Necessity is the mother of learning acupuncture points
One of the things I have noticed in my scant 20 or so weeks of hands-on clinical practice is the great difficulty of accurately locating acupuncture points. At times the body seems an intolerably huge landscape - full of unfamiliar landmarks and confounding convolutions. Yes, at other times the complications diminish and it seems as easy as anything. I find the latter times become more frequent as I go along.
Along with a general increase in my confidence and ability comes a deep interest in REALLY learning the points and channels. Before clinic, acupuncture very obviously played second fiddle in my hierarchy of my interests in Chinese medicine. I have always recognized its power, but simply didn’t feel drawn to study or understand it that much. Now, with my struggles in clinic, I find myself fascinated by each point and driven to learn more on multiple levels. I am also developing my non-intellectual skills, my ability to feel Qi, to palpate channels and to connect with the patient. I note this because most often when I relate my problems I have people telling me that I need to get out of my head and just “connect” with the energy of the patient. While I recognize the importance of that, it certainly isn’t the whole answer.
My methods
Before I talk about how I’ve been working with the points, I’d like to make one small note. I’ve divulged various study methods and tips before on Deepest Health. With the exception of a few suggestions, these have all been methods I’ve used. However, they were methods that I learned directly from others or developed after reading ideas in a book or on a blog. This is a great way to pick up new strategies, and I certainly will continue to use it. On the other hand, the methods I list below are different. They emerged organically to solve particular problems. What I mean is that in response to a particular experience, I desired some particular skill or understanding and worked out the best way to obtain it on my own.
This may seem to be a minor point, and I don’t want to hammer away at it. However, it definitely feels different. I feel more committed to consistently using these methods, and they seem to be more effective. Each new thing I learn inflames my desire to learn even more. A similar thing is happening to me regarding formulas, but the effect isn’t so dramatic since I’ve always been interested in understanding them. I expect clinical practice will create some new developments in that arena, however.
In essence, what I’ve been doing is simply making a list of all the points I use in a given week and then reviewing them in great detail. This is the bulk of my “method.” It has several parts, which I will describe in detail below. However, there are more subtle things that I’ve been doing in the treatment room. I don’t know if I’m quite ready to describe those pieces of the puzzle. One recent development was the return of very focused attention on sensing the layers of the body that the needle is passing through. This is something we learned in our first needling class, as one of our points Professors places a high importance on needling and manipulation in the various layers. I think being in clinic and having to manage so many things at once found me being a little neglectful in this realm - I’m glad I’ve remembered it now.
Anatomy : Descriptions, 2D, 3D, palpation and multiple sources
I’ve never been particularly interested in gross anatomy. In fact, this new revolution in my thinking has helped me to understand that I have an odd detachment from the physical nature of the body in general. Working with the anatomy has helped unravel that personal issue, yet another example of the many benefits of dedication to study. Anyway, we did take anatomy during our first year, but given my general reluctance described already and the fact that I was so enthralled with learning the cosmology and symbolism of Chinese medicine, I frankly didn’t pay much attention. I’ve used various sources to help deepen my understanding of anatomy.
Descriptions: Sometimes a word is worth a thousand pictures. While seeing what things look like on the body is very important, often it has been a stray description of a particular bony landmark in relation to a point that has really solidified its location for me. I use Deadman
as a primary source here.
2-D: Again, Deadman’s Manual of Acupuncture
3-D: I have an old version of Qpuncture that has 3D renditions of a needle in various commonly used acupuncture points. While some of the anatomical accuracy has been sacrificed, it is very helpful to see how the needle penetrates with reference to the anatomical markers we cannot see with the eye. I also subject my partner and daughter to infrequent channel palpation and point location (”Is this sensitive? What about this? This?”) which is often very helpful. Of course, while I’m studying the above sources, I palpate my own channels and feel the points on myself.
“Actions”, prescriptions and theory
The point location has been most bothersome for me, mostly because I’m obsessed with being sure that every needle has a real effect. That may seem to be a stupid statement. However, I’ve been needled by many interns and practitioners who don’t seem too interested in actually working with the POINTS - content just to needle anywhere on the body. I gather this from my perception of their lack of intention when needling, the obvious lack of accuracy based on where the needles end up as well as my conversations with them. I do believe that the “points” as they were laid out in ancient times are very special places on the human body that have powerful effects on the human being - I don’t think that “just anywhere” will do.
