The 4 directions are governed by animal symbols: The Red Vermillon Bird of the South, The Azure Dragon of the East, The White Tiger of the West, The Black Turtle of the North.

The Yellow Dragon of the Centre oversees it all.

Sit back and enjoy the ride as Jimi Wollumbin takes us on a journey to explore these majestic symbols that explain the processes of life. These mythopoetic underpinnings emerged from the hunter gatherer cultures of ancient China and over time evolved into the Wu Xing that we are more familiar with today. Jimi Wollumbin studied Eastern Philosophy and Religion at ANU before studying TCM, and in this discussion he shares his wealth of knowledge and passion of this topic in a way that left both Phi and I in a lovely lucid-dreaming like state. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did!

Jimi Wollumbin practices in Uki in Northern NSW, Australia, and has 15yrs of clinical experience in Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and Persian. Further details of his clinical practice can be found here

Jimi is passionate about social causes and established the One Health organisation in 2005 which is the largest holistic and natural medicine based NGO in the world.

Phi and Clare really love talking about food. So much that we recorded this second episode and still didn’t get through all the info we wanted to cover! Stay tuned for a third episode coming soon…..

This week Phi and Clare discuss the intricacies of more nutritional approaches and the types of patients they are appropriate for: Paleo, Autoimmune Paleo, what to do with legumes, avoiding allergenic food groups such as salicylates and foods high in histamine and tyramine foods. We also discuss which foods thyroid patients should avoid.

Here is the information Clare mentioned about Autoimmune paleo lists of foods to include and avoid.

As always, we would love to hear from you on our facebook page where we would love you to join the conversation and post your own opinions and clinical experience on these important aspects of nutrition

Phi and Clare love talking about food. Nutrition is one of those topics that really gets us fired up – and in this episode you can share in our deep passion and love for the intricacies of different food combinations for different patients.

This week Phi and Clare discuss the “Berfooda” Triangle – The nutritional Trifecta of Doom: gluten, dairy and cane sugar. Should our patients be eating gluten? Are some people ok with dairy? When should patients not have dairy products? What about cane sugar? In this episode Phi and Clare go in depth about all the aspects of these three common dietary components and how they can be detrimental (or useful) for your patients.

We love to talk about food so much that we barely scratched the surface – another 2 episodes will follow where we discuss the intricacies of paleo, autoimmune paleo, ketogenic diet approaches, low histamine, low tyramine and others. Stay tuned next week for part 2 of our nutrition discussion.

Meanwhile, here is a great article about the dangers of margarine, and further info on why margarine is so terrible!

Head across to our facebook page to join the conversation and post your own opinions and clinical experience on these important aspects of nutrition.

This week we are lucky to have Gye Bennetts join us again to discuss things that can get in the way of your acupuncture treatments having the best effect. More 5 element wisdom in this episode as we go into discussion of Entry-Exit blocks, Possession and the Seven Dragons, plus the importance of clearing Aggressive Energy – and how not to do it!!

Gye has also included some notes to go with today’s episode, Heavenly Qi Podcast – Blocks to Treatment to use as a reference for yourself.

You can find more information about Gye and 5 element acupuncture on his website www.5element.com.au

We hope you enjoy this episode, and would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well on our Facebook page.

Gye Bennetts joins us this week for a discussion about 5 element diagnosis. We hear from Gye about his first experience with 5 element acupuncture, and we even have his great impersonation of the 5 sounds associated with each element. Such a treat!

Gye has also included some notes to go with today’s episode, Heavenly Qi Podcast – 5 Element Diagnosis to use as a reference for yourself.

You can find more information about Gye and 5 element acupuncture on his website www.5element.com.au

We hope you enjoy this episode, and would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well on our Facebook page.

Chip Chace joins us this week to discuss palpation based Chinese Medicine.

How can you know for sure that your acupuncture treatment has improved someone’s Qi? What is the herbal formula you’ve prescribed actually doing to the Jin Ye fluids? How can you know this for sure – rather than relying on crossed fingers?

Chip has delved into the intricacies of palpation, and has refined some techniques of being able to assess the many aspects of Qi, Yin, Yang, Blood and fluids that we are trying to bring into harmony with our treatments. He shares with us today some insights on the use of palpation in a clinical setting.

Chip has authored a number of translations, including the Yellow Emperor’s Systematic Classic and Li Shi Zhen’s Exposition on the Eight Extraordinary Vessels.

Chip practices in Boulder, Colorado. You can find information on his upcoming workshops at www.engagingvitality.com and www.engagingvitality-europe.com

We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic – you can add to the conversation on our Facebook page

How do you get onto good terms with your cosmic receptionist? – and why do you even need a cosmic receptionist?

Expect that you will have feelings of competency that will wax and wane with time. Expect to have years where you will feel like you are totally nailing it. Then maybe a few years on, you will have periods of time where feel like you know nothing – as the universe sends you a bunch of patients to teach you the next layer of info.

Phi and Clare discuss these two topics, and 10 others, in this week’s episode of Heavenly Qi – What are the 10 things we wish you knew about practice before you started? These are the 10 things we think every practitioner should know – or will eventually work out for themselves. Would you add anything to this list? Do you have any wisdom to add? Let us know on our Facebook page – and contribute to the conversation.

Why did Zhang Zhong Jing give Chi Shao to pregnant women? What happens if you use the wrong type of Chai Hu? How do you know if your Gui Zhi is any good?

Simon Feeney has been delving into the intricacies of Han Dynasty medicine according to the writings of Zhang Zhong Jing – and we discuss these topics and more in detail in this week’s episode.

Simon Feeney has a very deep relationship with Zhang Zhong Jing as the eternal mentor. What he has learned through his study of the Shang Han Lun and the Jing Gui Yao Lue is only enhanced by his passion for the preserving of history.

Simon’s clinic is Empirical Health and is based in Port Macquarie, in NSW Australia.

Simon has also established a herbal manufacturing business that makes herbal medicines according to the original recipes dictated by Zhang Zhong Jing – down to the most intimate herb selection and pao zhi instructions. Phi and I personally use his products and vouch for their amazingness! This is the facebook page for his business, and this is the practitioner discussion group for various topics regarding the manufacture and classical administration of herbs from the SHZBL.

You can also view some of Simon’s videos, where he discusses some of the intricacies of Zhang Zhong Jing’s formulas on his Youtube channel.

You can also listen to episode 13 with Simon Feeney where we discussed the Shang Han Lun and Jing Gui Yao Lue more broadly.