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acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine

World Acupuncture Day: Join me for a Yin Yang balance workshop

Sarah J. George

World Acupuncture Day is being celebrated on Thursday 15th November this year. The event is officially celebrated this year in Paris, France, under the patronage of UNESCO and WHO at the UNESCO Headquarters, and I’m putting on a great event in Launceston on this Saturday 17th November to celebrate acupuncture and explore the Chinese philosophy surrounding Yin and Yang.

WAD header 2018

World Acupuncture Day! Balance your yin and yang with acupuncture and yoga

Saturday 17th November 2018, 2.30pm-4pm @ House of Prana

Tickets $10 + BF (bargain!) – Buy here or see the event on my Facebook page.

Did you know that acupuncture is well over 2000 years old? And that Yin Yang theory is a lot older than that?

Join Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture) to celebrate World Acupuncture Day and explore all things Yin and Yang including:

– Find out your Yin Yang balance type
– Learn strategies to attain balance through your lifestyle
– Try some foods that nourish yin and warm yang

Every attendee gets:

– 1 hour seminar and workshop 
– $10 voucher towards their next acupuncture session with Sarah George at House of Prana (to be used by 31st January, 2018)
– Stay for the yoga class straight afterwards with a 50% off Bikram Yoga 90-minute session (4pm-5.30pm Saturday 17th November, 2018) if not already House of Prana yoga members. (Discounted class price $11.)

World Acupuncture Day commemorates the eighth anniversary of the inscription of acupuncture and moxibustion, in November 2010, into the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Acupuncture has come a long way from its early roots in China. In Australia today, acupuncture is a registered profession under the Australian Health Practitioners Registration Agency (AHPRA). Only practitioners who meet AHPRA’s strict requirements (including minimum education requirements of a bachelor degree) are permitted for registration and use of the title, ‘acupuncturist’. Currently, there are over 4700 registered acupuncturists in Australia, with only 36 located in Tasmania; only a few in Launceston.

While acupuncture has had a long history of development in China (with classical texts dating to around 200BCE), today acupuncture is performed by drawing upon classical knowledge and combined with guidance from modern evidence. In 2017 the Acupuncture Evidence Project, a comparative literature review of systematic reviews, was published showing strong evidence to support the use of acupuncture for a range of conditions including, but not limited to:

  • Migraine prophylaxis
  • Headache (tension-type and chronic episodic)
  • Low back pain [Chronic – positive effect; acute – potential positive effect]
  • Knee osteoarthritic pain
  • Allergic rhinitis (seasonal and perennial/persistent)

The authors stating “It is no longer possible to say that the effectiveness of acupuncture can be attributed to the placebo effect or that it is useful only for musculoskeletal pain.”

World Acupuncture Day is a chance to reflect upon and celebrate the (sometimes lesser known and understood) many strengths that acupuncture brings to our health system.

To book an appointment at the Launceston clinics (House of Prana or In-Balance) or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is an AHPRA registered acupuncturist, Chinese medicine practitioner and massage therapist.

acupuncture, herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture comes to In-Balance on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

Sarah J. George

Wow! What a big month it has been! Sarah George Acupuncture & Natural Health is now up and running at House of Prana (on George St at the Old Roman Baths). It’s been wonderful to practice from this lovely space amongst the yoga classes, Liquid Zen float centre and the rest of the practitioner team. One of the many great things about this move is that the herbal dispensary is up and running, with new additions to be coming in all the time.

herbal liquids
Just some of the new herbal dispensary

Watch this quick video of the way in to House of Prana, past the Liquid Zen float rooms to the chilled out waiting area for a cuppa while you wait for your acupuncture appointment…

The next big news is that on Tuesday I move into Launceston’s brand new allied health hub, In-Balance. You may already know In-Balance as a compassionate, innovative and above-and-beyond team of physiotherapists, exercise physiologists and pilates instructors – in fact so many of you were seeing them already at their old Patterson St address and gave me glowing reports of your treatment there. I had a sneak peek of the newly renovated, heritage-listed building last Friday and can tell you that it is a beautiful, warm space with lots of natural light and beautiful high ceilings. I’ll be joining their existing team with a few other new allied health practitioners too. Check them out as they’re doing great things here!

