Everyday Acupuncture: Recent Episodes
Michael Max: Acupuncturist and Chinese medicine herbalist
In this episode we take on the question of What Does Acupuncture Treat?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by
MB Huwe, Small Town Appalachia, Huwe Acupuncture Clinic
I’m Mary Beth Huwe, my husband Brian, and I run Huwe Acupuncture, an acupuncture and herbal medicine clinic in a super tiny town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. We are often asked, what does acupuncture treat? And we explain it in this way. Acupuncture treats people not diseases. That means no matter who you are or what you’re suffering from, acupuncture is an option for you, not just an alternative or a last ditch.
But an actual, serious, thoughtful medicine. We’ve helped people aged one month to 92 years with conditions such as fatigue, headaches, menstrual problems, joint injuries, and pain, H I V, digestive complaints, back aches, earaches, nose bleeds, nightmares, constipation, anxiety, cancer, insomnia, nausea, brain injury, neuropathy, pregnancy, depression, lupus, diabetes, and smoking.
And each of those individuals, Individualized care. That’s because effective acupuncture is specifically tailored for an individual at a certain place in time. For example, if five people came to me today for treatment of headaches, they would not all receive the same treatment. , each individual’s point prescription would depend upon the very detailed picture of pathology, the location of the headache, the type of pain, the time at which it occurs, the triggers, the pulse picture, the tongue.
Each of these components is significant, both in its own right and in relationship to the other components. Furthermore, if those same five people with headaches came again next week, they would not receive the same points they received today. I reevaluate each individual each time, and though I may keep the treatment targeted toward the same general channels, I won’t necessarily do so.
Of course, we cannot legally guarantee a cure, and we wouldn’t want to make such a claim even if we could. What we do put forward is that even if acupuncture doesn’t cure your disease, save your life, or remove your symptoms, it will very likely change the way you feel about your disease life and symptoms.
And this way, acupuncture greatly and profoundly reduces suffering. Some people wonder is acupuncture for. . The short answer is yes. Acupuncture is for anyone who wants it. Maybe you’re in the best shape of your life, or maybe you feel like you’re falling through the cracks of modern healthcare. Maybe you don’t notice your body unless it’s hurting you.
Maybe you have a vague sense that something is lacking in your health, or maybe you’re very sick. Acupuncture is multidimensional. It has something to offer every one of those maybes because it is a medicine that takes the full constellation of the individual of you into account.
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In this episode we take on the question of will one session of acupuncture fix my problem?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by
Michael Max from Yong Kang Chinese Medicine Clinic in St. Louis, MO
I’m Michael Max from Yong Kang Chinese Medicine Clinic in St Louis, MO. And today I’m here to answer the question….
Will one session of acupuncture fix my problem?
this is common question.
And it shines a light on our magical thinking about acupuncture.
That it’s either magic or mumbo jumbo, or a wing and prayer attempt at stepping out of the box of convention and maybe getting lucky.
One of the problems with acupuncture is that there are times people indeed do get dramatic relief from a single treatment. And so acupuncture gets a reputation as being magically effective. But for the most part we have to grow into our health, the same way we grew into our illnesses….over time.
One of the curious things I noticed from practicing acupuncture that often people have a big change in how they feel after a treatment, and then the next time they come in the request is— “whatever you did last time, do that again.”
Which almost never brings a satisfiying result, because it’s impossible to do what we did last time. And the reason for that is you’re no longer the same as you were last time. Things are already different.
There’s that phrase about you can’t step in the same river twice, because the river is in constant motion and so are we.
The trick, if there is a trick, is to see what would be helpful in this moment, and our “this moment”….that’s always changing.
I suppose if we were machines then we could be fixed with a particular acupuncture protocol, like changing out the oxygen sensor or brake pads on a car. But, we are biological beings. it’s more complicated. And if you’ve got any sort of complex issue, you already know what I’m getting at here.
Things take time. Baking bread, raising children, growing orchids, developing in your career, or learning a new skill. As you likely already know, our health and wellbeing is the result of what we do over time. It helps to be realistic.
So, it’s unlikely that acupuncture will be a one and done proposition. Just like eating well for a week is not going to change how your clothes fit.
But if acupuncture is something you’ve been thinking about and want to give a try, then to give it a fair trial… plan on a series of 4-6 treatments. Within that time time, you’ll get a sense of how it might be helpful for you. As ever, judge by the results you get. To give acupuncture a try, contact your local licensed Acupuncturist.
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In this episode we take on the question of can you use acupuncture for pets?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by
Neal Sivula, Dancing Paws Animal Wellness Center in Richfield, Ohio
This is Dr. Neal Sivula. I’m a veterinarian and owner of Dancing Paws Animal Wellness Center, a holistic veterinary practice located in beautiful Richfield, Ohio. Today I’ll answer the question- “I love acupuncture for myself, can I get it for my pet?” Of course, you can! The basic acupuncture certification program for Veterinarians in the United States is a post-graduate course, usually around 200 hours in length. We learn Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, acupuncture point locations, case management, and in some courses, students study herbal medicine as well. Some courses only teach TCM, others teach a combination of TCM and Medical Acupuncture, and some teach Medical Acupuncture exclusively. All courses offer a certification examination upon completion of the course and most require internship hours with a certified doctor and the submission of a few case reports to verify that the candidate can think logically through an acupuncture case.
Like our human acupuncture colleagues, the basic training is only the start of our journey in acupuncture. Our certifications require that we participate in approved continuing education courses in acupuncture. These range in topic from refresher courses on basic acupuncture theory all the way to instruction in other techniques like the Balance Method or Scalp Acupuncture, or in other philosophies like Classical Chinese Medicine. Certification is just a jumping off point for every acupuncturist I know, continual education makes us better acupuncturists.
Once trained, veterinarians use acupuncture in all sorts of ways in their practice. I am fortunate in that I am able to limit my practice to holistic medicine, while other doctors may offer acupuncture as something that they provide alongside their allopathic services.
So how should one find an acupuncturist for their pet? That can be a little complicated, as we don’t have a centralized database for all veterinary acupuncturists. Resources that provide practitioner location services include the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture, Chi University, Curacore Academy, the Canine Rehabilitation Institute, and the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies. Of course, doctors that are seeking acupuncture patients will have that service listed on their practice websites as well.
If you’re interested in hearing more about holistic veterinary medicine, I host “The Integrative Veterinarian” podcast where I have conversations with veterinarians and discuss their training and their lives as holistic practitioners.
Acupuncture is as powerful in our animal friends as it is in humans, so don’t forget to consider acupuncture when thinking about your pet’s health!
Thanks for listening and be sure to tune in next week for the next Essential Point.
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In this episode we take on the question of Can Children Really Get Acupuncture?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Rebecca Avern of the Panda Clinic in Oxford, UK
Can children really have acupuncture?
I’m Rebecca Avern, a paediatric acupuncturist at The Panda Clinic and The Little Acupuncture Room in Oxford UK.
When I tell people what I do for a living, a common response is – can children really have acupuncture?
The simple answer to that question is a resounding ‘yes’. And I’m going to explain to you why.
