10 Herald and Gazette,Thursday, March 8, 2012 www.worthingherald.co.uk, shorehamherald.co.uk, littlehamptongazette.co.uk

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The world of

Lauren

Bravo

IF you’re reading thison Thursday – hurrah!It’s InternationalWomen’s Day! Are youwearing your I LoveLadies t-shirt andtooting your partyblower? Have youturned to the nearestwoman and told themthey’re incredibly wise/theirfringe looks great/they’vebrightened your day throughthe power of pheromonesalone? No? Well do it. Thentry these:

Eight Empowering Thingsto Do Today:

1. Get yourself a copy ofThe Sun* and some felt tips, andspend half an hour fashioning a lovelyoutfit for the Page Three girl. Give hersome supportive underwear, then a nicewarm jumper and a directional hairdo andsome wellies. Maybe a lab coat. Go crazy.

2. Watch a film full of brilliant women,that doesn’t feature Katherine Heigelor a make-over montage. For example:Little Women, where you can whoopenthusiastically at everything Marmeesays (“I will not have my girls being sillyabout boys” WOOP YEAH HOLLERRR) andbe inspired by hair-cutting, novel-writingproto feminist Jo, or Steel Magnolias,a film so brimming over with femalespirit that Dolly Parton’s the friendlyneighbourhood hairdresser.

3. Make yourself an organic facemaskusing mashed banana and honey, thenspread it on a crumpet and eat it instead.Repeat until full.

4. Burn something. You could go oldschool with a bra if you fancy (pick thescratchy lace one that digs in under thearms, and was clearly engineered by asadist) or choose anything else debilitatingfrom your wardrobe. Heels that makeyou do a knock-kneed Bambi walk; bonedcocktail dress that you have to unzip inthe toilet at hourly intervals so you canget some oxygen back to your extremities;anything that has ever drawn blood. Makea lovely bonfire (complying with localcouncil regulations) then dance round itsinging “down the patriarchy” to the tuneof your choice.

5. Phone your mum and ask her todescribe your birth in vivid detail, thengasp, sigh and applaud during each bit asappropriate. If you’re face-to-face, throwflowers at her feet and shout “Bravo!”(This is more appropriate for my ownmother, of course, but it works on a lesserlevel for yours).

6. Visit the magazine aisle in WHSmithand cover each copy of Cosmoplitan,Glamour, Grazia or Heat with a copy ofNational Geographic.

7. Compliment an older lady on herelegant, age-appropriate crow’s feet, andfollow it up with “D’you know, there’ssomething of the Helen Mirren about youtoday?”

8. Find a Davison girl and tell her thatdespite the long skirt, comedy hat andno knowledge of the opposite genderbeyond a sporadic whiff of Lynx on the15.40 train, it’ll all be ok. Because thosegirls she sits around guffawing with atlunchtime? She’ll probably be friends withthem forever.

*Don’t buy it, of course – appropriateone on the bus or something.

IT is a therapy which has been

practised for more than 3,000

years, and is widely considered

to be beneficial for a range of

illnesses and symptoms.

However, there are still manymisconceptions about the practiceof acupuncture, says Worthingacupuncturist Sarah Cooper-Olsen.

This month saw the firstAcupuncture AwarenessWeek, organised by the BritishAcupuncture Council, whichsought to combat the stigma whichsometimes follows the centuries-old Chinese therapy.

Sarah, who works at ParkView Clinic in Chesswood Road,is also a member of the BritishAcupunctureCouncil.Shesaid:“2.3million acupuncture treatmentsare carried out each year bytraditional acupuncturists and thefigure is rising, yet research showsmyths surrounding the therapystill remain strong.

“Acupuncture AwarenessWeek aims to banish the mythsand provide all the answers forthose people who want to tryacupuncture.”

Acupuncture originated inChina, where it still features inmainstream healthcare today. Itis thought to have started withthe discovery that by stimulatingspecific areas on the skin, it canaffect the function of certainorgans in the body.

Traditional Chineseacupuncture works on the body’smotivated energy, known as Qi,which flows through the bodyin channels called meridians.

