Sure, we all do. I’ve talked about various business topics on Deepest Health. I’ve made some recommendations about books, websites and even courses that might get you closer to your goal of having a vital, abundant Chinese medicine practice. I’ve consumed at least twenty times more content than I’ve recommended – putting only the best and brightest out there for you all to see. I like to think some of these recommendations have been helpful!

One thing I’ve always wanted to do is take what I’ve learned so far about business and feed it into some kind of natural medicine specific business course. I like specialists – I like people who have experience in the particular field I find myself in. I’ve even got some pretty detailed outlines about what I’d like to see in a course like that. It’s just all about finding the time to build the infrastructure and polish the content, not to mention promote it, maintain it, and so on. Just thinking about all that work makes me a little tired, I must admit. :)

Fortunately, I can relax a bit. Someone has beat me to the punch, creating pretty much the same course I would like to have created! My friend Brooke Thomas is about to open enrollment on a practice building course that I believe will be well worth your time and money. I’ve read Brooke’s work and had numerous conversations with her about her experience and her strategies.

I think what she has to offer will be of great benefit to many of you – I’d say particularly to those of you in your final year of practice and those who are just getting their practices together. However, more education is always helpful – and I find that I always learn something from my conversations with Brooke – regardless of where I’ve been in my process. I really enjoyed her free ebook, for example – which is still available by following this link.

I want to offer her own words, first posted on her blog, about what drove her to create this course.

“I recently received an email from an acupuncturist where she told me about how her school constantly repeated the mantra, “In 5 years, 50% of you won’t be working as acupuncturists anymore” to the students. That is all. They never followed that sentence with one that started, “so here’s how you can avoid being a part of that 50%…” Gee thanks guys, the future’s feeling pretty bright now! Here’s my tuition check- or shall I just flush it down the toilet!? To the schools I would like to respectfully say: Don’t take our money, put us through your schools, tell us how we’ll likely fail, and then send us out into the world with no attention paid at all to how we might avoid becoming the aforementioned statistic.

What is wrong with this picture? Why are they such defeatists? What do they think the awful statistics are about? That people who studied acupuncture don’t actually care about acupuncture? That acupuncture doesn’t actually have much to offer people? That they tend to have lazy or flaky graduates? Or could it maybe, just possibly, be because people who love what they do and are committed to sharing it with the world enter that whole private practice thing with little to no idea of how to do that successfully? Maybe? Ya think? Ok, rant over.

AND SO…

In general I find that complaining about what other people should be doing is an ineffective strategy for creating positive change. I can’t really think of many times that straight up complaining got anyone very far. Imagine if Rosa Parks only complained loudly and ceaselessly amongst her friends about how unjust sitting in the back of the bus was, without ever plopping herself in the front of that bus and thereby claiming her own power to make a change? The former strategy wasn’t likely to change history. The latter? Pretty effective.

Ok, so I’m no Rosa Parks. I think that’s fairly obvious. However, because of my own experience of struggling through my first three years in practice and then falling in love with practice building (no one is more surprised than me…) there does happen to be one thing I can do to make some change. I figure if I can pass on the tools and create a place for a supportive community of complementary and alternative medicine providers to gather, then maybe we’ve got a shot at changing the lame statistics. And if we change the lame statistics, then we’ll have a lot more practitioners around and a lot more people getting the help they need.

And so I built Practice Abundance. It’s the result of nearly ten years in practice, starting three practices from scratch, one ebook, one mega manuscript for a printed book, a year and a half blogging about practice building, and lots of conversations with practitioners who felt just as helpless and hopeless as I did when I was starting out. I designed it to be the FULL course that our schools left out, coupled with community warmth and support.”

It seems like Brooke has done all the work necessary to provide that basic, focused business (and marketing!) course that all of our schools should provide – but often don’t.

If any of this speaks to you, I suggest you head over to the early notification list sign-up page.  This won’t obligate you to any purchase, but just get you on the list so you can be informed when the course opens for enrollment (March 17-20th). It will also allow you the chance to learn more about the course over the coming days. The “sneak peek” page, linked to on that sign-up page, will show you the information she’s already sent out on the list. Lots of helpful information, including the complete course outline.

