ICOMunity
Welcome to the ICOM blog. Here we share student and college news along with articles on acupuncture and general health and well-being, plus insights into Chinese Medicine and Chinese culture.
Five tips for boosting emotional health
Historically in British culture, talking about our emotions was often really frowned upon. But thankfully the tides have turned, and we are now talking about and exploring our feelings more than ever - this is a wonderful development. This week we are proud to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week. Here at ICOM we celebrate our emotional selves. ICOM teacher and resident counselling and...
Turn, Turn, Turn. The Tiger is Back.
by Elio Basagni Strings of heavenly stems and earthly branches, marking time and space with their shifting combinations, create recurring cycles of different lengths, such as 60, 12 and 10 years, months, days and hours. Life can only exist within the rhythm and movements of such cycles, interconnected at different levels, and allowing perpetual return and dynamic stability of all existence, by...
A Double Graduation on our Founder’s 100th Birthday
On Friday 26th November we held a happy Graduation ceremony at Meridian Hall in East Grinstead. The event, attended by Town Mayor Cllr John Dabell, was a double celebration for the college. It was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of our founder, Dr. Didericus van Buren. Twenty-six students received their certificates from the Town Mayor in front of their friends and...
A Beautiful New Print of the Neijung Tu 內經圖
When you visit Van Buren House you'll now be greeted with a stunning red feature wall in the main entrance hall along with a beautiful new wall hanging depicting the Neijung Tu 內經圖. After graduating from ICOM this summer, the very talented Anabela Santos kindly gifted the wall hanging, screenprinted by hand herself, and even painted the wall that it sits against, as a token of her thanks to the...
The New Moon Eight Day Method – by Elio Basagni
During autumn and winter everything in Nature starts to move inward. This is a natural cyclical process that allows life to be constantly renewed. What is not essential is shed away: trees abandon their leaves showing their intimate form; fruits’ pulp gets rotten to give nourishment to the bare seed now stored deep into the soil waiting for the next cycle to start in spring. Peasant societies,...
ICOM Acupuncture Clinic is open again!
In this short video, Director of Clinic Sarah Major explains the new safety procedure for appointments at our clinic. You’ll see some changes, but the warm welcome you will receive remains unchanged. More safety information is below, and you can find details of booking on our new clinic website at icomclinic.org Before your appointment You will receive an email confirmation of your appointment...
Myanmar 2020
For over 10 years, ICOM Graduates and Acupuncture practitioners have been involved in a charitable project in Myanmar training Doctors at the Watchet Jivitadhana Sanga Hospital near Saigang City. Sarah Major reports from this year's visit: As with previous visits to Myanmar, we have learned to expect the unexpected... Straight after our long flight we were treated to a surprise from our hosts -...
The Year of the White Rat
January 25, 2020 is the start of the Chinese Year of the White Rat (or Mouse). The Rat is the first of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac and so it is the beginning of a new 12-year and 60-year cycle. It is thus the beginning of a new era. 2020 being the start of a new decade makes it an especially important year for new beginnings and new possibilities. It is time for new ideas and new...
Why Study Chinese Medicine? – A post by Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée
This post originally appeared on Asian Medicine Zone website and has been reproduced with permission. The original post can be accessed at http://www.asianmedicinezone.com/chinese-east-asian/why-study-chinese-medicine/ As a scholar more than a practitioner, my knowledge of Chinese medicine is based more on classical texts than on the practice itself, even if I see some patients. But I also meet...
Chang’e (嫦娥), the Chinese Goddess of the Moon
In Chinese mythology, Chang'e (嫦娥) is the Moon Goddess. The ancient story goes that long ago, the earth had been scorched by ten suns that had appeared in the skies. The people on Earth were suffering as a result. Chang'e's husband Yi, an archer, shot down nine of them with arrows. He left just one sun in the sky. As a reward for saving the Earth's people he was given the elixir of immortality....
Stephan Espinosa at the WHO
After spending the summer working in ICOM’s clinic, I went to work in the spa of a cruise ship that was in the Caribbean. That experience was very intense in many ways. First, as an acupuncturist, the fact of having to explain to passengers how they might benefit from acupuncture was a very rewarding challenge as they were on-board for only a week, so every...
A look back at three fantastic years at ICOM
As Graduation 2019 approaches, final year acupuncture student Alison Dalziel provides us with a great insight into student life at ICOM in this entertaining compilation of moments from the course