in-balance-building.jpg
In-Balance

So, here’s my new schedule (effective immediately):

  • Monday 9am-5pm – House of Prana
  • Tuesday 8am-4pm – In-Balance
  • Wednesday 10am-7pm – House of Prana
  • Thursday 10am-7.30pm – In-Balance

The clinic addresses are:

  • House of Prana: Ground Floor, 127 George St, Launceston (the Old Roman Baths)
  • In-Balance: 1st Floor, 233B Charles Street, Launceston (Click here for a map of parking and how to enter the building)

You can book at either clinic by calling 0448 128 858 or contact me here.

So if it’s traditional acupuncture you’re seeking from an experienced, highly trained registered acupuncturist, you now have two clinics you can choose from for your holistic consultation and treatment with me.

To book an appointment at the Launceston clinics (House of Prana or In-Balance) or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is an AHPRA registered acupuncturist, Chinese medicine practitioner and massage therapist.

acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine

New Launceston acupuncture clinic updates: House of Prana open now and In-Balance opening November

Sarah J. George

Hello, hello and welcome to the first of my two new Launceston acupuncture clinics, House of Prana!

House of Prana treatment room

So far October has been a big month with a successful move into House of Prana, Launceston, with acupuncture appointments from Mondays to Thursdays. It has been a pleasure to see so many of you for acupuncture and massage consultations here already in the first two weeks. Next month, from 13th November, I’ll be available at House of Prana on Mondays and Wednesday and have Tuesday and Thursday acupuncture appointments available at In-Balance’s new allied health hub also in Launceston.

Availability

  • Monday 9am-5pm – House of Prana
  • Tuesday 8am-4pm – House of Prana (last day 6th Nov and In Balance from 13th Nov)
  • Wednesday 10am-7pm – House of Prana
  • Thursday 10am-7.30pm – House of Prana (last day 8th Nov and In Balance from 15th Nov)

Clinic locations

  • House of Prana: Ground Floor, 127 George St, Launceston (the Old Roman Baths)
  • In-Balance: 1st Floor, 233B Charles Street, Launceston

Services available

  • Initial acupuncture consultation and treatment (allow up to 1 1/2 hrs)
  • Follow up acupuncture consultation and treatment (allow up to 1 hr)
  • Initial cosmetic acupuncture consultation and treatment (allow up to 1 3/4 hrs)
  • Follow up cosmetic acupuncture consultation and treatment (allow up to 1 1/4 hrs)
  • Massage – traditional Chinese massage – tuina (with oil, liniment, cupping & gua sha if desired and as required) (allow 1 hour)
  • Herbal medicines may be dispensed as appropriate and if you desire to enhance the results of your acupuncture appointment.
  • Acupuncture consultations are holistic and may also include as appropriate and if desired: Chinese Medicine dietary and lifestyle advice, moxibustion, far infrared heat lamp, laser acupuncture, electro acupuncture, cupping (many styles), gua sha and tuina.

House of Prana open now

For people who wish to see me at House of Prana, Launceston, feel free to book for acupuncture or massage by calling 0448 128 858 or contact me through these ways. If you wish to book for In-Balance for when it opens you can also contact me to reserve your preferred time in advance.

Once you arrive for your acupuncture appointment at House of Prana please feel free to make yourself comfortable in the beautiful ground floor waiting area or check out the yoga studio, Zen Therapy float centre or other health practitioners. I’ll come and get you from the ground floor waiting area at your appointment time.

House of Prana reception

In-Balance allied health hub – opens next month

I’ll post more about the exciting new In-Balance allied health hub closer to my start date (Tuesday 13th November) – stay tuned!