Firstly, acupuncture is a lot more than purely needles. It includes many other, non-insertive techniques that are both gentle and effective, and that are often used with children. These involve medical massage (specifically a system called paediatric tui na) and techniques that involve using small tools to gently stroke and tap the acupuncture channels. There are also some really useful modern innovations which are often used with children, such as small seeds which can be stuck on acupuncture points and low-level laser pens which can be used as an alternative to needles.
Despite what you might think, when approached in the right way the majority of children are actually OK with having acupuncture needles! The needles we use even finer than those used on adults – they may be just .12mm thick. A skilled paediatric practitioner will have developed a child-friendly needle technique which means that the child will barely feel the needle. Also, and crucially important, when working with children, the needles are never retained so there is no need for an energetic three year old to have to stay still!
A good paediatric acupuncturist will make a decision with each individual child as to which of the many tools they have available is most suitable and, crucially, which will be best-tolerated by that child.
They will understand the importance of a child feeling good about their acupuncture treatments. Rapport is everything in medicine, but even more so when it comes to children. The acupuncturist will prioritise building a therapeutic relationship with the child, ensuring they feel safe and relaxed.
So, hopefully, you can now understand that acupuncture is actually more than possible with children, and that there are many gentle, non-needle techniques that are used. Most kids actually really enjoy their treatments!
I would like to add one more point which is not directly answering our original question but which is nevertheless hugely important. Acupuncture is effective in the treatment of many, many childhood conditions, both physical, mental and emotional. There is an ever-increasing body of research which highlight its benefits in a diverse range of conditions, from bedwetting, to ADHD, to colic, to cerebral palsy to name but a few.
Finally, when looking for a practitioner, do find one who has some specialist training in paediatrics.
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In this episode we take on the question of why would I need acupuncture?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Heidi Markland, of Ancient Spring Acupuncture
Hi, this is Heidi Markland with Ancient Spring Acupuncture in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Today I’m gonna talk about a question that I often get asked when someone first finds out that I’m an acupuncturist. So, while most people are familiar with the idea of acupuncture treating pain, many people ask what if I feel pretty healthy overall, why should I try acupuncture?
First, if we look at the historical Chinese texts about acupuncture, we know that it was originally used as a preventative medicine. Dating back to 3rd century B.C., the Yellow Emperor’s Classic speaks of treating disease by preventing illness before it even begins.1 Chinese medicine is about keeping the body in balance. A good practitioner does this by observing a patient. So, imbalances can be seen in inspecting facial complexion, body type, fingernails, tongue appearance, and feeling the patient’s pulse, among other things that we can observe.
Let’s look at an example of someone with very few to no health complaints. She’s an active 56-year-old that seeks acupuncture because she wants to be able to stay as active as possible. In looking at her fingernails, one may notice some dryness and brittleness. Her complexion may show some redness in the cheeks and the tongue may be slightly redder than average. Along with some patient questioning, we may want to start acupuncture treatment focused on nourishing the yin. This will help prevent further imbalance and because the patient wants to stay active, we would also add points that support the sinews and muscles. Furthermore, the patient wants to make sure that her thinking remains sharp so we can add points to actually boost brain and marrow. Maybe the patient mentions that she feels her eyesight is beginning to lose its sharpness. We can add points for that! We can add points to help clear the eyes and strengthen them.
If you’re looking for more scientific reasoning……well, research shows that the insertion of acupuncture needles can create effects due to modulation of the somato-sensory system and of the autonomic nervous system. Have I lost you? Basically, this means that science proves that acupuncture has a whole-body effect by tapping into the nervous system. Ear acupuncture, specifically, has been shown to stimulate the vagal nerve, which is responsible for the regulation of internal organ functions. And if these reactions weren’t enough, it’s proven that the body releases feel good endorphins with the insertion of acupuncture needles. So, at the very least, you should leave an acupuncture session with a sense of well-being and stress reduction.[2,3]
Do you have more acupuncture related questions? Be sure to subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode about other essential Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine related info.
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In this episode we take on the question of how does acupuncture help with chronic pain?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Caitria Thiele of the Connected Healing clinic in Franklin, Wisconsin
“How does acupuncture help with chronic pain?
My name is Caitria Thiele, L.Ac. I’m a licensed acupuncturist practicing at Connected Healing in Franklin WI, just outside of Milwaukee. Today, I’m going to share some information with you about how acupuncture helps with the healing of chronic pain.
The first thing that you need to know is that acupuncture works by modulating and regulating the functions of the nervous system. The nervous system controls everything in your body, including how you perceive pain.
The second thing to keep in mind is that your body will always prioritize survival above all else. Any time that there is a perceived threat to survival, like an injury, it will become a really high priority initially which is a good thing.
Let’s say for example that you hurt your back at work, or raking leaves, or maybe at the gym. Right away your body will send a lot of resources to that area for the purpose of healing that injury because it poses an immediate threat to your survival, either directly or indirectly. As the injury begins to heal, your brain will reassess the threat level that injury now poses to your survival, which would be less than when it initially happened. The injury will now be bumped lower on the list of your body’s priorities, and the resources required to continue healing it will be diverted to things that are more pressing such as digestion, cellular repair, detoxification, immune function, or any number of other bodily functions.
The big problem with this is that you’re still in pain. Yes, you’re in less pain than you were initially, but likely still enough pain that it affects your quality of life, energy, mood, etc.
This is where acupuncture comes in. It can help to redirect the required resources, which Chinese medicine would call qi and blood, back to the site of the injury to continue and complete the healing process and alleviate the remaining pain.
This same analogy would apply for pain that has been around for 6 weeks, 6 months, or 6 years. Regardless of the timeline, your body was designed to heal. It often just needs a little support and direction in order to effectively do so. Acupuncture can help tremendously with this, so if you’re struggling with chronic pain, seek out a licensed acupuncturist in your area and begin receiving care so you can get relief, and get back to living your best life!”“How does acupuncture help with chronic pain?
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In this episode we take on the question of How Medicinal Mushrooms Help Immune Function
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Mason Bresett, with Real Mushrooms
How Medicinal Mushrooms Help Immune Function?
I’m Dr. Mason Bresett Chief Science Advisor and Naturopathic Doctor from Real Mushrooms in British Columbia, Canada. I’m here today to answer the common question I hear about how mushrooms help the immune system?
Firstly, mushrooms have been used as medicine for thousands of years and our understanding of them has grown exponentially with modern research and paired with traditional knowledge.
Mushrooms have the unique ability to inform our immune system to increase our defence system. Mushrooms have this impact due to their nutritional components, complex sugars called beta-d-glucans and their adaptogenic actions.
These immune supporting compounds can even be found in your local market mushrooms, in the produce aisle.
Mushrooms can help your immune system by fortifying how the 2 parts of our immune system
The first is called the innate immune system. It is our immune systems first response to an invader like a cold virus sort of like first responders, who ever can get there goes.. It is non specific – meaning your immune system sends broad acting immune cells to help neutralize the threat. Mushrooms help up regulate the hard working immune cells working behind the scene here.
2) The second place mushrooms help the immune system is The adaptive immune system. This part of your immune system creates specific immune cells to help defeat or neutralize the cold virus. This system also creates memory to help the system respond better the next time a similar microbe is encountered.