** The links to the sign up page are affiliate links – if you end up joining the course, I’ll get a little kick-back. I hope this won’t dissuade you from signing up if you are interested. These little drips of money help me keep Deepest Health running and I still don’t recommend anything I wouldn’t use myself. Seriously.

Do you need help building the practice of your dreams?

Related posts:

1. * Attention natural medicine practitioners who (actually) want to be successful in business *
2. Acupuncture safety: Is the Clean Needle Technique exam a scam?
3. Finding balance between Chinese medicine and running a Chinese medicine based business

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I’ve been working with students explicitly for about a year now, teaching at NCNM. I think I will be continuing to do this, as the activity suits me and it also forces me to keep studying. I find that I want to teach about learning a lot, even though I do like teaching about herbs and other explicitly Chinese medicine related concepts. I think this is because while there are a lot of ways to get information about herbs and Chinese herbal traditions, there aren’t a lot of people talking about learning.

My students seem hungry for guidance, reassurance and anecdotes related to my path in learning Chinese medicine. When I look at the most popular posts on this blog, they are posts that point to that layer of experience. Thinking on this, I realize that there’s just not a lot of resources out there for people who want to learn about learning. In college, you may end up in some basic “study skills” course, and then are asked to seek out “tutoring” if you are having trouble absorbing the material. The same essential approach is in operation at NCNM, and likely at most schools around the country. While nobody ever teaches anyone how to learn most effectively, we’re all expected to know it, and if we don’t – we’re remedial.

So, we look for others’ stories. We listen to how people we admire learned things. When that information is not divulged readily, students will ask for it. But only if they get the sense that there is a willingness to discuss this all-important topic. I hope to make myself ready to take those questions, I hope to give stories that are helpful.

A student recently expressed frustration at their progress in learning Classical Chinese medicine. This is a first year student, very bright, with the world of Chinese medicine absolutely open and available to him. The problem he is having is similar to one I experienced as a first-year student. Simply, there’s just too much to learn. There is a seemingly endless field of modalities, philosophies, skills, bodies of knowledge – with a concurrently endless pit of internal work to be done. How to do this in four years? How to do this in a way that sets one up for future study, that opens one to a lifetime of deep, real Chinese medicine learning. It’s a painful question, and I empathized deeply with the student ask he spoke with me.

As we talked, I was reminded of a number of students who have spoken with me about similar topics over the last year. There seems to be a basic confusion about the whole process of learning. I’ve read a lot of texts and had a lot of experiences that might help clarify the confusion, but I haven’t been able to distill a simple message that I can communicate to people asking these types of questions. I’m still working on it. However, re-reading one of my favorite books, Wake Up To Your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention (Ken McLeod) I ran across a very useful distinction that, I think, speaks to this issue.

In the book (p 59), Ken is discussing the problems that arise when people are beginning a formal meditation practice. In instructing his own students, he tries to orient them around a fourfold understanding:

1. The purpose of the practice : this is why we do what we do
2. The method of the practice : this is what we do to to achieve that purpose
3. The effects of the practice : these are experiences that arise in the day to day effort of practicing the method
4. The results of the practice : these are the long-term achievements that come about through diligent practice of the method – despite some days of negative results

He uses the example of running for exercise to illustrate his point. But one could just as easily apply it to learning Chinese medicine. To be fair, the topic “learning Chinese medicine” is much too broad (and thus part of the frustration I’m seeing in students) so let’s restrict it a bit.

Let’s say I am an aspiring (and/or practicing) herbalist. Let’s say that I have discovered that the essence of learning herbalism is to take the time to deeply know herbs – using a method that my teacher has revealed to me. This method consists of walking through several levels of understanding, beginning with direct sensory perception, progressing through ascertaining “community data” as present in texts like Bensky, through coming to understand these herbs in relationship to other herbs (in formulas and combinations) and all the way to seeing the effects of these herbs on patients.

The purpose of this method is to become an excellent herbalist. To be an excellent herbalist means to be able to prescribe Chinese herbal formulas in a way that is efficient, effective and satisfies some internally derived standard of achievement. That is just one way of describing excellence, surely it has some variation from person to person – but being relatively efficient (thus not taking 10 hours to write a formulas) and definitely effective (the sky’s the limit here) must be present.

So, the purpose and the method are established. It’s the final two elements where things get sticky.

