When the pace of life becomes too demanding, the body eventually signals it: fatigue, aches and pains, light sleep, irritability… Acupuncture helps to restore your body’s natural recovery and regulation abilities, by removing obstacles from outside or from within. You will feel relieved, liberated, energized, and in control of your life.
5th Element goes back to the roots of ancient acupuncture (i.e. acupuncture practiced from <2500 BC until the 20th century) to restore your body to its true sense of space (ying) and time (yang), and provide you with renewed health, purpose, and longevity.
Ancient healers investigated the 5 elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) at play in the assessment and treatment of their patient’s disease – ranging from time and place of birth, the moment the disease manifested, the patient’s personality and food preferences, the qi of the present moment (year, season, time of day) and place, etc. This assessment led to the prescription of acupuncture points, herbs, and adjacent healing techniques. People in those days lived more closely to their natural rhythms than we do today; their daily schedules were dictated by daylight, their clothing was dictated by weather, their diet was dictated by the seasonal offerings or stored food supply.
Today, our activities are dictated by clock time instead of biorhythmical time (which plays foully on our melatonin levels, digestion, sleep, etc.), work schedules (our biggest work efforts are sometimes required at the dead of winter), and social expectations (managing multiple roles, and images of perfection and performance).
At 5th Element, the aim is to strike a balance and make the most out of both worlds: how to attune our bodies to our modern times, to live long, happy, healthy, and sustainably. It starts in our clinic, set in a quiet and peaceful natural environment, where everything is designed to help you regenerate and heal.
Inserting and manipulating hair-thin needles in the skin. None of the techniques described here are painful, but a pinch or slight temporary discomfort can be felt.
Heating acupuncture points or greater areas of the body with mugwort (artemisia vulgaris).
When pain is the main symptom, a short massage rounds up the session harmoniously.
For back pain, hot compresses with medicinal herbs release the tension and harmonize the tissues.
Small needles or seeds are applied to the ear for you to stimulate for several days after our session – especially used for “internal” diseases (hormonal, stress, fatigue, …)
Suction is applied to acupuncture point areas – especially along the spine (intervertebral foramen, where the nerves start diverging from the spinal canal) – to release blockages. Cupping can also be used for other indications, like breaking down fatty tissue.
Scraping the skin with a flat tool, to release an area, usually neck and upper back, and removing a recent condition like flu or torticollis (“external” diseases).
At an additional cost, take in herbs to increase the therapeutic effectiveness. Herbs provided by Medichin or Sinecura, both Belgian companies with the highest quality standards (also suitable for children).
Oftentimes, your symptoms are related to your posture. Opening up your chest, bending your knees, walking tall, or strengthening your muscles are important aspects of your healing journey.
