Needles are an essential aspect of our practices that most of us don’t know much about, other than we have some brands or types we like to use. What goes into a needle and how needle technology over the years has changed is a bit of a mystery to many of us. So I’m delighted to have Matt Pike here with me. He’s been involved with the sourcing and manufacture of acupuncture needles for a long time. We are going to get into the backstory on this essential tool that we use everyday in the work we do...
May 18, 2018•40 min•Ep. 32
As practitioners we all work with a mix of theory, clinical sensibilities developed through years of practice, and the immediate moment of encounter with our patients. What we feel with our hands can deeply help to inform our treatments and ground our mental models into the physicality of the present moment. Our colleagues on the shiatsu side of the house have a bit of an advantage in connecting and working with the channels and points in a sensate way, as they spend much more of their time in p...
May 16, 2018•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 31
In this episode we discuss the Jing Fang, the classic formulas, as they are being used by Dr. Huang Huang in the modern clinic, along a look at how some of our oldest medicine helps to throw new light on the importance of the digestive system and human biome. Listen in for a wide ranging discussion that covers the challenges and rewards of studying in China. How some simple formulas from the Shang Han Lun are not so simple once you begin to dig into them, and what it is like to do a Ph.D. in Chi...
May 08, 2018•51 min•Ep. 30
Children are full of yang qi and respond quickly to the methods of East Asian medicine. There is a lot of good you can do in using our methods to treat kids, especially in treating some conditions that conventional medicine can only offer symptomatic relief. Our guest in this episode got started with treating children by working through some health issues with her own kids. Listen as we discuss the common issues that children present with in the clinic, how to enlist the help of parents, how to ...
May 01, 2018•54 min•Ep. 29
One of the great things about podcasts is that it’s not difficult to find one that lines up with your particular interest. Chinese medicine practitioners are fortunate to have podcasts like Heavenly Qi that allow us to listen in to conversations that go deep into the workings of our medicine and bring you the perspective of experienced clinicians. This conversation in this episode is with the creators of the Heavenly Qi podcast where we explore how this new medium allows us to learn from other p...
Apr 24, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 28
Research can be a problematic area for practitioners of East Asian medicine. While many acupuncturists are keen to share research with patients that paints acupuncture in a positive light, especially for marketing purposes, there are not many of us that are generating that research. And there is the issue of double-blind studies, which are the gold standard in conventional medical research, but difficult to apply to East Asian medicine, as the practitioner is an integral part of the treatment. T...
Apr 17, 2018•58 min•Ep. 27
Many of us were exposed to guasha in our schooling, but it was more like a footnote than anything else. Over in Asia guasha is a well-used aspect of the folk medicine. Hardly a grandma or auntie that doesn’t know how to raise a rash with a soup spoon. But most docs over there don’t use it. So it is understandable how in teaching “medicine” here in the west we’d get the minimal exposure we do. In this episode we sit down with the “Guasha Queens” and learn why this simple technique should be part ...
Apr 10, 2018•57 min•Ep. 26
There are many ways to attend to our patients in clinic. We can work through mental models that we’ve acquired from our schooling, study, and clinical experience. We can also use our innate human ability to touch, palpate and sense. In this episode we discuss the importance of down-regulating our nervous system. Along with the use of palpation and sensing references to anchor our ideas about what might be going on for a patient, and to track the progress of the treatment as it unfolds. Additiona...
Apr 03, 2018•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 25
Plenty of people seek out acupuncture in particular as they have heard a few needles in the ear will break their cigarette habit, or cause their appetite and cravings to completely transform. We’ve all heard stories of someone’s cousin who got needled once and never smoked again or they lost a lot of weight. But how many of these people have you seen get these results in your clinic? Often patients seek out Chinese medicine for weight loss, weight control or smoking cessation. Many of us don’t h...
Mar 27, 2018•57 min•Ep. 24
Using acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are helpful modalities in the treatment of veterans who have served our country and suffer from injuries and the aftermath of trauma. But, treating veterans is not as simple as treating what we see in the clinical setting. There are aspects of military life that are invisible to the average civilian. And while acupuncture increasingly is being used by the military and the veteran’s administration, it has its own flavor and protocols. In this episode ...