If you sit down to use this method, you’re going to have good days and bad days. Sometimes the Qi is going to flow, you’re going to effortlessly know an herb and feel naturally excited about herbalism and your ability to practice Chinese medicine. Other times it’s going to feel boring, contrived, pointless and you will feel insecure about your student loans, your family’s perception of what you’re doing and your impending entry into clinic. These are the effects of practicing the method – sometimes great effects, sometimes not so great. But one MUST NOT confuse these ups and downs for the RESULTS of practicing the method. You’re not as incredible as you think on your good days, and certainly not as hopeless as you think on the bad ones.

Look at your progress over time. The results are an increasing mastery of the various aspects of herbalism, increasing ability to place your attention on the study at hand and an overall rising in your confidence with regards to Chinese medicine. Being aware that this is a process, that the effects from day to day are not reflective of the overall RESULTS, will do a lot to help you maintain some level of sanity as you learn. Another thing I like about this model is that it places attention on the need for a clear purpose and an overt method. The former doesn’t need to be the same as someone else’s and the latter doesn’t need to be set in stone. But YOU need to be clear about YOUR purpose, YOUR method.

I guess, overall, I think all four elements are deficient in me and my students. I think they’re pretty deficient in our culture overall. So, spend some time thinking about this. With regards to your learning of Chinese medicine (whether you are a brand new student or a long-term practitioner or anything in between) ask yourself:

1. What is my purpose? It’s probably best to restrict this to specific areas of learning – but it may be helpful for some people to have one, overarching purpose. Probably you will have several nesting sets. Write them down.
2. What is my method? Perhaps it has been taught to you. Perhaps you have to build one yourself – just try something, test it out, and refine it. It could be as simple as “Memorize and recall 5 formulas a day,” or as complicated as the herbal learning method I hinted at above. Perhaps it relies on learning Chinese and slowly translating Classical texts. More than anything, I want to emphasize that your professors are PROBABLY NOT GIVING YOU A METHOD. So don’t rely on them to do so. It’s just not the way things are, now.
3. What are the effects I experience? It might be helpful to keep a practice diary. Note the good days, the bad days, and the variations. Be very careful not to become too attached to any one particular practice session. Do your practice, and go on with your life.
4. What are the expected and realized results of practice? If you don’t have a teacher to help you figure out the results, again, you may need to posit some yourself. Where do you expect to be in a year, in two? In four? In ten? Who are your models? As you go, be as objective as possible in assessing your progress. Are you seeing results? Why or why not?

I’d love to hear from folks about their purpose, method, effects and results. This is a pretty raw blog post, I just pumped it out here after doing my daily reading. Do you see problems with what I’m saying? What are they? I always welcome opportunities to refine my own thinking!

Frustrations on the path to Chinese medicine mastery

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1. A quick update : I’m never leaving NCNM!
2. Setting yourself up for learning success : First, know thyself
3. A relational method of learning Chinese herbs

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I have a feeling I’m going to get in trouble for my teaching. It’s not that I’m that revolutionary, or that I really even know that much more than my students. It’s just that my fundamental orientation towards the universe is to be always, always asking questions. I don’t always need to let those questions come out of my mouth (undergrad philosophy students, take notice!) but they are always in there. In particular, I tend to question fundamentals. Fundamentals, here, are those basic concepts that act as building blocks for entire edifices of knowledge. Fundamentals, here, are also those things that people most often tend to take for granted.  

It’s just the philosopher in me, some might say. But, I could just have easily learned the habit in my work in a microbiology lab in my undergrad years. Or in my work as a forest ranger. Or in my all-important work as a father. I think almost any situation can be helped by a willingness to ask very simple, very essential, very difficult questions with a willingness to be surprised. The clarity of thought that can emerge from such investigations is worth the effort. It is effort, though, there’s no doubt.

So, what are these trouble-making lectures I’m giving? Well, I probably inflate myself unnecessarily. Some of it is just introducing the students to interesting concepts at an early stage – such as the flavor/element combinations introduced in the “lost” Yiyin Tangye Jing (伊尹湯液經). I’m assuming that a number of you have already read the eye-opening article by Wang Shumin, found in the book Medieval Chinese Medicine: The Dunhuang Medical Manuscripts after her extensive research into the remnants of the text found in the Dunhuang caves. While it’s not instigating trouble as such, I do think that being forced to consider these things makes the students more inquisitive, and more likely to think deeply about what they are learning in other classes. But, again, maybe I am congratulating myself a little too quickly.