Despite my obsession with fully knowing where the points are, I haven’t lost sight of the importance of understanding “what they do.” I put “what they do” and “actions” in quotations for a reason. Acupuncture points are not like buttons on a machine. It’s not as if you press the red one and you get a cherry candy, blue one and you get a razzleberry one. It’s not as if some little ghost in the machine stands behind the point ready to report your instructions via the CNS with exactness and machine-like one-to-one correspondence. If a person asks me for “a point for asthma,” I’m reluctant to report the points we all know to be commonly used in prescriptions for that Western defined condition. It isn’t that points don’t “do something” and it isn’t that I’m afraid to talk about certain points as unequivocally treating some particular pathological state, it’s just that the way we try to simplify things for easy consumption result in overly simplistic ideas about how Chinese medicine works.
I think about acupuncture points like areas where one can access a river. They come in big and large sizes, they have varying ranges of ease of access, some put you in at a furious current, others at gentle pools. The direction you’re heading when you put in at any given point makes a difference, as does your intention when you do so - will you paddle upstream or let the current carry you down? Are you fighting the flow or not? Are you dredging the channel a bit to allow greater flow in a given area? Are you moving boulders that have obstructed your path?
The river metaphor breaks down a bit when we drill down a little more. Each point has its particular characteristics based on its location on the channel, its symbolic power given the part of the body and its physical features as well as a whole range of correspondences that fit the channels and points and the human being in with the consistent patterning of the universe. Thus five elements, yin-yang, six divisions and all their permutations and combinations are peppered throughout the system in remarkably predictable and usable ways. When we needle a patient, we are not pushing buttons, but mixing colors and flavors, textures and spirits in alchemically beautiful ways with the purpose of influencing the body in particular ways for the creation of health.
You know, no big deal. :D
All that being said, I’m not just going to abandon myself to studying nature and meditating as a way to understand what KINDS of mixtures are effective in what kinds of situations. I’m not comfortable with that, frankly. Instead, I look to the classics and the theories passed down by the ancients. I use Deadman and some sources given to me by my teachers to understand the Classical point prescriptions. I study closely the theory of the five elements and six conformations as well as point categories to fully comprehend the effect of a given point within a particular clinical context.
All of this is really helping my clinical confidence a great deal and I find that more often than not I am able to recall most of this information when I next encounter a particular point. Sweet! I’ve talked enough about this for now, but I would like to pose a couple of questions. Have you encountered the kinds of troubles I started out this article by describing? If so, how did you get past it? Do any of the methods or ideas above resonate with you? If so, how? If not, why not? I’d really like to hear about others’ experiences. Reply in the comments!
Thanks!
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Tags: Acupuncture, channels, clinic, confidence, focus, Learning, student, study-methods, studyingRelated posts
Learning acupuncture : Master points of the Extraordinary vessels
Early in the life of this blog, I wrote a lot of basic “what is this” posts about Chinese medicine. I did that because I saw that there was a need for basic information, and since I was learning it, it seemed like a natural progression. I realize that there are a lot of readers who don’t “need” this basic information, but other folks new to the medicine might. I hope everyone can enjoy this basic article.
For what seems like the hundredth time, we were taught about the master points of the extraordinary vessels recently. It’s interesting how much you can learn about something if the lesson is just repeated again and again. I have struggled to find my way with regards to acupuncture. The road to a Classical Chinese herbal practice has been clear ever since I came to NCNM. On the acupuncture side, things have been much less clear. We have learned a lot of Jing Luo theory, which has helped us to understand the complexity and interconnectedness of the Qi pathways in our body. We have learned all the standard categories, and have focused a lot on point prescriptions laid out in various Classical texts. Recently, I’ve begun to study how to apply Shang Han Lun style thinking to acupuncture practice. I’m also learning a lot about Five element acupuncture. Through all of this, one thing has always captured my interest - the extraordinary vessels and their master points.
Note: Throughout I may use the word vessel and channel interchangeably as is my custom. Forgive me if this offends your sensibility - I have heard them used in this way so many times I fear I can’t find a reason to do otherwise.
