Qiological Podcast

When thinking about our toolkit, most acupuncturists, and patients too for that matter, think about needles. Our job, it’s to use those whisper thin slivers of steel with skill and accuracy. But sometimes the best tool for the job might not be a needle.In this conversation with Orit Zilberman and Hila Yaffee we consider the use of Hui Yin, Ren One.For sure this point it’s important and there are challenges to using and learning to use this influential meeting of yin.Listen into this discussion on both the trauma and healing that can result from working with Ren One, how our own image of what it means to be a doctor can influence how we think about working with this point, and some non-needle ways to powerfully unlock the capacity for healing at the Meeting of Yin.

Ever wonder about the unseen forces that shape health and illness? Sometimes it’s the things we can’t measure that hold the most sway. Healing isn’t always about what we see, but what we’re willing to explore.In this episode, we sit down with Lindsey Wei, a practitioner deeply rooted in the world of Daoist medicine. She has spent years blending the physical practices of qigong and martial arts with the mystical art of talismans, incantations, and ritual healing. She brings a unique perspective on what it means to heal both the body and spirit.Listen into this discussion as we explore the workings behind Daoist talismans, how the celestial realm might influence your well-being, and how movement and ritual intertwine in martial arts. There’s more here than meets the eye, as we explore the boundaries between science and spirit, logic and mystery—and how these might be a little more porous than you realize.

Being in business is not just about tracking the financial health of your enterprise. It is about having a mission worth engaging, a kind of fire in the belly that fuels you through the difficult parts, and a sense for working at the edge of your capacity.Having a business and all that goes with it, it gives you the opportunity to grow into potentials you can only dream about in the middle of a difficult night.Our guest in this History Series conversation, Bill Egloff has been helping patients and practitioners for a long time with the products and services he’s provided over the years. He’s got a keen eye for business, regulatory details, and working with seemingly competing interests. It’s a long road from running a natural foods store to collaborating with Sloan Kettering on cancer patients.As with the other history series pioneers, there have been some interesting forks in the road worth taking.

In acupuncture school we learn the 10 questions, which will get you some information. But it’s more interrogative than rapport building, more about eliciting information than revealing meaning.Listening with a mindset of noticing the small anomalies. Listening to understand someone from their own point of view. To be inquisitive about how the difficulties might hold unrevealed lessons, and how troubles are lessons in progress.It’s more than having an unfettered sense of curiosity, there’s something else that goes into it.In this conversation with Vance Crowe we explore the transformative potential of conversations that invite the stories that haven’t had an audience. Like many of us, Vance did not set out to do what he does. It found him.Listen into this discussion on rapport, connection, surprise and delight. Often enough, there’s a harvest of wisdom that comes with following the threads that are usually just out of sight.

We have the two of yin and yang, the three of the jing, qi, shen, the four levels of pathogenic invasion from the Wen Bing, the Five Phases of the Wu Xing and the Six Elements— wait a minute, Six Elements?Have you ever wondered why the Classics speak to the Five Zang and Six Fu? Especially when we have an equal balance of yin and yang meridians. And what is going on with those two troublesome organs, the Triple Burner and Pericardium that have a “function” but no form? Furthermore, have ever wondered how it is that Fire gets four organs, but all the other elements only two?Our guest in this conversation Slate Burris had those questions as well. He’s an inquisitive guy, so he went looking. What he found is surprising, and once pointed out— a bit obvious as well.Listen into this conversation on the Sixth Element, how that can guide your clinical work, the power of palpation to track what is happening in the moment for patients, and how one needle in the right place can set off a domino effect that dramatically changes your patient’s physiology.

In our work as acupuncturists, we use differential diagnosis to understand the warp and woof of a patient’s problem, to see how various seemingly marginally connected aspects of their problem give us the pattern that allows for skillful intervention. We also look at constitutional factors, those aspects of our patients that provide a kind of gravity and centering  to their life and how they live it.Both aspects need our consideration in clinical practice. In this conversation with Peter Eckman we discuss the differences between a person’s constitution and their condition. Both give us a handle on working with people, but these are very different aspects of our make up.How are they different? And how to approach work with these?  Listen in, there’s a lot to discuss.