If not, and if you’re not familiar with the text at all, the essence is this : twenty five herbs are categorized according to the five elements. This would be cool enough, particularly given that the text was likely referenced by Zhang Zhongjing in his writing. What an insight into the construction of Han dynasty formulas! But the herbs are also given flavors, some contradictory to those we know in modern times and the flavors are in turn related to the five elements in a unique way.

• You know wood as being affiliated with sour. In the Tangye – it’s affiliated with pungent. Think of the spreading action of wood, its reaching and movement and activity.
• You know fire as being affiliated with bitter. In the Tangye – it’s affiliated with salty. What is softer than fire? And what better to soften than salt?
• You know earth as being affiliated with sweet. Ok, no changes there.
• You know metal as being affilated with pungent. Perhaps predictably, the Tangye talks about sour instead. Think about the condensing and gathering power of sour, and the condensed and gathered nature of metal.
• You know water as being affiliated with salty. Bitter anyone? Bitter is a downward draining flavor, one that is almost universally associated with cooling and making things more dense for their eventual expulsion. That is fitting for water, our “lower” (but Northern!) element, and while not condensed as such – is certainly the coolest of our elements.

Anyway – in class we have been making use of these flavors as we work with our senses to understand herbs. I’m learning, of course, just as much as they are – it’s a wonderful journey so far.

One thing I’ve noticed, and something I continually impress upon my students, is the importance of keeping within categories – at least at first. Let me explain, briefly. Consider a spectrum. On the left side, you have the world of ideas, of Form (in the Platonic sense) and of the Universal. Moving rightward you have the constellations, stars, planetary motions. Further finds you looking at the Earth, the weather patterns, moving on to flora and fauna. Getting still more focused we find the human being, but considered as a whole, and organ systems considered in their symbolic totality. Going further right, we have specific physiology of organ systems (generation of Qi and so forth) and even getting a little more narrow to consider biochemistry, genetics. Finally, we have pathology and the specifics of what goes wrong, when and why. It’s a kind of focusing down to the smallest thing, and represents for me my process of clinical focus (whether bottom up or top down).

When I’m trying to think through something, like the flavor/element relationships in the Tangye Jing, I try to stay in a narrow part on the spectrum. So, for instance, I tried to stay on a more symbolic level in my explanation above. I was talking about the elements as they show up on Earth, but not really within the human body. They’re still in the realm of ideas. I think I would be speaking less clearly if for wood and fire I talked about pathology, and for earth I talked about physiology, and for metal I talked about the world of Form and Idea and for water I discussed the Kidney. I see that kind of thing a lot, and it sort of confuses me.

What do you think? Am I being unnecessarily narrow? I think it’s, at least, been a useful teaching tool. Maybe one of my students will speak up and debunk me. Have no fear, dear students! In the true Socratic spirit, I encourage you to assassinate me!

Eric

These symbols are meant to be questioned (they just don’t often give clear answers)

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1. Understanding Chinese herbs using Classical Chinese Medical thinking
2. A relational method of learning Chinese herbs
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Hey everyone,

Well, the winter holidays are upon us here in the Northern hemisphere. For those of you in school, that means you’ve probably got some free time coming up. Why not use some of that to get going on the honorable project of learning to read classical texts of Chinese medicine? Sounds like fun to me. I wrote recently about a special deal for Deepest Health readers on a bundle of two books – Richard Goodman’s Classical Chinese Medicine Texts. These are great books for learners, ideally set up to take complete newbies through the steps of picking up critical language skills.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I will be heading up an online study group around the texts. We will work through a Google Group and have weekly “assignments” and discussions, and even try to put together a hosted chat every now and again. The hope is that by going through the books as a group, we will be better able to commit to learning, and have a group of people to help us work through particular challenges. Goodman has even offered to be a part of the group, in whatever capacity the group wants him to be. If you are interested in joining up with the group, please send an email through the contact form letting me know. You will need both books and a willingness to participate on at least a weekly basis. It should be a wonderful experience.