3) Mushrooms are also known as adaptogens, which means they can help the body to develop more resilience to stress, stress has a detrimental effect on the immune system. The adaptogenic properties of mushrooms help fortify the immune system. Mushrooms are also supportive of gut health, the majority of our immune system, resides in our gut.
This is why mushrooms have been increasing in popularity to help with immune prevention. Mushrooms paired with acupuncture is a great way to increase your immune system.
Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists are trained in nutrition and herbal based formulas which often include medicinal mushrooms. Please visit your local acupuncturist who can tell you more and help you with your immune system.
Attribution Link: ECO-CHA
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In this episode we take some patient questions
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Toby Daly of the Flourish Medicine Clinic in Cloverdale, CA
Hi, this is Toby Daly at Flourish Medicine, and I have, I’m gonna be answering questions today from my patient, do you have any questions about Chinese medicine?
I do. I have had different types of treatment of acupuncture, and I am curious to know I’ve been coming in here just going completely by feel, but I’m curious to know how this particular acupuncture is special and how the four needles.
How do, how does it.
Okay. Yeah. That’s, that’s so great. You’ve been, , paying close attention to the four needles. Uh, so the four needles, we’re always trying to figure out what’s going on in your body, what quality we need the most in your body. So we take those four needles and generate that quality. So, especially for your case, , your chief complaint has to do with digestive system.
So we’re always trying to strengthen up what’s going on in digestive system, pertains medicine, your digest system itself this time. Was too wet. So we’re using those four needles to dry your body and take that burden off the digestive system.
And does it, um, do the, obviously the needle placement varies depending on what my body is telling you, is it, does it work best for, it’s been miraculous for me, for my digestion.
Does it work for other, um, other ailments? Like joint pain or, cancer treatment or anything like that, for sure. Yeah. I treat all those kind of different things again, when I’m always looking for the weakest spot for patients. So weakest spot could manifest as joint pain or cancer whatever’s going on with the same principles with Chinese medicine, we, those four points, we always do the same thing.
We always make the body a little bit warmer. Or cooler or dryer or moisture, uh, too much things going up in the body. We bring down too much things going down. We bring up all these kind of things. The dynamics is always the similar ziwu medicine. And then the manifestation in all the different systems, like the, digestive system, neurological, along with, body mechanics and things like that, that all manifest differently.
Okay. Great.
And then I’m curious about, do we have time to answer some about the Chinese herbs? Yes. , how do you determine which herbs to prescribe? It’s the same thing? So for Chinese medicine, as long as we have a diagnosis that unlocks everything for us, , dietary recommendations, , point combinations, herbs, lifestyle modifications, everything’s based on that diagnosis.
So once we have that diagnosis for you, like your, digestive system being too wet, then , the points, the herbs, the diet, the lifestyle, all that matches to that. So the herbal formula you’re on right now has, is drying your digestive system. That’s where you’re getting that relief from. Okay.
All right. Thanks a lot, for, asking some questions about Chinese medicine today.
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In this episode we take on the question of can acupuncture treat long haul covid or post covid symptoms?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Stacey Whitcomb, Bellingham, WA
Better than you can imagine my friends, better than you could imagine. AAM was built for this type of multisystem mayhem.
But before I get into the how, first I want to state that “Long Covid or “post COVID conditions” are considered western diagnosis. AAM cannot diagnose or treat CoVID or LONG Haul Covid, but we definitely can take someone who has been diagnosed or suspects they are suffering from the lasting effects of having had covid or strange symptoms from having a vaccine and treat them according to a chinese medical diagnoses.
What I am saying is yes, but we would call it something different.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
“Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that people experience after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.
There is no test to diagnose post-COVID conditions, and people may have a wide variety of symptoms that could come from other health problems. This can make it difficult for healthcare providers to recognize post-COVID conditions.
This right here is why Chinese medicine shines. We treat the body holistically which means it’s all connected. We don’t view the body as machinery and only focus on the systems separately. We have no need to differentiate Long Haul Covid symptoms from existing health conditions. Like I said, as an AAMP we take a look at the whole picture of you. Ask a gazillion questions about what happened to get you here and prescribe a treatment to help you heal.
Again, according to the CDC
Some people, especially those who had severe COVID-19, experience multiorgan effects or autoimmune conditions. Multiorgan effects can involve many body systems, including the heart, lung, kidney, skin, and brain. As a result of these effects, people who have had COVID-19 may be more likely to develop new health conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions, or neurological conditions compared with people who have not had COVID-19.”
Multi organ effects and autoimmune conditions are extremely complicated for western medicine because there is a different provider for each system. Yet with AAM we are actually looking for patterns in the body that direct our diagnosis. We naturally expect that when we treat the root of the problem the symptoms will resolve. And yes, we want to clear everything up, and boost your health so that your condition does not develop into a more serious condition.
If you are experiencing strange or even not strange post covid symptoms that western medicine doesn’t have an answer for, give your local Acupuncturist a call. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Attribution Link: ECO-CHA Try Eco-Cha Tea
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In this episode we take on the question of “What does acupuncture feel like?”
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Michael Max, of the Yong Kang Chinese Medicine Clinic, in St. Louis, Mo.
I’m Michael max from Yong Kang, Chinese medicine clinic in St. Louis, Missouri today, with some thoughts on the question of what does acupuncture feel like?
Acupuncture feels fresh baked bread, a stone perfectly skipped, an unexpected call from an old friend…. Like old photos recovered from a dusty attic, misplaced vitality from another time becomes accessible with the right stimulation from a few skillfully placed needles.
Acupuncture can turn you on dime, reflect back to you your brilliance, call you to account for your habituated excuses, and slip you into a quiet so nourishing and vast you cannot help but touch on appreciation and wonder.
It feels like a well-swung bat, a nicely banked shot, a satisfying sneeze. Acupuncture wiggles you through constrained emotions, it loosen the heart and expands your chest in the same deep-sigh way that forgiveness creates an extraordinary amount of space in your spirit.
You can find the traces of acupuncture on an fMRI, in the cortisol count of the blood, the disappearing inflammation of a stomach lining, electrical activity of the brain, and growing life in what was a cold womb. It brings an unexplained sense of contentment and well-being. In the same way the warmth of Spring conjures flowers, acupuncture turns on the internal light and vitality.
It’s not uncommon that you’ll feel better in unexpected ways.
Less like mechanics and more like cooking, the selection of acupuncture points is as ever changing as your own unfolding being. What helped you last week might not be what is called for today. Like an artisan chef knows a spice in its own season is used differently than when it has been dried and preserved, so too with acupuncture we look both to the present, and the steps that lead you to this moment. All of you is invited to an acupuncture session. And because the “problem” that brought you to acupuncture is connected to everything else. You might notice your sleep improving, or mood curiously stable, even though it’s your digestion we focused on.
What else does acupuncture feel like?
It feels like a writer who has banished the “editor” from her mind and writes with the abandon of a sandstorm. It’s like the fire and spark prayers of a sculptor to his muse. It’s the wind in the canyon, the scent of gardenia on a summer soft night. The growl of a jaguar in the night.