We are encoded beings. There is a song that plays out through the patterning of our DNA. We are influenced by the tides of culture, family and peers. And there is a great turning of Stems and Branches that leaves an imprint on our mind/body as we enter the world.The Ba Zi is a description of the moment we enter this world, it’s the weather we carry with us from that first breath. It shows tendencies of expression, not unlike how DNA plays a familiar rhythm through us.In this conversation with Howard Chen we explore the Ba Zi and in particular the influence of the Day Master, which is a helpful place to begin when sorting through the complex interrelationships of the phases, especially if you’re a practitioner of acupuncture.Listen into this conversation on why we have tendencies to rely on our generation or control cycle, how our superpower is a resource and at times trouble to overcome, and how we can balance out the wobbles we all carry that make us uniquely ourselves.

In this History Series episode we time-travel with the vivacious Cara Frank. Her story begins in the gritty, creative pulse of 1970s New York City, where as a teenager, she was navigating the counter cultural scene. Her first encounter with acupuncture was anything but ordinary—an illegal treatment that changed her life and set her on the path she travels today.Cara’s journey is a tapestry woven with threads of rebellion, discovery, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. From the scarring moxa treatments of Dr. So, to her worldview changing with the discovery of herbs in a Beijing hospital. Cara’s story is one of exploration and deep connection to the roots of Chinese medicine practice. Listen in as we explore the alchemy of Cara’s life in Chinese medicine—as she reflects on  the influential figures who guided her, her insights into the community's growth and the importance of mentorship.  All with her hardscrabble wisdom, humor, and a dash of New York grit.

You’re probably somewhat familiar with the four needle technique. It’s an innovation said to have arisen through the meditative practice of the Korean Buddhist monk Saam, roughly four hundred years ago.It has since been passed down both through the monastic tradition, and used as well by ordinary doctors. Today you’ll also find the “Saam Method” used in academic research studies and employed as a key part of their acupuncture practice by Korean practitioners.In this conversation with Andreas Brüch we explore the more modern thinking and application of Saam as it’s used by Korean doctors today. He’s spent 20 years studying with some of those doctors and using the method in his work.Listen in to this discussion on organ pairs, phase energetics, six qi influences, a psycho-emotive model that expands your thinking, and how the Sam Boo character of the transport points can help you to select individual points to add focused potency to your treatments.

How we engage the mind can have an effect on our wellbeing in profound ways.What is even more interesting is how the mind and body interact. We are all familiar how the emotions can be the source of internally generated illness, and we are all familiar with how injury or illness can in turn have an effect on our emotional life.Some would go so far as to say all physical illness is rooted in the emotions. To me that seems a bit simplistic. but I’d agree that our physiology and the internal “climate” generated by the emotions… they are not disconnected.In this conversation with Joyce Vlarrkamp we discuss the inner landscape, not just of the patient, but the practitioner as well. Along with the metaphors and imagery through which patients navigate their experience. If you’re keen on investigating the inner landscape, you’ll enjoy this conversation.

What is Nature, and what is Nurture? It’s an old question that poses what is perhaps a false dichotomy. Considering out Nature, it’s as old as Chinese medicine. And nourishing ourselves so as to enjoy the full measure of our days, also has a long history of inquiry and practice. As practitioners we need to know how to take care of ourselves as part of being able to care for others. The tenets of East Asian medicine suggest that different kinds of people need different things. Sun Xi Miao is one of the leading authorities on medicine and cultivation. In this conversation with Sabine Wilms and Leo Lok we discuss their perspective on what Sun Si Miao has passed down to us, and a special program they are offering for those who want to take a deep dive into the essence of “nourishing our nature.”

I attended what was then known as SIOM before it was an accredited school. I thought the program and approach was a good fit for how I learned, and being in my late 30’s at the time, I did not have the patience for a program that would not let me get my hands on people for a year or more.At SIOM, they had us in the clinic from the first week. Our patients were part of our curriculum. That fit the way I learn. The innovative program they were experimenting with back then was in part due to the efforts of Paul Karsten, who was one of the founders. Learning and instructional design was something he’d been interested in and gravitated towards.Listen into this conversation on the early development of schools and curriculum, the challenge of teaching Chinese medicine concepts to Western students, the importance of hands-on experience,  and the role of qi transformation in learning and practice.