Now, I have a treat for everyone. Richard Goodman agreed to a short interview about his books, learning Classical Chinese and even some tips for aspiring writers in our field. Hopefully, this information will be useful, but will also convince you that learning Classical Chinese is worth doing, and worth doing now! Get the books, and join the group!

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Deepest Health (DH): What is the biggest impediment for English speakers in learning to read Classical chinese?

Richard Goodman (RG): “Every aspect of Chinese, and especially classical Chinese, is different from English. From learning and memorizing characters to grappling with a grammar that has no tense, much of what we encounter in Chinese is difficult to understand. When I was finally at the stage that I could start approaching classical Chinese medical texts, I was overwhelmed-where does one begin? The vast number of medical books written before the 20^th century is alone enough to scare people away. This combination of learning a language that is different in every way from English with the sheer volume of classical texts available overwhelms people and even the most well intentioned people never begin.”

DH: How do your books help folks with that?

“My overall goal was to address as many of the frustrations I had in my own studies as I could in one series of books. The two I mentioned were two of my biggest frustrations and I addressed this first by just selecting texts that are fairly easy for beginners. Volume One starts out very slowly and builds very purposefully on the characters and grammar already taught. In both Volumes One and Two, 95% of the characters will be found in every medical text. I didn’t want any “filler” or terms that were rarely found. I was never trying to “wow” readers with impressive texts, but instead made language learning the priority. This does not take away all of the difficulty in learning Chinese, but learning slowly and building upon an ever increasing vocabulary makes the task seem a bit less daunting.”

“One thing I have heard from people over and over is that they did not feel overwhelmed by these books, and that is satisfying to hear because that was definitely one of my goals. Learners need confidence and they need it quickly.”

DH: Have you seen real clinical impact when people learn to read the classical Chinese medical texts? Why do you think this is?

“I think this very much depends on the type of practitioner one is when they begin to study classical texts. If one practices in a way that relies upon starting with a disease, moving on to its standardized differentiation, and then giving the formula and point prescriptions based upon that, that type of practitioner will not find classical texts clinically useful. There are virtually no classical texts that proceed in that way, which is why I suspect most people read translations of the classics and then decide learning to read classical texts is no longer relevant to modern day practice.”

“For practitioners who rely on understanding the underlying theories of Chinese medicine to treat patients, the classics are a treasure trove of information. Even rudimentary concepts like Qi, yin and yang, and the five phases are used to describe healthy and ill states with a depth that is quite astounding and much more refined than anything I have seen in English. I personally never had a really firm grasp on these basic ideas until I began reading them in the context they were originally discussed.”

“A lot of practical information also exists in the classics. For example, my views on pulse examination have transformed many times over by reading classical authors’ methods. Just one practical example is the relationship between the breath and the pulse. Most modern books teach us to use a watch, but rapid and slow pulses are determined in relationship to the number of times the pulse moves per breath. This changes the pulse dynamic considerably, leaving the focus entirely on the patient. Additionally, the terms for the pulses make much more sense to me in Chinese and the translations, such as slippery or choppy, do not really capture the image. Having access to all of the more detailed information on virtually every aspect of Chinese medicine, from prescriptions to diagnosis, will most certainly create a more refined practitioner.”

DH: Do you plan to write more books on the topic?

“There will be one final volume in this series which will focus more on herbal texts and their theories. I have already selected all of the texts and I expect that book to be available by early 2010.

I have already started working on what I am currently calling “learners’ editions” of the classics. That seems to me to be the next logical step so that people can continue studying while also tackling entire books. These will not be translations per se, but people who are not interested in learning the language could still use them as such. All together, I have about 10 books planned to come out over the next two years and all of them are related to Chinese classics and language.”

DH: What advice do you have for people in the field looking to write books? Any sagely advice? Tips and tricks? Things to avoid?

“I think the best advice I can give is simply do not try to force a book out of yourself. Everyone is different and I can really only share my own experience. I never really had the intention of writing books at this stage of my life and I just kind of fell into it. I found work as an editor at a publishing company to support myself while I studied Chinese. As my Chinese got better, I was moved to their Chinese language department and started translating Chinese language textbooks.”

