Offering herself up as a practice pin cushion to an acupuncturist is a lot more calming than Sutton Guardian reporter Nina Jacobs thought it would be.

As I walked cautiously into Sylvia Gulbenkian’s practice room a slight rush of adrenalin washed over me as the realisation that having leapt at the chance to try a session of acupuncture, I did actually have to go through with it.

Unlike most people in my office who shrank with horror at the thought of volunteering to be treated with needles, I felt no anxiety at offering myself as a practice pin cushion.

That was until now.

But any fears I might have had about what I was letting myself in for were quickly quelled when Sylvia asked me to lie down on her consulting bed.

I instantly felt relaxed at the prospect of an easy task and far more prepared for Sylvia to bring out her box of needles.

Having never seen an acupuncture needle before, I was fascinated by just how fine they were and agreed for Sylvia to insert one into a point on my forehead.

Within seconds she had pinched the skin between my eyes together and inserted the tip so it was sticking out at right angles to my face. I felt no pain at the needle’s insertion and would have been totally unaware of its presence if it were not for the photographer zooming his camera lens to take a close up shot.

“The point between the eyebrows is called yin tang it’s a very calming point and it’s good if you have got things like insomnia or if people are stressed. But it can make you feel a bit tired,” says Sylvia.

She explains she has chosen this part of my body because it is a miscellaneous acupuncture point and not organ specific.

It dawns on me quite quickly that apart from the obvious and simplistic association of acupuncture with needles, this is an area of alternative medicine about which I am clearly ignorant.

Invented by the Chinese more than 2,000 years ago, this subtle system of medicine is practised in hospitals and clinics throughout modern China and is often used alongside western medicine.

Sylvia explains how our bodies are filled with channels of energy or Qi (pronounced “chee”) which need to flow freely for us to enjoy good health.

“If an organ is weak or something is blocking the channel then you would use acupuncture to make the energy flow again.

“The liver makes the energy flow through the body so if, for example, you had a throbbing headache, there’s a point on the foot which is part of the liver channel which you would treat.

“I might do local points near the head but I might use a needle on the big toe which is the start of the liver channel,” she says.

With about 365 points all over the body, Sylvia says she usually uses points from the elbows to the hands and from the knees to the toes.

She also uses a lot of points on the back and abdomen.

“You can’t access the heart channel too close to the heart because it is too deep, but it runs down your arm it actually ends just before your fingernail on your little finger.

“The points nearer the end are the most powerful but areas like the elbow are more gentle.”