For sure, the health of the brain is absolutely essential to health and wellbeing. As we age, just like with other organs, there is a lot that can go wrong with that curious Sea of Marrow.In this conversation with Clayton Shu we discuss how he went from a focus on orthopedic issues to being concerned with neurology and brain health. Clayton doesn’t really do things in halfway measures, so when he goes at something, he goes at it full tilt.Listen into this discussion that connects ancient Eastern with modern Western perspectives on neurology, yang sheng, gut health, and acupuncture  in the promotion of brain health and a well functioning neurological system. 

From the misty mountains of China to the teahouses of Taiwan, Tea has served as a bridge between nature and culture, tradition and modernity. Tea is not just a beverage, but a living entity that carries within it a connective plant wisdom and the potential for personal and societal transformation.In this conversation Brian Kirbis unveils tea's hidden depths, its ability to foster human connection, its embodiment of spiritual ecology, and its power to teach us about balance and appreciation.Listen into this discussion that brews up insights on the spiritual ecology of tea, its role in fostering human connections and as a traveling companion  for life's journey.

Not only is acupuncture strange, with its twelve invisible watersheds of flow and influence. But we have the qi jing ba mai. The strange flows… usually translated as the extraordinary vessels.Some say these are the blueprint that give structure to the embryo as they help to orient and guide development. Others say that these vessels are deeply tied into our psycho-emotive functioning.Traditionally they were talked about as reservoirs . They helped to regulate the excess or lack in the 12 main channels.As for me, I can’t say that I understand them all that well. And that is why I like to talk to folks who have spent time investigating the extraordinary nature of these vessels.Which is why I’m delighted to share this conversation with Yvonne Farrel and Luke AdlerThey’ve spent some time looking into  and clinically working with the 8 extras as we commonly call them.Are they strange, or are they fundamental? Listen in and find out for yourself.

I recently had the good fortune to sit down for a conversation with Charlie Buck, one of the  early pioneers in acupuncture and Chinese medicine in the UK. He shared his journey of discovering acupuncture in the late 1970s, a time when it was still quite unknown in the West. Our discussion explored how the landscape of acupuncture education and practice in Britain has shifted dramatically over the years.This conversation touches on deeper topics like the nature of mastery in Chinese medicine, the importance of cultivating perception and intuition, and how practitioners can be like "magicians" for their patients.Listen into this discussion that weaves together history, philosophy, and practical wisdom about the practice of Chinese medicine. Charlie's passion for the subject and decades of experience truly shines through.

Understanding and acknowledging how things are is a terrific starting point. It’s what led Ilan Migdali to not just understand how health insurance worked in California, but opened up a path for him to create an insurance network that specifically aimed at helping acupuncturists to thrive.Beyond the creative and practical work Ilan has done with insurance, he’s also a student of the Balance Method and in particular looking at the yi jing and how the transformations of the gua can be stimulated within the body using particular acupuncture points.I always hope that when I speak with people Ilan a bit of their broad perspective might wear off me. Maybe it will broaden your perspective as well…. We’ll find out right after a word from the people you can thank for making Qiological possible.

I was cautious and reluctant about studying acupuncture when it first really caught my attention.Then there are folks like John McDonald who when he first caught wind of acupuncture thought… far out man, I want to know more about that.That enthusiasm has followed him through his time as a practitioner and even through doing a Ph.D.In this conversation we’ll discuss trickster shamans, the ethics of using the controlling cycle of the Five Phases to influence your patients emotions, why people with stanch beliefs are most easily brainwashed, and the curiosity of how the body “makes decisions.”For sure, it’s far out, and I think you’ll want to know more.