Along these meridians lie 600acupuncture points, on whichacupuncturists can place needlesto stimulate someone’s Qi. In doingso, it is believed that person’s Qi isre-balanced, restoring health.

Sarah said the most commonmisconception is acupunctureneedles are as big as sewing needlesor needles used for injections.

“Acupuncture needles areactually no bigger than a humanhair,” she said. “We use sterile,disposable needles and they are notpainful – often they just produce atingling sensation or a dull acheafter they have been inserted. Therisk of adverse reaction is actuallyless than one in 10,000.”

Sarah knows the benefits ofacupuncture herself, after firsttrying acupuncture to relieve herback pain.

She said: “I was working as aregistered nurse, but my backmeant I couldn’t do my jobany more. I tried all types oftreatment, and eventually turnedto acupuncture as a last resort.After a course of acupuncture, myback pain had not only improved,but I felt so much better withinmyself, I had far more energy.

“I started looking into thetheory behind acupuncture andI just found it so interesting. So Itrained in London for three yearsin 1989, set up my own clinic in1992, and never looked back.”

Sarah said her patients cometo her with a range of problems,including arthritis, asthma, bowelissues, migraine, depression,anxiety and many more.

“A lot of people see acupunctureas voodoo medicine,” she said, “butit can really help people manage alot of conditions.

“The most rewarding casesare those who have infertility orgynaecological problems, becauseyou can see the results. It’s solovely when mums bring in theirbabies to show me a couple ofmonths down the line, and theyare always so grateful they justgave acupuncture a go.”

New mum Jenny Collins, 36,used acupuncture to help her havea baby after she and her husbandMark were having difficultiesconceiving.

She said: “I used acupuncture topreparemybodyforpregnancyandto help me through the pregnancyitself. I had tried reflexology andwhile it really relaxed me, I didn’tfind it improved my well-being.Acupuncture was sort of a lastresort, and even though I was a bitnervous the first time, it really didwork for me.”

Jenny and Mark, who live inGrove Road, Worthing, now havea healthy baby boy called William,who is 14 weeks old.

Jenny said: “I found theacupuncture really helped mynausea and just gave me moreenergy. Whenever I was feelingsick and went for an acupuncturesession, it would clear it upcompletely. I think it helps becauseyou regain some control, and it justmakes you feel good in yourself. Iwould definitely recommend it toanybody.”

Pinning down facts

about acupuncture

I HAVE heard several storiesabout acupuncture – somegood, some bad – but havenever had the opportunity totry it myself. So when Sarahinvited me for a trial sessionat her clinic, curiosity got thebetter of me.

I do not have a phobia ofneedles, but I had to say I wasslightly nervous turning up formy appointment.

Sarah began with a fullhealth consultation, andexplained to me about whatshe was going to do, whichworked to put my nerves atrest – especially when shecompared an acupunctureneedle with an injectionneedle, with the formerseeming positively minute incomparison.

Sarah started by lookingat my tongue – in Chinesemedicine, the tongue is agood indicator of a person’swell-being – and felt my pulseon my wrist in six differentplaces, to determine whichareas needed re-balancing.

I was told my body wasshowing signs of stress andhaving low energy levels, butthis could be quickly remediedby using only four needles for10 minutes. When Sarah wasinserting each needle, I wastold to take a deep breath inand out, during which time shequickly tapped the needle intoplace. All I could feel was theouter casing hitting my skin,I could barely feel the needlesthemselves at all.

After all four needles were

in place – one in each hand andfoot – I was told to sit back andrelax. At each needle point Icould feel a dull ache, whichwas gently renewed by a smalltwiddle of the needle Sarahmade every now and again.

During the 10-minutesession, I could really feelmyself relaxing, a sensationwhich continued until wayafter my treatment. Afterthe needles were painlesslyremoved, I left feeling relaxedbut invigorated – an odd butpleasing sensation.

For the rest of the day Icontinued to feel the benefitsof my treatment, and I canunderstand why people goback for more. I certainlywould not rule out a secondvisit.

Reporter Catrin Shi went along to try the treatment for herself...

Catrin with Sarah Cooper-Olsen

n by Catrin Shi

catrin.shi@worthingherald.co.uk

Jenny Collins with baby William

The tiny needles in position onthe patient’s hands