The Eight Extraordinary Vessels : 奇Qi 经Jing 八Ba 脉Mai : neglected powerhouses
From what I understand, these eight channels were not discussed as a group in the Neijing (Suwen or Lingshu) though they were mentioned separately. They were first gathered together in the Nanjing. They are called 奇, Qi, which can be translated as strange, rare, or even marvelous. You can also call them the “extra” channels, insofar that they exist outside the normal 12. They differ significantly from those 12 channels in the following ways:
- They don’t have regular starting and ending points
- They don’t go to the arms at all and barely exist on the legs
- Apart from the Ren Mai and Du Mai, they don’t have points of their own (instead sharing points with the regular channels)
- They are not associated with the 12 Zangfu organ systems, but are sometimes associated with the Extraordinary Fu organs
- They are not paired in a way similar to the 12 regular channels
Many times I have been taught that the Qi Jing Ba Mai act as reservoirs for Qi and Blood that overflows from the regular channels. As such, when accessed, they can mobilize great reserves of Qi and Blood for use in healing disease. Peter Deadman in his Manual of Acupuncture states:
“The Nanjing compares the extraordinary channels to reservoirs which are able to absorb excessive qi and blood from the primary channels in the same way that reservoirs take excess water from canals and ditches at times of heavy rain” (17).
They are also said to link up the rest of the channels in various ways, and thus can act as a way to access many channels at once. The rest of the functionality of the channels depends on the character of the channel itself. I will not be going deeply into this right now, as it would make the article impossibly long. The important thing for this article is to note the functional pairings of the Extraordinary channels and their control points, as well as providing some guidelines for usage as it has been described to me. Below, I will list the channels, some brief information about each and their control points.
One more important note: I was taught two ways to pair the extraordinary vessels. The first is structural - this is a more familiar type of pairing analogous to the way that Triple Burner (TB) and Pericardium (PC) in the regular channel series are paried. They are on similar parts of the body, but one is Yin and one is Yang. The second, and I think more powerful, pairing is functional. Here, the channels are bound by a shared range of influence - similar to the way that Shaoyang Gall Bladder (GB) and Shaoyang TB are paired. Most of my understanding of these pairings come from my first acupuncture teacher, Dr. Jim Cleaver.
任脉 Conception vessel (Ren Mai) : Ren Mai is one of the more well known of the extraordinary vessels, learned in most acupuncture schools. It arises in the uterus or lower abdomen and emerges from the body at the perenium then rises to just below the lips. It exerts a powerful influence over the Yin of the entire body. As such, treating CV points often gives direct access to the Zang organs. Consider that many of the Front-mu points of the organs are located on the CV channel. While front-mu points are often used for acute disorders of an excess nature, CV points - particularly those on the lower abdomen - are quite nourishing and tonifying and thus can be used for chronic diseases of a deficient nature. The master point of Ren Mai is LU-7, Lie Que. Ren Mai is functionally paired with the Yin Qiao Mai.
督脈 Governing vessel (Du Mai) : The Du Mai is a structural pair with Ren Mai - which is to say that they are similarly placed on the body. Ren Mai covers the front of the body and runs up the anterior midline. Du Mai covers the back of the body and runs up the posterior midline. There are many important points on the Du Mai including GV-14/Da Zhui, a popular point for releasing heat and wind pathogens from the body and GV-4.Ming Men, a popular point for strengthening the basic energy of the body and dispelling cold. The Du mai is especially good at treating back pain, headaches, dizziness, fevers and all manner of musculoskeletal issues along the back of the body. The master point of Du Mai is SI-3, Hou Xi. It is functionally paired with the Yang Qiao Mai and treated together, these channels excel at treating all manner of musculoskeletal complaints as well as various brain disorders.
陰跷脉 Yin Motility vessel (Yin Qiao Mai) : The Yin/Yang Qiao and Yin/Yang Wei are less familiar to most folks. The Qiao vessels are sometimes referred to as “motility” vessels as they deal with motion and lack thereof, but they are also referred to as the “heel” vessels as that is where they originate on the body. It originates on the inside of the foot and exerts its influence along the medial leg, through the lower abdomen and up to the mouth and eyes. Its master point is KD-6, Zhao Hai - the Shining Sea. It is functionally paired with the Ren Mai and used together these points can have a great therapeutic effect on the chest, lungs and throat as that is part of their shared range of influence.
陽跷脉 Yang Motility vessel (Yang Qiao Mai) : The Yang Qiao Mai is structurally paired with the Yin Qiao Mai. They treat similar conditions, but on different parts of the body. The Yang Qiao is associated with the outside of the leg, but can also treat conditions like epilepsy, insomnia, and various disorders of the eye and eyelid. It is functionally paired with Du Mai and its master point is BL-62, Shen Mai.
