Qiological Podcast

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 pigmentosa and other eyes conditions can improve through the use of acupuncture using particular points on the palms and soles.Our guest in this show is fired up about helping prevent people from going blind. Listen in as we discuss how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help to make a big difference in the quality of life for people with degenerative opthamological conditions.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

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 hip, and overlapping areas of influence can make for a more potent acupuncture treatment. Listen in as we discuss the power of resonance, how unlearning is part of learning something new, and why you don't have to understand everything from the beginning, but it's helpful if you keep pushing yourself to find the threads that connect.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

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 growing practices in China. In the later part of the show we explore the use of granulated formulas. Explain why the 5:1 concentration that most products tout is misleading. Why crafting formulas and dosing granules is not the same as dosing raw herbs because granules are a fundamentally different medium of delivering herbs.  And finally,  how we can begin to think about dosing this herbal product that is fairly new on the Chinese herbal medicine scene.If herbal medicine is part of your practice, you'll want to listen in to this conversation!Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

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 and find out how I stumbled onto the idea for Qiological Podcast, how curiosity and failure make for a potent prescription for learning and creativity, and why running into resistance is not a sign you're on the wrong path, but rather the right one.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

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 details of Dr. Huang's approach of paying attention to patient constitution, formula function and illness presentation. Like all masterful practitioner's Huang's thoughts and methods have changed and matured over time, we discuss some of his latest thoughts on diagnosis and the use of particular formulas and herbs.Listen in and learn some news ways of considering the use of herbs in your clinic.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

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 deeper clarity about our work. Listen in for a discussion of how to gain a balanced sensitivity that helps us to navigate the challenges of learning from clinical experience, and support us in moving beyond the comfort of reliable skills when they don't prove so reliable.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.

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 literature of China from an early age. Our guest in this episode did just that, and in this conversation we see how terse lines from the classics can speak eloquently to confusing cases in the modern clinic. Listen in and get a glimpse at how the classics can be applied to difficult clinical cases. You'll be wanting to spend more time with the Su Wen (Simple Questions) after this!                                  Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

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 forefront of providing quality books for the practitioner of East Asian medicine. Listen in for an entertaining and informative piece of Chinese medicine history in the West, and for a glimpse of some future offerings from Eastland Press that you'll want for your library.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. Join the discussion! Leave a comment on Qiological's Facebook page.

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 body. In this episode with Yvonne Farrell we explore working with the aspect of emotions through the influence of the eight extraordinary vessels. Listen in for an introduction to how you can tap the influence of the eight extras to help your patients navigate psycho-emotive issues.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

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 cultivation of value, integrity and responsibility.The “practice of business” is not separate from the “practice of medicine.” In fact, our business and the services we provide are as seamlessly integrated as yin and yang. Cultivating our business is no different from the cultivation of our medical skills, or any yang sheng practice we might have in life. And just as we see all kinds of problems in the conventional medical work when body and mind are split apart and considered separate, so too we cause all kinds of problems for ourselves when we image the practice of medicine and the practice of business to be separate entities. They are part of an integrated whole.Listen in to rediscover the joy and opportunities that can arise when we engage the practice of business!Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.