“After editing what was probably hundreds of language teaching books, I got a real sense for what worked and what didn’t. My life circumstances were such that this series was just a natural extension of what I had been doing for the past five years. This is not to say that there weren’t times I struggled with the writing, but the idea and outline was very easy to come up with. Just write what you know and ask for help from others once you have something written—no one can write a book alone. “

Let’s learn Classical Chinese together : encouragement and an interview with Richard Goodman

Related posts:

1. Learn to read classical Chinese medical texts – special deal for Deepest Health readers
2. What are the classical texts of Chinese medicine?
3. What everyone should know about the perils of reading too much

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I have to admit to some weirdness around the concept of “constitution.” This is absolutely unfounded, I have no clinical or theoretical information to back up my feeling. I think I’ve just seen this concept be misused. Once you get an idea in your head that a patient is a “Chaihu person,” or a “Bladder CF,” or a “Shaoyang patient,” it seems to be a little difficult to think outside that box. It offends my desire to meet the patient where they are without preconceptions.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I realize that this is part of what WE DO in Chinese medicine in particular and natural medicine in general. We look at the gestalt of the patient, and we make a helpful generalization about their condition and the treatment that is likely to rectify it. We look into past and future and consider how the patient came to be where they are and where they might be going, and treat them based on all of this information. I have no problem with that. But, I find myself a little worried when I persistently think about a person as, say, a “Chaihu” person, even before they come in – and use that lens to view whatever it is they might be presenting with in the current moment.

Before you click on the comment button prematurely – know that this is an attitude that is changing for me. The more patients I see, the more I see really weird cases. These cases involve patients who present with a certain picture that so strongly speaks to a particular treatment strategy but for whom that treatment strategy does not work. Searching for a remedy usually guides me in a very unexpected direction. In retrospect, looking through the patient’s case, I usually see a certain pattern emerge.

Here’s an example from my time in the student clinic.

A patient presenting with very serious symptoms (serious blood stasis, ongoing memory loss, digestive chaos, emotional instability and more) also had a *very* excess pulse – pounding, tight and wiry at all depths with some choppiness throughout. A dong (flicking bean) pulse was found on both sides between the first and second positions. A lot of stasis in the tongue. The supervising doctor and I discussed the case for a while, trying to seek out the best formula. For the next six or eight weeks, we used some variation of Taohe Chengqi Tang + Zhishi Xiebai Guizhi Tang with some incorporation of Guizhi Fuling Wan. We wanted to treat the most excess, the most “outward” of the symptom picture first.

As the treatment progressed, however, it… uh, didn’t. The patient’s symptoms didn’t lessen much, the pulse picture didn’t change. We decided to work from another direction. Following the recommendation from one of my mentors, I used a modification of Shenqi Wan with some additional blood movement incorporated. The patient found almost immediate improvement and continued to improve for the next several months. Later acute episodes found us changing our formula strategy a bit, but Fuzi has always been involved and when the Fuzi is removed, the patient worsens.

Now part of this is just my clinical immaturity and maybe my inability to see signs that, for a more experienced practitioner, would seem obvious. I’m sure there are several of you in the audience shaking your heads sagely – ah yes, of course, Fuzi. But, one could easily see something about “constitution” in this case. I’ve had similar experiences otherwise. It’s not always obvious in the pulse, it’s not always clear in the history, but when you go with it – improvement is found on all levels.

There doesn’t seem to be something that binds these cases together in every case. For instance, I am in no way convinced that if a different person with a similar presentation as above were to come to the clinic that I would be able to resolve their situation in the same way. But, I may be able to look at this person and – over time – learn some basic characteristics that help me to identify patients who might need this approach… this is, to me, constitution.
I’ve been reading the Classicalformulas.com blog over the last couple of months, though I have not yet read the book “10 Formula Families.” I’ve recently requested it on Interlibrary Loan and will review it as soon as I am able. Anyway – a recent post got me thinking about the constitution question again : http://classicformulas.com/constitutin-formula-scope/ . Has anyone read this book yet? Find it valuable? Definitely leave your impressions in the comments.

