We as humans are manifestations of the universal spark, and when the universal spark fragments, it radiates energy from Heaven outward towards us, and it is up to us as human beings to answer back to Heaven with our thoughts, our actions, our feelings and emotions. The more we are focused on our desires, frustrations, anger – the more we are not connected to that connection. The more we are connected to the Heavenly energy the more we are connected to our true nature.

In this episode we go into some of the intricacies of stems and branches theory – as Joan Duveen shares his 3 decades of clinical experience in using this approach with his patients.

The important influence Dr van Buren had in the teaching of stems and branches

How to apply knowledge of the 4 pillars in a clinical setting

How stems and branches can be used with fertility patients

The relationship between Zheng Qi, stems and branches, and the connection to our true nature

How to make the adjustments in the calculations for the Southern Hemisphere.

Joan Duveen commenced his studies in Chinese medicine in 1975, and studied and worked closely with Dr van Buren for many years. Joan is practising in Netherlands and lecturing internationally on a regular basis.

He will be holding a seminar on Stems and Branches acupuncture in Melbourne, Australia from July 21st-24th. Tickets can be purchased from the event organiser Qiology.

We’d love to hear your comments and feedback on this episode. Please drop by our Facebook page to let us know what you think on this topic!

What to do with your gynae patients who seem to have every single pattern of disharmony happening in their body all the same time? It’s like they’ve asked for a burger with the lot – and it has every. possible. ingredient. all piled in between the two halves of the bun.

This week we discussed some of the intricacies of treating gynae patients – women’s health and fertility. Some clinical gems including

some mini herb combos – triplets that are good for treating menopausal symptoms, depression, sinusitis

when Steve uses yi mu cao in doses as high as 30g

how he doses tian qi to deal with heavy bleeding

what he uses for patients with a subplacental hemorrhage

Steve Clavey is a master of Chinese herbal medicine, and runs a busy fertility and women’s health practice in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of Fluid Physiology and Pathophysiology

Steve is an editor of the internationally regarded Chinese medicine journal The Lantern that is published 3 times a year. You can also read some of his Daoist translations and some of Steve’s other writings at https://thefatmonk.wordpress.com

We’d love to hear your comments and feedback on this episode. Please drop by our Facebook page to let us know what you think on this topic!

In this week’s episode, Phiona and Clare go through the foundations of how to treat thyroid disorders from an integrative TCM perspective. From start to finish – from the basics of what the thyroid is doing, what the thyroid blood tests mean, what the optimal reference ranges are and how to use that information in your clinic.

They discuss the importance of formulating a proper TCM diagnosis to ensure your acupuncture treatment and herbal formulas are targeting your patient’s pathology in just the right way.

Clare and Phiona discuss a range of integrative approaches to treating the thyroid, including addressing heavy metals, the importance of selenium, zinc and other nutrients. Also the right way and the wrong way for patients to be supplementing with iodine, especially if they have Hashimoto’s.

We mentioned it’s a good idea to go back and refresh yourself on the episodes we did with Heiner Fruehauf on gu syndrome – episodes 24 & 25.

We’d love to hear your favourite gem from this episode, please share it with us on our Facebook page.

What does your patient’s heart rate tell you about their history of trauma? The types of qualities present in those with PTSD?

Can you tell from the pulse what an aneurysm, prolapse or valve problems feel like on the pulse?

What is the significance of an increase in the leathery pulse quality in today’s society?

In this episode we had an in depth discussion with Ross Rosen about so many aspects of pulse diagnosis of the Shen Hammer Pulse System.

Ross early interest in Chinese philosophy, culture and martial arts led to the study of Chinese herbal medicine at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York City. He has dedicated years to the study of Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis (CCPD) and Contemporary Oriental Medicine and Chinese medical psychology is one of only a few practitioners who is certified practitioner and continues to receive hands on training with Dr Leon Hammer. Ross has also studied under Dr Jeffrey Yuen.

Ross’ clinic is located in Westfield, New Jersey. You can find details on his clinic at www.acupunctureandherbalmedicine.com and information about his upcoming seminars at rossrosen.com

We hope your ears and your own Shen can take the info from this episode to help your fingers to have a new understanding of your patients’ pulses in clinic. We’d love to hear your favourite gem from this episode, please share it with us on our Facebook page.

“We get sick when we’re not paying attention”

From Picasso, to Dostoyevsky, to Zhang Zhong Jing – we discussed many great ideas from great minds in this episode with Z’ev Rosenberg. This is a long episode – where we really dive deep in exploring the ways in which we can best equip ourselves to be the best diagnostic clinicians we can be.

In this long discussion we had a great discussion with Z’ev who shared his 30+ years of experience as we covered many ideas ranging from the intricacies of pulse diagnosis, through to the treatment of autoimmune disease and menopause. Your passion for Chinese medicine will be renewed after this discussion.

And to round off this spectacular episode – a special song for the outro at Z’ev’s request.