Mar 20, 2018•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 23
We learn in acupuncture school that the body, mind and spirit are woven together into the tapestry of one’s life. We learn that each of the yin organs has a spirit aspect, and that we can’t touch the body without touching the mind and vise versa. And yet there are blockages that are lodged more in the psycho-emotive realm and can at times prevent healing on the physical level. In this show we explore the healing of emotional trauma. Investigate some ways of thinking about how to interact with th...
Mar 13, 2018•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 22
Dr. Wang Ju-Yi was ever curious about why some treatments worked and others did not. He deeply studied the classical literature along with his own clinical experience, and somewhere along the way started putting his hands on patients to simply see what the channels had to say. For those practitioners who find palpation to be a key part of their practice, the work of Dr. Wang opens a whole new way of interacting with patients. And for those who are interested in how to puzzle through confounding ...
Mar 06, 2018•55 min•Ep. 21
When I first went to Taiwan I noticed that around most of the larger temples there was a street of 算命師, fortune tellers. Some would use the ba gua, others attended to your birthdate, palm or some combination of numbers. Others would look at the face. The Chinese medicine section in bookstores would also have books that explained hot to use maps of the face to diagnose health concerns. In East Asia, it's common knowledge that there is more written on the face than we in West attend to. Our guest ...
Feb 27, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 20
CBD, cannabidiol, has been making the rounds lately in the natural medicine world. Almost overnight it seems this botanical has popped onto the scene and there are lot of claims as to it health benefits. As Chinese medicine practitioners we are already familiar with some of the benefits of hemp seed, and as practitioners in the modern world we might like to incorporate something as useful as CBD. But how does this botanical fit into our thinking and practice? And where is the research, that is s...
Feb 20, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 19
Practice acupuncture long enough and one of your patients is bound to mention some issues their pet is having. They might ask for some herbal advice, or see if you'd be up for treating their furry friend. Perhaps you've tried your hand at treating your own critters. Found that your cat is more frisky after acupuncture or that the dog's hips aren't such a bother after a few needles. In this episode we talk with a veterinary acupuncturist about the legal considerations, training programs and safet...
Feb 13, 2018•42 min•Ep. 18
In this episode we take a look at marketing and practice building from the perspective of new practitioner who is excited and looking forward to building a business. No, you don’t need to go back and reread that last paragraph; you got it right the first read through. In this conversation we hear from a newly minted acupuncturist who is happily looking forward to building a business. Yes, this is a minority point of view, as many of us believe ourselves to be healers, but not “business people.” ...
Feb 06, 2018•48 min•Ep. 17
Precious and rare medicinal mushrooms like reshi (ling zhi) and cordyceps (dong chong xia cao) used to be available only to royalty, or those who knew how to spot them in the wild. These medicinals have a long history of use in East Asia and are associated with vitality, longevity and a connection to the spirit world. Even today it is said of the wild forms that "those who buy it don't eat it, and those who eat it don't buy it" as it is often gifted in a attempt to curry favor or influence. Fort...
Jan 30, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 16
According to conventional medicine, macular degeneration is a progressive, incurable, degenerative disease. As good as modern medicine can be for some opthamological problems, it does not have much to offer those with macular degeneration other than say "take your vitamins and await the inevitable." While macular degeneration is indeed progressive, it's progress can be slowed and in many people some amount of function restored. Not only macular degeneration, but Stargardt's disease, retinitis pi...
Jan 23, 2018•48 min•Ep. 15
Tung style acupuncture is known for its curious collection of points that can be a challenge to the mind for those of us that learned to think about acupuncture strictly from a channel or function perspective. The methods handed down from Master Tung invite us to think about the resonance between points, structures, locations and tissue. It encourages us to consider not just the Spleen channel, but why its helpful to think of it as the leg tai yin as well. As well as why the shoulder is like the...
Jan 16, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 14
Our guest did not start out with the intention of building a medicinal herb import company. It started out as a way to solve his own problems with sourcing herbs. And as is often the case, one thing lead to another. In this episode we take a look at some of the common concerns practitioners have about herb quality, issues surrounding the use of pesticides, heavy metals and sulfur. Additionally we discuss how the concerns of Western herbalists has to some degree changed the herb market and growin...