I’m wondering about others’ experience with constitution, or similar concepts. Have you seen a constitutional approach be crucial in your success with patients? Have you seen problems with the approach? If so, what were they? How did you resolve them? Where is the classical support for this method? What have you been learning in your classes and seminars about constitution? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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Site updates : Please notice the “Follow Me” tab on the left side of your screen. If you’re on Twitter and don’t already follow me – you can click that button to read my tweets. You can also check out the Twitter feed for my clinic, which is in some ways more tightly focused on Chinese medicine, but intended primarily for patients. Finally, please consider joining the burgeoning Classical Chinese language online study group, mentioned in my prior post about Richard Goodman’s fine texts. If you are interested, please contact me sooner rather than later. It should be a good time!

By the way – If you’re confused about Twitter and Social media in general, I’ve got some excellent beginners information for you. Links to some incredible, simple instructional videos. Definitely watch these in a place where you can listen to the audio.

• About social media in general : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE
• About Twitter in particular : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

The concept of constitution in Chinese herbal medicine

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I’ve been a little slow out of the gate with this one, folks, and I’m sorry about that. Richard Goodman, author of the excellent Classical Chinese Medical Texts: Learning to Read the Classics of Chinese Medicine Vol I has released Volume II of the series! I have to say that I have never encountered a clearer, more enriching text about Chinese language anywhere. For those of us who don’t have easy access to someone to teach us classical Chinese in person, this text is a great resource. Even if you are already learning Chinese (modern or classical) you will find tremendous benefit in the book.   

As I’ve discussed in many places, I believe that learning to read the Classical texts of Chinese medicine is one of the most important, and least appreciated, skills for the contemporary Chinese medicine practitioner. While nothing can replace clinical experience and the one-on-one education one receives in discipleship, delving into the roots of our medicine is not only intellectually stimulating but often directly applicable with patients. While this is not a simple task, it is well worth the effort. Texts like what Rick has written are a master key in acquiring this important skill.

A review of the newest volume on Amazon.com says:

“Since reading the first volume, I can now get through medical texts at a much faster rate and find that I need to rely less on the software I was using. Both volumes are mind opening due to the fact that the author uses texts that provide information that is now rarely taught. Most importantly, this series has given me the language skills that have allowed me to access the classics-I have learned more about Chinese medicine in the last 6 months than I had in the previous 5 years. I hope that eventually this series is used as required reading for Chinese medicine students.”

You can read many more reviews on Goodman’s site at Windstone Press.

The texts are further enhanced by the fact that Goodman is now teaching a free online class to accompany the text – the six lessons already out will be an incredible addition to your Chinese language learning. I’m sure there will be more to come. You can check out the class by clicking this link. You can also get free MP3 files and PLECO flashcards to enhance your learning experience. What more do you need, really?

Only one more thing is needed – the commitment to make Chinese language learning a central part of your study going forward. If you plan to make this commitment, why not announce it in the comments of this post? If enough people express interest, either in the comments or by private email, perhaps we could go through it as a group. I’d gladly start over in exchange for some company in the journey.

If all of this wasn’t enough, Rick has offered a special deal for Deepest Health readers. By using the link below, you can get both volumes of Classical Chinese Medical Texts : Learning to Read the Classics of Chinese Medicine for 55.95 with free shipping. On Amazon.com right now you could by both texts for just over $58. However, by purchasing using my link, a small portion of the sales will go to support ongoing writing on Deepest Health. Further, as I said, if enough people buy through my link and commit to going through the books, I’ll put together a special part of the site just for our collaborative learning process. More details on that if it becomes reality.

To take advantage of this offer, and help support Deepest Health by doing so, click on this link to purchase *special deal has now expired – thanks to everyone who participated* Richard Goodman’s texts, both Volume I and Volume II.

You can also, of course, buy the texts through Amazon or another outlet. That’s the option you’ll want to choose if you only want one of the books, as well.

Thanks for reading!

Eric

Learn to read classical Chinese medical texts – special deal for Deepest Health readers

Related posts:

1. Classical Chinese medical texts course free online (and some site updates)
2. Let’s learn Classical Chinese together : encouragement and an interview with Richard Goodman
3. Who wants to learn about Chinese language, culture and medicine for free?

