Meet Ross J. Barr founder of ROSS J. BARR SUPPLEMENTS

My family are Scottish and I grew up in Oxford with a big chunk of my family that all moved down together. Now I live with my little family in Kensal.

 

My Mum was hugely into alternative medicine when I was growing up. She used to cover us in Cider Vinegar for what seemed like everything. As well as clean with it. I’m one of 3 boys and her homeopathic kit seemed to always be out on the kitchen table. My father died when I was just 20 out of the blue, it was her that encouraged us to go for Acupuncture after to help with the shock and heartbreak of it all. I remember vividly how much better I felt after my 1st session. I had a overwhelming feeling that despite the pain everything would be ok. And it changed my whole perception of what was happening to us as a family and how I dealt with the pain and the grief. And the usually clichés really, I just fell in love with it. And I wanted to do the same for others as it did for me. It also seemed like a very cool job where I could drink a lot of Tea. And I was right, I drink a lot of tea.

 

 

It teaches me to understand why people often behave the way they do and to be more understanding of folk. And that people who are generally balanced or happy don’t behave like assholes. And so to forgive the imbalanced ones when they do.

 

 

I think it less about a mission for the practice and more about what I have ended up doing more of in recent years which is fertility work, mainly because Acupuncture is brilliant at helping with that. Acupuncture has an incredible ability to enhance the organs’ functionality. From a fertility point of view, you get better blood flow, better womb lining and improved egg quality. It just enhances all the things the body is able to do for itself when it comes to the cycle, which is a great barometer for female health.

 

 

Years ago I got fed up seeing my pregnant patients being oversold stuff they didn’t need and so I started the process of trying to find the best possible formula someone would need through pregnancy and beyond. It did brilliantly with patients and then a wonderful woman called Gill Sinclair who owns Victoria Health persuaded me to launch them publicly. When Covid hit, it became apparent that I couldn’t get to see my patients in person when they needed help, so we thought of ways to get to them, and that’s how the Healing Patch came to be. The range then expanded natutraly, born out of a thousand conversations in clinic over the years and it really reflects the needs of patients. I remember a very wise old practitioner telling me very simply that if you just listen to your patients, properly, they will tell you what they need.

 

 

History really.

Herbalists have been working for 1000’s of years with herbs, and that 1000’s years of scholarship, trial and error and scientific study. And so we tried 100’s of combinations until we found one that just clicked, and worked. The patches have herbs and oils that give an olfactive boost and the acupuncture point they’re applied on is ideal at calming the neural pathways. So they work simply on a few levels. The connection is a really good point, as the intent people have to feel better when they put them on is also a powerful thing. As well as all the amazing herbs. 

 

 

Ashwaghanda is just a miracle to me. We’ve included it in our new Sleep Formula.

And I take it consistently. Its the one supplement I take if I don’t have time to do my normal routine. And I’ll aways take some away with me even if its for one night away.

 

 

That is a really good question. The longer I’ve been doing this the more I see that it’s treating people that gives me the most peace. And that the less it feels like I’m running a business, the better for everyone. So I make sure that my 1st focus is just to treat the person in front of me and then everything else should hopefully be ok. The way to do that is to make sure you get help in the areas that you’re not aligned with. Since I have gotten more help the business side of things it has become even more enjoyable and I’m able to focus on looking after folk. 

 

 

As much as I love it, London is a hell of a city to try and be healthy in.

You don’t get health from the geography, climate or nature really in London like you would do, say, in the likes of Sydney. Any health you have, you have to create yourself - and it takes some work.

 

You HAVE to do the basics right: eat well, get to bed early, go easy on the alcohol, drugs and coffee.

All the things that people overlook when they start to feel a bit edgy. The basics are still the original and most powerful medicine.

When things are full-on I always think reverting to 1990’s methods of relaxation work for me. When we used to watch a movie on VHS or DVD it would be the only thing we’d do and we’d commit fully to it. (No phone or laptop) and as a result we’d get the full physiological benefit of sitting down and enjoying something for 2 hours. Meditation is often the gift of the healthy and when people are up against it, its one of the first things that goes out the window and becomes something else to feel guilty about not doing, so I try and get patients to find a 1990s middle ground. The Cinema, or watching a movie at home with your phone away, or reading some fiction, to just sit down and commit to reading something that spirits you away is ideal. Not a self-help book or anything that causes self analysis - if possible a hard copy. I’ve noticed it being a really good barometer for patients being well and balanced, when they are able to find time to read.

 

  

I used to do an exercise with a teacher who specialised in NLP. Where you literally draw out your ideal week in calendar form. And it’s amazing how much more likely you are to manifest it after you’ve articulated it to yourself (and the universe) openly. 

 

Mine would be some time alone before any of my family wake up to have a tea and breakfast and supplements, and then a smooth happy morning with my kids before drop off.  I love being in Clinic. And I’m lucky in that I’m busy. A day with patients (not too many) is still my favourite place to be. Then home to put my kids to bed and watch a movie with some Calm Patches on and a glass of wine (at the weekend). Simple.