19th March 2024 
Article - Latest Wave #01

Article – Latest Wave, July 2008

What is 5-Element Acupuncture?

“Emotional layers build up around us as we cope with the stresses and strains of modern life, and these layers can distort our vision and perceptions of life.” says Angela Porter, who practices 5 Element Acupuncture from a beautiful, light and airy treatment room in her Brighton house. ‘The work of this treatment is to peel away these layers, rather like those of an onion, until the client is brought back into balance.’ Based on Classical Chinese philosophy, 5 Element Acupuncture treats the root causes of disease, not just the physical manifestations, and empowers a client to access self-healing. Rhythms and cycles of the human body echo those of nature – the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

A treatment with Angela will begin with a two hour consultation, while she gently questions you, working through your life history with a finetoothed comb. Once I was up on the therapy table, keeping warm with large fluffy towels, Angela explained that she was going to listen to six pulses in each arm, which related to energy pathways, known as meridians, that run through the body, which in turn relate to the organs. In addition, she was using her senses of sound, colour, odour and emotion to diagnose.
She looked carefully into each of my eyes, and then prepared to place the first needle, somewhere in the middle of my chest. I could feel a small pricking sensation as the needle went in, but Angela said we hadn't quite hit the right spot as I wasn't really feeling much. She re-adjusted the needle and then all of a sudden I was hit with powerful pulling sensation. After a moment I was overtaken by a rushing in my head, a feeling that I had expanded to fill the room, and I also started to shake as if I had had
too much coffee. It was pretty hard to deny that something amazing was happening. Angela said I was in the process of reconnecting, as the treatment worked to re-align the mind, body and spirit.

Throughout the rest of the treatment, Angela placed more needles in my abdomen, legs, and ankles. I then sat up and she placed some more in my back to get all the energies moving, releasing energy that is no longer required – “Rather like a spring clean!“ After the treatment, I felt a little unsteady and went for a walk along the beach, which Angela said would be a great idea, as it would keep everything open and moving, giving the body time to re-balance its energies and become grounded again. For the next
few days, I had a definite feeling of euphoria and a sense of strong, boundless energy – which in my opinion, was a fantastic result.