To book an appointment at the Launceston acupuncture clinics or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.

acupuncture, Diet, emotional health, fertility, health, IVF, pregnancy, Traditional Chinese Medicine

We’re speaking at the Woodford Folk Festival 2018/19 on fertility and postpartum care!

Sarah J. George
Woodford 2011-12 KM SG children festival
Kathleen and I teaching acupressure at the Woodford Folk Festival Children’s Festival (2011/12)

Hello again! I’m very happy to break this exciting news to you.

My fantastic naturopath-acupuncturist (and MamaCare) pal, Kathleen Murphy, and I will be teaming up again to speak about two of our favourite topics this year at the Woodford Folk Festival – Fertility (and Chinese Medicine) and The Fourth Trimester (or postpartum) care with Natural Medicine.

We’re super excited to be bringing discussions on traditional practices and evidence based care combined with our own clinical experiences to the good people of Woodfordia.

It’ll also be wonderful to be joining the great team at The Blue Lotus venue once again (where you’ll find the best of yoga, meditation and health speakers at the festival).

You can find us on the programme here.

DSC00608
And here we are speaking about Gluten and Grain Intolerance at the Woodford Folk Festival (2012/13)

Stay tuned for more info on when we’re speaking and details of what we’ll be speaking about!

We hope you can come and join us and the rest of the great lineup that the festival brings this year!

To book an appointment at the Launceston clinics or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.

Diet, food, recipe, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Strawberries: how to eat ’em and why they are good for you

Sarah J. George

StrawberrySo strawberries have been in the news at the moment and for all of the wrong reasons. But that doesn’t mean that they are not a) tasty and b) good for you!

You may also be helping our farmers out with their glut of beautiful fruit that is now unlikely to be sold at the quantities they’d hoped.

Here’s what strawberries are generally considered to do for us from a Chinese Medicine point of view:

  • Thermal nature: cooling
  • Flavour: sweet, sour
  • Effect: Forms body fluids and Blood

So this means that the delicious red goodness that is a strawberry is refreshing, the sweetness promotes the production of body fluids (good for those people who have problems associated with dryness), the sourness conserves those body fluids and the red colour means this fruit is beneficial for making Blood. On the last point, strawberries are considered to be high in vitamin C and we know that this is helpful in absorbing iron – you might want to team your strawberries up as a dessert following an iron rich meal. Don’t eat too many strawberries (especially raw) if you run cold or are prone to loose bowel motions.

So what should you do with your strawberries, especially if you’ve picked up a bumper pack at a bargain price? (After you’ve sliced them first for safety reasons.)

Well in Chinese Medicine, the general rule is not to eat too much raw food (especially with a cooling nature and especially if you already feel cold) so maybe eat a few raw strawberries. The rest can be cooked up in any one of these great sounding healthy, strawberry recipes. Failing that, you can always dip a few in the finest quality, fair trade, 70+% cacao, dark chocolate. Yum.

So support the farmers, enjoy your strawberries and just be sure to cut them (and maybe cook them up) first.

To book an acupuncture appointment at either Launceston clinic or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.

acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture in Launceston: 2 new clinics and more appointments available

Sarah J. George

Hello!

It’s been a busy few months here at Sarah George Acupuncture & Natural Health. In August we had the buzz of the Cook Healthy Japanese Food workshop that I presented with the wonderful Sam Seghers from Mindful Menus. There are more seminars in the pipeline so stay tuned.

And this month the big news is my clinic is leaving its humble location to make its new home in not one but two great central Launceston locations – effective 1st October!

Here are the details to find me:

House of Prana from right
House of Prana
  • In Balance* The In Balance Physio & Pilates team are creating a fantastic, new allied health hub at their beautiful new location of 1st Floor, 233B Charles Street, Launceston
In Balance building
In Balance

*As the exact opening date of the new In Balance clinic is still not definite, I’ll be operating only from House of Prana until I can work from both clinics. I’ll keep you updated.

