GETTING TO THE POINT OF IT This issue Jessica Lowe tries out Acupuncture at Harvey Nichols
I think you can be forgiven for being quite sceptical about Acupuncture, because something as simple as ‘sticking needles in you’ surely can’t make you feel better, or cure an illness? Can it? So when the Kite clinic opened its doors to us Manchester folk at Urban Retreat in Harvey Nichols recently, I decided it was definitely worth exploring further.
Gerard Kite, the man behind the clinic, has been in the media a lot recently for getting actual results, most notably in the area of fertility. Back in February the ‘Mail on Sunday’ ran a feature highlighting some successes of women who had tried literally everything with no success then miraculously had fallen pregnant following a few sessions at the Kite Clinic (see
www.kiteclinic.co.uk to see the article). Impregnation isn’t a current concern of mine, but the creation of life is definitely an area where the results are undeniable, so this guy must be doing something right, no?
These unbelievable results beg the question, how does it work? So a little bit of research found that firstly, Kite specialise in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture, a style of Acupuncture which originated in China well over 2,000 years ago. The main belief is that, contrary to the western attitude of trying to fix the symptom, they are trying to find the cause. The fundamental belief is these physical problems are often as much the result of emotional distress as much as any physical cause.
Armed with this information and evidence I had to give it a go. As I previously mentioned, I’m not looking to start a family right now, but I have historically suffered with the physical symptoms of stress. Headaches, sleeplessness, palpitations, constipation, you name a stress symptom, you can guarantee I’ve had it! So hopefully a spot of Acupuncture would do the trick.
My Acupuncturist is Mandy, trained by the Kite Clinic, she is based in Manchester and holds appointments each Thursday in the Personal Shopping suite in the Harvey Nichols store. The first consultation was as much talking, as it was treatment. The key thing to remember is that Acupuncture works on the basis that pain is a sign your body is out of balance, the symptoms are not specifically treated but the person as a whole. Once this was completed the treatment began.
Now needles are a bit scary, but these are teeny-weeny ones and the pain is minimal, I promise. Points are chosen based on areas that need to be worked on and vary from person to person. Mine are mainly in my back, stomach and my wrists - not so scary. The needles don’t stay in for long, they are pushed in, I give the nod when I feel a dull achy sensation and they are pulled straight out again. The reasoning behind the needles is to clear the energy paths as any blockages in the circulation of energy around the body can be what are knocking our body out of sync.
After the first treatment, I felt what I can only describe as ‘spaced out’, but after subsequent sessions I have felt calm and relaxed and generally positive following treatment. I have found it useful to keep a diary of my symptoms, such as mood, sleeping patterns etc, in order to measure the success and see the changes taking place. And do you know what? There have been noticeable improvements and I feel great!
Kite Clinic is at Harvey Nichols each Thursday; appointments with Mandy cost £165 for the initial consultation and treatment then £85 for treatments thereafter. Appointments with Gerard Kite are available on request. Call 0161 828 8856 to book.
www.kiteclinic.co.uk
LIFE - 15
TRIED& TESTED
p
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74