衝脉 Penetrating/Surging vessel (Chong Mai) : The Chong Mai is said to link up the 12 regular channels’ blood and Qi to a greater degree than the other extraordinary channels. The Chong runs through the core of the body and has a great influence on the menstruation of female bodied people, storing the blood as the cycle progresses towards the monthly flow. It is sometimes called the “Sea of Blood.” Sometimes I have heard that whenever we see a point with “Chong” in the name (like ST-42 - Chong Yang) the Chong Mai is somehow involved. The control point of Chong Mai is SP-4, Gong Sun. It is linked with the Yin Linking Channel (Yin Wei Mai).
带脉 Girdling/Belt vessel (Dai Mai) : The Dai Mai is one of the more interesting extraordinary vessels, in my opinion. It’s short, encircling the body approximately at the waistline. It is structurally paired with the Chong Mai, so is often discussed when considering women’s disorders. It can easily be associated with the point called Dai Mai, GB-26 - a point primarily used for transforming damp heat, particularly when there is a problem of discharge from the lower jiao. However, the master point of the Dai Mai is further down the Gall Bladder channel, at GB-41, Zu Lin Qi. The Dai Mai treats the lateral side of the torso, but also can treat problems in the shoulders and lateral side of the neck. The Dai Mai is functionally paired with the Yang Wei Mai, and treated together these channels can work with a lot of classic Shaoyang symptoms like alternating chills and fever and flank pain or fullness.
陰维脉 Yin Linking vessel (Yin Wei Mai) : The Yin Wei Mai runs along the inside of the leg, taking its point from the Kidney, Spleen and Liver channels as well as the Ren Mai conception channel. It is sometimes discussed as controlling the tendons and muscles on the inside of the leg as well as influencing the chest and abdomen. Pathological symptoms include heart pain, stomach pain and fullness in the center of the diaphragm. The control point of Yin Wei Mai is PC-6, Nei Guan. It is functionally paired with the Chong Mai (penetrating/surging vessel). Treated together, Chong and Yin Wei will have a powerful effect on reproductive health, abdominal and chest pains, as well as problems with the Heart and Stomach organs.
陽维脉 Yang Linking vessel (Yang Wei Mai) : Finally, we come to the Yang Wei Mai. The Yang Wei Mai runs along the outside of the leg, but more posterior to the Yang Qiao Mai. It is particularly good at treating epilepsy and eye diseases, but as the other Wei and Qiao, it treats musculoskeletal disorders along its track. It is functionally paired with the Dai Mai, as discussed previously. Its master point is TB-5, Wai Guan - which should be familiar to most of you. This helps us to understand more completely the shared range of influence on Shaoyang syndromes.
This is obviously just an overview of the Extraordinary vessels - intended to provide some basic information. I would like to continue my exploration of these important channels, but first would like to open it up to you, Deepest Health readers. What have you learned about the Extraordinary vessels? How have you used them in clinic? Do they interest you as much as they interest me?
I should say that the only Maciocia book I can recommend is his recent study of the Extraordinary Vessels. It’s a good overview.
Tags: Acupuncture, Classical Texts (general), classical-chinese-medicine, education, LearningRelated posts
Eric Grey intern shifts at Pettygrove Classical Chinese Medicine clinic
Just a quick plug before I leave for a leadership retreat. Starting July 3, I will be providing acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine services at Pettygrove clinic in Portland, OR. The address is 2232 NW Pettygrove., Portland, OR 97210. We provide top rate care, including the services of the city’s best Chinese herbal pharmacy. You can call 503-552-1552 to set an appointment and to find out more about prices. If you need to reach me personally, you can call the same number and ask for extension 5639.
My shifts are as follows:
Under supervising physician Dr. Qin (renown acupuncture specialist) during the first part of the summer on Monday from 12-4. That shift will be supervised by Dr. Arnaud Versluys, internationally known Shang Han Lun style herbalist, during the latter part of the summer at the same time. Under supervising physician Dr. Kou on the cancer-care specialty shift I will be working Monday from 4-8pm. Finally, on Thursdays from 12-4pm I will be honored to work with David Berkshire, a five element acupuncture specialist. I would be happy to see you on any of these shifts. Please contact me by phone or email if you have any questions.
Last but not least, I will be posting Twitter updates to the blog over the weekend - you can read those in the sidebar of the blog in the column closest to the content. Check out the link if you want to learn more about Twitter.