Z’ev Rosenberg, L. Ac., began his studies of Asian schools of medicine in the early 1970’s, with studies in macrobiotics, shiatsu, and theory of Chinese medicine.  He received a degree from the Santa Fe School of Natural Medicine in Western herbal medicine and body therapies in 1976, Kushi Institute (Boston, Massachusetts) in 1979 in macrobiotic counseling, Southwest Acupuncture College in 1983 in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and Emperor’s College of Oriental Medicine (post-graduate master’s degree in Oriental Medicine) in 1989.  He worked as a macrobiotic councilor and shiatsu practitioner throughout the 1970’s, and has been in full-time practice in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine since 1983.

You can find more about Z’ev on his website http://zevrosenberg.com/

Let us know what your thoughts and reflections are on the ideas in this episode – over on our  Facebook page.

“All musculoskeletal problems will have an internal component – you just have to look for it.”

Matt Callison is the King of Musculoskeletal acupuncture, and if he could meet any of the ancient acupuncture masters, he’d choose Hua Tou for his interesting take on the points. We had a very informative discussion with Matt about his own interesting work combining acupuncture and sports medicine. Matt shares some less well known methods with Hua Tou Jia Ji points, and effective ways to treat pain holistically with particular combinations of acupuncture points, motor points, shu & mu points. As acupuncturists, being able to treat pain really quickly, with a full view of the holistic picture, is going to boost our practices, and our patients’ experience. 

If you want to be a world class acupuncturist, you need to know what is contained in these texts. If you want to be a world class diagnostician, you need to know what is written in the pages of these books. David is a master of this domain and he shares his in depth knowledge of Han medicine with us in this episode.

The Nei Jing and the Nan Jing contain enough clinically relevant information that you could literally spend your entire career refining the details contained within their pages and still not uncover all the intricacies.

David White has done just this. He has dedicated his career to studying in great depth the ins and outs of the Nan Jing and the Nei Jing and the clinical and diagnostic info that is so abundant in these texts. Pulse diagnosis, acupuncture techniques, diagnostic indicators – this man knows the details. Scholar and practitioner extraordinaire – David has collected a lot of experience in the Han medicine of the Nei Jing and Nan Jing since entering the profession.

David holds a masters degree from RMIT and is in his final year of his doctorate at UTS in Sydney. He is a former founding member of the International Society for the Study of Classical Acupuncture (ISSCA) and current Director of the Institute of Neijing Research (INR). He is currently in private practice in Sydney’s North Shore, a senior lecturer at SITCM in acupuncture, and holds seminars in Neijing medicine all around the globe. In 2017 David will be teaching, as part of the ongoing Neijing Medicine series through the Institute of Neijing Research, the Compass of Jingluo which is a classical exploration of the channel system. This will be in Melbourne on the 23rd and 24th of April and the 3rd and 4th of June. The INR will also be launching it’s online training for all theoretical studies in Neijing medicine early next year.

We’d love your feedback and interaction on this topic, you can do that on our Facebook page. If you’re loving our episodes, please rate us on iTunes.

We don’t talk about the tough times. New practitioners feel overwhelmed and their education can feel inadequate when they find themselves at the coalface of clinical practice.

Practitioners get burnt out. Practitioners get depressed. Some quit the profession. Some contemplate suicide.

Let’s talk about this.

In today’s episode, we have a real conversation with Greg Bantick about the realities of being a practitioner, and the different cycles we can experience throughout our careers.

Greg Bantick is a highly esteemed senior practitioner who started his studies in Chinese medicine in 1975, and has spent the past 41 years highly engaged in the teaching and practice Chinese medicine both in Australia and in USA. Greg was part of a small group that established the first acupuncture college in Brisbane, Australia in the late 70s, and held senior roles at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine. He has been in clinical practice since the 70s and is currently practicing in Brisbane, Australia.

What is it like to practice in a small town? Where everyone knows everyone else, word travels fast, and your reputation can build quickly. But there are also challenges, like how do you tell a dairy farmer that they need to stop consuming dairy products in order to improve their health? How can you encourage your patients to eat organic, when there are no stores that sell organic produce in your town?

We spoke with the winner of our listener competition: Laura Parkinson and we discussed the intricacies of practicing in a small town with her in this week’s episode. Laura is based in a small town in Iowa with just 6000 people, and she established her practice after spending 10 years in US Navy medical clinics. She shares the story of how she changed careers and started her study in Chinese medicine.

Laura’s clinic Total Family Wellness is based in Oelwein, Iowa. Her website is iowatotalfamilywellness.com

What would you do for a patient with an 11cm fibroid? Clare and Phi discuss the “rule of thumb” that fibroids larger than 5cm can’t be effectively treated with Chinese medicine.

Uterine fibroids are a common problem to see in our female patients as they head towards menopause. Presenting to us with severe period pain, heavy bleeding and associated symptoms, these women are coming to us for help with Chinese medicine to assist them to shrink their fibroids or to help their body resolve them entirely.

In this episode we talk about Heather Bruce’s cold removal via navel cupping and we also mention her 8 extras in women’s health and maternity course. You can find her website here.

We talk about the energetics of how the body and uterus create a fibroid in the first place, and steps you might need to take to begin to unravel the energetic landscape. We also discuss herbs, acupuncture and integrative approaches to helping your patients to reduce or resolve their fibroid using natural medicine.

We’d love to hear your experiences of treating fibroids, or if you have any questions feel free to post on our Facebook page.