Acupuncture touches the underwater web that connects all Life. Ties together lost loose ends and unravels the knotted constraints that have been holding their breath for release.
Acupuncture is as different as every turn of a kaleidoscope. It is a compass that points toward the center. Inviting as a grandmother’s apple pie, and with the potential of a hurricane’s landscape changing power.
What will acupuncture feel like for you? Visit your local acupuncturist and find out.
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In this episode we take on the question of “Can acupuncture help me to quit smoking or lose weight?”
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Michael Max, of the Yong Kang Chinese Medicine Clinic, in St. Louis, Mo.
I’m Michael Max from Yong Kang clinic in St Louis, MO.
It can help. But, if you think that it will magically make you do something your heart is not really set on, then you are wasting your time and money.
Now it could be that I’ve just not figured out how to use acupuncture to bring about miracouse habit change. But my experience so far is that habit change is a parcipaparoty sport. And what’s more all the homeostatic balances that hold your body in balance and health are working against you because the body, and the mind for that matter, does not like change.
How do you know this? Try changing your breakfast time. Or add some new foods to your diet. Immediately you’ll notice the friction that goes with change. Our habits might not be the best for us in the long run, but in the moment, our physiology is tuned more for maintaining the status quo than it is at promoting change. Your body has lived its way into it current balance and it has to live its way into a new one. And that takes time. Perhaps a season, or two for new behaviors to gain roots and old ones to wither and blow away.
As a patient of mine once said. “I’d like to get better at the fastest pace that nature will allow.” Now…. There’s some wisdom for you.
So back to the question, can acupuncture make you stop smoking or cause you to lose weight. I’d say not directly. But it is helpful for navigating the journey of change. It helps with the anxiety that arises when you’ve let go of someothing that previously calmed your jangled nerves. It helps with sitting with the emotions that you previously soothed with food, and it can help, again….in time…. With regulating the digestive and hormonal systems so your body runs with a slightly different metabolism.
Acupuncture will not force you to do something you don’t want to do. But it is a good traveling companion for those moments when you’ve grabbed the wheel of your life and charted a new course.
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In this episode we take on the question of Is “Chinese Medicine The Same As Acupuncture?”
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Heidi Lovie, DACM, of Lovie Acupuncture and Healing located in New York City
My name is Dr. Heidi Lovie. I am a Chinese medicine practitioner in New York city Manhattan. And I’ve been in private practice since 2009. One of the questions I often get asked by medical doctors or other healthcare practitioners is how do I refer to myself and how do I refer to the field when I don’t automatically open with, Hey, I’m Heidi, the acupuncturist Chinese medicine is really complex, beautiful medical system unto itself. And there are eight pillars in the medicine, five of them that we use therapeutically in the treatment room. And another three we don’t often talk about because they’re not applicable quite in the same way, but they’re equally as important. So the treatment room five are nutrition, our nutrition herb.
Movement, which is the right movement for the right body. tuina a type of medical, massage and acupuncture. But when I say acupuncture, that’s really a title heading for anything where I’m using a tool, whether that’s the needles or whether that’s gua sha cupping moxibustion, we have many things at our fingertips.
The other three, which I have to give a tip of the hat to because they’re equally important. Are meditation, feng shui and cosmology. And please note, I did not say astrology because I don’t care what your rising sign is most of the time, but what we’re looking at is what. Has impact on our human experience internally, what is impacting our human experience locally and work or the home.
And what’s impacting our human experience on a much grander scale, a cosmological, a broader scale. And those are things that we can sometimes shift a little bit, but they don’t have quite the same therapeutic immediate impact that the treatment room five. And so because we have this deep, broad education acupuncture school is often in many places in the us four years, full time.
In addition to what other undergraduate you did, but because we have these, I can tell a patient, Hey, you don’t need me. You need a steak. You don’t need me. You have to go for a run you don’t need me. You need to upgrade the diet, but then I’m actually able to give suggestions, work with the patient and offer solutions in a meaningful way where we can impact their health and move them towards their health goals.
So when you’re looking for an acupuncturist, you always wanna find somebody who’s licensed. , this is a difficult licensure to get. We have to graduate. We have to do clinical experience. We have to pass our boards. We often have state testing that we have to do as well. And you wanna look for somebody ideally, who is also an herbalist.
You don’t always need that. In a practitioner, but it’s a good thing to have because they have that extra thing to offer you in the treatment room. So we’re much more than just needles and I encourage you to visit your local acupuncturist to see for yourself.
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In this episode we take on the question of “What to expect in your first acupuncture appointment.”
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Stacey Whitcomb of the Shift Clinic, in Bellingham, WA.
My name’s Stacy Whittcomb. I am a licensed acupuncturist in Bellingham, Washington, and I am also the host of the AcuSprout podcast. What to expect on your first acupuncture visit before I go into the details I just want to preface this with that.
We’re all. Just like any other profession, but in general, these are some things that you may expect to happen. First of all, many acupuncturists and Asian medical practitioners offer a consultation prior to your first visit. . A consultation offers you an opportunity to ask the practitioner any questions that you may have.
Questions. Like how many treatments is it going to take? How often do I have to come in? Does acupuncture hurt? , consultation is my way of making sure that we are a good fit in my practice.
I actually only take patients who are willing to participate in their healing, people who are ready for an individualized treatment plan, which may include anything from dietary changes and strengthening exercises to going to bed earlier. Okay. So on your first visit, your practitioner may suggest that you have eaten in the last couple hours and that you wear clothing that makes it easy for the practitioner to access your lower legs and arms
like a doctor visit, you’ll enter a treatment room and sit, we usually do a very thorough intake, which includes a lot of questions that seem completely unrelated to your chief complaint. That’s because acupuncture and Asian medicine is holistic. We’re looking for patterns which help guide our diagnosis.
It may seem very weird to you and yes, we do know this, but for example, that ly and bloated stomach can definitely be related to your insomnia. After the intake, we may ask you to lie on the table or sit, and we will feel the pulses in your wrists.
Like I mentioned before, this is just another piece of defining the pattern diagnosis so that we can guide our treatment properly. Then we’ll look at your tongue. You will probably feel a little silly because it can feel a little silly. And then we should have a pretty good picture of your diagnosis and put together a needle sequence to treat you at this point.
I usually explain that the first treatment is just us getting to know each other . I like to make sure that you’re comfortable with the process. I typically only use a couple needles on the first visit with minimal stimulation.
This is also a really great opportunity for me to see how your body responds to the treatment that gives me the information that guides future treatments. People’s experience of acupuncture is different.
Your stomach may growl. , your pain dissipates, your anxiety might melt away and relaxation may set in or. You could absolutely feel nothing. And that’s okay too. It all takes time. It takes time for our bodies to heal and adapt. You. Don’t go to the gym once and expect to lose 20 pounds of fat and gain 10 pounds of muscle.
Lastly, after the needles are taken out, you’ll pay for the visit and reschedule. I like to get all of our visits scheduled in advance. That way I can ensure that we stick with the plan and you don’t fall behind because my schedule is too full later
After your treatment pay attention to your body. Are you sleeping better? Is your digestion better? Do you feel more calm? Great. Now go tell your friends.