There are some great benefits to moving to these new locations, including:

  • HICAPS for onsite private health fund claims
  • New herbal dispensary (better access to herbs and no more ordering from the mainland)
  • Greater availability of appointments – 4 days!
  • Easy walk from town
  • Benefit of other practitioner services and team approach where you require it – eg. pilates, yoga, floatation rooms, physio, hypnotherapy, art therapy and remedial massage.

As always my treatments remain holistic and individualised to you, including additional therapies as required such as cupping, gua sha (scraping), moxa, acupressure, tuina (Chinese Medicine massage), herbal medicine, Chinese Medicine dietary advice and lifestyle modifications. And you’ll be benefiting from the knowledge and skills I’ve gained in over 10 years’ clinical experience, several years’ of lecturing and supervising acupuncture students and qualifications at bachelor and masters degree levels in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

To keep up to date with the new clinic developments and news you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram too.

To book an appointment at either clinic or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.

Diet, food, food allergy, health, recipe, Traditional Chinese Medicine

New Launceston workshop: Cook Healthy Japanese Food

Sarah J. George

Hello! It’s been a little while since my last post (I’ve been busy) but I’m here to say that the great Sam Seghers from Mindful Menus and Redcliffe Yoga & Massage is coming to Launceston (from Redcliffe, QLD) to team up with me for a fun and informative workshop!

Cook Healthy Japanese Food – Saturday 11th August (1pm-3pm)

Header Cooking Healthy Japanese Food

So Sam is a whizz with Japanese cookery (having lived there for 14 years). She is going to take some great Tasmanian fresh produce and create several tasty Japanese dishes. And she’ll be able to answer all those tricky questions you have about ingredients like:

  • the seaweeds (e.g. wakame and kombu – what on earth do you do with them?)
  • tofu (how do you cook it so it doesn’t taste like a sponge?)
  • mushrooms (e.g. shiitake, king oyster – what do you do with them?)
  • green tea (e.g. what to look for in a good Japanese tea and how to brew it)
  • miso (everyone is talking about it – what is it and what do you do with it?)
  • And many more…

All food prepared on the day will be gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegetarian and vegan although we are also happy to discuss substitutions for other diet styles, food allergies and intolerances.

My job in all of this is to introduce you to the exciting world of Chinese Dietetics. This will change the way you think about food in a very healthy and balanced way.

In Chinese dietetics we talk about the thermal nature of a food (e.g. cold, cool, neutral, warm, hot), the flavour (bitter, sweet, pungent, salty, sour) and the organs that each food has an affinity with. You’ll discover that no wholefood should be considered good (eat tonnes of it) or evil (avoid it at all costs) for every person in the same way. We’ll talk about balance of thermal nature and flavours in your meal. And we’ll go through the Chinese dietetic properties of each food we use in the recipes on the day and the over all benefits of the dish (including the cooking methods) so that you know which ones will benefit you most.

During this time you’ll also enjoy the most amazing healthy Japanese afternoon tea banquet of all the dishes we have created on the day.  Having been lucky enough to have attended several of Sam’s Japanese banquets in the past I assure you that these dishes are delicious!

If you’re interested in learning a little more about Chinese Dietetics here’s a post I wrote a while ago on balancing the five flavours in a meal.

To book tickets to Cook Healthy Japanese Foods visit our Eventbrite page.

For further information on the event visit the event on Sarah George Acupuncture on Facebook.

To book an appointment at the clinic or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.

acupuncture, fertility, IVF, pregnancy, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Launceston acupuncture clinic now open!

Sarah J. George
House of Prana treatment room
My Launceston acupuncture clinic

Big news! My new, beautiful Launceston acupuncture clinic is officially open.

It’s been a little while in the making (I’ve been writing a subject on Chinese Medicine dietary therapy for an acupuncture degree program) but the clinic is now ready for patients!

