Qiological Podcast

Listening is not a skill that I expected to develop. I thought I’d get good with palpation or pulse reading. After all, the masters are said to get what they need with the pause and a few questions. That’s what I was aiming for, however it did not work out that way for me.

I’ve found over the years that there is a way of listening to a patient that has allowed me to both uncover what I need to know to treat them, but more importantly, help me to better understand innate resources they have that they either are not in touch with, or curiously enough think are deficiencies or problems.

Listening is not passive, nor about just hearing what the patient says, it also involves an inner ear to our own experience.

This episode is a solo show in which I share some what my clinical experience has taught about an often overlooked yin aspect of our work— listening.

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

Chinese medicine does not have an immune system in the same way that we think about it with modern bio-medicine. It’s not that there is a lack processes that help the body to maintain its integrity and function— there are. But those processes are less about identifying and killing intruders, and more about helping the body to adapt and respond. 

Each individual will response a little differently to infections or external invasion, and the state and strength of our vitality also plays a key role. 

In this panel discussion with Laura McGraw, Toby Daly and Chris Powell we take a look at the “immune response” from the Chinese medicine point of view.

The opinions we have about “doing business” can dramatically affect the kind of practice we have, the opportunities we recognize or are blind to, and how we feel about ourselves as we begin to generate some momentum and success in our work.

Success brings its own issues. And it does not guarantee your insecurities will go away. The more successful you are, the more responsibility comes your way— and there is more to lose if it all comes apart. Sometimes it might seem “safer” to stay small, but our practices ask us to show up with spirit and resiliency.

In this conversation with Lamya Kamel we look at how our practices ask us to grow in challenging, yet essential ways. And that while we may not have confidence in the beginning, over time it can arise when we approach our work with integrity and passion.

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

For those of us in North America the world changed about three weeks ago as the Covid-19 began to make itself known. And as Chinese medicine practitioners begin to close their in-person practice and open up video visits with patients for herbal consultations there is an increasing interest in how we in the modern world, facing this particular pandemic, can use our medicine to help.

Heiner Fruehauf has been translating some of the writing and communications of his friend and colleague Dr Liu Li Hong who has been in Wu Han treating patients for a couple months now.

In this conversation we touch both on the one size fits all formulas that have shown effect in protecting staff from infection, and the importance of applying our Chinese medicine 辨證理論 bian zheng li lun, principles of differential diagnosis.

Listen into this report from the front lines of China, and how we can help our patients and each other as it is now our turn to confront this epidemic.

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

Some of the difficulties faced by many of us in this time of pandemic are the disorientation, anxiety and fear that arise from uncertainty. But if you look more closely, you’ll see that there never is in this life the guarantee of certainty. It can feel that way because of habituation, but when you strip away the daily habits and sense of continuity, then the profound and often unbearable uncertainty that all self-aware mortal beings share, is always there.

These past few months in Asia and past few weeks in the western world have been tearing away at our sense of certainty and security. We fear for our lives, our livelihoods, families and increasingly… our communities as well.

In this conversation with Greg Bantick we look into how this ever-present moment arises from innumerable causes and conditions, and how curiosity can help us to more fully inhabit all the moments in which we find ourselves.

This is an episode that is not just for practitioners, your patients, family and friends could benefit from this conversation as well.

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

Moxibustion is one of the more interesting methods in toolbox. Stunning in its simplicity and often brings deep relief for those who are a good fit for this method. It’s curious how the burning of this particular herb can bring about healing.

Alice Douglas has loved moxa since before she became an acupuncturist. In this conversation we discuss her survey of research into moxibustion. There is a lot you probably heard about moxa in acupuncture school and might have wondered, “is that really true?” Listen in and get the answers!

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.