The principles of Chinese medicine, with its focus on balance and harmony, have long offered effective treatment methods for respiratory disorders, by both fighting pathogenic influence and by allowing the essence of health to flow freely. Our treatment modalities are steeped in time-tested methods and in experience carried forward from one generation to the next. Our experience of the past three years has revealed gaps in our knowledge, fractures in our social fabric and the influence of toxic ...
Mar 21, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 296
Chinese medicine is a rich tapestry of knowledge and techniques, ancient wisdom honed and passed down through the ages. But the ‘superpower’ of our medicine lies in its ability to explore the unknown. To navigate uncertainty and delve into both the unknown depths of the human body and the ever changing environment. Just as stars guide sailors on their voyage, the ancient wisdom of our medicine helps us to chart the unknown and steer our patients toward wellness and balance. Nowhere is this more ...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 295
Amidst the chaos of contagion and windstorm of viral woes, Chinese medicine offers ancient remedies, and beyond that, perspectives to guide us through the turmoil. While our bodies may be ever-changing, our medicine offers both a rooted stability and capacity to follow change in the moment. There’s more than one helpful way to track the winds of disharmony, to follow the tides of illness and health, and invite balance into an unsettled system. In this conversation with Daniel Altschuler, we delv...
Mar 07, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 294
Like the patina and wear on something touched often, or the way shoes and fabric carries the memory of the wearer. Our life and spirit shows its presence on our face. To read the face is to delve into the intricacies of the being woven into the lines, curves, and expressions of the human face. The face reflects the depth of our being. It’s an invitation into a world of untold stories, capacities and potential. Sparse eyebrows speak of emotional strain, the fullness of your lips reveals the abili...
Feb 28, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 293
As the winds of change sweep through the healthcare landscape, the acupuncture profession stands at a crossroads, and as is the nature of a crossroads-- there is uncertainty. But as with any crisis, there is both danger and opportunity. It is an opportunity to consider where we have been as a profession and what kind of future we’d like to see for ourselves and our profession. Perhaps it’s time to retool our approach to how our medicine fits into the landscape of modern American. Maybe it’s time...
Feb 21, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 292
Crafting the meaning in life, choosing our purpose and then having the courage and wherewithal to unfold that is not an easy task. Are we puppets in the hands of fate, or do we have the capacity to influence the rudder and chart our life path? Human beings have long grappled with questions surrounding our fate and destiny. And according to traditional Chinese medicine, the answer may lie in the extraordinary channels. Accessing the Chong meridian may be key to tapping a stable foundation that al...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 291
This is a continuation of the discussion I had with Damo. I had a few lingering questions from our previous conversation. So we got together a few days later to noodle on those. If you like the previous conversation, you'll likely find this one interesting as well. And perhaps, leave you too with some fruitful questions.
Feb 07, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 290
We all know that Chinese medicine is a path of balance. A journey of harmony and restoration. An art that seeks to align the channels and tend to the ebb and flow of Qi. As practitioners we are trying to unravel the knots that bind or drain away imbalances so as to invite the body back to health. Our medicine is an art that seeks to bring harmony to the whole. Attention to the body's subtle cues and responding with nourishment and care is of the utmost importance. Cultivating attention brings ab...
Feb 07, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 290
Mingmen (命門) is a lifeblood point in the flow of fire and qi in the body, yet remains shrouded in an enigma. For those who seek to understand their fate, the point—which translates to “Gate of Destiny” or “Gate of Life”—can be perceived as a gateway leading to a realm beyond our understanding, offering a glimpse into the unknown. Like the beating of our hearts, the strength and vitality of the Mingmen can determine the course of our lives. Its fiery heat, fueled by the blood of life that courses...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 289
As the earth awakens from its winter slumber, the gentle spring wind brings with it the promise of new beginnings. A new fate, a new story waiting to unfold like a delicate silk scroll, unfurling its beauty and mysteries with the turn of the Zodiac wheel. As cherry blossoms bloom and fireworks light up the night sky, the rabbit burrows into the subterranean, only to reemerge and hop its way into the spotlight, soothing the rough shores of the past and guiding us into the unknown in a voyage of d...
