One of the great things about WI is the opportunity it gives you to expand your mind and learn about subjects that you may never stumble across in every day life. Here at Broadbridge Bombshells WI we are committed to the education of women and to bringing our members interesting and fun meetings which may just change their lives for the better. And our latest meeting was one that fits perfectly into that category.
Jenny Swan of Body Fix Therapies came to speak to us about the ancient art of Chinese medicine, established, practised and revered for thousands of years in China, but far less well known in the West. We have probably all heard about or had friends of friends who have taken Chinese herbs for eczema, or maybe know someone who's had acupuncture for tennis elbow... but we were soon to find out that Chinese medicine involves a whole lot more.
It is always interesting to find out just how and why someone has ended up in their chosen career and Jenny opened her talk by telling us how she'd had a very convoluted arrival at practising Chinese medicine... she explained that she had gone from skipping school, being sent to boarding school, leaving education and ending up travelling abroad, then after coming home, getting back to education and studying law. After deciding the world of law was not for her she changed direction and became a pilates teacher and personal trainer, but eventually after meeting so many people with such diverse health issues Jenny came to the realisation that her 'calling' should be to help people in ALL areas of their health where Western medicine practices were just not cutting the mustard. It seemed to her that Chinese medicine was the answer and and she has since dedicated her life to studying this wholistic practice, for which she is now fully qualified.
We started off our evening with a very palatable cinnamon tincture which was full of warmth and energy (and 45% alcohol!) Jenny explained that our bodies are split in to Yin and Yan and quite often our health issues are due to an imbalance in our levels. A quick look at a patient's tongue can reveal a lot about the Yin/Yan balance and Jenny can diagnose whether you are deficient in one or the other if you just poke your tongue out at her... the tincture we sampled gave us all a healthy dose of Yan, but she told us that a lot more can be achieved with looking at your diet and a course or two of herbs.
Jenny then explained to us about the many different aspects of Chinese medicine and the the skills she has qualified in, including acupuncture Tuina (Chinese massage) cupping, and of course herbal medicine which she blends exclusively for every patient.
Jenny then handed round boxes of strange looking herbs and we got to breathe in their aromas and find out what properties they could impart to us if taken in various different ways. To the uninitiated the herbal smells are very unusual, some nice and some not so. Some of them, like mint and ginger could just about be recognised by their appearance. We also got to sample and sniff a type of snuff (which can help with decongesting and clearing the airways) and wonderful smelling essential oils which Jenny uses during Tuina massage therapies.
One lucky WI member was given a cupping treatment on her back to relieve a back injury, and some of us had an acupuncture treatment in the ears to relieve stress. If you look carefully at the pictures below you can see the orange needles sticking out of our ears... I'm in the middle looking nicely relaxed!
We were also incredibly lucky to meet two of Jenny's patients who kindly talked to us about some of their health issues which had not been able to be resolved by Western medicine. It was clear that Jenny's treatments and care have made such a huge difference to their lives and have transformed them from having enormous amounts of pain and discomfort to being able to lead a normal life.
Jenny was so interesting and we all thoroughly enjoyed her frank and informative talk and especially the interactive parts which were amazing for us to experience.
After the meeting we were able to purchase some of the products she makes such as tea bags to help you sleep etc, essential oils, and salves and balms to help with pain relief, scarring, and flexibility.
Below are some pictures from the evening, see if you can spot yourself!
After meeting Jenny it is instantly apparent that she is a very lovely, open, friendly person who you instantly know would be committed to helping you with whatever health issues you may have. So if you think you could benefit from all Jenny has to offer, feel free to check out the link to her website. ://www.bodyfixtherapies.co.uk/
If you are interested in becoming a member of Broadbridge Bombshells WI please email our President Rowena at the address below and please check out the rest of the website.
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