The post EAP-091 What To Expect On Your First Acupuncture Appointment, with Stacey Whitcomb LAc. appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
In this episode we take on the question of “Do I have to believe in acupuncture for it to work?”
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Stacey Whitcomb of the Shift Clinic, in Bellingham, WA.
This is Stacy I’m a licensed acupuncturist and the host of the AcuSprout podcast.
I don’t believe in acupuncture. This one. I hear every once in a while, and sometimes even from a patient as I’m doing acupuncture and because it’s not my job to convince anyone that it does work. I usually just reply. That’s okay. You don’t have to believe in it for it to work acupuncture. Isn’t a religion.
It’s it’s not the big bang theory. It isn’t Santa Claus and it’s not magic. It’s a medicine. That’s two to 5,000 years old. It worked back then and it works now whether you believe in it or not. So when someone tells me that they don’t believe in acupuncture, I always wanna ask them if they believe in anesthesiology, because most people I know would never look an anesthetist in the eye and say, I don’t believe in anesthesiology.
I think the anesthesiologist would have a similar reply as mine. Mm-hmm yep. That’s. 90 night, but don’t you think anesthesiology is weird. Someone shoots stuff into your veins and you go to sleep and you feel no pain when you wake up and you don’t remember anything. do you know how that worked?
Here’s the web MD’s explanation of anesthesiology general anesthesia works by interrupting nerve signals in your brain and body. Prevents your brain from processing pain and from remembering what happened during the surgery. So guess what? Acupuncture affects the body similarly, and then some acupuncture needles also interrupt nerve signals in your brain and body.
They help balance the body’s reaction to pain and inflammation. They regulate hormones, calm the nervous system and help your body heal. But let me clarify. I would not go to an acupuncturist in lieu of anesthesiology. So that wasn’t my point here, but I definitely would use it postoperatively to reduce swelling, inflammation, and pain and to speed healing.
The world health organization was formed in 1948 to coordinate international health within the United nations. And they set standards for governments and large organizations in order to improve the health of global citizens.
Current. The world health organization now recommends acupuncture for over 100 conditions.
Acupuncture has been scientifically proven to be an effective treatment option. And that includes adverse reactions to radiotherapy and chemotherapy allergic rhinitis, biliary concolic depression, dysentery dyspenia epi Astria facial pain, headache, hypertension, hypertension, induction of labor, knee pain, leukopenia, low back pain, malposition of the fetus.
Morning sickness, nausea, vomit, neck pain, pain. Inden per arthritis of the shoulder, postoperative pain, renal colic, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica sprain stroke, and tennis elbow. Oh, and that long haul COVID that is keeping you from smelling your food. That ailment that Western medicine doesn’t have a cure for.
I’ve successfully treated that using acupuncture in a custom herbal formula. And I imagine that that patient didn’t believe in acupuncture when she first came to see me, but now she does. So you may not believe in it because you don’t know how it works or because it’s not really part of our native social construct of medicine, but when was the last time you asked how ibuprofen knows that that pain is in your ankle or.
How about that blue pill that can cause erection.
Do you know how that works?
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In this episode we take on the question of “How do I know acupuncture will help me?”
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Michael Max, of the Yong Kang Chinese Medicine Clinic, in St. Louis, Mo.
How do I know acupuncture will help me?
You don’t. I don’t know either.
It’s like any other process of discovery and intervention. We first strive to understand your present situation. What brought you to this point. What holds your current condition in place. Acupuncture and East Asian medicine seeks first to understand. Understand not just the mettlesome symptom that lead you to pick up the phone for an appointment, but to get a sense of how these symptoms and annoyances fit like puzzle pieces into the rest of your life. What holds them in place. What else are they connected to? Are there several seemingly unrelated issues that are in fact all connected?
Unlike the currently popular “evidence-based” medicine model of lining treatments up with symptoms and letting researcher’s data or insurance company policies decide on the best treatment for you. Chinese medicine is an observation-based medicine that seeks to understand each individual, your unique situation and how all that fits into the greater context of your life.
Acupuncturists don’t look to “get rid of the problem. “ We seek to understand the problem and then help to either strengthen the innate resources a person has for self-healing, or seek to alleviate symptoms so the body has an opportunity to fall into it’s own best balance. Usually we craft a treatment that both works on the root causes and the symptomatic mischief that caused you to reach out for some help.
Will acupuncture help?
As with so much in life you will not know until you give it an honest try. An honest try being roughly 4-6 treatments. While there are miraculous changes that sometimes occur with one treatment, by and large for most people, you’ll need a few treatments to get a sense of if the acupuncture is helping and in what ways it is helping. Remember, while acupuncture may seem exotic, it’s medicine, not magic.
Just as you would give your physical therapist a month or so to correct a problem, give a surgery several months to heal, or a course of drugs 4-6 weeks to see if you respond well, so too it takes some time to understand how you respond to acupuncture.
And one more thing, because in the human body everything is connected to everything else, do be surprised if your sleep or digestion improve, even though you’re being treating for a stiff neck.
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In this episode we ask the question, “Did you know that acupuncture is just one of the five branches of Chinese medicine?”
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by
Stacey Whitcome of Shift Acupuncture in Bellingham, WA.
My name is Stacy Whitcomb. I am in Bellingham, Washington, licensed acupuncturist, and the podcast host of the AcuSprout podcast. Did you know that acupuncture is only one of five branches of Asian medicine? That’s only 20% of the big picture
The five branches include herbal medicine, manual therapy, acupuncture, cheek, cultivation, and diet. In this three minute acupuncture point, I’m going to cover each branch and tell you how each one is an essential 20% of the big picture.
Let’s start with herbal medicine. Typically in the United States, practitioners who studied herbal medicine in school started by learning 365 single herbs. And about 10 key pieces of information about each herb, including, but not limited to the English name, the opinion or Chinese name. The herbs properties like bitter the temperature it’s key characteristics such as does it tonify or move and its actions and indications.
Once we’ve memorized all of the herbs, we then move on to learning how to combine them in formulas. And then we learn how to customize those formulas specifically to the patient in front of us, because we’re all different. , we’re also dynamic and our physiology can change, which means that our formula might change over time.
Next we have manual therapy, SHSU and tuna are types of body work that help put the body back into balance, alleviate pain and stress and heal. Typically the practitioner listens to the chief complaint, completes some diagnostic tests, and then does the massage or body work acupuncture?
Acupuncture is the use of tiny filiform needles, about the size of a human hair on points on the body to balance the body and help it heal. This is done using the principles of Chinese medicine to influence nerve signals to the brain and create a healing response. There are many different styles of acupuncture.
So treatment styles may vary. Chi cultivation because we have no truly great translation for Chi in the west. I was actually tempted to rename this branch for simplicity. Tai Chi and Chi Kong are soft martial arts that are akin to movement meditations, which help all of.
Mind body, soul, and spirit be in alignment with your true nature. Daily movements builds an awareness of balances and imbalances, , which govern our life force and health, their long game solutions practice daily to increase vitality. It’s like this. Major league baseball players have been swinging at fastball since they were seven in hopes to be in complete alignment, to hit a home run on a 95 mile an hour fastball, they have been aligning their Chi for this experience, all of their lives.
