The London Acupuncturist

Home
United Kingdom
London
The London Acupuncturist

Claire Dabreo. Five Element Acupuncturist. Co-founder of The Harmony Principle. Mentor. Teacher. Doula. London practices in Holborn, Brixton and Crystal Palace.

Experienced and curious five-element acupuncturist. Specialist expertise in fertility, pregnancy & birth. Creator of products.

29/12/2025

Felt so very lucky to have had a sunny, family, framily, friend-filled Christmas❤️ otherwise you probably couldn’t have enticed me into the water on Christmas Day AND Boxing Day (though helped with that). This year’s ‘Christmas Miracles’ came in the form of a donated bag of potatoes (someone forgot to buy them in the ‘big shop’), ferries running without f**kupery and a missing Christmas present parcel turning up on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas to you and yours, may we gather strength from each other in the dark.

21/12/2025

We are living in a longest night.

So many people I speak to feel it — the uncertainty, the sense that we’re in the dark, that what comes next isn’t yet visible.

In Chinese medicine and Daoist philosophy, this is the moment of deepest yin, and here’s the paradox:
👉 at the height of yin, yang is already stirring.
Birth works this way.
Creativity works this way.
So does meaningful change.
Spontaneous labour doesn’t begin through effort or force — it begins through surrender. The body must soften, yield, and descend into its deepest yin before the yang of birth can arise.

The Winter Solstice teaches the same truth.
I’ve written a new Substack piece weaving together yin and yang, the mechanics of birth, creativity, and how we find faith in uncertain times — not by rushing toward the light, but by trusting the dark enough to let something new form there.

Or, as George Michael sang …
you gotta have faith.
✨ Read the full piece — link in bio.

20/12/2025

The Age of the Wellness Grifter 🚩
Let’s talk about who you’re taking health advice from.
Because the wellness space is currently awash with big claims, little substance, and it matters — especially when people are vulnerable, unwell, or searching for answers.

Some red flags to watch for:
🚩 No recognised training or qualifications listed
If someone teaches, treats, or advises professionally, their training should be transparent. Vague bios are not a flex.

🚩 “30 years of experience” … but the maths doesn’t add up
If that would require them to have been practising professionally from the age of 16 — I’m calling BS.
Experience has a timeline. Ask where, when, and how they trained.

🚩 “I’ve helped thousands of people with this exact thing”
Unless someone has a genuinely long clinical or professional career, this is an audacious claim.
There are only so many hours in a day.
You can only see so many people in a week.
And if you’ve had children or a life outside work, you’re definitely not operating at mythical capacity.

🚩 A “signature method” that’s the only way
There are many roads to health and healing.
Be wary of anyone positioning themselves as the sole gatekeeper to your wellbeing.

🚩 Expertise based only on personal experience
Lived experience is valuable — but it does not automatically equal clinical skill, safety, or the ability to support others responsibly.

True expertise is boringly transparent.
It’s grounded.
It shows its workings.
It doesn’t need hype, urgency, or inflated numbers to prove its worth.

Choose practitioners and teachers who respect complexity — and you.

(If this resonates, save it. Share it. We all benefit from raising the bar.)

19/12/2025

There’s a flu epidemic moving through the UK right now, and in clinic I’m seeing many people who are technically “over it” — but still not fully recovered.
Energy hasn’t returned.
Breath feels shallow.
The nervous system feels fragile.
In Chinese medicine, post-flu recovery often needs Kidney and Lung support, especially in Winter when reserves are already low. This isn’t about pushing the body to bounce back — it’s about helping recovery complete itself.
Here’s a gentle AromaPoint Therapy approach I share with clients for post-flu support:
🌲 Black Spruce
Properly diluted (25%) and lightly held over the lower back (Kidney area) and / or on Kidney 3 to support stamina and post-illness fatigue.
🌿 Saro, Ravintsara or Niaouli
Clear, pungent oils that relate to the Lung system in Chinese medicine. Gently held on Lung 1 to support the lungs in clearing what lingers and restoring depth of breath.
🤍 Frankincense
If anxiety, chest tightness or emotional fragility remains after illness, Frankincense held on Ren 17 can help calm the nervous system and settle the breath.
How to use:
Apply oils properly diluted (these are all good at 25% in a carrier oil) and very lightly hold on the point for 1–3 minutes.
No rubbing or pressure. This is about light touch, not stimulation.

Important safety notes:
• Niaouli is not suitable in pregnancy unless practitioner-guided
• Use caution or avoid if you have asthma or reactive airways
• The dilutions I recommend are for AromaPoint Therapy only, this dilution is not suitable for massaging, larger areas or diffusion.
• This is supportive care and not a substitute for medical advice

Winter recovery isn’t about rushing back to normal — especially before Christmas.
It’s about restoring your reserves so you can meet the season with energy, not just endurance.
Save this for later, or share with someone who’s struggling to fully bounce back.

