May - 2022

With over 20 years of interest and experience working in education & health sectors, I have built up a large repertoire of many skills to bring to my practice.

Like many, COVID-19 created workplace change for me. Over this period I have been focusing on the professional supervision & coaching aspect of my practice. This has included recent upskilling and managing a team of support workers to support staff debrief, crisis intervention and wellbeing within CDHB hospitals and other businesses in Christchurch.

Within my acupuncture practice I love using the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) approach to connect the body to its innate healing ability. Weather brief intervention for injury recovery, or a more complex health condition, TCM brings a unique view on the body that uses a bigger picture of what it means to heal. Science is now catching up and much of the TCM symbolism is simply ways of describing of homeostasis and wellbeing models of health in which each body system works in harmony with the others to build overall health.

As an ACC registered practitioner, my injury treatment approach is very physically minded to optimise a fast recovery. Treatment will focus on the local area, in combination with acupuncture points & education to help you build & distributing resources through the body (qi & blood), and support relaxation for a whole body response to enhance your healing.

TCM Acupuncturists have long known that when working to support a relaxation response many physical symptoms will ease. For this reason TCM Acupuncture can be helpful to support long term pain conditions and ease symptoms that arise from stress and trauma. This is a particular interest of mine and I have recently joined an Otago research project for trauma release acupuncture to support PTSD and chronic pain recovery in Veterans.

Personal growth is an ongoing pursuit & passion. I love to learn, like to think I am open minded and supportive, and always hope to connect with clients in a quiet and gentle way with values of kindness and integrity.

Outside of work I enjoy an active lifestyle of nature walks, swimming, paddle boarding and exploring the best of what the South Island has to offer in my campervan. I also have a creative side enjoying a mix of making ceramics, gardening & music, and more recently added a puppy to my family.

Nicci Blain
NDA, BHSc.Acu (4yrs), PGC.PS
Member Acupuncture New Zealand
ACC registered Provider

Acupuncturist - Sports Clinic: 158 Bealey Ave (& Home clinic)

Teacher - Health Sciences & Professional Development Courses

Coach - Health & Wellness Support, Treatment planning, Professional Supervision - Registered Supervisor with Workplace Support & Supervision.org New Zealand

Acupuncture for Hayfever Treatment

Although many of us are enjoying the warmth of spring in the air, spare a though for hay fever sufferers. The arrival of the first warm winds of the season often brings an onslaught of symptoms lasting through spring and summer. Hay fever, medically known as seasonal allergic rhinitis, is caused by allergies to plant pollen's, dust or pets. Symptoms include a watery or stuffy nose, sneezing and itchy eyes. Standard treatment is normally use of antihistamines and/or nasal sp

I'm back!!

After many years teaching and recent work in the Wellness industry supporting staff, I have registered with Acupuncture New Zealand and back into practice. Now working from Sports Clinic 156 Bealey Ave, Christchurch. I combine my health science anatomy physiology teaching with Traditional Chinese Medicine for a balanced informative session to help you better understand your health and integrate wellness back into daily living. I have also recently added Health Coaching and P

Fire Up Your Summer

Here are 5 tips based on following the seasonal flow with Chinese Medicine to help you build your health and energy and make the most of this great Canterbury summer. 1. Get Busy: This is the season to get things done 'make hay while the sun shines'. The warmth and additional light creates a sense of alertness, movement and expansion. Capitalise on this energy by keeping moving and be as productive as you can. Come winter you will feel more settled and rest easy knowing tha

Autumn Inspiration - Metal element 2017

Chinese Medicine is very seasonally focused. It is thought to help us stay at our best we need to be in flow with the same energies supporting nature. Energetically something changes each season, obviously as we move away from the sun, light and temperature change. However plants know this isn't just a few cold days and instinctively create their last bloom, start to wilt, and/or begin to drop their leaves. In the seasonal cycle, Autumn marks a time of completion. It is a go

Harvest time!! - Earth Element 2017

Chinese medicine is very seasonally focused. It is believed that to stay at our energetic best it is important to align mind body & spirit with what is happening in nature so we can recharge and maintain good health throughout the year Late Summer - Earth Element Late Summer is a distinct season within the Traditional Chinese Medicine calendar. It is a time of harvest and abundance, as well as time to store and ready supplies to last the winter ahead. Although officially now

Working Unregulated

Whist attending a Massage New Zealand talk last night I was inspired to hear about research & ideas from Rachel Ah Kit who attended the International Massage Therapy Research Conference in Seattle. The 2 main messages I got from this were: Massage is proven to work for pain relief: see, http://painmedicine.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/05/06/pm.pnw099 For us to actually share & use this knowledge with credibility, we have to keep using science, keep researchin

Seasonal Update - Winter 2016

Chinese medicine is very seasonally focused. It is believed that to stay at our energetic best it is important to align ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally with what is happening in nature. In nature, winter is a time of rest & restoration. This is the period where seeds lay seemingly dormant in the ground. But they don't just rest. The seed is gathering strength, nutrients and knowledge from it’s surroundings. While resting it is collecting all it needs ready