Tinkering and creating, I suspect that anyone who's been lucky enough to have grown up in an environment that encouraged exploration, risk taking and curiosity— they've got a perspective that has them asking “why not” instead of “why.”Figuring out how things work is fun. Even more so when you don’t take other people’s word on what is doable or not, and you go and see for yourself.Adrian Larsen has been one of those “how’s this thing work” kind of people his whole life. That’s what led him into all kinds of interesting projects, one of which was the creation of the acugraph. It’s great when curious people push an edge and find a whole new territory to share with the rest of us.In this conversation we’ll learn more about how the Acugraph came about, as well as how it can be used.

 I had the delightful surprise of Zoe Coldham reaching out to me to tell me about the documentary she’d created that goes into the early days of acupuncture finding its way into the mainstream of British culture.As you probably know, Qiological has been doing a little mini-series on acupuncture’s journey to the west as well. So I was keen to have her on to hear her perspective and what she’s discovered.Listen in for this documentarian’s perspective on acupuncture’s Journey to the West.

The late 60s and early 70s were a time of openness and experimentation. It was the beginning of the civil rights movement, more equality for women, and the recognition that sexuality included more than love between men and women.Cultural norms were questioned and that included dietary practices, the healing arts and the relationship between humans and the planet. It was in this rich milieu of change that acupuncture started to take root in the imagination and then practice of those who were willing to follow a path with heart.We are going to hear more about those early days with Randall Barolet. Some of you might recognize his name on the first Formula and Strategies book from Eastland Press. Randall did not set out to be a translator, that was something that organically showed up as he followed his interest with Chinese medicine.In the words of Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter, what a long strange trip it’s been.

It’s fun to solve problems. Especially when you’re not quite sure what to do, so you have to pay attention and learn what’s important. You must develop the capacity to learn from both your failures and success.Mark Brinson wanted a liniment for patients and was not happy with what was on the market. So he thought he’d just mix up his own. That turned into a process of learning a lot about everything from the quality of the herbs, to the nature of the water, to distilling his own alcohol.The final product is not just a quality liniment, but a point of view. When it comes to marketing and assisting practitioners not just about helping their patients, but also doing well financially so they can sustainably do their doctoring work.Listen into this conversation on herbal alchemy, marketing with a sense of humor and how to have fun as a mad scientist.

The Chinese are right, the brain is a curious organ. The way the nerves entangle their way into every aspect of our body, and how their gentle electric hum gives us awareness of this container we call ourselves.Pain is how our nervous system lets us know there is a problem. Acupuncture has rightfully been seen and used as a way to intervene. Strangely enough the ear has a powerful influence on the brain and nervous system.In this conversation with John Howard we take a look at  Battlefield Acupuncture, its origin, unique place in the military, and how it works with the curious organ of the brain.Listen into this discussion on the influence of the zero point, the curious relationship between blood types and pain, sacred the geometry of 30 degree angles, importance of titration and how causing some trouble got him a job working for the Yankees.

What is our universe made of? How does it work, and more importantly– what are we doing here and how do we make sense of it? Eternal questions, unanswerable, but maybe the questions are not for answering, perhaps they are for focusing attention.In this conversation with Rory Hiltbrand we take a look at our peculiar situation as Beings in between the circle of heaven and square of earth. We dip into mathematics, Donghan Daoist numerology, metaphysics and others head scratching ideas about medicine that practitioners have puzzled over for centuries.  Listen into this discussion of sacred geometry, alchemy, Quantum mechanics and perception. It gets a bit Alice in Wonderland like, but I think you’ll enjoy the trip down this rabbit hole.

While many are keen on looking to “science up” acupuncture and squeeze it into the thinking and theories of conventional medicine, others are quite content with the weirdness of it. And enjoy playing around in the territory that’s off the radar of Western science. Julian Scott is one of those pioneering acupuncturists whose background in theoretical physics primed him for the strangeness of the world of acupuncture.In this conversation we explore how healing and science don’t always go together. His surprising introduction to treating children, and the weirdness that is inherent to both physics and healing.Listen into this discussion on root causes, developmental stages, the influence of vaccines, along with the role of mind-to-mind connection and emanation in healing.