Jan 24, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 288
As practitioners of East Asian medicine, we are informed deeply by the ancient medicine, experience and wisdom passed down through generations. The holism woven into the East Asian medicine traditions is especially important in a modern world that often separates the body from the mind and spirit from the material. But like a tree rooted in ancient soil with the branches and leaves adapting to the environment as they reach towards the heavens, we need to incorporate influences of the modern worl...
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 287
Our language tells the tale of our evolution and the movement of the mind. It captures the experiences, attitudes, and wisdom of our ancestors and allows us to reflect upon our own. As herbalists and acupuncturists, the language of our medicine allows us to explore the body’s terrain. And by working with the body, we avail ourselves of the opportunity to communicate with the Spirit, the Five Phases, along with the channels and collaterals. And like classical Chinese language, our medicine typica...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 286
Treating what you see sounds easy. And it is essential if you want to craft a targeted and effective treatment. It’s those well aimed treatments that hit the mark that conflated with magic. But seeing clearly the underlying dynamic that gives rise to the troubles and symptoms for which patients seek us out. That is more complicated. In this conversation with David Toone we discussion the perspectives and work of the blind Japanese acupuncturist Dr Bear, who passed away a few months ago. Listen i...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 285
So much of our medicine is conveyed in stories—the ones we live, the ones we tell, and the ones we hear. Storytelling is an innate human impulse. It provides context and meaning, allowing us to share complex ideas and navigate our experience. Stories—of both success and failure—enrich our lives and convey the values, history, and culture that connect us. No matter how automated, evidence-based, standardized, or computerized medical systems become, the clinical encounter boils down to a story bet...
Dec 27, 2022•55 min•Ep. 284
Making the leap from the classroom to the clinic is an opportunity to explore a new world—but without a travel guide in the form of teachers and colleagues to help guide you along the way. You’re tasked with the lifetime opportunity of applying and refining your medicine in the wild. Even after your training, you may wonder if you’re truly prepared. You may keep coming back to the question: “ Do I know enough ?” Probably not—and that is not necessarily a comment on your competence as a practitio...
Dec 20, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 283
To use herbs within the scope of traditional Chinese medicine, we must first understand the qualities, temperatures, and tastes that dictate how each herb will function. Flavor, Taste and Nature gives us a snapshot of how an herb travels in the body, how it functions and the dysregulation or disharmony it may address. With the botanical world lending us a diverse palette of flavors to promote health and healing, the art of herbs in Chinese herbal medicine comes down to the skillful use of flavor...
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 282
Practitioners today navigate a dynamic and ever-evolving world of marketing and communications. There are so many ideas about practice building and how to use technology when it comes to attracting the attention of potential patients, and inviting them through our clinical door, and then retaining them as patients. How to get your message across in an effective way to the people who are looking for someone like you can be a challenge in the chaotic noisy world of the Internet. You have to know w...
Dec 06, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 281
Getting off track is not something uncommon for us. In fact, it’s an everyday part of our human experience. The question is, how do you notice when this happens and then how do you reorient? More importantly, how do you navigate when in unfamiliar territory? And likewise with your clinical work, how do you deal with the new and the unknown when it comes to treating patients? In this conversation with Heather Becker-Brungard, we discuss some ways of approaching our work, as well as how we interac...
Nov 29, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 280
The principles behind our medicine are relatively simple. The idea is to restore balance to a body that is in disharmony. To detect the patterns and ripples in the system. To facilitate the unimpeded flow of qi as a river does. Yet applying these theories in the practice of actual patient care is more complex. Learning in school or from mentors is one thing; cultivating the wisdom to apply this knowledge in the wild, it’s not always straightforward. Sometimes things don’t go how we expect. And a...
