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 […]
Warm Tea, Pure Heart
Tea is loaded with antioxidants, boosts the immune system, lowers the risk of cancer, improves brain function, helps with fat loss – the list goes on. We so often hear about the health benefits of drinking tea, but we don’t usually think about the healing benefits of sharing tea with others. Consider the simple pleasure in making a […]
The Healing Power of Moxa
As you walk into any acupuncture clinic you often notice the familiar smoky odor of moxa. Some people love it, others do not. New patients usually ask “What’s that strange smell?” Moxibustion is a method of heating specific acupuncture points on the body by burning an herb material close to the skin. This technique can […]
Self-Cultivation Series: Body Scan
Many of us get home from work stressed from the day’s activity. A way to speed the relaxation process and leave the stress of the day behind is to take ten minutes to do a body scan. This scan can also be done a part of the routine preparation of bedtime to assist falling asleep […]
A Dose of Integrative Care Wisdom for Practitioners
To begin to develop a truly integrative practice of healthcare we first need to consider integrating ourselves in our thinking. We all desire what is best for our patients, but too often we think we know what is best for them instead of letting them guide us to their path for optimal health. I believe […]
Sugar, Sugar Everywhere
The recent news that the sugar industry paid scientists to minimize the connection between sugar and heart disease, exposes another layer of truth behind this sweet carbohydrate. It’s so common in today’s diet, that many don’t question its presence or its numerous health risks. Holidays and birthdays are connected with sweets and even supermarkets are designed to place sugary […]
Surprising Medicine Behind a Fall Tradition
One of my favorite things about fall is planting mums in my garden and enjoying all the different colors and varieties. The standard garden mum (Ju Hua, Chrysanthemum morifolium) can be dried to be used medicinally throughout the year. The mums in the Daoist Traditions garden are harvested each year when the flowers are in […]
Chinese Medicine for Pain Management
Pain is an epidemic in the United States: it affects more people than heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. It is the predominant reason Americans seek health care, and costs the U.S. up to $635 billion a year according to a study by Johns Hopkins University. Pain is a complex and debilitating condition that has […]
