Last weekend I embarked on a ten month course of Toyohari acupuncture in Reading. I first heard about Toyohari in 1991 when I was still an acupuncture student and decided then that I would like to learn this amazing therapy. However, I could not do so until now as this is the first Toyohari course to be taught in the UK.
So many people are put off trying acupuncture because of the thought of needles. As an acupuncturist I aim for my treatments to be as relaxing as possible. Toyohari acupuncture is completely painless, being the most gentle form of acupuncture.
Toyohari (simply translates as East Asian Needle Therapy), is an extremely subtle acupuncture style derived from classical Chinese medicine. It's gentle approach, which particularly emphasises touch, has been developed in Japan where acupuncture has been uniquely influenced by a four hundred year old tradition of blind acupuncturists.
Toyohari can enhance acupuncturists' ability to feel qi and improve their clinical skills through gentle, nonstimulatory and effective treatment methods to regulate and harmonise qi. Like all acupuncture skills it takes time, effort, and the help of master practitioners to improve. We had the benefit of two such practitioners this weekend, including Stephen Birch who has written about and practiced Toyohari for over 30 years. To find out more visit the Toyohari UK website: http://www.toyohari.org.uk/