As anyone who has started an acupuncture practice and tried explaining it to potential patients knows, it’s not easy taking the terminology and thinking of East Asian medicine into English speaking Western culture.The guest of this conversation, John Rybak, has thought long and hard about this. He is keen on helping our profession bridge how we think and work with the constraints and opportunities of the conventional medicine world.Listen into this conversation on the importance of effective communication, concerns with our scope of practice losses, need for advocacy, and how expanding our vocabulary can help us to engage the broader medical community.

Brenda Hood often reminds me “Chinese concepts, especially classical Chinese concepts, are big and multidimensional. They are extremely dependent on context and while shades of meaning often cross over, they can be quite different and be more or less encompassing of ideas depending on actual context.”Which is why I’m always questioning myself when wrestling ancient Chinese ideas. What’s more, it will seem culture itself is constantly rewriting history to fit the current zeitgeist. So words and ideas, they shape-shift through time.In this episode we discuss 意 Yi, commonly translated as Meaning or Significance, and also as Intention.Intention gets talked about a lot in our trade, but for me over the course of time, I feel less and less clear just what Intention is, and how it relates to my clinical work. I’ve got some questions about it, and was delighted to sit down with Stephen Boyington, Leslie de Vries and Volker Scheid to see if they could thrown some light on what for me has increasingly become a murky term.Listen into this both scholarly and practical discussion on 意, Yi as it relations to medicine and how the doctors, poets and calligraphers over the centuries have puzzled over this as well.

Saam acupuncture with its unique channel pairings, perspective on psycho-emotional dynamics, and capacity to interweave the Five Phase with the Six Qi is a powerful tool for understanding the interplay of yin and yang along with body and mind.In this conversation Joshua Park joins us to explore how Saam acupuncture gives us a holistic view and allows practitioners to approach diagnosis and treatment from multiple perspectives.Listen into this discussion of how using multiple lenses gives a more dimensional understanding to your patient's condition. Along with how the Zi Wu “Chinese Clock” helps us to discern the interconnections between Heaven, Earth and Person, and how the flows of dissatisfaction and satiation are built into being human.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s of the last century East Asian medicine began to emerge into mainstream culture. The Reston NY Times article is often cited as a catalytic moment that put the idea of Chinese acupuncture into the minds of Americans. But other streams of medicine from Japan and Korea were also finding their way into the imagination of those who would be a conduit that would help these methods to flourish in the mainstream of Western culture.Peter Eckman has been a unique bridging influence. His acupuncture came from the currents of Korea, as well as Japan and Taiwan via the Worsley tradition of England.Listen into this conversation on inquisitiveness, constitution, and how saying “yes” in pivotal moments opens up a world of possibility.

The Middle East has a long history of war and unrest. Whatever phase of history you’d like to zoom the timeframe, you’ll likely see conflict. In Episode 72 of Everyday Acupuncture Podcast I spoke with an Israeli practitioner on what it is like to live in a place where you’re frequently hearing air raid sirens and headed to a bomb shelter. In this conversation we hear reflections of two practitioners who share their experience in the aftermath of the attacks of October 7th.In this conversation with Keren Assouline and Guy Sedan, we hear from experienced practitioners who share with us what it's like living and working amidst the ongoing conflict in Israel. They have seen first hand how the trauma of war infiltrates the body, disorders the qi and leaves an effect on the mind, spirit and society.Listen into this discussion that provides a window into using the tools of Chinese medicine to help a society cope with the deep impacts of living through war, fear and violence.

Here’s a question that I find difficult to answer. How does acupuncture work? Beyond the East Asian medicine phrasing that makes zero sense to your average citizen. Just what is going on in the body in response to a sliver thin needle being placed in the flesh? And once you have an answer for that, explain how a “needle” that does not pierce the skin can accomplish the same thing?It’s an annoying question isn’t it? Which makes it a very good question, and the motivation for inviting Gary Klepper, Thomas Sørensen, and Erhart Truitt to this conversation on teishin needles.Listen into this discussion on the paradox between intention and attention,  perspectives on gently interacting with the qi, and how the teishin is a forgiving tool for beginners and an instrument of advanced technique for experienced practitioners.

