Acupuncture in the blood: Welcome to watch this video about Thomas Lin
As a young boy growing up in rural China, Thomas Lin dreamed of becoming a doctor and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine like his father and grandfather. He didn’t know it at the time but achieving his dream would lead him to a brand-new life in Christchurch.
“I’ve been fascinated by Traditional Chinese Medicine for as long as I can remember – especially acupuncture. I would watch my father and grandfather as they treated family members and people from our village and I would often go with them to pick herbs in the mountains.”
Lins’ first step towards achieving his dream came in his 20s when he qualified as a doctor. While his degree was in Western medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture remained his first love. Lin was teaching at a university when a friend suggested he go and work as an acupuncturist in New Zealand. “He said that it was a beautiful place with beautiful people, and that my skills would be valuable. He was right, and I haven’t looked back since.”
Lin is now proud to call Christchurch home. While it is worlds away from his village in China in many respects, he also notices similarities. “Both share a strong sense of community spirit. Acupuncture is very community-focused and as a practitioner you get to know people well. Helping my clients to improve their health is extremely satisfying to me.”
There are currently more than 10,000 people on the books at Lin’s Riccarton practice, and he says that there is no such thing as a typical client. “We see people of all ages and backgrounds, and for a wide variety of conditions. Many people think that acupuncture is just for pain relief and musculoskeletal injuries, but it can be used to successfully treat pretty much anything. We regularly see clients with sinusitis and allergies, flu and general low immunity, headaches and migraines, insomnia, stress, and all kind of digestive disorders and even mental health conditions. I have a particular interest in pregnancy and fertility, and also see a lot of people undergoing cancer clients (we prefer not saying cancer treatment in NZ.”
One of the biggest misconceptions about acupuncture, according to Lin, is that it is an ‘alternative’ to Western medicine. “The two disciplines work differently and have different effects, but there is a place for both – they aren’t in competition. In fact, a growing number of studies are showing that the two are extremely powerful when used together in an integrated approach.” Many local health practitioners seem to agree – to date, more than 200 GPs have referred patients to Lin’s clinic and this number is growing all the time.