Finding zen
JACK JEWELL • acupuncturist
WORK • Wednesday Routine
JACK JEWELL • acupuncturist
Neighbourhood you work in: Soho
Neighbourhood you live in: Bethnal Green
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I ride an aqua-coloured Vespa to Golden Square, imagining myself as a poor man’s Steve McQueen – if he were a therapist. I love buzzing into my building and riding the lift that opens out onto the waiting room of my clinic. There are aromatic Ayurvedic teas and cold-pressed juices waiting for me and my clients, and I settle from the adrenaline of the ride as soon as I walk in.
I work as a classical acupuncturist. Acupuncture is often reduced to back pain or fertility support, but I wish people were able to see it as something that could greatly improve the quality of their life. I might see a new client who needs support with hypertension due to just not knowing their place in the world. I might support them by opening up their diaphragm so they can breathe easier, and follow up by settling the energies that are constantly reacting and responding to a hostile world. I see a wide variety of clients carrying their own struggles.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I’m really looking forward to going to the Meeting House Café in Peckham for a family lunch. They serve the most unbelievable meatballs and lasagne in London, guaranteed. I’ll happily drive from one side of London to the other, and even accidentally pay a congestion charge just for one plate of their food.
I celebrated my three-year anniversary with my wife and daughter at Spring in Somerset House. All their food comes from a 16-acre biodynamic farm in Herefordshire. The quality and execution is insane and it’s probably the only time in my life where I’ll get a cocktail. They do a scratch menu for leftovers, and affordable lunch options for people wanting to experience something exquisite on a relative budget.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I recently started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Pure Jiujitsu in Acton. It’s amazing. Everyone is friendly and patient with you, despite ultimately trying to render you unconscious. Martial Arts is beneficial to the spirit and it’s a really fun way to get people together for both fitness and self-defence. I strongly recommend it to anyone who’s felt lonely or has pent-up energy that needs to be released. It’s like chess but with human bodies.
My wife and baby daughter go to Queen’s Park Farmers’ Market on a Sunday. They sometimes have a great independent sellers’ market with cosy cashmere or bougie, off-the-lorry homeware at reasonable, cash-only prices. There’s also a cute little farm zoo in the park with goats. If we’re having a big summer blowout, we might do it with a little cookie from Don’t Tell Dad.
Any weekend getaways?
I proposed to my wife in Wistman’s Wood in Devon. I’m not saying you should propose there, but at the very least you can drink in light that shines through the limpid bearded lichen, or cultivate some wood energy by sitting on a mossy elder stone. It’s pure magic.
What was your last great holiday?
We were in Japan two months ago. Trip of a lifetime. Big family event. We did some major city-hopping and I wish we’d stayed longer. We fell in love with the countryside surrounding Mt. Hiei, which is the birthplace of Zen and other esoteric sects of Buddhism in Japan. Holy mountain. Swimming in rivers whilst the locals light sprinklers and eat barbecued food. The place to stay is a hotel called Moksa, designed by a prominent ceramic artist. It’s absurd. I love Japanese selvedge denim and the best stockist was BEARS in Shimokitzawa, Tokyo. They’re super-kind and will adjust the hem if you need. I also loved the Yamane denim store in Nara, where I picked up an insanely comfortable cashmere and cotton blend with a cream/off-white raw denim jacket.