Vimalaprabha's Biography

I was born and grew up in Altrincham, Cheshire, just to the south of Manchester. I was quite bright at school and, along with nearly every other boy of my age growing up near Manchester in the 60’s and 70’s, football-mad. I went to the local grammar school where it became evident I was not going to be the next George Best; being good at maths was scant consolation for this devastating realisation, but I went into the sixth form and from there to University to study Physics-with-Astrophysics. I think now that I chose this subject because I “needed space”; I felt constricted in myself, and the image of the vastness of space drew me. Although I graduated with an upper second class degree, I had spent most of my time at university learning to play the electric guitar very badly, getting drunk, and generally moping about. My need for space had not been fulfilled.

Shortly before the end of my time at university, mooching around in a bookshop when I probably should have been at a lecture, I found a book called ‘The Tao of Physics’ by an American physicist called Fritjof Capra. This claimed to find parallels between western science and eastern mysticism, and introduced me to things like Buddhism, Taoism and Zen. Just after my final exams, I chanced across an advert in ‘The Guardian’ for a Buddhist retreat, and decided to give it a go for a few days whilst I waited to hear if I was going to get a grant for a post-graduate degree in the History of Science. I didn’t get the grant, but the retreat was an eye-opener and I took up the practice of meditation, discovering how adept my mind really was at seemingly random associative thinking, and started going to classes at a Buddhist centre in Manchester.

I got more involved with the Buddhist centre and after a few years was ordained into the Western Buddhist Order on a three month meditation retreat in Italy. This is where I got my name, which is a Buddhist one. I spent the next fifteen plus years teaching Buddhism and meditation, going on retreats, and helping run various Buddhist centres around the country. I also worked for a few years for a Buddhist run charity which works with very poor people, predominantly in India, promoting self-reliance. The result of all this meditation was not that my talent for random associative thinking diminished very much, but it did lead me to discovering poetry and literature, which became important to me - I began to write poetry off and on - and it lead to a growing ability to appreciate the natural world. I remember once opening my eyes after a session of meditation to see a tree which I had lived with for 20 years, but it was as if I had never seen the tree before. Buddhist practice also reinforced my desire to live simply and to resist what seemed to me to be the questionable assumptions driving our modern consumerist society.

As I got into my forties I began to feel the need, if not for a new beginning, then at least for a small change of direction. Part of this was my wanting to pay more attention to the body, as opposed to the mind/spirit, (in so far as the two can be separated). This led me to look into, amongst other things, various so-called ‘alternative therapies’, and I became interested enough in acupuncture to study it to masters level at the Northern College of Acupuncture in York, during which time I supported myself financially by working as a support worker with learning disabled adults (never a dull moment!). In studying acupuncture I enjoyed the challenge of learning a new skill, and, to some extent, a new way of thinking about human life, although I didn’t always enjoy writing essays and I would occasionally find myself writing doggerel poetry in the middle of the less interesting lectures.

I graduated from the NCA in summer 2007, and began setting up my own acupuncture practice within the Sherwood Chiropractic Clinic in Nottingham, which is where I was living at the time (Nottingham, that is, not the Sherwood Chiropractic Clinic!) Soon after that I also began working at the Sean Barkes Clinic, and now divide my time between the two.

I enjoy treating a wide range of complaints; I enjoy the fact that every patient is unique and needs treating uniquely. I have a particular interest in the treatment of pain and find it deeply satisfying to be able to help people who are, often, in a considerable amount of it. I also enjoy the fact that Chinese Medicine is such a rich, varied and ancient tradition that there is always a great deal more to learn.  

Clinical Director's Footnote

Some readers who have met Vimalaprabha may be surprised to hear that, behind that sensible Buddhist exterior, there is a droll sense of humour. Here is what Vimalaprabha first submitted when asked to provide his biography (click here for Vimalaprabha's not-so-serious biography!)