Nov 22, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 279
Heaven and Earth, the creative and the created, micro and macrocosm. All ways of saying there is a reality we inhabit, and beyond that a lot of mystery. And mystery is something us humans have, at best, an ambivalent relationship with. We seek to find some sense of order in what can be a captiously unsettling and unpredictable world. We look to the heavens and seek a larger frame for our experience as we look for the patterns that connect. In this conversation Deborah Woolf graciously entertains...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 278
Classical Chinese medicine recognizes the Heart (心 Xin) as a central organ to our being. It’s seen as holding the sovereign position as the emperor of the kingdom (i.e., the body). The Heart is where the Shen (神), the spirit, resides. It’s what gives us discernment and consciousness. In a way, phrases like “follow your heart,” “home is where the heart is,” and “from the bottom of my heart” seem to pay homage to the spiritual and coherent nature of the Heart. But how does this influence our work ...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 277
Tuning in is a cultivated skill that’s in many East Asian Medicine practitioner's toolbox. We learn early on to bring our intention, attention, and awareness to the clinic encounter. To pick up subtle movement and cues on the diagnostic table. But our "tuning in" often tends to focus on "outside facing" senses; the appearance, smell, sound, taste, or feel of something. Interoception turns the gaze to internal sensing—from the clenching of the stomach, to the beating of the heart, or tension in t...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 276
No one gets through life without difficulties. We all carry wounds and the consequences of the meanings we’ve made in the moments of heartbreak, fear and confusion. In this second conversation with Randle Lyons we discuss the dark forest of transformation. How our wounds can be a source of healing, if properly digested and how it’s harder to surrender when you have something to lose. Listen into this conversation on addiction and what can happen when we work with an open mind and heart when expl...
Oct 25, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 275
I recently got to thinking about wei qi, especially as we are moving into the dark of the year in the northern hemisphere, and I realized that I hear discussions about wei qi, and how we should attend to it, or nourish it. Often enough, perhaps too often, we equate wei qi with the immune system. And think about strength, rather than balance. What’s more, the commonly used formulas that are famous for ‘stabilizing or strengthening the exterior” are frequently prescribed without any kind of actual...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 274
Our job as Chinese Medicine practitioners is not so much to impress our ideas on patients but to cultivate a capacity and restraint to allow them to come back to themselves. Our assessment is meant to determine the patient’s understanding of their disharmony, and uncover blockages or excesses. As trusted intermediaries, our role is to increase our awareness, bring our focus to the unfolding moment, listen from a place of genuine curiosity, and see the patients’ experiences from their perspective...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 273
Many acupuncture traditions share the idea that our troubles stem from a root cause , and treating the root is an essential part of the therapeutic process. Then there is the branch where symptomatic issues present themselves, this is the focus for the patient, and often enough the practitioner as well. But with Ishizaka-ryu, treating the root is the most important thing. In this conversation with Kubota Sensei, we discuss Ishizaka-ryu, a traditional Japanese acupuncture method. Sensei focuses o...
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 272
Life is built on rhythms, the natural world is constantly in a state of transformation. A cyclical flow of growth and decline—manifested in the turning of the seasons, waxing and waning of the moon, and the oscillation of day and night. The intertwined correspondences to the universal tidal flows are the warp and weft upon which our lives, our health, and our medicine is woven. This knowledge is preserved in the Chinese Lunisolar calendar. Harmony comes from living in accordance with the shifts ...
Sep 27, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 271
Movement is life. Movement is part of how our body communicates with itself and senses itself in the outside world. Proper and ease filled movement, be it with our emotions, the circulation of our blood, the way our joints through their range movement, and how we can move and be in the relationships, work and interaction with the 10000 things. All of this is tied in with our well-being and capacity to thrive. In this conversation with Margot Rossi we explore the terrain of movement and sensing a...
Sep 20, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 270
To most, acupuncture is a curious riddle. An ancient medical art whose theories are poetic, and healing outcomes seem lopsided considering the gentle stimulation of a thin needle. And regardless of context or complaint, the goal remains the same as it was millennia ago: restoring balance to the whole being. While our medicine has gained significant traction poking its way into the mainstream healthcare landscape, the journey has been non-linear and, at times, haphazard. But from our conversation...
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 269
hinese medicine is a godsend for women's health. There are plenty of resources for us to tap into, and our medicine is great at addressing the challenges women face through their reproductive years and beyond. But what about the other half of the population? Well, not so much. Men's health is often shrouded in invisible inequality. Some of it is cultural, men seek medical attention less frequently than women. Generally speaking, men aren’t as proactive in seeking to resolve health concerns, we p...
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 268