16/12/2025

Today my son turns 10 🎂
And his birth taught me something I wish more women were told clearly.
I had two membrane sweeps.
The first time, my cervix was long, firm and completely closed.
Nothing happened.
A week later, the second sweep was offered.
This time my body was already preparing — and labour began.
Here’s what often gets lost in conversations about sweeps:
👉 A sweep is a form of induction.
It’s a mechanical way of encouraging labour by stimulating the release of prostaglandins. That means it isn’t neutral — and it isn’t simply a “check”.
What’s really important to know is this:
• You can ask the midwife to look only
• You can decline a sweep and still have information
• You can decide in the moment — not in advance
A vaginal examination does not automatically mean consent to a sweep.
And physiologically, this matters:
✨ A sweep will only work if your body is already very close to labour.
If the cervix is closed, firm and not yet ripening, a sweep is unlikely to do anything other than feel uncomfortable, upsetting, or leave you feeling sore and discouraged.
If the body is ready — softening, shortening, opening — a sweep can tip things over the edge.
Same intervention.
Very different timing.
Very different outcome.
This is why timing matters.
And why informed consent matters even more.
You are allowed to gather information without intervening.
You are allowed to wait.
You are allowed to change your mind.
Birth doesn’t respond well to pressure — but it does respond to readiness.
🤍 If this is a conversation you want to understand before you’re in the room, I’ve created a short, free training on navigating induction pressure calmly and confidently — so you can make decisions from information, not fear.
Link in bio.

15/12/2025

If you’re approaching your due date then this is a reminder to trust yourself and your trust your instincts. If you feel like somethings wrong, or off, go to the hospital and get checked, don’t let your inner programming (‘mustn’t make a fuss’) win.

A study published in 2018 found:
The risk of stillbirth is 22.5 fold higher in those who reported a “gut instinct” than in those that do not experience this feeling.

The gut feeling is most likely to be reported as enduring from the beginning of the pregnancy or in response to perceived changes in fetal movement.

Some women reported they had difficulty in expressing their concerns and “being heard”

Although I am offering pregnant woman advice on how to avoid unnecessary induction and prepare their bodies for a spontaneous labour, nothing should override your own instincts as a mother or mother-to-be.
Trust yourself and advocate for yourself if you need to.
It’s actually an act of mothering.
Listening to the Guardian podcast on the Free Birth Society is a sobering example of what happens when we let others override what our own bodies are telling us.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026661381830113X

12/12/2025

“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.” – Buddha

If Zhi is the will to move toward purpose, then Water shows us how.

Without purpose, life flattens. In Chinese Medicine, the Water Element governs bones — and purpose is the skeleton around which we build a meaningful life. Winter tests us. It strips away the excess and shows us who we are without noise, productivity, performance or distraction. It brings us back to what we know in our bones.

A small pause —
What truth rises when silence settles?

If you’re interested in reading more then please do head to my Substack.

11/12/2025

Getting the feel-good hormones going - and especially from laughter - is a great way to help you get labour-ready and if you’re due this December get thee to the panto. A bit of corny fun, with some cracking panto innuendo, fluffed lines and a sing song = endorphins, relaxed muscles, reduced stress and improved blood flow.

It was opening night of Arran’s panto this evening and it was GREAT.

09/12/2025

BL67 — The little point with big potential.
When baby’s back is against your spine (posterior), labour can feel longer or less comfortable.

Stimulating Bladder 67 — the point on the outer corner of the little toe — may help encourage movement, space, and change in the pelvis. It’s the same point we use to turn a breech baby, but instead of moxa on this point, use your fingernail or the end of a pen and tap it for a minute on each side (left and right foot). This can even work during labour so if your contractions start and they’re long and intense from the get go, try this!

✨ Always check with your midwife or healthcare provider for personalised advice.
📍 Save this for later + share with someone due soon.

07/12/2025

Dates & Labour — What the Research Says!

Ok December mummas to be, here’s a sweet little fact backed by research: eating dates in late pregnancy may help support an easier labour.

💛 Benefits found in studies:
• Higher Bishop scores (better cervical readiness)
• Shorter first stage of labour
• Less need for induction or augmentation
• More effective contractions
• A natural energy boost for birth day

How much?
Many studies used 6–7 dates a day starting around 36–37 weeks.

Why it works:
Dates contain natural sugars, minerals, and fatty acids that help support prostaglandins and healthy uterine contractions.

This is important: Source them ethically please - check the label and make sure there from a country that isn’t committing genocide.

✨ Safe for most pregnancies — always check with your midwife or provider.

Address

London

Website

http://www.thelondonacupuncturist.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The London Acupuncturist posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to The London Acupuncturist:

Shortcuts

Featured

Help Mind Body

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in London?

Live well with Five Element Acupuncture

Claire Dabreo is a Classical Five Element Acupuncturist with practices in Brixton, Holborn and Crystal Palace. She works with people across a wide range of issues, from musculoskeletal problems, high blood pressure, stress, digestive issues, skin problems and immune-system disorders, to general wellbeing, anxiety, and depression.

From conception to birth. Claire specialises in working with men and women facing fertility issues, taking a whole body and mind approach to help create the optimum conditions for conception, whether a natural conception is the goal, or assisted fertility treatment is being undertaken.

She offers acupuncture to support a healthy, happy pregnancy and is experienced in working with pregnancy related issues. In the final weeks of pregnancy, pre-birth acupuncture, moxibustion for breech babies, and acupuncture for ‘late’ arrivals are also offered.

Claire is happy to offer a free telephone consultation – just email her on Claire@thelondonacpuncturist.co.uk to arrange a convenient time, or to find out more.