And then one day in one swing in one second, they are in complete alignment, but one would argue that all of that cultivation has actually provided more gifts than just that one home. Lastly diet, actually, I think I’d rather say food or nutrition here. Diet is such a loaded word, much like herbs food is also medicine.
Foods also have properties like herbs. The nature of food can be salty, or sour. It has temperature and how, and when we eat food changes with the seasons, our constitution and how strong our digestion is, all food is like this.
What is good for one person may not be easily assimilated by another person, eating foods at the right time to strengthen and heal are an important branch of the tree. If you wanna learn more, be sure to subscribe to the everyday acupuncture podcast.
The post EAP-088 Acupuncture Is Only 20 Percent Of The Medicine with Stacey Whitcomb L.Ac appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
In this episode we take on the question of what are the top five things to consider when choosing an acupunctist?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by Stacey Whitcomb of the Shift Clinic, in Bellingham, WA.
This is Stacy Whitcomb with Shift Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine in Bellingham, Washington. Today, I’m gonna share with you the top five things to consider when choosing an acupuncturist.
Number one. Let’s start with qualifications. Most states in the United States require an NCCAOM certification, which is the national certification commission for acupuncture and Oriental medicine, which consists of three board exams.
And a fourth. If you wanna sit for the herbal medicine board. Asian medical school is much like Western medical school. In most cases, we earn a four year Bachelor’s degree and then apply to medical schools where we then go on to earn a three to four year Master’s degree.
In contrast to Western medical Docs who go on to earn a four year medical degree. Now, many practitioners continue on to pursue a doctoral degree as. So the only states currently to have no regulations are South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Alabama, and then California has their own state exam, which is rather rigorous.
And I promise you no other state envies this. So now you might live in an area that legally allows other medical care providers to do what is called dry needling, which is also acupuncture or even quote acupuncture. So let me ask you this. Would you go to a dentist for a gynecological exam? Yeah, me neither.
So why would you go to a physical therapist, chiropractor or Western medical doctor to get acupuncture that doesn’t even make sense?
Two, let’s talk about referrals, how to find your forever acupuncturist. One, ask your friends seriously or other people in your social circle, who they see.
Usually if your friend really likes a practitioner, then you probably will too second great way is to do a Google search with the words, acupuncture, and then whatever you seem to be ailing from. So the internet is wicked smart these days, and an equally smart acupuncturist who is in near proximity to you will have a website looking for you.
So let the internet do the. Number three, check out the practitioner’s website to see if they’re a generalist or a specialist acupuncture treats the whole person, meaning that if you’re being treated for insomnia, you might notice that like your digestion improves or your arthritis gets better, but some practitioners take a special interest in specific populations.
So they may have more educational training and say something like orthopedic injuries or women’s health number four insurance. So. If you have health insurance and you know that it covers acupuncture, then you might want an acupuncturist who takes your insurance. So the best way to go about this is to call your insurance and find out, and then also ask them if they cover whatever it is that you have going on, physically, that you need help with number five, a consultation, many acupuncturists offer something like a 20 minute consultation.
This is a special opportunity where you can ask all of your questions and the acupuncturist can explain a little bit about what to expect with the treatment.
So there you have it, the top five things to look for when choosing your acupuncturist.
The post EAP-087 How to Find an Acupuncturist That is Right for You • Stacey Whitcomb L.Ac appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
In this episode we take on the question of What is Qi? Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by
Michael Max, of the Yong Kang Chinese Medicine Clinic, in St. Louis, Mo.
What is this Qi stuff?
Qi is not pronounceable in English. Its whistled aspiration is not a sound found in our language. And much as we can approximate it with the “chee”, as in the beginning of “cheese”, it will forever be a curious transplant; like an exotic ornamental tree from abroad. Qi.
In English we don’t have anything close to the idea of an overall enlivening force in nature. A connective force that blows clouds across the sky, surges currents through the ocean, directs the growth, blooming and decline of the myriad forms we recognize as Life. We don’t perceive a unified field that directs the beating of your heart and calls the tune on next week’s weather forecast. We don’t really have a word in our language that connects the dots between your wife’s personality, the pungent taste of cinnamon, the character of the oak tree outside your breakfast window and the way snowy grey white days gentle and calm the spirit.
Qi, chee, chih, che, chi, however you wish to represent it in Latinized characters, it basically translates as “vital” or “essential” energy. Which is terribly unsatisfactory to our Western minds, as we tend to prefer Einsteinian equations of abstract proof that all Life is inextricably connected.
Let’s take a look through the Chinese dictionary and glimpse a few of the various manifestations of ? as it is expressed in some common word combinations:
力氣 li qi- strength
天氣 tian qi- weather
生氣 sheng qi- angry
氣色 qi se- complexion
志氣 zhi qi- ambition
不經氣 bu jing qi- economic turndown, recession
運氣 yun qi- fortune, luck小
氣 xiao qi- miserly and mean spirited
氣短 qi duan- disappointment
語氣 yu qi- verbal attitude
氣死 qi si- infuriate
喘氣 chuan qi- asthmatic breathing
氣骨 qi gu- moral character
客氣 ke qi- politeness
勇氣 yong qi- courage
味氣 wei qi- taste, flavor
Surprising isn’t it, that 氣 shows up in so many places? So when your acupuncturist is working to “regulate your 氣” do not be too surprised if your sleep improves even though she is treating your back pain.氣 is a profoundly connective force
The post EAP-086 What is Qi • Michael Max L.Ac appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
This is the last episode of Everyday Acupuncture Podcast. If you are long time listener, thanks for coming along on this ride. Those of you that are practitioners, I am continuing to podcast about East Asian medicine and acupuncture over on www.qiologic.com If you are here looking for information about how acupuncture and East Asian...
The post End of the Road • Michael Max • EAP85 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
I never know what will come up in a clinic session. That’s the fun part of the job; not knowing. Not knowing and being attentive to what arises. It’s a cross between meditation and motorcycle repair. This episode is one of those rare solo shows. It’s fueled by some discussions that commonly occur in my...
The post Discussions From Clinic • Solo Show, Michael Max • EAP085 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Qi gong can look deceptively simple. From the outside it looks like stillness in motion, but what is unfolding on the inside is another matter entirely. Here in the West we are used to aggressive, outward motion while being distracted with TV shows, music or magazines at the gym. But the Chinese internal arts, while...
The post Simple Not Easy: The Practice of Qi Gong and Tai Chi • Marshall Garland • EAP084 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Pretty much every auntie and grandma in China is well versed in how to use a soup spoon to raise the therapeutic rash of guasha. Guasha is a part of Chinese folk medicine, and like so many folk medicines, it is simple, safe and effective. Guasha can be used for a wide variety of aliments...
The post Chinese Kitchen Table Medicine- the healing power of guasha • Liz March • EAP083 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Chinese medicine, philosophy and martial arts all share a common root. The applications might be different, but they come back a grounding in Yin/Yang and Five Phases. In this episode we speak with a martial artist and teacher who helps us to bridge some of the fundamental perspectives with yin and yang, the ba gua...