Women develop through the cycles of seven. Men through the rhythms of eight. Women, more resonate with Blood. Men, with qi. Being human, there is a lot we share in common. Looking at our classic books on medicine, from the point of view of physiology and health, there are differences. And from the perspective of development, going from child to adult, and from adult to elder, we walk paths that orbit around one another. Damo MItchell recently commented on social media about his concern that men, younger men in particular, are not thriving. They are depleted in Jing and Kidney qi. Which is a curious and unusual condition given their relative youth. I too have had concerns about younger men and so invited Damo to this conversation. Listen into this discussion on how men and women process emotion differently, why men need to feel useful, the importance of manners and why man who does not take risks will deplete his Kidneys for sure.

East Asian medicine recognizes the central role that food can play in our health and wellbeing. We have various models for understanding the fluctuations and trajectories a human body can travel as we navigate the time we have between Heaven and Earth.In this conversation with Jaguang Sunim we explore the Korean Sa Sang constitutional perspective as it relates to our physiology, along with the strengths and deficiencies that we can mitigate with the foods we choose to eat on a regular basis. Additionally we’ll explore how the influences bestowed on us as viewed through the Ba Zi chart can help us to better understand how our unique mix of the Five Phases gives us insight into our constitution.Listen into this conversation on constitution, food as medicine and how understanding our constitution through the Sa Sang and Five Phases can quickly reveal our super powers and our kryptonite.

The 1960’s and 70’s saw an explosion of alternative health and lifestyle practices appear at the edges of culture. It was a time ripe with possibility and fraught with peril, after all there was a war going on. The kind where men were drafted.As with any troubled time, there is also opportunity. Because as things fall apart, they also fall together. The guest of this episode, Stuart Watts, he had a bent for spiritual practice, a curiosity about health beyond the mainstream, and an adventurous and entrepreneurial spirit. The kind of spirit that did not just see opportunities, but created them.Listen into this conversation as we dig into the early days of how you’d go about learning acupuncture, the history of the first schools, and how troublesome ‘wu fa’ teachers can teach you a lot about what you need to know, even if the experience is unpleasant.

Change happens through time, it unfolds within the rhythmic inhale and exhale, it expresses through lunar and solar cycles, it follows the arc of development, fruition, and decline. There are recognizable pathways and markers that arise within what is mostly a non-linear experience of life.Daniel Atchison-Nevel used to skip school and hang out at the library where he found himself in the company of old Russian Jewish mystics, their stories and tattered copies of the Dao De Jing. Not a bad place to begin, if your destiny holds the potential to include the practice of Chinese medicine.Listen into this discussion of how undifferentiated wholeness ratchets down into the world of yin and yang, the constant interplay of fate and destiny, the vital importance of of being able to recognize the impulse towards healing within dysfunction, and how the most profound learning he received on the Extraordinary Vessels came from a man with whom he shared no common language.

Alchemy sounds like magic. It sounds like magic because it involves the transmuting of something coarse and without value to something refined and of worth. But really, there is nothing magical about it. It’s the process of finding a corner of the world you want to work on, and applying some elbow grease to make it better.In this conversation with Leta Herman we explore the first four of the nine palaces of Alchemy. Which is to say, the nuts and bolts of working with the everyday world, because before you can work on the higher levels. You need to build your foundation and capacity by first gaining mastery with everyday life.Listen into this discussion of spirit, matter and why matter matters.

You’ve probably heard about family lineage types of acupuncture from Asia. Here in the West, acupuncture is still a bit of a newcomer to the medical scene, but it has been around long enough that we are beginning to see second generation practitioners. In this conversation we have a father son team, Joe and Sam Audette. Joe is a medical doctor and has deeply studied and helps to teach the work of Kiiko Matsumoto. And in this conversation you’ll get all kinds of helpful tips on areas of the abdomen to pay attention to, along with Joe’s ability to think about and use both Eastern and Western physiology. Listen into this discussion on pursuing medicine across several different cultures, why it is important to be grounded in the fundamentals and how developing a sensitivity for our patients is essential in the work we do

It was challenging enough for me in the 1990’s to set myself on the path of learning acupuncture. and by then, we had established schools and clear pathways to licensure and a livelihood. But back in the early days it took a rare kind of individual with a big spirit to seek out the knowledge required to learn acupuncture.The guest of this episode, Ted Kaptchuk, is one of those explorative pioneers that headed East because he was sure he’d find something, even though he’d no idea of how he was going to find it.Listen into this conversation on the revolutionary spirit took Ted from New York to San Francisco to Taiwan and then Macao. The twists and turned involved learning the medicine, and how the Web That Has No Weaver came into being.

