Many children present in the clinic with a condition that does not easily fit into our usual classification of the deficient (xu) or excess (shi) child. We see a mixed picture. There are signs and symptoms of deficiency, alongside those of Heat. Yet the Heat signs and symptoms are not reconcilable with either Full or Empty Heat. Where do we start? Should we focus on tonifying or clearing?

Once we understand the concept of yin fire, everything begins to make more sense. The first complete and influential description of yin fire was written by Li Dong-yuan in his Treatise on Stomach and Spleen (Pi Wei Lun) in 1250CE. Modern authors e.g. Maciocia, Flaws, discuss the role of yin fire in complex, physical conditions usually seen in adults, such as cancer and auto-immune conditions.

However, in this talk we will explore how yin fire really is the 21 st century pathology in children. So many commonly-seen aspects of children’s lives lead to it arising. It is involved in some of the most widespread childhood behavioural and emotional conditions. You will come away knowing how to both spot it and approach treat it with acupuncture. This will revolutionise your paediatric practice!

Rebecca Avern

Using acupuncture to help children thrive, and teaching others to do the same, is my passion.

I have treated children with acupuncture for over 22 years, and now treat exclusively children and teenagers.  I founded and run two children’s acupuncture clinics in Oxford, UK, one of which offers affordable acupuncture to children and the opportunity for practitioner internships. 

I teach a year-long diploma in acupuncture paediatrics at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine (www.acupuncturecollege.org.uk) in the UK.  I also teach extensively online – notably a complete paediatric acupuncture certificate course through TCMAcademy (www.tcm.ac). I also teach in person seminars internationally.  I have been a senior faculty member at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine, UK for the past 15 years.  

I am the author of two books.  The first is a textbook Acupuncture for Babies, Children and Teenagers. My most recent book is for parents as well as practitioners and is called Chinese Medicine for Childhood Anxiety and Depression: a practical guide for practitioners and parents.  

I founded the Hub of Paediatric Acupuncture www.paediatricacupuncture.com an online community providing information for parents and support to practitioners who treat children.  

Web links

www.rebeccavern.com and www.paediatricacupuncture.com

In this Shop Talk segment we discuss the multi-sensory aspects of listening, and begin to explore the vast topic not of the “what we do” in clinic, but instead the “how we are.”

Presence and attention, being inquisitive on behalf of our patients and keeping a rein on our ego are all skills that have nothing to do with what points we choose, and everything with how we interact with those points.

Michael Max

I thought I’d know a lot more after 25 years in practice, and I’ve also learned so much that I never expected.

Over time I’ve learned to say less in clinic and to listen more. It sounds easy; it’s not. It’s not easy because it is oh so easy for the helpful spirit in me to want to be of service and ‘give something’ to my patients. It’s taken a long time to realize that attempting to give something to a patient that they did not want or ask for was a burden to them, and a waste of time and breath for me.

Over time I discovered that getting still and seeing if I could understand my patients from their point of view, if I could connect with the kind of empathy that seeks first to understand, or if I could patiently wait for a patient to tell me what they actually needed, it seemed to help. It made diagnosis easier, and my treatments more precise.

In today’s Shop Talk Damo Mitchell explores the Craft of Acupuncture and our relationship with the primary tool of our trade— the needle. Along with a practical understanding of Butcher Ding and the critical importance of knowing how to slide through the sinew channels with an attentive awareness, so we can target our treatment to the primary channels.

You can find out more about Damo's work at 

Lotus Nei Gong, Xian Tian College, and on Youtube.

Damo Mitchell

I started out in the martial arts which I began at the age of four; it was through these studies that I first encountered Chinese medicine which I began to learn at age 14 with Tuina.

Fast forward 28 years or so and I find myself having completed a UK degree in Chinese medicine as well as having been apprenticed to a number of Chinese medical doctors in China and South East Asia. Never really finding myself comfortable in a conventional ‘clinical;’ setting, I always leaned more towards study with esoteric and Daoist practitioners of medicine who worked in smaller communities or out of their own home.

To me, the separation of personal cultivation from Chinese medical study shouldn’t really exist and they both form an equal part of my lifepath.