The post Martial Arts, Personality and the Five Spirits • Jonathan Bluestein • EAP082 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Living in a foreign country brings challenges and opportunities. In this episode we discuss life and culture in Morocco, how acupuncture came to be accepted there, and how what began as a wellness center turned into a school of acupuncture. In This Episode We Discuss: What drew Chad to Morocco The embodied reality of...
The post Acupuncture in Morocco • EAP081 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Taiwan is famous for it’s high tech computer technology, bicycles, fragrant tofu, rivers of scooters, delicious street food, and of course, tea. Today’s episode is a bit of a soundscape as we spend a portion of the afternoon drinking and discussing tea. Unlike your Western coffeeshop where you pop in for a beverage to go,...
The post Taste of Taiwan: An Afternoon in a Tea Shop • Pia Giammasi • EAP080 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
A low reading on a bone density scan does not equal a Fosamax deficiency. Healthy bones are hard, living tissue, but they also have a certain amount of flexibility. They are designed to bend and absorb shock and stress, and in fact one of the ways that bones become stronger is by challenging them. We...
The post Buff Bones: movement practices that promote healthy lively bones • Rebekah Rotstein • EAP079 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Here in the west we are used to seeing acupuncture clinics in an urban setting, and it is often sought as an adjunctive therapy used in combination with other modalities. In today’s show we explore the use of acupuncture in the rural third world setting of Nepal and see how it is an essential and...
The post Acupuncture in Rural Nepal • Andrew Schlabach • EAP078 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Cancer is a curious disease. It’s something we fight as an invader, but at its root it is a part of us. A part of us that is apart from us. We are in essence fighting against ourselves. In this conversation we meander through some perspectives that come from Chinese medicine. Along the way we...
The post Reckoning The Unknown: A Conversation on Cancer • Josephine Spilka • EAP077 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Most of us think of gender as something that is rigid and fixed. But in the transgender world the boundaries are more fluidic. In this episode we explore not just the particular health concerns, issues with access to the healthcare system, and challenges arising from discrimination and misunderstanding of the transgender community, but also take...
The post Acupuncture and Transgender Health Concerns • Jamee Pineda • EAP076 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is not just an issue with a woman’s ovaries, but can be a systemic condition that is closely tied with a variety of hormonal interactions in the body. The standard conventional treatment involves the use of synthetic hormone birth control pills, which can suppress some of the symptoms, but it does...
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As with any profession, the educational requirements have shifted over the years. Today acupuncturists need to not only know East Asian medicine, but a fair amount of Western medicine as well. In this episode we go into the education required to become a Licensed Acupuncturist, the challenges students face while in school and what you...
The post What It Takes to Become an Acupuncturist • EAP074 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
This episode is a short introduction to the newly launched podcast site that is specifically geared towards the needs and interests of Chinese medicine practitioners. When I first began Everyday Acupuncture Podcast I envisioned this to be a show that would introduce everyday people to the concepts, methods and possibilities that Chinese medicine offers for...
The post Introducing Qiological: the podcast for practitioners of Chinese medicine • EAP073 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Acupuncture is often used with good effect to treat psycho-emotive issues such as chronic anxiety and depression. And it is also helpful in the treatment of various psycho-emotive challenges that arise when someone is faced with their world being turned upside down by natural disaster. There is a particular method of treatment that helps people...
The post Using Acupuncture in Conflict Zones • EAP 072 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
You can’t think you way out of thinking. And constant ruminative thought is often at the root of a variety of issues from anxiety and depression, to issues with anger, body image, and the limits we place on ourselves. Our physiology is not disconnected from our emotional lives or endocrinological systems, and so our states...
The post You can’t think your way out of thinking • EAP071 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Anna Kelly had just completed a year working in the Wounded Warriors program at Walter Reed hospital when we recorded this show. There she used acupuncture to treat veterans for PTSD, trauma brain injury and other chronic conditions that soldiers face after being injured in the line of duty. As with so many complex and...
The post Reflections on a year of treating PTSD • EAP070 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Most men will have some issues with their prostate as they age. And the vast majority of men will die with some form of prostate cancer, but most will not die from it as most prostate cancers are slow. Figuring out which kind a person has and how to treat it is one of the...
The post Men’s health and Chinese medicine: Treating prostate enlargement and cancer• EAP069 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Acupuncture is a go-to treatment for musculo-skeletal pain and a commonly used modality for treating sports injuries. NFL stars, Olympic swimmers, basketball players and other top athletes increasingly turn to acupuncture to help with recovery from injury as evidenced by the occasional headline or picture that gives acupuncture another 15 minutes of fame because some...
The post Using acupuncture to enhance sports performance • EAP068 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Chinese medicine does not just have a 2500 year history of written and practical application of treating illness and disease. It also has an equally long tradition of cultivating health and well-being. Here in the West we say “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” so like the Chinese, we have this...
The post Live Long, Live Well: The Chinese Traditions of Nourishing Life • EAP067 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Sugar addiction is something that usually gets laughed off with a wink and smile. And yet, as Gary Taubes says in his latest book, The Case Against Sugar, if the increasing rates of diabetes were related to a pathogen instead of a lifestyle, we would be in the midst of an all out “war” on...
The post How to transform your relationship with sugar • EAP066 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Growing up we used to laugh about great-grandma’s can of schmaltz that lived in the corner of the kitchen. It’s taken the turn of more than a few decades to recognize the value of her peasant wisdom. And might have something to do with her making it into her 90’s. In this episode we chew...
The post Chewing the fat: what you know about fat is not just wrong, but dangerously wrong • EAP065 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Some of us know from an early age we are cut out for medicine. Others never saw it coming; life in its wily wisdom throws us a curve ball, or in this case a bicycle accident. Our guest in this episode sought out acupuncture for a debilitating injury and ended up in a 12 year...
The post The accidental acupuncturist • EAP064 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
We know that beauty is more than skin deep, but the truth is that skin is more than just skin deep. While it is easy to think that skin conditions are simply a problem of the exterior portion of our body, in reality dermotological problems are frequently the result of internal imbalances. In this episode...
The post Getting under the skin: using Chinese medicine to treat dermatological conditions • EAP063 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Acupuncture is well known in the Western world for its effectiveness in treating pain. In this episode we take a multilayered look at orthopedic acupuncture. While acupuncture is often considered to be an “energetic” medicine, our guest today takes us deep into the structural, neurological, chemical and functional aspects of why things hurt and what...
The post Orthopedic acupuncture • EAP062 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
We often think of germs, genetic abnormalities, poor lifestyle choices or plain bad luck as being the cause of illness and disease. We go looking for the “smoking gun,” for the one thing that was the source of our troubles, but often the health issues we face arise out of a much more complex stew...
The post Causes and conditions of illness and health • EAP061 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
It’s fairly common knowledge these days that acupuncture is helpful in promoting fertility and pregnancy. But acupuncture is not just helpful for getting pregnant, it has a track record in easing the discomfort of back pain, digestive, urinary and emotional issues that are often not well treated by conventional medicine. Additionally, acupressure can be of...
The post Nourishing life: acupuncture and acupressure for pregnancy and childbirth • EAP060 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
With American Olympic athletes suddenly sporting red and purple cupping marks, this ancient healing modality has set the Internet and traditional media ablaze with questions and surprise about those big circular marks. Of course, cupping is not new. It’s been used in Asia for millennia. And if you were paying attention to Chinese swimmers in...