Medicinal mushrooms have made their way into the everyday lives of the “old one-hundred names,” us common folk. Formerly rare and precious substances like Ling Zhi and Dong Chong Xia Cao are now cultivated and readily available for people like you and me. Considered to be “higher” level medicinals, these are substances considered more for promoting wellbeing, than treating illness. Which brings us to the topic of “Tonic Herbs” and Yang Sheng, the nourishment of life. In this conversation with Mason Taylor we discuss the differences between “Tonic Herbs” and the use of herbal medicine to treat illness. We touch on Daoist practices, the fundamental role of Jing, and the challenge and opportunity of running your own business that allows you to explore something that is of vital personal interest. Listen into this discussion of mushrooms, longevity and the search for authentic meaning.

Clinical experience and results are paramount in developing skill as a Chinese medicine practitioner. Theory should serve practice, not the other way around. Specializing in certain disease categories like dermatology can accelerate your learning process.In this conversation with Mazin Al-Khafaji we explore how he’s spent the past few decades using Chinese medicine to treat difficult skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. His study of Chinese medicine and unexpected collaboration with conventional doctors on eczema trials added fuel to the fire of his interest in dermatology. Since then, he’s dedicated his work to researching and treating recalcitrant skin disorders, and teaching others who have an interest in this speciality.Listen into this discussion on approaching and working with seemingly treatment-resistant skin conditions, and learn how the power of Chinese herbal medicine helps people not only with troublesome dermatological problems, but auto-immune issues as well.

We are here in the midst of winter cold going into the Spring Festival— the new Chinese Lunar year. It might seem strange to consider Spring as beginning in the deep middle of dark and cold, but all beginnings start in the dark. They begin before they can be seen. Qiological is delighted to have Gregory Done back with his perspective on the coming Wood Dragon year. This 12 year Earthly cycle of animals began anew with the Metal Rat in 2020, and we know how that shifted our world in profound ways. This past year of the Water Rabbit, as Gregory suggested, would be weird— and indeed it was.LIsten in as we review the Rabbit and consider the energies and symbols of the coming Wood Dragon, which begins a new Heavenly Stems cycle. Get ready to ride the Dragon, and know what to pack and what to leave behind.

In the mid 70’s there were four English language books on acupuncture. Which wasn’t much to go on. But for the people that started learning acupuncture in those days. It was enough to get started.Suzuki Roshi is famous for saying “in the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts mind there are few.” Which is another way to say being young and foolish is not a bad way to get started with things, because you don’t know what you can’t not do. and exploring new territory brings its own satisfaction.In this conversation with Peter Deadman we revisit the early days of when acupuncture was emerging into the mainstream culture of Great Britain.Listen into this discussion of cultural change, personal exploration, the structure of TCM and how a copy of bootlegged clinical notes helped Peter to learn the medicine, and then in turn share it with the rest of us.

There are aspects of East Asian medicine that touch on the frameworks of Buddhism, Daoism, Shamanism, and Alchemy. What’s more the lenses of philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and cosmology also can come into play when we consider the nature of the channels and points. Touching on existential questions and potentials for healing transformation, our guest in this episode, Zac Lui, discusses the Five Phases and channel dynamics from a perspective you’ve likely not considered. And touches on the cultivation of consciousness and how it’s helpful to rid ourselves of limiting beliefs.Listen to this conversation that offers a shamaic and esoteric perspective regarding the integration of different paradigms into your understanding and practice of medicine.