This is primarily a women’s health practice in line with my professional experience and further education. I enjoy supporting women with a range of menstrual issues (including period pain), couples through preconception care, natural fertility cycles and IVF/ART, as well as assisting women throughout their pregnancies and towards birth. Additionally, research and my clinical experience indicates that acupuncture is also effective for a range of common pain conditions including osteoarthritis of the knee, chronic lower back pain, headaches and migraines (prophylaxis).

Launceston clinic bookshelf

I bring to each consultation a blend of skills and knowledge from my clinical experience and academic pursuits (formerly, Senior Lecturer of Chinese Medicine at Endeavour College of Natural Health, Gold Coast). My qualifications include a Master of Health Science (Traditional Chinese Medicine) with distinction and a Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture); I’m regularly staying up to date with training – so you’re in good hands. You can read my bio here.

I’m pretty excited to be bringing my compassionate style of Chinese Medicine to you with a range of  treatment techniques including acupuncture (including electro-acupuncture and laser acupuncture as required), tuina (Chinese massage), cupping, Chinese dietetics and lifestyle advice adapted to assist you as an individual with reaching your health goals.

Never had acupuncture and worried it hurts? click here.

To make an appointment or for further information call: 0448 12 88 58.

To book an appointment at the Launceston acupuncture clinic or further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.

acupuncture, herbal medicine, nature, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Goodbye to the Gold Coast but what is next?

Sarah J. George
Tasmania lavender close up
Lavender flowers at Bridestowe Lavender Estate

So there are big changes here at Sarah George Acupuncture & Natural Health. The clinic is moving… quite a long way away… to Launceston, Tasmania.

The reason for this is that I am taking a step away from permanent academic life to focus more on providing one on one care to my patients combined with running a few courses, doing a little teaching and writing more about Chinese Medicine for good health in a clean, green environment close to beautiful fresh produce and herb farms including Bridestowe Lavender Estate and 41º South Ginseng Farm.

To my patients, I wanted to thank you for choosing Sarah George Acupuncture Natural Health (in Brisbane, West End and Broadbeach) for your health care over the past few years. It has been an honour to be your acupuncturist in this time and I am grateful for you in trusting me to help you towards reaching your health goals.

Stay tuned… I will be setting up as an acupuncturist in Launceston, Tasmania… feel free to share this news with anyone you know living in Launie who might be looking for an acupuncturist.

Tasmania Cataract Gorge
Cataract Gorge, Launceston

And you can always follow me here on the blog and/or on facebook, instagram and twitter.

To book an appointment at the clinic or further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.

 

food, health, herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Uncategorized

Do you know these herbs and spices?

Sarah J. George
Sri Lanka AHG cardamom tea
Cardamom black tea

So a lot of us use a range of herbs and spices in our cooking and medicines and yet we may not have a clue what they actually look like when they’re growing on the bush or vine or tree. (I also know some of you grow an extensive range of herbs in your gardens and very much know what they look like and how to use them.)

By definition herbs are plants of a particular type (soft, succulent and mostly grown from seed) but this doesn’t truly capture all of the plants we use as herbs. Broadly speaking, herbs can be any plant we use in medicine, food, flavouring, for fragrance or even as a dye.

While I was in Sri Lanka late last year I wanted to visit as many Ayurvedic herbal gardens as I could to learn more about these medicinal plants. Here are some photos I took at the Ananda Spice Garden (near Koggala Lake) of some herbs you may use on regular rotation in your kitchen or even in a medicinal brew:

Sri Lanka AHG aloe vera
Aloe Vera
Sri Lanka AHG cinnamon
Cinnamon
Sri Lanka AHG ginger
Ginger
Sri Lanka AHG red ginger
Red ginger
Sri Lanka AHG vanilla
Vanilla

Aren’t they gorgeous?

And if you are interested, here is a east-west fusion (read: not Classical Chinese Medicine but still really interesting) of the Five Elements of herbs I found in one of my favourite, old herb books – Isobell Shiphard’s How can I use herbs in my daily life?

Isabell Shipard 5 element herbs

To book an appointment at the clinic or further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture).  Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.