Therapies at Glencairn House

Acupuncture, pain relief and increased energy

Acupuncture is the procedure of inserting and manipulating fine filiform needles into specific points on the body to relieve pain or for therapeutic purposes. According to traditional Chinese medical theory, acupuncture points are situated on meridians along which qi, the vital energy, flows.

Ease pain and raise energy levels

Most of the main acupuncture points are found on the “twelve main meridians” and two of the “eight extra meridians” (Du Mai and Ren Mai) a total of “fourteen channels”, which are described in classical and traditional Chinese medical texts, as pathways through which Qi and “Blood” flow. There also exist “extra points” not belonging to any channel. Other tender points (known as “ashi points”) may also be needled as they are believed to be where stagnation has gathered.

Treatment of acupuncture points may be performed along several layers of pathways, most commonly the twelve primary channels, or mai, located throughout the body. The first twelve channels correspond to systems of function: Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, San Jiao (an intangible, also known as Triple Burner), Gall Bladder, and Liver. Other pathways include the Eight Extraordinary Pathways (Qi Jing Ba Mai), the Luo Vessels, the Divergents and the Sinew Channels. Ashi (tender) points are generally used for treatment of local pain.

Sarah Junor Lic.Ac. MAcS. AcuC

My journey with Acupuncture began in 2003 at The College of Integrated Chinese Medicine where I completed a year of the degree course before family commitments interrupted my studies. I returned in 2010 for another year.

In August 2017 I qualified as a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine ‘TCM’ from the ‘Bodyharmonics’ school of Acupuncture.

I am a member of The Acupuncture Association and The Acupuncture-Acutherapy Council.

I have also been a practising Sports Massage Therapist for 20 years and am a member of The Institute of Sport and Remedial Massage. I have loved my career and have been totally committed to it, with much more to offer yet. Practising sports massage alongside Acupuncture, I feel able to access healing on a far greater depth, enhancing the treatment I can give ‘on the surface’.

TCM is one of the oldest healing systems which has been in continuous practice for thousands of years and can be effectively applied to heal anyone. It is a holistic approach, treating the patient as a whole, not just the symptom. Symptoms are seen as messages that we often ignore until something more serious presents itself.

TCM diagnosis can piece together a ‘pattern of disharmony’ to help root out deep imbalances which lead to the presenting symptom. The result is a treatment that triggers the body’s self-healing ability and regenerating capacity. This ability may appear to be lost or difficult to access but it is never gone.

Western Medicine can be driven by suppression. ‘Remove symptom’ can be the primary aim rather than ‘cure symptom’. This can promote a period of time where symptoms are ‘pushed back inside’, only to reappear at a later date. Or, worse still, medication may alleviate the symptom but create a whole new set with the contraindications/side effects of the drug/remedy.

Acupuncture can draw out ‘illness’ by healing from within. Points along the 12 main channels that map the body can promote healing; it could be a point in the foot that relieves a headache by ‘pulling energy down’ from the head where it has got ‘stuck’.

Re-addressing balance in the body, which is a landscape that suffers its own version of flooding, drought, wind, cold, heat and damp is the basis of how TCM is applied. All those factors upset the smooth flow of the natural rhythm of life.

Muscular pain, joint pain, IBS and all stomach/digestive disorders, headaches, menstrual/menopause issues, fertility, anxiety, depression, sadness, insomnia, Raynaud’s disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, skin disorders, loss of ‘mojo’ all are examples of the depth of issues Acupuncture can be applied to.

Since moving from London down to Dorset my husband and I had never found any masseur who we really felt had the expertise and knowledge. However we met Sarah and that has now all changed. She has magic hands, the rare ability to read what a body needs and requires therefore all her massages are thorough, beneficial and healing. She has mended my husband who has had a prolapsed disc and is constantly putting/rejuvenating my body. Both of us are parents, triathletes, runners, riders….without Sarah we wouldn’t be. We really cannot speak more highly of her.

Emma and Mark Fisher