Joanna Teasdale Acupuncture & Herbs

01/07/2025

🔥Summer and the Element of Fire: Finding Balance in the Heat🔥

We’re now fully in the season of Fire in Chinese medicine – the most expansive and expressive of the Five Elements. Fire corresponds to high summer, the time of longest days and warmest temperatures. And while most British summers tend to leave us wondering whether we’ve skipped it altogether, this year’s heatwave is giving us a full dose of Fire’s energy – for better or worse!

In the Five Element tradition, Fire governs the Heart and the Small Intestine, as well as the Heart Protector (Pericardium) and the Triple Burner. It’s associated with joy, love, connection, laughter, warmth and emotional expression. When Fire is in balance, we feel open-hearted, able to relate to others, experience joy, and communicate authentically. We radiate warmth and attract it in return.

But when Fire becomes imbalanced – and that can be from too much heat in the environment, or from internal stressors – things can go awry. You might notice symptoms like:
• Feeling overheated, flushed or sweaty
• Restless sleep or vivid dreams
• Anxiety, racing thoughts, or emotional volatility
• Palpitations or a sense of being disconnected
• In more subtle cases: a lack of joy, a low mood, or difficulty connecting

Acupuncture helps us stay centred as the Fire rises. It can gently calm an overactive Heart, cool internal heat, and help restore the natural rhythms of rest and connection. For some, this might mean treating agitation, insomnia, or anxiety. For others, it may be about helping reawaken joy or confidence after a long period of emotional coldness or fatigue.

And if you’re someone who already runs “hot” – emotionally or physically – this weather may be especially challenging. That’s where Chinese medicine is particularly wise. Your treatment will be tailored not just to your symptoms, but to your underlying constitution – whether you need to warm your Fire or gently cool it.

So if you’re finding this summer a little too intense – physically, mentally or emotionally – acupuncture may offer just the reset you need to help you feel more at home in the season.

☀️ Come and restore your balance – and remember, the Heart thrives not just on heat, but on harmony.

👉 To book an appointment or find out how acupuncture can support you this summer, just send me a message or get in touch via my website:
https://joannateasdaleacupuncture.co.uk/contact/

30/06/2025

See my new blog post on restoring your balance in the heat!

Discover how the Fire Element in acupuncture relates to summer, joy and emotional balance and how it helps you stay cool, calm & connected in the heat.

15/06/2025

Just to let all my previous patients in Mersea know that the wonderful Carly is now practising on the island - she trained at the same college and in the same style. Would highly recommend!

16/12/2024

There are currently no minimum standards set in law for somebody to be able to call themselves an acupuncturist. Please sign & share this to help make acupuncture safer for all of us.

https://chng.it/smtszRjpy4

Protect the public by regulating acupuncture to ensure the highest educational standards

04/12/2024

Such an important message - if you visit a British Acupuncture Council BAcC registered acupuncturist you will be sure that they are trained to degree level.

Warwick acupuncturist Rachel Genner is urging people to check a practitioner's qualifications before agreeing to treatment after a painful experience. | ITV News Central

14/08/2024

Acupuncture and chronic pain.

⚡️Traditional acupuncture can work for anyone, at any stage of life. Why not talk to a member of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) about how they can treat you and your whole body, not just your symptoms.

📋BAcC Members are recognised by over 20 different private health providers.

🥼Acupuncture on the NHS is recommended by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) for managing chronic pain, migraines and
headaches. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) also recommends acupuncture for chronic pain, including lower back pain and knee pain.

The aim of the British Acupuncture Council is to establish the highest standards of professional practice for the traditional acupuncture profession in the UK.

We are committed to ensuring all patients receive the highest standard of professional care during their acupuncture treatment. Visit our website to find your local highly trained practitioner.


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References:
[1] A.J. Vickers, E.A. Vertosick, G. Lewith, H. MacPherson, N.E. Foster, K.J. Sherman, D. Irnich, C.M. Witt, K. Linde, C. Acupuncture Trialists, Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis, J Pain 19(5) (2018) 455-474.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5927830/

09/07/2024

News!

