Qiological Podcast

These days we worry about getting through school, passing the boards and then getting a practice started. But there was a time when there were no schools, or national accreditation and practicing acupuncture was a felony. That world was not so long ago, and as is often the case, it is difficult to understand the present moment without a sense of the history that it contains.Our guest in this conversation began practicing acupuncture before there was licensing and accreditation. He has a view of our medicine and it’s practice that can only come from decades of engagement, learning and integration.Listen in to another discussion on a view of medicine that comes from the experience of practice over the course of decades.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

Even when speaking in our mother tongue we often misunderstand each other. Due to our biases, perspectives, and background it is easy to overlay our story on just about any situation. Add in that we are dealing with translation between language and culture; it gets even trickier.In today’s conversation we explore the use of “upper, middle and lower” class herbs. This does not mean that upper is better; it means each medicinal has an affinity for more formed or less formed aspects of a person. “Upper” does not mean better, nor “lower” mean worse, these are simply demarcations on where a particular herb will be effective. It’s our job as practitioners to choose the right tool for the right job.Listen in to this conversation that cautions about conflating “upper” with “better.” And goes into how Chinese medicine can be used for acute and emergent conditions that some doctors used to treat quite well before the advent of emergency rooms. 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 encore episode with a guest interviewer. Njemile Carol Jones pulls out her old radio day skills and sits down with Lorraine Wilcox for a conversation on what has caught her attention over the years, and the various projects in which she is currently involved.Njemile and Lorraine knew each other from back in the day when they both worked at NPR. Since then they've both traveled their own paths into Chinese medicine.Listen in for a delightful discussion on what happens when you follow your curiosity and internal leanings. 

Needle technique is more than knowing how to insert a needle and count the turns in a particular direction. It requires more than the memorization of some protocols, or the rote following of a recipe of steps.In this conversation we explore needle technique as a part of understanding how to feel into the tissues of the body. We discuss the creation of a treatment that relies not on someone else’s outline, but from your own understanding of first principles. Listen in for a discussion of using ourselves as much as using the pins when doing acupuncture.  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 acupuncture school we learn about the 10 questions. But really, the questions are endless. And we are given the image of the scholar/doctor who doesn't say much, just looks at the tongue, takes the pulse and then has everything she needs to treat the patient. But that image does not fit the clinical reality in which most of us find ourselves.Learning to ask the right kinds of questions. Learning to listen into the places that are silent, or hidden, these are skills that require the honing of time and attention,In this episode we discuss modern brain science, the verbal and non-verbal aspects of our brains, and how the body has its own multi-textured way of communicating that is often baffling to the voice in our heads that trying to make sense of things.Listen in for a discussion on the use of words to get beyond words.  Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a complex of metabolic and hormonal imbalances. It not only causes menstrual irregularities, but also effects fertility, secondary sex characteristics, and  can be related to elevated cholesterol and blood sugar levels as a woman ages. While conventional biomedicine can control some of the symptoms of this disorder, there isn't much it offers in terms of getting to the root of the issue. Chinese medicine on the other hand offers a wealth of possibilities that can help to get to the root of the causes and fundamentally shift a woman's physiology and bring balance to the body.Our guest in this episode knows a lot about PCOS, as she suffered from this disorder and after being dismissed as a troublesome patient decided to see if she could find another way to heal. She did, and today she helps women find their own natural balance without the use of drugs or hormones. 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 continue where we left off with our previous discussion and begin with how simply changing the amount of herbs in a formula can lead to some surprising outcomes. We also look into how a patient's thinking and beliefs can be utilized as part of the treatment. And discuss a big topic with a lot patients seeing alternative health care, namely the issue of detoxification. Listen in as we continue this discussion of blood stasis and how it shows up in many aspects of clinical practice.

You know how sometimes patients have these weird symptoms that they think have nothing to do with who they are? Well, us acupuncturists are not immune to running up against our own uninhabited edges, especially when it comes to marketing and business.  In this conversation we get down into the essence of our work, and why it's important to know what we do beyond the story we tell ourselves or the tools of the trade upon which we rely. Do you cringe when the word "marketing" shows up? Then listen in, because what you think is in the way... is the way.

We know that the language and perspective of Chinese and east Asian medicine gives us a whole different glimpse into physiology, health, illness and healing. And if you’ve learned a foreign tongue, then you’ve had experience how language shapes thought, perspective and possibility. The systems or currents of medicine we practice, that too gives a framework, a perspective, that helps us to orient and make sense of a patient’s experience and then how we might be able to help them.For many cultures, dreams are a powerful kind of sensing that speak with a language of their own and can carry important information from our subconscious up into that sliver of awareness that we usually give credit to for running the show. But dreams have their own way of holding and conveying information, and our rational mind is not particularly well suited to that particular non-verbal language. So how do we learn to tune our ears and sensing to the fluidic symbolic language of dreams?It is doable and there are some surprising possibilities that arise with the right kind of inquiry. Listen in as we sit down for a discussion on dreaming and East Asian medicine. 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 "part two" conversation with Toby Daly came about because I've been trying to learn the Saam system of acupuncture as he detailed it a recent Journal of Chinese Medicine article. In that process I've had some surprising good results, as well as a few cases that I really took in the wrong direction. Toby points out, when you get it wrong, it's really wrong and you'll know pretty quickly. Unless you're still fairly new at it and not yet tuned into the warning signs of trouble. This discussion comes from my own clinic experience with trying to learn the diagnostics and how to tune my clinical thinking. Toby really makes the Saam perspective come alive with relevant clinical examples as he helps me to "correct my errors in the forest of medicine."If you have an interest in employing this powerful method of acupuncture, pull out a notebook and pen, because you are going to want to take notes!