Posted: 15/03/21
Students discover ancient healing techniques
Beauty therapy students from West Nottinghamshire College discovered more about alternative therapies and Chinese medicine from a practitioner who has treated many well-known celebrities through her beauty and wellness business.
On Thursday (4 March) Katie Brindle joined the Level 2 Technical Certificate in Beauty Therapy group through Microsoft Teams and spoke about her career path going from dreams of becoming an opera singer to her role today as a Five Elements Chinese medical practitioner.
It was after a car accident put a stop to Katie’s dreams of becoming an opera singer that she sought healing from trying Chinese medicine to rid her of the pain she was suffering. It was through successful treatment of her own that she found she wanted to study this practice herself. Her mission in life became to help others through this ancient healing system.
Students were able to ask Katie about her business and how she built this up and began creating her client base while she was working for agencies. She began by studying massage and then studied body therapy and then acupuncture, attending colleges in London and Reading.
Katie described to the group how hard she worked to get recognised. Being reliable, flexible, being on time and always looking the part were just some of the attributes which she states helped her to make her mark, which saw her services requested by the likes of model Kate Moss.
She said: “I worked so hard. I was reliable, always on time and I never turned down a job. I made sure I was a reliable therapist. I even worked on a Christmas morning and New Year’s night but I loved my job.”
Students also learnt more about the Gua-sha alternative therapy which Katie uses in her holistic therapies combining the Hayo’u method which she devised. Gua-sha is another ancient Chinese method of scraping the skin with a stone tool, such as jade or amethyst. The act of scraping stimulates blood flow and circulation and gives many benefits.
Katie, who has also written a best-selling book called Yang Sheng - the Art of Chinese self-healing, which translates as ‘nourish life’, demonstrated Gua-sha online so that students could get a better understanding of how it is performed on the face. Students were able to ask her questions about the practice as well as the business side of working in alternative therapies.
Tutor Jennifer Knaggs said: “Katie gave an inspirational talk, laying the foundations for the next generation of therapists. She covered how our learners can progress and achieve their career goals. Katie captivated her audience, speaking about her own career progression and giving tips about how our learners can fulfil their potential within the beauty industry.”
Student Storm Reveley, from Cossall, near Nottingham, said: “The session with Katie was amazing; we all got so much from it! She is an inspirational, positive and motivational person. From the session I learned lots about Chinese medicine, Gua-sha and Katie’s business.
“I also learned about crystal healing which I am now really interested in and have purchased some books about. I left the meeting feeling very positive and motivated and I grateful to my tutors for this opportunity.”