The post There is a lot more to cupping than the circular marks • EAP059 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Tai Chi is one of the more well known Chinese health practices that has made its way to the West. But there was a time when this gentle movement art was unknown outside of the Chinese world. In the 60’s Cheng Man-Ching “The Professor” came from Taiwan to New York and began to do something...
The post The Professor: tai chi’s journey west • EAP058 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
People often joke about being addicted to sugar. After all, how could something as cute and celebratory as a cupcake be bad? But it is not just the cupcake, or the sugary energy drink, it is that sugar has found its way into most foods and the combined effect on our metabolism has spawned an...
The post The bitter truth about sugar • EAP057 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
There are a number of chronic degenerative eye problems that respond to acupuncture. In this episode, our guest discusses his experience using acupuncture to effectively treat macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt’s and diabetic retinopathy. We discuss not only treating the eyes, but how the eyes are a part of the nervous system and using acupuncture...
The post Clarifying vision: acupuncture and degenerative eye disease • EAP 056 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
We often hear about acupuncture being used as an “alternative” when conventional biomedicine has failed to bring relief or resolution to a problem. So it seems a bit counter-intuitive to think about acupuncture being used as part of first line care in an emergency room. And that is exactly where this episode’s guest practices— in...
The post Acupuncture in the Emergency Room • EAP055 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Contrary to the view of conventional medicine, women’s menstrual cycle can be smooth and regulated with natural methods. In this episode we look at how a woman’s monthly cycle is a vital indicator of her overall health. Additionally, we see how the “periods” that accompany hormonal birth control are not periods in the true sense,...
The post Riding the hormonal tide; natural methods of period repair • EAP054 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
We often hear about the so-called “mind/body connection,” but have you noticed that the very phrase already assumes some kind of disconnect? In this episode we discuss over tea, Chinese medicine’s view of how body and emotion are profoundly intertwined, what to do about worry, and how art helps with healing. Listen in for a...
The post Connecting emotions and physiology; a tea infused conversation • EAP053 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
In our electronically enhanced speed of silicon world we are easily lured into believing that faster is better, and motion is more productive than stillness. But, think of the cat crouched and ready to pounce, the coiled snake, still with a spring load of potential, or the sprinter settled into her blocks. Indeed explosive movement...
The post The dynamics of standing still • EAP 052 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
We often think that our hormones drive our emotions. And while there is some truth in that, it is equally true that our emotions, states of mind, and the stories that we tell our selves also have a profound impact on our hormones. In today’s episode we look at how our thoughts and emotions are...
The post Hormones, emotions, and the spaces between • EAP051 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
As Westerners we honestly come by our apprehension, discomfort and distrust of Chinese herbal medicine. After all, we didn’t grow up with this stuff. Our mother’s didn’t feed us “Cinnamon and Peony Decoction” when we had a cold; we got tomato soup and grilled cheese. Our culture has us going to the drugstore instead of...
The post Practical questions about Chinese herbs • EAP050 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
If you are thinking there has to be a better solution for the ails of childhood than antibiotics, anti-anxiety meds, ear tubes and amphetamines; you’re right! Our guest in this episode has his feet firmly planted in both conventional biomedicine and Chinese medicine. Listen in for a conversation on how a shift in perspective can...
The post East and West approaches to treating children • EAP049 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Fertility issues are more than simply being able to get pregnant. Cultivating a fertile internal environment, having a healthy pregnancy, carrying a child to term and being able to give them a healthy vitality all are part of the process of bringing a new life into the world. In this episode we explore how acupuncture,...
The post Cultivating the fertile field: Chinese medicine for making healthy babies • EAP048 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Today’s show is a bit different from the usual dialogue between practitioners. Due to listener demand Michael Max offers up a solo show as a way of commemorating one year of Everyday Acupuncture Podcast. Listen in for his thoughts on how acupuncture works, why Chinese medicine practitioners look at your tongue, an overview of some...
The post One year of Everyday Acupuncture • EAP047 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Sleep. It is one of those fundamental aspects of life that we take for granted, until we find ourselves writing and editing lists in our mind, or rehashing conversations at 3am. Sleep is a simple and natural process, except for when it’s not. And then all our efforts at a slide into slumber only takes...
The post Sweet dreams are made of these • EAP046 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Sometimes we don’t even know the rut we’re in. Until a symptom, accident or diagnosis snaps us into an unexpected moment of presence. We can chose the route of “fixing” our bodies, or engage a process of looking into “how we got here” and make more informed choices about the road to take from here....
The post Unwinding habits and inertia • EAP045 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
An overnight treatment for back pain? Yes. But, as with so much in life, it’s not a “one and done.” It is process. A slight shift in habit and practice that allows your body to unwind postural kinks and find a space of ease and comfort. And from that neutral place of comfort help to...
The post Overnight treatment of back pain • EAP044 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
We tend to associate acupuncture with China. But auricular therapy was first developed in France, and then wandered its way back to the Middle Kingdom. And yes, there is a story to be told there. Listen in to find out about why the ear is one of the most powerful and effective acupuncture microsystems. And...
The post Auricular acupuncture • EAP043 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
As with so many paths that open to us in life, our guest in this episode did not set out to make a deep study of Parkinson’s. She stumbled into it by first helping a number patients who had foot injuries. And from there has delved deeply into neurobiology, brain chemistry, Chinese medicine, and psychology...
The post Parkinson’s recovery project • EAP042 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
We rarely think of our feet as the amazing complex multi-boned platforms that allow us to walk upright. And in fact— they are sensory organs with a deep affinity for balance, movement and listening to the environment. This is an encore interview with our guest Mary Bond, who joined us on EAP020 for a discussion...
The post Finding our footing • EAP041 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
We seek out medical practitioners because we want to know. There is a problem and we want it gone. Sometimes the process of discovery is not difficult, and health concerns are quickly resolved. But then there are those issues that linger for years, decades even. They defy the insurance reimbursed scans and lab tests. They...
The post Beginning with not-knowing • EAP040 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
The Chinese medicine perspective on physiology connects and diverges from the conventional Western view like a blue highway meanders around an Interstate. Our guest on this episode speaks fluently from the perspectives of both modern biomedicine and the ancient art of Chinese medicine. What’s more, in looking through the lens of embryological development and the...
The post Spark in the Machine • EAP039 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
Research is a funny thing. On one hand, most of us think of it as the most dry and boring stuff you could possibly read. On the other hand, we see it as the Holy Grail of truth when it comes to understanding the effectiveness of medical interventions. As with most things in life, the...
The post Tracing the flap of a butterfly’s wings- using complexity science to study acupuncture • EAP038 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.
The classics of Chinese medicine describe the digestive system in terms of what today we’d call a compost pile. Indeed we symbiotically live with, and are dependent on, a population of microbes that outnumbers our “human” cells. Our modern day war on the bacterial world is perhaps a bit misguided. And rather than trying to...
The post Fermentation, the natural probiotics in your kitchen • EAP037 appeared first on Everyday Acupuncture.