Our esteemed colleague Marnae Ergil recently shared a link to a fascinating article that links the human skeletal bones to male fertility.  This article, reported in the journal Cell, suggests that the bones affect the endocrine system in ways that were… more »

By Eric Brand “Hot pot” is one of the great regional specialties of Chinese cuisine.  A wide range of regional styles exist, but they all share the common feature of a tabletop pot of boiling water that is used to cook thinly sliced meats and fresh veg… more »

By Eric Brand The modern educational style used in Chinese medicine allows students to have access to a wide range of experts across different disciplines.  While this is generally a huge advantage, students are often confused by the fact that differen… more »

Last week we uploaded a few new Youtube videos for our Blue Poppy Youtube channel.  Our Youtube channel can be found by searching for "Bluepoppytcm" at the main Youtube site, and we have a variety of videos uploaded there.  Last week I put up a video on… more »

By Eric Brand There is some wonderful, truly heart-warming news coming out of the UK today.  As we have mentioned before on our blog, there are changes afoot in EU law that will broadly affect the availability of Chinese herbal products.  However, ther… more »

It's common enough. Especially if you already have debt from student loans. You go to a well-off (or at least better-off!) family member to help you start your business. Still, you are likely to maintain healthy family relationships if you do this right… more »

Cold Quell aims to treat patterns associated with external contraction of pathogenic heat combined with internal deficiency of qi and blood.  This combination pattern is commonly listed in Chinese internal medicine and ENT textbooks, such as the 5th edi… more »

It's difficult to overemphasize the power of patient re-activation phone calls. It's way easier than cold calling (calling people who don't know you) and it's a tried and true method to get a positive response from the universe in growing your practice.… more »

By Eric Brand and Nigel Wiseman The standard dose of a medicinal can be varied according to specific factors: the role of the medicinal in a formula; age and constitution; severity and duration of the condition; and the characteristics of the medicinal… more »

I just learned that my friend Markov Chern is bringing a group of students to Nanjing for a study tour. Markov hails from Singapore and graduated from the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine after initially studying acupuncture during a prolonged app… more »

Dang Gui is a fascinating medicinal that has been subjected to many types of pao zhi over the centuries. The part of the root that is used is traditionally considered to affect Dang Gui’s actions, and the various different types of pao zhi further accen… more »

As with Allerease, Blue Poppy’s formula Impediment Magic was originally inspired by a book on secret formulas from famous modern doctors. Impediment Magic comes from a formula called Bi Tong Ling (Painful Impediment Magic) the Chinese source text Zhong… more »

Do you read magazines or publications from other niches and industries? I find it very revealing and worth my time as a marketer to check out all kinds of ads, articles, and ideas from industries outside the world of Chinese medicine and then “cross-pol… more »

By Eric Brand Huang Lian Jie Du Tang is an ancient formula that appeared shortly after the start of the Jin dynasty, just after Chinese medicine's most important early herbal classics, the Shang Han Lun & Jin Gui Yao Lue. While it is a strong for… more »

class="MsoNormal">Allerease is one of the most popular formulas from the Blue Poppy Originals line. Many of the formulas from the Originals line were selected by Bob Flaws from published research articles in Chinese medical journals. Bob often made slig… more »

by Shawn Kirby, L.Ac. "By nature, men are nearly alike - by practice, they come to be far apart."  Confucius I got a phone call today from a customer who told me that they enjoy my blog.  As i was thanking him for his kind words, it suddenly dawned on… more »

By Eric Brand   Over the past several years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has made a major effort to promote traditional medicine across the globe.  In particular, the WHO’s Western Pacific region has dedicated a significant amount of effort to… more »