From Cosmetics to Cupping
We always love to hear how people discovered acupuncture and why they chose to study Chinese medicine, recent Acupuncture graduate Jiayan Liu shares her story and what she has been up to since graduation.
My interest in Chinese medicine began when I was a little girl, as I grew up in Tianjin, China. Chinese medicine was always used in my home and I have always enjoyed learning about the different properties of foods and herbs. Acupuncture was used in Chinese hospitals and I frequently saw how amazing the effects were just by watching documentaries on Chinese medicines and this sparked my interest even more.
After qualifying as a makeup artist back in 2013, I started to work with various beauty brands. During this time, I have found that many women who came in with skincare concerns were those of acne, blemishes and hyperpigmentation, and all of them wanted me to cover up their skin with full coverage makeup. I knew deep down that all of these conditions had connections with the inner organs of the body, and I really wanted to help these women, so I started to research more into alternative health medicines and found out that there is acupuncture training offered in the UK! I was overjoyed and called up the Northern College of Acupuncture immediately, as they were listed on the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board’s website. Seeing this gave me full confidence that I would be able to receive invaluable training as an acupuncturist.
York is a city full of history and beauty, so when I arrived in York to have a look at the college on one of their introductory events, I fell in love with the city immediately. The principal and the other teachers gave us a wonderful presentation on the BSc in Acupuncture course and this made me feel excited to move up to York to do my study. After getting an acceptance letter from the college I started to make plans to relocate to York.
The college set up a really nice timetable for our studies and I found this preparation helped me with work and study balance. I also loved using the college library during my lunch breaks and after my lectures to keep revising my lecture notes! There are lots of books, most hidden gems on Chinese medicine, and they really helped me to build up my foundation knowledge of Chinese medicine.
Since graduating, I have been busy setting up my therapy rooms Radiant Touch Acupuncture in St Neots, a delightful little town near Cambridge. I now work alongside some wonderful sports massage therapists, chiropractors and physiotherapists!
I have also been catching up with friends and colleagues from my hometown and they were very intrigued to hear that I am now an acupuncturist. They asked me how acupuncture can be beneficial for the body and a few of them have turned into regular patients now.
I really enjoy working as an acupuncturist as it is such a rewarding and engaging job and there are always new theories and techniques to learn. No two days will ever be the same! I am hoping that one day I can open up my own community acupuncture clinic to help many more people.
Find out more about Jiayan at Radiant Touch Acupuncture and on her Instagram.