Meditation is seen as an ancient panacea to modern problems. Mindfulness and equanimity will help with your productivity at work, relationships at home, reduce your need for certain medication and in general make you a better version of yourself.But the inward turned gaze often enough does not reveal a tranquil garden, but a junkyard. The promise of stillness and equanimity evaporates in the onslaught of our unruly human minds.In this conversation with Leo Lok, we investigate how mediation can be a source of greater suffering  and contribute to mental illness.Listen into this discussion of meditation as repetitive stress injury, misconceptions about self/not-self, and how some core tenants have changed their meanings in the translation from the original Poli.

Pain is a helpful signal when it works properly as a warning signal. But when that signal goes awry, it dramatically changes a person’s life and also affects their close relationships.Jonathan Riemer has been researching chronic pain in children and he’s found there are social, neurological and psychological aspects to pain and its treatment.Listen into this conversation on illness and how it functions within the family systems, disconnections between the mind and body, and the importance of opening the mind to possibilities.

The curious thing about having someone ask me a question and engage in a conversation of inquiry is that I hear myself saying things that are usually hidden just under the surface of habit and belief.In this episode the guest of the podcast is me. and the host steering the boat… it’s Rick Gold. if you don’t know Rick, listen to episode 323. He’s had a hand in hundreds of people learning our medicine.Listen in for a discussion of the influence that shop class has had on me over the years, some of the nudges that shapeshifted my life, and how a panic attack turned out to be a birthday present.

We all have some kind of call to follow medicine, otherwise we wouldn’t be in the trade. If you answer that call today, you’ve got a profession you can work yourself into.But back in the late 70’s early 80’s, the profession was still finding its footing. And if you’re like the guest of this episode, Z’ev Rosenberg, having an established professional track was less of a concern than following a hunger he had for natural methods for restoring and maintaining health.Listen into this conversation on rock music, synchronicity, the Yi Jing, and how a feisty attitude can take you a long way.

The vast wealth, and it is a wealth, of writing on Chinese medicine is in Chinese. Granted, at this moment in time there is enough material that has made its way into English that you wouldn’t be able to read all of it in one lifetime. That’s far cry from the handful of books of 40 years ago. Still, the history and perspectives that have found their way down to the present in Chinese. It’s like an alternative universe. Maybe several of them.In this episode with Michael Brown, Will Cerveles, Eran Even, and Ivan Zalava, we have a discussion not just on translation, but more importantly the varied perspectives of practitioners whose work others thought was interesting enough to print and re-print through the decades and even centuries.These guys are the new wave of practitioner/translators and they are fired up about what they’re discovering. And keen on sharing it with the rest of us.Listen in for a lively discussion on the perspectives of some doctors you’ll only meet through the written word.

Some people dream of being influencers and social media stars. They are looking for a glamorous life in front of the camera.Not so for the guest of today’s episode who first published a Facebook video as a way to help support her students. It was a complete shock when someone from another country wrote to tell her how they appreciated the help in learning medicine.In this conversation with Clara Cohen we reflect on how she got started with her YouTube channel, Acupro Academy. It’s been an accidental journey that’s helped her to be of assistance to so many and given her an opportunity to discover how to use social media as a force for good.Listen into this conversation on grit, persistence, exploration and the connective power of a virtual community.

We practice traditional medicine, or do we?Because Chinese medicine has roots and writings that go back into misty history, it’s easy to imagine we practice much like your average Qing or Ming doctor. But the truth is, the way practitioners worked even just a hundred years ago would be quite foreign to the standards of today.In this conversation with Eric Karchmer we explore some of the themes and historic insights from his new book Prescriptions for Virtuosity, The Post Colonial Struggle of Chinese Medicine.I’m serious when I tell you— it’s going to blow your mind.Listen into this discussion of how Chinese medicine became the slow medicine, the brilliant innovation of the early textbooks, and how it is that what you think is the ancient bones of our medicine, is in many ways a new innovation. One wrought not through the communists stripping out the shamanistic practices, but rather by Chinese doctors themselves figuring where they stood in relation to the potency and power of modern biomedicine as it changed the landscape of economics, power and practice.