Road Test: Chinese medicine made me realise how stressed I really am

Cool, calm and collected.

I’ve always been both slightly curious about and suspicious of wellness culture. I think it’s because wellness seems like a misty, unreachable goal. It’s clear when we’re very unwell but even if we think we’re doing alright, we could always be more well – until we’re finally like, Goop tier or whatever.

Despite my sometimes cynical beliefs, I, like everyone else, strive to be my healthiest self. This is why when I was approached to sample a holistic traditional Chinese medicine treatment at Armadale’s House Of Life, I jumped at the offer, even though I wasn’t entirely sure what the treatment would entail. When I asked, the PR agent told me Dr Marina Christov was “very intuitive”. Okay, I’ll bite.

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When I arrived at the High Street hair-salon-slash-wellness-studio, I was met with the sweet scent of candles and handed some paperwork to fill out, detailing my health history and concerns. I thought for a minute. I was vaguely hungover after a night of questionable decision-making and out of breath from running the seven blocks to the appointment in my heels, but other than that I felt pretty okay. My health concern? “Stress” seemed fitting.

Dr Marina came to greet me before the appointment, wearing gold slingbacks and a bright purple sweater. She had a lovely, welcoming energy and we laughed as we headed up the stairs, where she gave me the rundown on her signature style of treatment. 

Essentially, Dr Marina believes that issues of the mind, body and spirit are deeply intertwined and the best way to help her patients is to incorporate them all into her practice. There’s evidence behind this – it’s pretty common knowledge now that stress manifests in the body as headaches, muscle tension and chest pain. 

Her treatment is a fusion of acupuncture, cupping, essential oils, herbalism and a kind of talk therapy, where Dr Marina takes cues from the body to get patients to open up about their emotional struggles.

“It’s so interconnected and what’s most important is that it’s not just mind and body that’s connected, but we also have a spirit. And the spirit is that higher force that is ultimately the light that sparks the purpose of the person, so sometimes the person is having a spiritual crisis through their signs and symptoms.”

According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, different negative emotions manifest in different parts of the body, Dr Marina explains. The liver holds our frustration and anger, the stomach holds our worry, the kidneys hold our fears and phobias, the heart holds our heartbreaks and the lungs hold our sadness and grief. 

“For instance, someone that has difficulty breathing, who has anxiety and can’t take a deep breath in, straight away I look at their lung system and find out if there are any blocks that they have experienced,” she says. “Are they grieving? Have they not grieved properly? Has something happened?”

She took a look at my forms. “Stress,” she said, “Okay, everyone has stress.” She asked me to elaborate. I’m busy, I told her. I feel antsy when my calendar is empty. Typically, I oscillate between overstimulating myself like crazy and avoiding everyone, eating takeout on the floor and not leaving the apartment for days. 

“I’ll probably just wait until I burn myself out, and then I’ll go into hibernation mode,” I said. It wasn’t until she looked at me shocked that I realised this wasn’t a normal way to live. She advised me to NOT do this, resolving to give me a treatment that would give me a “reset”. Then she asked me to stick out my tongue and she drew a diagram of it. She said there was a lot to be learned from the tongue. 

When it was time for the treatment itself, I laid on the bed and she sprayed me with essential oils and silver. She stuck five needles in me – in my hands, my feet and my forehead – and then left me to meditate for what felt like ages. Laying there on the bed, literally unable to move as a result of the needles sticking out of me, desperately trying (and failing) to clear my head, I realised I couldn’t remember the last time I took a moment to myself.

My life was filled with action and noise and because of that, I’d been so distracted that I hadn’t been able to see how stressed I actually was. Taking the time to lay there in silence made me see that the way I’d been living was not sustainable long-term and the ever-elusive ‘wellness’ cannot be rushed. 

Whether it was the acupuncture, the discussion or the meditation, I really did feel much more relaxed when she came to retrieve me. She advised me to eat something warming, engage in positive conversations and keep the energy calm for the rest of the night. Leaving the studio, I sauntered home, resolved to slow down the rapid-fire pace of my life and prioritise mental peace instead of productivity.

For more on traditional Chinese medicine, head here.