Seven secrets of wellbeing: Katie Brindle

As the flame-coloured lanterns bob around London’s Chinatown to celebrate the first lunar month of the New Year, we’re thrilled to share wellbeing secrets from Katie Brindle, a practitioner of Chinese Medicine. Her passion is to teach us all ways of healing ourselves naturally, which, she promises, ‘can transform your health and beauty in just a few minutes a day’.

Chinese medicine has historically aimed to prevent illness and keep people in good health. This ancient discipline is based on two simple principles: good circulation with free flow of blood and energy, and clearing heat or inflammation, now believed by Western scientists to underlie many diseases.

Over the past decade, Katie has developed a self-care method called Hayo’u, which means ‘well you’, using quick easy rituals to promote these principles. Sarah has been practicing some of these for years now and swears by Katie’s morning 3-minute shaking, tapping and twisting ritual to invigorate the circulation. Katie also offers a capsule collection of skincare products and her own jade and rose quartz Beauty Restorer jade tools – take it from us, these are brilliant especially if you’ve had a bad night and look peaky (that would be Sarah as she writes this…).  Many more details at hayoumethod.com.

Here are the seven secrets of wellbeing that Katie has developed and relies on.

1. Facial gua sha. I practice gua sha facial massage using my Beauty Restorer tool at least twice a day, every day. You can watch the video of how to do this here.  This facial ‘scraping’ really is a game changer and my clients are always telling me they love the way it transforms their skin.

You tend to see visible results quickly because gua sha floods the skin with fresh nutrients, boosting levels of collagen and elastin, smoothing and plumping the skin, and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s great for eliminating morning puffiness and congestion by gently encouraging the movement of lymphatic fluid, which can’t flow by itself. Plus, it feels amazing!

I think facial gua sha is quite simply the greatest ever gift to skin. Used for millennia by Asian women, I’m so happy it’s finally starting to catch on in other parts of the world. It’s been nicknamed the ‘Eastern Facelift’ and I’d even say it offers a great alternative to Botox.

I’m happier now with my skin than I’ve ever been, which let me assure you as an almost 50-year-old woman with a busy life is no mean feat! I’m proud of saying how old I am. How brilliant that as women we can now be proud of our age rather than lie about it. Because as long as you look and feel good, the ageing process is actually a wonderful thing.

2. Tapping. A brilliant Chinese proverb says that ‘flowing water never stagnates, and the hinges of a moving gate never rust’. In Chinese wisdom, good circulation is the foundation of our health. But our modern lives are pretty stressful and pretty sedentary and both of those impede circulation. A couple of years ago in China, I made the most amazing feel-good discovery – bamboo tapping, which has an astounding ability to stimulate the entire circulatory system. It is quite simply the perfect way to release and clear stale energy - plus it feels absolutely wonderful, invigorating and yet relaxing at the same time. See more here.

3. Breathe properly. Breath is the unsung hero of wellbeing, the most immediate and powerful self-healing practice we have. Nobody tells you this because it’s free and they can’t make any money out of it.  But think about it: you can live for weeks without food and for days without water, but you can only live for minutes without breathing.

Breathing is the most powerful self-healing cure we have. It is so profound and so crucial to our very existence and yet, because it is sub conscious, we seldom use it to our advantage. 

The Chinese traditionally practiced sitting in stillness and silence for a while and breathing deep into the abdomen. No matter how crazy my day is, I always find a moment to just sit and be still, focusing on my breath, because it automatically switches the nervous system over from the active yang phase to the calming, restorative yin phase. It gets me out of what the Chinese call the ‘monkey mind’.

4. Combing. This is another thing I do on a daily basis, mostly in my morning shower. Similar to body brushing, body combing (details here) is an ancient Chinese self-healing treatment that is brilliant for encouraging circulation and lymphatic drainage. It has done wonders for my cellulite and to get rid of that chicken skin you get on the backs of your arms. In China ‘meridian combs’ are used all over the body to unblock energy channels and release stagnation. It’s quite addictive…

5. Balancing your emotions. You can do all the yoga and drink all the green juice you like but if you don’t deal with what’s going on in your mind and your heart, you are never going to be healthy. Chinese medicine has always rooted the emotional state firmly in the body. Every emotion we experience is described by Chinese medicine as being housed in the body, each one looked after by a specific organ. And having this specific physical location for emotions gives you a huge shift in perspective; it means you literally have a place where you can start healing yourself.

The Chinese belief is this: own your emotions and you master your health. It’s important to know that not only are you allowed to express the full remit of human emotion but also it’s healthy to do so. Life will bring all kinds of emotional reactions – and that’s normal – but you don’t want to let one of them take over, because this is not balance. Even a positive emotion, like being happy, is regarded as just one of the emotions. So, rather than always craving constant happiness, I’m constantly aspiring to feel an even, quiet contentment. It’s not easy!

It’s so important to express our emotions in a healthy way - not suppressing them but not being at their mercy. Be aware of how you are feeling; the stronger the emotion, the more likely you’ll also have associated physical symptoms. Being in a balanced emotional state results in free-flowing qi (energy) that will do more to support your wellbeing than any green juice. Which is not to say I don’t love green juice and yoga!

6. Aligning to nature. Living in harmony with the seasons might sound a bit irrelevant in our 24/7 tech-driven world: it’s not like I spend autumn taking in the harvest, after all! But seasonal living is one of the most important teachings of Chinese medicine. Think about how the seasons affect you at a physical and mental level: how different do you feel in winter compared to summer? In winter I feel like going to bed early, ordering soup rather than salad and basically hibernating.

Each season’s start and finish depends on the slow but ever-changing movement of qi in nature and the planet, and this gives each season its own vibration. As we are inherently connected to the environment, our bodies are attuned to that vibration. The more we mirror nature, says Taoism, the healthier we will be.

So, year round, notice what’s going on around you. In Winter, you’ll see stillness and hibernation. In Spring, there will be unfurling and growth. Summer is about relaxing and enjoying the results of your labours. And in Autumn, there’s a slowing down, collecting and taking stock. Let each season inspire you.

Since I started doing this I have more energy, a sense of calm and a feeling of being in control of my life and emotions. Taoists call this state of wellness the ‘golden mean’. The amount we sleep, the food we eat and the life choices we make can all be gently adjusted to bring us into line with the natural cycle.

In Chinese wisdom, each of our major organs connects to a specific time of the year when you should pay it special attention. For example, Spring is the time of the Liver. Growing things is great for your liver energy, as is spending time in nature.

7. Don’t underestimate the power of bathing. Having a bath is one of my favourite things to do. Lighting the candles, filling a hot bath full of minerals and easing away all that deeply held tension… bliss! And bathing is so good for you; there have been studies recently showing that it can lower your blood pressure and encourage your circulation.

I find it a really great time to practice my breathing techniques as well. Focusing on your breath for five minutes creates an effortless mini–meditation, which is perfect for me, as I struggle with meditating.

I’m also a massive fan of foot bathing. In Chinese medicine, soaking the feet is an efficient way to detoxify, as it unblocks energy channels in the body. Six meridians (liver, gall bladder, kidney, spleen and stomach) reach the feet, each of which has more than 60 acupuncture points. If you add herbs and minerals, the skin absorbs elements through the skin and these travel through energy channels to target points. I always add slices of ginger and my Hayo’u Revive Mineral Bath, which contains rose quartz, to supercharge the potential of the water.