Karen Litton is a 2008 Daoist Traditions graduate and practicing acupuncturist in North Carolina. She maintains a practice with the Chinese Acupuncture Clinic as well as her own clinic, Mountain Therapeutic, in Bryson City. She has been an instructor at Daoist Traditions for seven years. Teaching at Daoist Traditions I have taught several courses […]
What’s Blooming at DT?
Happy first day of summer! The heat and rain have really made the gardens burst in the past few weeks. In the Daoist Traditions herb garden, we’ve seen a lot of color this season and have several medicinal plants in full bloom. Our lovely Mimosa Tree is in full bloom and the flowers smell amazing! […]
Medicinal Herbs in Your Backyard
Some people think of Chinese herbs as exotic plants grown only in faraway Asia. Many of the plants used in Chinese Herbal Medicine can easily be grown in Western North Carolina, because of the temperate climate, similar to parts of China. Many common medicinal plants are as beautiful as they are useful. For example: Balloon […]
Study Help: How can you keep all of the new information straight?
Acupuncture school is full of new discoveries – but the volume of material that needs to be memorized can be overwhelming. Understanding how you learn best helps, but sometimes it takes a while to figure out how to study these new subjects. Here are a few tips: Study cards, quizzes, charts, even ridiculous mnemonics […]
Alumni Spotlight: Amanda Nolff, L.Ac.
Daoist Traditions students work exceptionally hard throughout their 4 year program, but what happens to them after graduation? Our Alumni Spotlight aims to highlight our graduates and the great work they are doing. Amanda Nolff, L.Ac., graduated from DTC in 2014 and has been providing acupuncture care to the Matthews, NC community ever since. We ran […]
The Chinese character for rejuvenation means “back to Spring”
The winds of Spring are here! Wind represents movement, transformation, and change. Change is an essential part of renewal, rejuvenation, and healing. The time is right to release old patterns and awaken energy that has been dormant. Spring is the season related to the Wood Element. The Wood Element includes the Liver, and its partner, […]
Herbal Medicine: Winter Wind
You can feel the coming of the winter in the coldness of the early morning and in the evening wind. Chinese Medicine emphasizes the benefits of living in harmony with our environment and its cycles. With coldness and increased darkness, winter encourages us inward – to slow down, give ourselves time to reflect, replenish our […]
Food is Medicine: Crockpot to the Rescue
What is more comforting than walking in from the chill to the smell of warm food? That’s one of the blessings of a crock pot – it allows you to be away from home and come home to the comfort of good food that is ready to eat. The winter season has the yin characteristics […]
Eat Drink and Be Healthy
According to Chinese Medicine, our diet should change with the seasons to keep us in tune with the energies around us. As the weather cools off for the fall, it makes sense that we should eat more warming, strengthening foods. Using warming spices is an easy way to enhance the diet and warm the body […]
Self-Cultivation Series: Holding Your Heart in Your Hand
This exercise can be done alone, or you can work with a partner. When working with a partner, your hand holds the heart of your partner, while their hand holds your heart. One person leads the guided meditation by talking you through the different steps. It is important not to rush through this exercise so […]
