by Dr. Greg Sperber Recently, there is a lot of concern about the swine flu. This flu has some very unusual characteristics. Since we as practitioners, are among the first approached for information from our friends, families, and patients, it is a g… more »

by Honora Lee Wolfe The other day in my business class I said to one of my students, “sounds like you have a plan for your practice.” Another student, standing nearby and listening (and who knows the first student better than I do) disagreed. “No,” h… more »

by Bob Flaws Today I got an e-mail from a practitioner asking for advice on explaining Chinese medicine to laypeople. The gist of the question was whether I believe laypeople can understand Chinese medicine on its own terms, and the answer to that qu… more »

by Bob Flaws In issue #2, 2009 of Shi Yong Zhong Yi Yao Za Zhi (Journal of Practical Chinese Medicine & Pharmacology), Liu Shi-long and Lin Xiu published an article titled "Chinese Medicinal Adverse Reactions & Rational Use." Since there is a… more »

By Eric Brand Continuing yesterday's thread of new medicinals in Chinese medicine... One of the most popular new medicinals in Chinese medicine today is rhodiola (hong jing tian), which came from the arsenal of Tibetan medicine. It is most famous f… more »

by Eric Brand As the Chinese and Western worlds grow closer together, we see that each culture is rapidly becoming interested in natural remedies from outside their traditional geographic zone. The idea of incorporating outside substances into Chine… more »

By Eric Brand Li Dong-Yuan lived in the Jīn-Yuán Dynasty, a time when the wonders and side-effects of distilled spirits were known throughout Chinese society. In the words of Zhu Dan-Xi: “Pure grain spirits are very hot and very toxic in nature… more »

by Honora Wolfe After class this week, one student asked me to stay awhile to talk with him about "Why is money such a four letter word in acupuncture schools?" "Why is capitalism so denigrated in our profession?" “What’s wrong with making money?” Wh… more »

by Honora Lee Wolfe It’s tough to choose just one great practice development tip. You could make a case for 100, but in this short blog I will only cover this one. For me, at least today, this is the alpha and omega of practice tips: As much as y… more »

By Eric Brand Guang An Men hospital in Beijing is perhaps the most famous TCM hospital in China. With 650 inpatient beds and around 5000 daily outpatient visits, Guang An Men has offered a full spectrum of Chinese medical services and integrated car… more »

by Eric Brand Shi Xue-Min is arguably China’s most famous acupuncturist. A prolific contributor to the Chinese literature, Dr. Shi has written a number of key acupuncture texts. For example, he was the chief editor of an acupuncture reference book… more »

by Bob Flaws We all know that San Qi (Radix Notoginseng) is described as stopping bleeding in Chinese medicine. That suggests that it somehow promotes clotting or coagulation. Clotting involves the formation of a platelet plug or thrombus due to stim… more »

by Bob Flaws Fibromyalgia can be a very difficult and frustrating condition to treat. Sometime, regular acupuncture can even make the symptoms of body pain worse. On pages 108-109 of issue #7, 2008 of Si Chuan Zhong Yi (Sichuan Chinese Medicine), Tan… more »

by Bob Flaws On page 64 of issue 1, 2009 of Shi Yong Zhong Yi Yao Za Zhi (Journal of Practical Chinese Medicine & Pharmacology), there is an article by Zhang et al. on various toxic Chinese medicinals' ability to treat cervical cancer. One of the… more »

by Bob Flaws Blue Poppy prides itself on its strong environmental position and practices. Here at Blue Poppy, we don’t just talk the talk; we walk the walk. For instance, we are a 100% zero-waste certified facility; reusing and recycling everything p… more »

by Bob Flaws On pages 6-7 of issue #8, 2008 of Gan Su Zhong Yi (Gansu Chinese Medicine), Li Yong-qi published an article titled “Professor Zhou Xin-you’s Clinical Experiences Treating Prostatic Hypertrophy.” In this article, Li says that Prof. Zhou i… more »

by Honora Wolfe I have often heard that fear of public speaking is cited as nearly equal to fear of death for most people. Even I, after years as a teacher and public speaker, get stage fright almost every time I am in front of a group. Here are some… more »

by Eric Brand The vast majority of ginseng is cultivated in fields. Wild roots and half-wild, forest-grown roots exist on the market, but they are rarely used clinically because their expense is generally prohibitive. Most wild or half-wild roots a… more »

by Bob Flaws In Chinese, the words gu fang [古方] mean “ancient formulas,” while the words jing fang [经方] mean “classic formulas.” Both these terms refer to herbal formulas created in China prior to the Jin-Yuan dynasties… more »