Root and Branch College

Root and Branch College Tangible Training in Chinese Medicine. A three-year, degree-level course in acupuncture and Chinese medical bodywork (Tuina)
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07/09/2026

Prepping our handouts for our intake starting next month! Here is a sneak preview of our Hand and Needle Skills booklet, which covers the famous classical acupuncture technique "Burning Mountain", among many others!

Zarig and I had a very interesting question this week from someone considering our acupuncture & Tuina course:  "What ar...
04/09/2026

Zarig and I had a very interesting question this week from someone considering our acupuncture & Tuina course: "What are the top 3 challenges of being a practitioner?" I thought I would share my response here:

"That’s a very interesting question, thank you.

What I would say first and foremost is that both Zarig and I love what we do and wouldn’t change it for the world - we earn a good living, enjoy stimulating work, have a good work-life balance, and spend our efforts helping people. It’s a great feeling when people thank you for what you do for them every day.

Having said that, every profession has its challenges. I would say at the beginning it can be a bit of a challenge to work on a self-employed basis if you are not used to it. You are setting up a practice and treating people, while also being premises manager, bookkeeper, advertiser, etc. This is something you need to be prepared for initially.

This settles after a while though as you get used to it and start building up your practice. Once you are in a good flow, I would say what is challenging is that you will have the odd patient who is not improving/being emotionally draining. These patients can be difficult to deal with. We do prepare you for this on the course and you will have strategies in place to deal with it, and this is also where it is important to be part of a community and have a network of people that you can connect with for support. These cases are thankfully pretty rare though."

Do message/email us if you have any other questions about life as a Chinese medicine practitioner - we're always happy to give out information!

What is Classical Chinese Medicine? "Classical" does not mean we use special acupuncture points or hidden channels descr...
27/08/2026

What is Classical Chinese Medicine?

"Classical" does not mean we use special acupuncture points or hidden channels described only in the classics. It means that we approach every patient from the perspective of health and disease described by the Ancients.

By understanding the flow of Qi and Blood and its impact on health and disease as the Ancients did, we are able to clearly see a strategy of treatment for every patient encounter, no matter how complex it is.

Come and find out more about this perspective of acupuncture treatment on our open evening next Wednesday 2nd September:
https://rootandbranchcollege.com/open-evening/

24/08/2026

Thinking about training in acupuncture, but not sure whether it’s the right path for you?

Join us at our Open Evening and discover what makes Root & Branch College different.

Meet the teachers, observe a treatment demonstration, explore our approach to classical Chinese medicine, and ask any questions you may have about training, career pathways, clinical practice and student life.

Whether you are considering a complete career change, looking to deepen an existing healthcare practice, or simply curious about what we offer, this is an opportunity to experience the college first-hand.

📍 Wednesday 2nd September, 7pm–8.30pm
Miller’s Way Project, Shepherd’s Bush

Reserve your place today:
https://rootandbranchcollege.com/open-evening/

Taichong (Liver-3) is a great location to practice our channel travel needle technique: we can raise or lower the qi in ...
29/07/2026

Taichong (Liver-3) is a great location to practice our channel travel needle technique: we can raise or lower the qi in the patient from there, with the patient giving us real-time feedback as it is happening. It is indicated for treating headaches, eye issues, dizziness.

25/07/2026

One of the amazing things about working as an acupuncturist is the opportunity for life-long learning in Chinese medicine. It is a wonderful career that keeps you stimulated and engaged, as there are always opportunities to develop deeper and deeper levels of understanding.

Some of the Root and Branch College teaching team: Jinal Shah,  Zarig Cooper and Conny Cooper after teaching a seminar f...
20/07/2026

Some of the Root and Branch College teaching team: Jinal Shah, Zarig Cooper and Conny Cooper after teaching a seminar from the Tangible Acupuncture for Orthopaedic Injuries series last year. Also including Silvia Vantusso as our bodywork specialist!

It was a full weekend but also a lot of fun to teach - and the profuse positive feedback we get after our seminars always makes it worthwhile.

The full Tangible Acupuncture for Orthopaedic Injuries programme is included in the second year of our 3-year course, so our students graduate with excellent skills for the treatment of physical injuries, ready to help people live pain-free lives.

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London

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