hand blew my mind in a different way. The shifts I felt in energy and sleep were pretty wild. The effects I felt on my monthly cycle were profound. Less pain, more regularlity. I had to know more.

 

I trained  to be a Breath Coach alongside my Acupuncture studies, in my opinion, the two complement each other pefectly. One works passively and the other actively. One is about balancing mind-body, yin-yang, Qi-Blood and the other works on Nervous System regulation and mind-body relationship. Furthemore, after my years interning in acupuncture clinic and observing my own breathwork clients and yoga students I often see breathing patterns that aree 'stuck'. or 'miswired' and often, breathers and breathing practices that are simply misunderstood or misinformed. If the breath moves more freely, all of the body's energy - literal (think ATP production) and 'energetic' moves better and more efficiently. The two are mutually dependent.  

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All of this said, it is since becoming a mother to my beautiful twin boys that has shattered everything I thought I knew. The intensity, the love, the highs and the lows leaves time only for the most essential and effective practices. Motherhood is a constant learning and unlearning process. It is messy and imperfect and real. The biggest reason to become evermore present. 

 

My approach and philosphy is simple and down-to-earth. I care about science and evidence, but I embrace the idea that we don't know everything and I trust lived experience. I also believe that if a practice is too difficult to implement, then it is not worth the stress. If it is too obscure to come by (products etc) then they are not worth our money or time right now. We need less to do, not more. I aim to help ease the overwhelm and not add to it. I also truly believe that whilst we are all unqiure and need something different,  that we are all more similar than we think. 

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Curious?

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*feel free to ask me more about this, I am always happy to share.