These days, I am the head of the Xian Tian College of Chinese Medicine as well as the director of the Lotus Nei Gong School of Internal Arts which keeps me more than busy!

In today's Shop Talk segment, Michelle Grasek, acupuncturist and marketing strategist, walks you through how target market and copywriting intersect to create great marketing.

Target market often gets a bad reputation for being a theoretical exercise without practical application. But in reality, it offers powerful insights that can make your marketing much more compelling.

She also addresses frequently asked questions that she gets from marketing students and clients, including, “What if I do this wrong?” and “What if I scare away patients by niching down and getting too specific with my marketing message?

Her goal is to help you see the positive impact that identifying your target market can have on your copywriting, and show you how to apply it in real life to make your marketing more effective.

If you still need help with your target market and putting it into practice, Michelle teaches an online course called Acupuncture Marketing School where she walks you through these concepts step by step. The ultimate goal is for you to get more patients, and the class helps you do that through creating a strong, clear brand and a marketing strategy tailored to your ideal patients.

If you didn’t have much marketing education in acupuncture school, or you just don’t know where to start, this is a great choice.

You can take a look at Acupuncture Marketing School here and use the discount code QIOLOGICAL200 to save $200.

You’re welcome to email Michelle with questions- [email protected]

Here's the link for Acupuncture Marketing School, for the Shop Talk landing page: http://michellegrasek.com/acupuncture-marketing-school/

Michelle Grasek

Hi there, I'm Michelle! I'm the host of the Acupuncture Marketing School podcast. I'm a practicing acupuncturist and marketing strategist and I've been teaching marketing, both online and in-person, for 9 years. In that time, I've taught marketing to over 3,500 acupuncturists. It’s my mission to help you grow your business using marketing techniques that are genuine and generous.

Through my articles and online PDA courses, I aim to help you outline a strategy, focus on marketing that’s authentic, and get new patients every week. I share all of my practice-building tips at michellegrasek.com and on social media @michellegrasek.

When I was living and studying medicine in Beijing in 2003, Craig Mitchell shared with me a book he found on herbal medicine. Back at that time I was working on my Chinese and it was not very good, but reading interesting books on medicine was a way I encouraged myself to keep at the Chinese. 

When I first read Ten Key Formula Families in Chinese Medicine I thought my Chinese was perhaps getting worse, because the ideas contained in it were so different from what I'd previously been exposed to. Turns out, I was understanding it, and the perspective of Dr Huang Huang changed how I thought about and used herbs.

Dr Huang has continued to develop his ideas and Eran Even did his Ph.D in China with Dr Huang. He's a great resource for engaging the ideas of Dr Huang, and he's got some great classes on formula families. You can find those over at www.chinesemedicineclassics.com.

And Ten Key Formula Families in Chinese Medicine is available from Eastland Press.

In less than 2 days, a single acupuncture treatment heals a wound that 2 months of conventional treatments couldn’t help.

This case exemplifies the power of Saam, a Korean tradition of acupuncture. I hope this case will inspire more acupuncturists to study Saam and be of interest for those already practicing Saam. A deep understanding of the qualities of the 12 channels of Saam was necessary to come to the correct diagnosis, the key that along with proper treatment unlocks the amazing healing potential of the body.

Kristin Wisgirda

I have been steeping in everything Saam since Toby Daly began teaching this tradition. Now Toby’s teaching assistant, I work closely with him in developing my own offerings. I was the original moderator for the Saam forum on Qiological for 2 years and now have my own Saam mentorship program in the White Pine Circle. Guiding students through cases and the basics of Saam practice is a joy.

I graduated from PCOM San Diego in 1999 and have been practicing in southeastern Massachusetts since.

I am grateful for the opportunity to translate the beautiful world view of our medicine into results-oriented practice.

Here are the Saam teaching opportunities with Kristin:

12 Channels of Saam: Essential Qualities

The course is broken up into 6 easier to assimilate modules and the calls are recorded. A private forum enables those who can’t attend live to ask questions and participate and keep the conversation going between classes.

This class will immediately improve your clinical prowess whether you have just taken the Intro to Saam class or have been practicing for a few years.

