With autumn in full swing, one’s body may need some extra TLC. The Jai Ma Wellness Centre in Ormstown offers a variety of different self-care and healing practices including acupuncture, foot care, massage and osteopathy. Founded by Louise Robinson in 2016, the centre is marking its 10th anniversary this year.
Robinson started practicing acupuncture in Huntingdon in 2001, where she stayed for five years. In 2016, she started renovations on the home that has now become the Jai Ma Wellness Centre.
She embraces the centre’s team approach and has worked with a variety of people over the decade. In recent years, however, the team has consistently included Melanie Roux (massage), Natalie Piché (osteopathy), and as of February, a nurse practitioner, Lisa St-Louis (foot care).
This diversity of services has been great for the clients. “I find more and more people are wanting to combine services. Often, they’ll come and have a massage and then have their feet done. Or sometimes I’ll have one person who’s coming for acupuncture while their mother is getting a massage,” Robinson explains.
Robinson’s journey to acupuncture began at McGill, where she was studying medical anthropology. It was here that she learned about Chinese medicine and the philosophy behind it. This led to her deciding to attend Cégep de Rosemont’s acupuncture program in Montreal, the only one of its kind in the province. After her first year, she did a two-month stage in China.
There can be some misconceptions about acupuncture and Chinese medicine in North America. Robinson says, “One of the things I really like about [it] is that it takes the whole person into consideration.” She explains that oftentimes a needle will go into one spot on the body, but the effects may travel to other problem areas such as sites of sprains or arthritis. This also applies to issues of stress and emotional pain.
Robinson says that acupuncture can treat the pain and the person, and that people are often surprised by how relaxing it can be and how connected they can feel to their body.
Many are also concerned about the perceived size of the needles. In reality, they’re extremely small – usually only the size of a strand of hair – and usually there is a maximum of 15 needles at a given time. “People have seen movies and different things where patients are covered from head to toe, but it’s not like that at all,” Robinson says.
To celebrate the centre’s milestone, Robinson is holding an open house on October 9 from 2 to 6 p.m. Robinson says this is an opportunity to “thank the community and thank people who have supported us and also meet new people and other businesses.”
To keep up to date with Jai Ma Wellness, follow on Facebook at Centre de Bien Être Jai Ma Wellness Centre, or check out the website, centrejaima.com.