Jan 09, 2018•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 13
This episode started out as a short solo show to give you a sense of what to expect from Qiological in the coming year. Then a friend who I wanted to interview for the show said, "Actually, I'd like to interview you. I've got some questions about the background of your podcast show, and what motivates and fuels you through the various projects I've seen you undertake over the years." So today's show is not only gives you a glimpse of what's ahead, but also a peek behind the microphone. Listen in...
Jan 02, 2018•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 12
Doctor Huang Huang is a clinician, teacher, author and well studied expert on the Jing Fang, the classical formulas of the Shang Han Lun. He has a unique perspective on constitution and how that relates to a patient's illness, their strengths, and the kinds of herbs that will be safe and effective for them. The guest on today's show has been going to Nanjing and Studying with Dr. Huang for the past 10 years and is currently doing a Ph.D with him as his advisor. In this episode we dig into the de...
Dec 26, 2017•54 min•Ep. 11
In this episode we reflect on the burden and privilege of a clinical practice. How we grow into it by using a blend of our objectivity and subjectivity. And how mindfulness and a curiosity about our own internal landscape all help to inform our clinical work and development as a practitioner. We look at how learning the medicine not only helps the patients we see, but provides a deep benefit for our lives as well. And how to stay present in the moments of failure in such a way that we can gain a...
Dec 12, 2017•38 min•Ep. 10
We give a great amount of respect to the Classics in Chinese medicine, but understanding these foundational texts of our medicine can be challenge, even if you do understand the old form of Chinese. Just as many of struggle to get through the brilliance of Shakespeare, the classics of Chinese medicine require a particular kind of attention. And it doesn't hurt if you actually can understand the "gu wen" classical Chinese language. It's even more helpful if you engaged the other classic literatur...
Nov 28, 2017•50 min•Ep. 9
Eastland Press has been bringing books on Oriental medicine from Chinese into English since the early days of Americans studying the traditional medicine of Asia. Actually, from even before there was a market for this kind of material. In this episode we go into the early history of Eastland Press. How what seemed like a good idea at the time turned into a multi-year endeavor and how Dan and John's dedication to "Westerner's owning our part of this long medical tradition" has kept them at the fo...
Nov 14, 2017•57 min•Ep. 8
Oriental medicine draws distinctions between various aspects of mind, body and spirit, but unlike Western culture, it never severed the connections between these aspects of being. We know both from our experience in clinic and writings of Chinese medicine through the ages that emotional and mental processes can effect physiology and the body can deeply influence the mind. We see an entangled system of mutual influence where Western medicine sees a hierarchy and disconnection between mind and bod...
Oct 31, 2017•42 min•Ep. 7
It’s really difficult to attract something that you actually have an aversion toward. Many practitioners have conflicted feelings about money, conflate marketing with dishonesty, and worry that material success is somehow suspect. Is it any wonder that for many acupuncturists having a thriving practice is something we both desire and at the same time avoid? In this episode we look at how a stable thriving practice comes not from doing the “business things” we dislike, but rather from the cultiva...
Oct 17, 2017•40 min•Ep. 6
It is common knowledge that acupuncture is quite effective in the treatment of pain. However, for many of us acupuncturists we feel a bit uneasy about treating back pain in pregnant women, as we don’t want to move too much qi and blood in a pregnant woman. In this episode our guest Debra Betts shares her long and deep experience in working with women in pregnancy, and in particular how to effectively and safely treat back pain that is due to the physiologic and hormonal changes that occur in the...
Oct 03, 2017•45 min•Ep. 5
Our guest in this episode is a long time practitioner and teacher of Chinese medicine. Our discussion ranges through a number of different topics from approaching the classics in Chinese medicine, to how our practices season us and lead us in certain directions over the years, to some considerations that new practitioners might find helpful. We also discuss how to keep our growing edge vital and alive and dip into the difference between medicine and healing. Listen in as we explore the perspecti...
Sep 20, 2017•48 min•Ep. 4
Studying medicine can be both a joyous exploration and a dry mind-numbing slog through endless technical material. In this episode we discuss the Eastland Press book "A Walk Along the River." This book is not just a glimpse into the mind of a seasoned and well-read practitioner, but also brings in the aspect of dialogue, as his clinical cases and considerations are further illuminated by the questions posed by three doctors. If you've ever read a book on medicine that gave you the "what" of a tr...
Aug 31, 2017•59 min•Ep. 3