Register Here: https://www.qiological.com/saam-12-channel/

The Bright and the Dull: Eye Observation for Saam Acupuncture (recorded)

Register Here: https://www.qiological.com/qiological-live-saam-eyes/

If you're interested in the basic principles of Saam. This is the course for you:

Introduction to Saam Acupuncture with Toby Daly (recorded)

Register Here: https://www.qiological.com/online-intro-saam/

The importance of assessing Rate on Exertion with Shen-Hammer Pulse Diagnosis:

Pulse diagnosis can be scary for lots of practitioners; not everyone has been fortunate enough to spend years deep diving into the intricacies and subtleties, and often practitioners don't even spend much time checking pulse at all.  In this ShopTalk episode, I detail one of the most important assessments on the pulse, explain its significance, and detail how to do it.  And it is EASY and QUICK to perform.  If you treat pain, emotional issues like depression/anxiety/panic, or complaints like insomnia, dizziness/vertigo, or specialize in internal medicine conditions like chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, POTS, and autoimmune disorders, you will find this assessment super valuable.  You can also check this link https://rossrosen.shenrosen.com/rate-on-exertion-assessment-demo/ to see a demonstration of me performing it.   

To learn more about me and my teachings in Shen-Hammer and Classical Pulse, as well as Heart Shock and Daoist medicine, please check the links below and feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. 

https://rossrosen.com/events/

https://www.acupunctureandherbalmedicine.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rossrosen

https://www.instagram.com/rossrosen/

In today's Shop Talk segment, Michelle Grasek, acupuncturist and marketing strategist, shares actionable tips to help you get better results from your email marketing. She also addresses frequently asked questions that she often gets from marketing students and clients, including, "What if I'm annoying people by sending email?" "What the heck am I supposed to write about?" and "Who has time to write a consistent email newsletter?" 

Her goal is to help you send simple emails that get more patients on your schedule. 

She's also offering a discount code for Qiological listeners for her Year of Email Templates for Acupuncturists. If you feel like writing emails is simply not your thing, Michelle's done it for you. This is a collection of 26+ emails she sends to her own patients, focused on pain, anxiety, and digestion, among other topics. All you have to do is copy and paste the emails, edit quickly to match your clinic, and hit send. 

You can take a look at the templates here and use the discount code QIOLOGICAL30 to save $30. Enjoy!

About Michelle Grasek

Hi there, I'm Michelle! I'm the host of the Acupuncture Marketing School podcast. I'm a practicing acupuncturist and marketing strategist and I've been teaching marketing, both online and in-person, for 9 years. In that time, I've taught marketing to over 3,500 acupuncturists. It’s my mission to help you grow your business using marketing techniques that are genuine and generous.

Through my articles and online PDA courses, I aim to help you outline a strategy, focus on marketing that’s authentic, and get new patients every week. I share all of my practice-building tips at michellegrasek.com and on social media @michellegrasek.

In today’s Shop Talk, Lisa presents basic Biomedical and TCM information about BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), a condition that every Acupuncturist will most likely see in their clinic at some point in their career unless you don’t treat older gentlemen. She presents common causes, symptoms, biomed treatments, TCM differentials and a few basic points. You can use these points in your clinic tomorrow to start successfully treating this condition! It’s a condition that responds very well to what we have to offer, acupuncture and herbs! For a more in-depth understanding on BPH and other common men’s health conditions you can take one of Lisa’s courses. Information on my upcoming courses will be announced on herb blog at: https://whole-healthacupuncture.com/blog. She also offers consultations services and is always open to just talk to other practitioners about this subject, of which she is so passionate about! You can contact Lisa directly at: [email protected].

About Lisa Lapwing

Dr. Lisa Lapwing a specialist in men’s health (Andrology). As you may be aware, we’re not taught much about this subject in school and I therefore, had to learn about it myself through reading/researching, talking to other professionals and trial and error. Now, over a decade later, after treating various sexual health conditions for men and women, I’m filling in the gaps in education on Andrology in TCM. As an expert in this field I have spoken for and have had an article published with SUNA (Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates), I’ve taught classes for AOMA and FSOMA.