Eric
Tags: classical-chinese-medicine, clinic, eric grey, pettygrove, PortlandRelated posts
Product Review: Living Meridian acupuncture charts
I have had the distinct pleasure of working with the Living Meridian acupuncture charts these last weeks while studying for finals. I wanted to spend some quality time working with them before I wrote a review so I could get a full appreciation for their strengths and weaknesses. My one line impression is that these are, bar none, the highest quality acupuncture charts available on the market. In fact, I encourage you to buy one right now. No joke!
One of the creators of these impeccable tools contacted me several months ago via my blog to let me know about the painstaking process he and his colleagues went through to create charts that are accurate, beautiful and easy to use. The team spent many hours palpating points, debating about their locations, looking for the perfect marking pens and generally ensuring themselves and their customers a product that meets their very high standards of accuracy. They worked for thousands of hours cross referencing their locations with the locations noted by all the major acupuncture book writers. They did find some disparities in the descriptions of point locations. Further, they found that their charts conflicted in several ways with the other commercially available charts. The result of their hard work is that they have created charts that show with great accuracy the most typical locations of points as modeled by a real human being, not simply approximated on a two dimensional drawing of a human being.
Think about this! There’s a lot of shifting of tissue that happens when a person stands up. You can see how this might impact the way that the points appear on the final product. You can see an example of the difference by comparing these two photos that Fifth Element provided. For instance, look at the top of the columns and the relationships of the points near the bottom of the columns. The fact that they figured this out and then adjusted their charts accordingly to be maximally useful really speaks highly of Fifth Element’s dedication to producing something that reflects the real world. I think using these charts also helps for us to think carefully about the way that the position and condition of the body should shift our thinking when we are locating points on our patients.
Robust set of features!
Aside from this dedication to accuracy, there are many other fantastic features of the charts. Perhaps most important of these - they are beautiful. The colors are vivid, the surface is glossy and of high quality. I have no problem having these on my wall, I want everyone to see them! They are also durable. Shipped from Australia in a sturdy cardboard tube for a minimal cost, they suffered no wear and tear. I’ve been using them for almost a month, moving them about, rolling and unrolling, letting my daughter mess with them and they look just like they did when I pulled them out of their packaging.
The points are numbered clearly and labeled according to their channel by using distinct colors for each. There is a key included, but the colors are intuitive for anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Chinese medicine theory. They have also included special labelling to indicate Yin vs Yang channels, Yuan-source, Xi-cleft, Luo-connecting and all the Shu-Transport points. While it does take a few minutes to get used to their method of labeling, once you get used to it, quickly spotting the relevant piece of information to jog your memory is simple. The charts are shipped in pairs, one showing the Yin side of the body (front and right side) and one showing the Yang side (back and left side). Despite not having a top view, the locations of the head points are clear enough.
The company produces TCM charts, Zen Shiatsu charts and a chart with all of the channel pathways combined. I tested this latter set, but because my knowledge of the Zen Shiatsu system is limited, I cannot attest to the usefulness of it in terms of locations. I can say that this combined chart shares all of the same excellent features as the TCM only set.
The usefulness of the charts in studying acu-points
While finding the palpable landmarks and feeling the Qi of the point are the keys to accurate location - visual accuracy counts, especially when you are just beginning to learn. There’s really something special about seeing the points marked on a human body. As I talked about in my article about learning the acupuncture points, not much substitutes for seeing the points as they lay on a real human body. These charts are a perfect companion to that process, as you can see a highly accurate photograph of the points marked out and compare it to how the channels you’ve marked on your partner appear. The charts could also be quite useful if you’re not yet in the process of learning the points and channels in a formal way. You can simply have them up on a wall and pick a channel a day to study informally. You could simply follow the course of the channel on your own body based on how it looks on the chart - this process will be so much easier on these charts because of the closeness of fit between the image and the contours of your own body.
As someone who has already learned the points and channels but needs to refresh every day, I have found these charts to be an invaluable resource. When I need a break from my book study, I simply look up to my charts (they hang above my study table) and start following a channel point by point. While you could use other charts to do this, again the accuracy and quality of the Fifth Element charts make me rest easily knowing that the locations are correct.
Minor constructive criticism
First, some of the marking of the Shu transport points is a little difficult to differentiate at first, especially when the designated colors are very close to the channel colors. Perhaps stronger imagery or a different color scheme could help this. Second, I would have appreciated the inclusion of Chinese characters for the point names as well as other relevant information. This might have cluttered the chart, but a small font would have been alright. I have to say that, honestly, I don’t have much more in the way of criticism to offer! I talked to several others, including professors, to ask their opinion on the charts and everyone agreed that they are some of the best they have seen.
