Sosho Selfcare

17/09/2026

12/09/2026

Before acupuncture, there was Japan.

I first wandered into a karate class as a teenager, almost by accident.

I stayed for nine years.

I became deeply dedicated to the dojo. It wasn’t a competition dojo. It was devoted to traditional karate, discipline & practical self-defence.

The dojo was predominantly male, and over time it felt like a family.

We were taught the colour of the belt was insignificant. It simply told the teacher where you were in your training.

I learned the code of the samurai and developed a deep respect for the art of karate, my teachers and the dojo itself.

Perhaps the most important thing was learning how not to fight.

It was also through the dojo that I was introduced to mokuso, sitting with eyes closed, quieting the mind, turning inward, Zazen meditation.

Those moments of stillness became as much a part of my experience of the dojo as the physical training.

My fascination with karate naturally lead to an interest in Japan. I studied Japanese at school & at fifteen travelled alone to Japan for the first time as part of a student home stay.

I was welcomed into the Kinosh*ta family in Kamogawa, I attended school, travelled with the family, went skiing & Tokyo Disneyland.

My host father knew of my interest in martial arts & arranged for me to meet a Shotokan karate sensei.

That meeting stayed with me for more than 30 years.

I remember feeling unwell that day, mostly from the adjustment of diet. The sensei asked if I had been sick. I said I was fine.

He stood behind me, placed his hands gently on my shoulder and said the familiar words:

Mokuso. Eyes Closed.

I remember feeling very relaxed and becoming aware of his abdominal breathing.

Then he said in Japanese, to open my eyes.

When I did, I was lying horizontally on the floor, my head gently resting in his hands, while he was seated in seiza.

I still don’t know how I went from standing to lying on the floor.

I remember feeling calm, clear & restored.

It was an experience I couldn’t quite explain but never forgot.

Somewhere amongst the karate, meditation & Japanese, the first threads of the practitioner I would become were already forming.

I just didn’t know it yet.

08/09/2026

Some of the threads were already there.

I was so blessed to grow up with a mother who had a deep love of natural health, gardening and living in rhythm with the seasons.

A moon chart an almost permanent fixture was displayed in the kitchen, I loved learning from her the lunar cycles & when best to plant. Salads in summer, soups in winter all home grown from her ever changing herb & vegetable garden.

Memories of chickens & bunnies in the yard, harvesting fresh beans, delighting in passionfruit from the vine over our pergola & waiting patiently by the edge of our strawberry patch for the flowers to turn into fruit, ripen and then eat. The cabbage butterflies & lady bettles made my heart sing. The absolute best.

I would help Mum prepare food in the kitchen, learning without really knowing I was learning, that nourishment, nature and the changing of the seasons were all part of caring for the body.

My mother was also very passionate about aromatherapy and nourishing ways of living. She was drawn to astrology, the moon and the rhythms of nature too, so these ideas were simply part of the world I grew up in.

Her own experiences with health had led her to explore different forms of care when conventional medicine hadn’t given her the answers she was looking for.

As a child I was introduced to chiropractors, homeopathy, herbal medicine, massage, aromatherapy, alongside a deep appreciation of good food, nature & natural ways of supporting the body.

Looking back now, I can see that some of the threads were already there.

I just didn’t know yet where they would lead me.

06/09/2026

I cannot believe it is been 25 years since my first day in clinical practice. I honestly still remember it as if it was yesterday, never imaging where this journey would take me.

From a childhood surrounded by my mother’s love of natural health & her garden, to my teenage years practising Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate, my first experiences of Japan; from studying acupuncture, to hospital internships in China, postgraduate studies around the world, research, teaching, birth work & most importantly, caring for women through their unique journeys of health, fertility & pregnancy.

There have been so many chapters.

Over the coming weeks, I’d love to share a little more of the journey with you, some of the people, places, teachers & experiences that have shaped the practitioner I am today.

For now, I simply want to say thank you.

To every woman who has trusted me with her care over these 25 years, it has been everything to me.

And to the teachers who have shared their knowledge so generously with me, I remain forever grateful.

25 years on I am still learning, still curious & still deep in love with this form of medicine.

Warmest,
Jolene 🤍