Grounded and Thriving: Expert Advice for the Holidays
As the holiday season approaches, we find ourselves in a time of both celebration and challenge. For many, this period is filled with the joys of connection and giving, but also the pressures of busy schedules and the need to support ourselves and others through it all.
We reached out to our esteemed teachers with three key questions to help inspire and guide you during this season:
- What’s one tip you’d offer practitioners or patients for staying balanced during the holidays?
- What’s the most common condition or issue you’re seeing in your practice right now?
- What’s your favourite acupuncture point at the moment, and why?
Their thoughtful and diverse responses offer practical wisdom, emotional insight, and powerful tools for navigating this season with balance and intention. Scroll down to discover their full answers and hear their voices. We hope their guidance enriches both your practice and your personal journey through the holidays.
Rebecca Avern
- Holiday Tip: Rebecca advises us to “stop and smell the roses,” a metaphor for engaging your senses to conserve qi and nourish your shen amidst a busy schedule.
- Most Common Condition: Rebecca notes a rise in tic disorders in children, which acupuncture and herbs can effectively address.
- Favourite Point: Rebecca shares her love for ST40 (Abundant Splendour), which she uses for phlegm, mental-emotional health, and tonifying the earth element.
Rebecca Avern is a leading paediatric acupuncturist with over 20 years of experience, exclusively treating children and teenagers. She runs two children’s acupuncture clinics in Oxford and is the author of two books, including Acupuncture for Babies, Children and Teenagers. Rebecca teaches paediatrics internationally and leads the Paediatric Acupuncture Online Program annually run by TCM Academy.
Peter Mole
Peter Mole is a renowned acupuncturist with over 45 years of experience, blending Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture with TCM. A former Dean of the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine, he has lectured internationally and authored Acupuncture for Body, Mind and Spirit and co-authored Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture. Peter leads the Five-Element Acupuncture Program, an 8-month course run annually by TCM Academy.
- Most Common Condition: The patient is struggling to deal well with the difficulties they are facing in their life.
- Favourite Point: Kid 25 Spirit Storehouse is my current favourite point. Because it is so effective when the patient’s shen has become disturbed by sadness (bei) or shock (jing).
Miriam Raich
Miriam Raich has been teaching Chinese Medicine since 2000, specialising in women’s health and paediatrics. She co-founded Chinese Medicine for the Family and has taught post-graduate courses in gynaecology and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Together with her partner, Anat Tzachar, Miriam also teaches courses on women’s health and fertility with TCM Academy, sharing her expertise with practitioners worldwide.
- Favourite Point: Miriam shares her reflections on Lung 7 (Lie Que), a powerful point for restoring hope, repairing communication, and reconnecting with deeper strength and confidence. Watch her full video for more about this point and what it means to her.
CT Holman
- Holiday Tip: One tip to balance and ground your energy is to nurture self-compassion. I have been reading Kristin Neff’s book Self-Compassion. She offers lots of great advice and techniques. She recommends being mindful of your feelings, giving yourself kindness, and realizing your interconnectedness to the human family.
- Most Common Condition: I am seeing many people with emotional trauma/PTSD. The Year of the Wood Dragon asks us to shed old belief systems that are no longer serving us. As a result, people are feeling intense transformation energy, and their old trauma is surfacing.
- Favourite Point: My favorite point lately is PC-5. It is a river point and does help the lungs. It also dispels phlegm. It calms the spirit. Dr. Wang Ju-Yi liked to use this point for a variety of emotional conditions, including phlegm misting the heart.
CT Holman has practised East Asian Medicine for over 20 years and is an internationally recognised teacher and author. He wrote the textbooks Treating Emotional Trauma with Chinese Medicine and Shamanism in Chinese Medicine. CT integrates facial diagnosis, channel palpation, and trauma treatment in his practice and courses. Based in Salem, Oregon, CT continues to combine his clinical work with a passion for sharing his expertise through teaching.
Robert Hayden has been an East Asian Medicine practitioner since 1995 and an educator since 1998. With extensive training in Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion, he has taught at several accredited colleges and internationally. Robert specialises in treating complex conditions such as rheumatology and HIV-AIDS and is passionate about integrating classical and modern approaches. He teaches the popular course “Clinical Success in Treating Headaches” with TCM Academy.
Robert Hayden DACM
- Holiday Tip: I was part of a group that visited Japan in the mid-1990s to study with some of the blind acupuncturists there. Our Japanese teachers’ skills were so refined and their focus was so complete that we were certain that they had some secret cultivation practice. But no, as it turns out, they just poured themselves into the act of helping patients, over and over again. And I too find that when things are getting crazy – as they are all over the planet these days – focusing on treating the people who come to me for their care really helps me to keep things in perspective. As Shudo Denmei often says, “forget your self and serve others”.
- Most Common Condition: Speaking of balance, I am seeing a lot of vertigo in clinic right now. Even in cases with some other chief complaint, a lot of people have blocked sinuses and inner ear congestion as a secondary issue. I’m always happy when people come in with these types of problems, because I know that acupuncture will help them.
- Favourite Point: I don’t know if I have a favorite point, but lately I find I have been using GB39 [Xuán Zhōng] much more frequently than I have in the past. It just checks a lot of boxes in cases I see these days, whether they are related to essence, marrow, the brain, the bones and sinews, dizziness, ear problems, or just regulating shàoyáng. I use the gallbladder channel often anyway, and GB39 ties many of its functions and relationships with other organs together.
Deborah Woolf
Deborah Woolf is an experienced acupuncturist specialising in Five Elements, TCM, and Stems and Branches. A lecturer for over 20 years, she teaches Chinese philosophy, acupuncture theory, and post-graduate courses, including point functions and Stems and Branches. Deborah is particularly passionate about women’s and children’s health, as well as mental-emotional wellbeing, blending classical Chinese medicine insights with a client-centred approach.
- Holiday Tip: I love sanfu and sanjiu moxa, which I offer in summer and winter to strengthen the immune system.
Personally, I need to walk, forage and do lots of crafts.
- Most Common Condition: Nasty tickly throat which doesn’t go, but may develop into a sinus-y, cloudy head for a few weeks
- Favourite Point: Ren 22 for the throat & St 36 and St 8 for the sinuses and head pain.
Rachel Cheng
Rachel Cheng is a dedicated practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Hong Kong Baptist University. After gaining extensive clinical experience in Hong Kong, she deepened her expertise through a three-year apprenticeship. Now based in Slovenia, Rachel combines her busy clinical practice with teaching and collaborating with national and international organisations to advance TCM education and integration into modern healthcare.
Rachel suggests approaching holiday indulgence with mindfulness and balance. Her tips include:
- Mindful Eating: Pause before indulging to ask yourself if you’re truly hungry or eating out of habit. A few bites are often enough to satisfy a craving.
- Balanced Choices: Avoid overloading on sugary, fatty, or raw foods. Opt for warm, nourishing meals to support digestion.
- Alcohol Awareness: Stay hydrated and pace yourself with non-alcoholic drinks between festive beverages.
- TCM Remedies: Incorporate TCM practices, such as herbal supplements and ginger tea, to support digestion and energy levels.