Edit (12/1/2007): In discussion with Fifth Element, I’ve learned that they chose to label the points as they did because it follows the naming system being devised by WHO and are willing to create charts with Chinese characters if there is demand. If you are interested in seeing something like this, do feel free to visit their website and provide them with this feedback.
In summary
I can’t think of a single reason that you shouldn’t buy these charts. If you think you don’t need a chart, but have never worked with one - I encourage you to give it a try. The price is right, even with shipping from Australia and if nothing else it will make a good decoration for some part of your clinic! If you’ve used these charts or buy them as a result of this review, please leave a comment to let us know about your experience.
I should note that this review pertains to the Wall Charts that Fifth Element offers, but they also have life-sized banners that adhere to the same quality standards. They offer quantity discounts and can ship large quantities in flat-packs for institutional orders.
Additionally, if you would like to be sure you catch all of my Chinese medicine related product reviews, be sure to subscribe to this blog via RSS feed or via email.
Eric
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A new (awesome) online community for Chinese medicine students and practitioners
Hey everyone. As you may know, I’m a huge proponent of the expansion of use of Internet tools by Chinese medicine practitioners and students. I feel that the potential to exchange information, build relationships and organize political and social action is simply too great to ignore. Add this to the fact that much of the information you can find on the Internet is anything but - to use Abdallah’s term in a comment on a recent blog post about the integration of Western medicine and ancient Chinese medicine - rigorous. In fact, most of it is intended to steer clients towards over-the-counter products that may or may not be right for their condition. Much of the rest is repetitive and pedantic.
My most earnest desire is to see thriving communities mediated by the Internet, involving people with diverse approaches and experiences from all over the world talking about the theory, practice and social/political development of this medicine. I don’t think this can be a substitute for “real life” relationship building, learning in a classroom environment (or, preferably, within a Master-Student relationship) or careful clinical practice. I simply see it as one more immensely powerful tool in our effort to understand nature, the human body and ancient Chinese medicine.
This site is my small effort to contribute to that and every day I learn a little more about how to make my dream become reality. Imagine my happy surprise, then, when I found another site already well developed that operates in the same spirit and adds many features that my small site cannot hope to offer at this time. Enter rootdown.us - an incredible new online community for Chinese medicine. When you visit the site, be sure to sign up for an account and add some personal information as well as a photo. I feel this helps to increase the “community” feel of the site. You can also build networks of friends as you can do at various social media sites. Only this time, the social connections are relevant to our passion - Chinese medicine.
Some of my favorite features of the site? Aside from the awesomeness of the individuals behind it? It’s community aspect is definitely part. The theoretical and clinical information database is built by the community. For instance, you can add indications and clinical applications to particular herbs, points or formulas. People can then comment on your addition. You can vote herbs and points “up” and “down” depending on their clinical effectiveness. There are forums that are growing in complexity and popularity. These features and more help to create a feeling of a real community with a powerful function of increasing the understanding of Chinese medicine for all.
The database is another incredible feature. You will find detailed descriptions and explanations for nearly every formula, herb and point available. Chinese, pinyin and English are all included - which I love. The information is also interconnected - if you head over to a formula, say Gui Zhi Tang , you can click on an individual herb to be taken to its page. The amount of information available is just going to grow as the community does - go and add some information today! I have been informed that soon each herb will come with pictures of the growing herb and the dried version - an invaluable resource as I think most of you will recognize immediately.
This site is a great resource for both students and practitioners. Students can quickly look up a formula and investigate its properties and individual herbs. They can participate in forum discussions and network with professionals and fellow students all over. Practitioners can see how others are using formulas, add their voices to the various discussions and network with people they might not have otherwise met.
The site is expanding at a healthy clip - there are a number of new features coming. There is also a form on every page on the site allowing you to send feedback, and the developers are very responsive. I am so excited about this site that I’ve asked to be involved in any way I can. I’m hoping in particular to increase the amount of information available from Classical sources, perhaps even Classical text translations? I’ve started by adding information to the herbal database and I’m looking forward to participating in many forum conversations. I hope I’ll see you there - be sure to add me as a buddy. :)
Eric
Tags: chinese-medicine, professional-development, Technology
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