Rather unexpectedly, I have just been appointed CEO of my herbal professional association, the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM). Whilst this is an amazing opportunity and privilege, it is a two day a week position, and means that I regretfully will be winding down my clinic at the Natural Health Practice in Exeter. My last Thursday at the practice will be on 22nd August. I won’t be taking on any new patients in Exeter from now on, and will be suspending online bookings there so that everyone has a chance to make an appointment if they wish to before I leave.

Options from September if you are an Exeter patient:

I work from my home clinic in Wellington on a road which usually has plenty of free parking during the day, so I would be delighted to welcome you here. My current clinic days are Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I will have the occasional slot on other days, so feel free to ask.

I have two wonderful colleagues, Jude Taylorson and Richard Walters, who are both highly experienced acupuncturists trained in the same style of acupuncture as me, who may well have space to see you at the Natural Health Practice. Their details can be found here:
Natural Health Practice

I have been truly fortunate to have been able to meet and treat all of you over the past 18 months since I moved back to the South West. I very much hope our paths will cross again.

EDIT - Thanks for all your kind words - just to clarify that existing patients in Exeter can still book in for appointments up to 22nd August, just contact me directly rather than booking in online. 😊

19/06/2024

This is what I was doing last Wednesday evening! 😍

19/06/2024

What a great evening I had last week chatting to the amazing women who are part of this network. A wonderful opportunity to share my insights into how useful acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can be for our all-round health.

Wellington Women in Business held another successful and insightful evening in the Community Centre on Wednesday.
Full report and photos via this link: https://bit.ly/3xhxoMu

16/05/2024

So many of my patients feel that acupuncture has helped with their mental health. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Research has shown that acupuncture treatments may specifically benefit anxiety disorders and symptoms of anxiety

17/04/2024

Why do people come to see me for acupuncture?

Number 1 reason – PAIN

• It can be an acute / sports injury (bad back, shoulder, elbow or knee).
• It can be chronic pain – something that’s developed over time and just won’t go away.
o The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, which is the reference your GP uses to make choices for treatments, includes acupuncture in its recommendations. There needs to be fairly sturdy evidence for this to be the case.
• It can be headaches and migraines – again, NICE includes acupuncture as one of the recommendations for the treatment of headaches in the over 12s.

People also come for a wide variety of other reasons including fatigue, low mood, insomnia, women’s health and hay fever. There are some useful factsheets produced by the British Acupuncture Council which reference the evidence behind acupuncture for these conditions.

https://acupuncture.org.uk/about-acupuncture/acupuncture-research/


Why do people keep coming for acupuncture?

Many of my patients will continue to come for treatments on a 4-8 weekly basis, because although their original problem has usually improved, they find that, sometimes unexpectedly, acupuncture has helped with other areas of their lives such as sleep or mood. They feel that regular sessions are part of their toolkit to manage everyday challenges.

Photo credit – Health House Exeter

Five Element Acupuncture & Chinese herbs: for body, mind and spirit
Find me in Wellington, Somerset.

15/04/2024

Acupuncture isn’t just about needles!

An acupuncturist trained at degree level will have lots of other tricks up their sleeves. This can include Tuina, which is a form of massage, moxibustion, which is a way of warming up acupuncture channels & cupping (made famous by celebrities and athletes).

More about those in a future post. Today I’m going to tell you about another of my favourite techniques - ‘Gua Sha’. This literally translates as ‘scrape sand’ which might not sound too promising, but its effects are impressive. It uses a special tool with a rounded edge - sometimes a jade scraper, but more commonly a honey jar lid, and some massage oil or balm to firmly pull or ‘scrape’ over an area of the body that is tense or sore. This movement raises ‘sha’ or superficial capillary damage over the area, and in doing so seems to alleviate pain and stagnation, freeing up shoulders, backs, necks etc.

This technique has been used in the East for centuries as a home remedy, and still is (I will send you home with your own honey jar lid!). Many of my patients will come in and ask for this now - it feels warming and comfortable, despite the sometimes impressive marks it leaves. These do fade in a day or so but perhaps not something to be done if you’re planning on immediately wearing a backless dress!

The technique can be used on its own or combined with needles for greater effect.

For more information, feel free to message me or call for your initial consultation.

https://joannateasdaleacupuncture.co.uk/contact/

Photo credit- Health House Exeter