Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in treating chronic pain, migraines, depression, anxiety and insomnia among many other uses, but how does it work?

In the final episode of season two, Katie and Annabel discuss the topic of acupuncture with guest Joe Jennings, an acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner who runs Holistic Health Oxford and the Community Acupuncture Team, which aims to make acupuncture accessible to everyone.

(0:31) Introduction
(2:26) Joe joins the conversation
(4:06) How does acupuncture work?
(7:31) Supporting evidence
(12:43) Integrating acupuncture into the NHS
(13:40) The importance of community clinics
(21:06) What is chi?
(23:59) Moving away from the self
(27:50) Closing discussion
(33:09) End of the season

About the guest:
Joe Jennings has been practising acupuncture and Chinese medicine for over a decade and takes pride in being able to make his work as accessible as possible.

He runs Holistic Health Oxford and the community acupuncture team. His clinic is the first carbon-negative clinic and he takes interns and he also sits on the board of the Association of Community and Multi-Bed Acupuncture Clinics.

Learn more about Holistic Health Oxford

People are craving community, connection and meaning - adrift from religion, traditional structures, and even the office. We're a generation of searchers. We want purpose, ritual and a place to belong. But where are we getting it, and is it leaving us exposed?

Welcome to Selfie Development with Katie, a yoga teacher and coach, and Annabel, a writer about wellness. In each episode, we'll explore something from the world of wellness and self-improvement, from manifestation to EFT, soundbars to productivity hacks. What does this stuff really mean? Will it help? Or are there any red flags to watch out for?

Come and join us as we explore how to do wellness, well.

Follow us on Instagram @selfiedevelopmentpod

Meet the hosts:

Katie Gordon - Katie is a yoga teacher, coach, parent and founder of Every Body Studio. She used to work in publishing but now gets to read books for fun. She loves yoga and some forms of wellness, but is admittedly pretty cynical about most of it. However, she is willing to put aside her scepticism for anything that involves lying down, or that could end in a nap.

Katie's work focuses is on psychology and mental health support, and she uses an evidence-based approach to yoga, mindfulness and breath-work. She likes coffee, red wine and almost anything to eat.

Check out her work @everybody_studio and @helm.collective on Instagram.

Annabel Lee - Annabel is a writer, communications consultant, speaker and professional over-thinker. She loves all things wellness and is up for trying (almost anything) but often wonders if it’s really working, or if it's just nice to wear some yoga pants. She used to work for PR agencies but quit after having a couple of babies. Annabel trained as a yoga teacher in 2017 but had to quit that too because of a hip injury, although she has remained fascinated by the world of wellness.

Annabel has written for publications including Red, Stylist, Metro and Glamour with a focus on health, wellbeing and work. She loves oat milk lattes, Selling Sunset, dog walks without her children and white wine spritzers.

See more from her @annabellee.co on Instagram.