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So, I didn’t write much about using the faculty of sight in learning Chinese herbs. That’s mostly because I’m doing other research about it, particularly around the doctrine of signatures and I’d prefer to write more when I have more to say. I’m already retooling my NCNM class for next year based on what I’ve learned. Let it suffice to say for now that, in class, we enjoyed ourselves working with our eyes. Overall, one of the most interesting things I learned is that many have resistance many people have to just sitting with something and looking at it. Maybe it’s because so many cultures find it rude to stare? I don’t think the plants care. Anyway…

Many people seem to believe that what they see at first glance is as much as there is to see. Nothing could be further from the truth. My hope is to encourage students, and consistently re-encourage myself, to really SEE things in their fullness. The subtle changes in color, the textures, the shadows cast, the subtle suggestions of where they were on the plant, how they were treated during growth and in processing. It isn’t as if this information is recorded as data and filed away for use in therapy – but just like getting to know a person, all of these tiny pieces of information fill in the skeletal lines of first impressions with color, depth, beauty.

Sight aside, I’ve had a lot of fun with the students at NCNM working with our underused faculty of touch. We have been working with two types of touch, though I haven’t had time to go into depth with either. One of the hardest things about this class is the fact that it’s only an hour. That’s why an online version will be so great – more time, more space! However, this limitation does force me to try to get the teaching down to essentials.

The two ways we are using touch:

1. The most basic – “just touching.” There is a ton of information a person can get from touching an herb, even at the most superficial level. You can get a sense for its density, its heft – particularly in relation to other herbs. You get a greater sense for the texture of the herb. With some herbs, like Mutong, you can start to understand what the herb does – it feels like a filter! Or think about something like Ganjiang that feels like it is, drying and warm. Aside from looking to get a sense for what part of the plant is, simple touching can also give you some good information for the doctrine of signatures. Light things may tend to rise, heavier things to sink – and so on.
2. A little deeper. At NCNM, we are taught a variety of ways to use our hands to perceive more subtle sensations. But, anyone can get good information by just sitting with an herb in their hands. I usually take some time to do some Qigong or prayer, just connecting with subtle reality. Then I close my eyes and touch the herb, allowing my mind to rest and eventually to wander. I may just hold the herb in place, or may manipulate it. Usually, going deeper in this way allows one to get information that is a little outside of what one would expect. Actions, temperatures, even colors start to flood the mind.

This week, with the class, we used blindfolds to isolate the feeling faculty. While in practice I encourage everyone to use all of their senses, it can sometimes be extraordinarily helpful to just focus on one at a time. Exhaust it! See what you can find.

Just using touch, the class interacted with Baihe – lily bulb. Now, note, these are second year students – just learning herbs. Here is the list of qualities they got, blindfolded, without knowing the name of the herb or anything about it beforehand.

• Lung
• Treats diabetes
• Treats arthritis
• Neutral to cooling
• Expels phlegm
• Whitish yellow (I kid you not)
• Slightly transparent (seriously)
• Taiyin
• Claws
• Relieves dampness
• Clears heat
• Pungent – bitter
• Cold
• Replenishing
• Moves, but not through Yang force

There are a lot of interesting observations here, I think you will agree!

Baihe is sweet, according to the Shennong Bencao Jing (SNBCJ) – though later commentators say it is sweet and slightly bitter. In the SNBCJ it is listed as neutral, though later commentators say it is slightly cooling. Of these basic affinities, only the bitter is out of place in what the students found. It does clear heat, and while the dampness and phlegm properties are contrary to basic understanding of the herb, it’s not so far out of the realm of possibility. It is indeed replenishing, related to Taiyin and interestingly, is known to treat diabetes!

Most interesting to me is the symbolic association of the Lung organ system. Lily, in channel affinity language, does enter the Lung (as well as the Heart). Again, we do have the relationship with Taiyin. But what about the claws?! Now Baihe in its dried form does feel a little like toenails, as many students jokingly remarked. The claw association could have something to do with that, but more than one student did get a sense of actual claws or talons. This, to me, is related to the Tiger – the animal associated with the earthly branch Tai and the Lung organ system. I just thought it was interesting that these associations came up so consistently.

We did several other herbs in class, and I was just astonished at how much information we could get with just an hour of holding the herbs. If you haven’t tried this before, I recommend it. Yes, just the dried herb. While fresh herbs are great, while plants are great, I do believe that the dried herb holds a lot of information in a holographic way. Students in class were getting senses of the way the plant grows, what kinds of conditions it likes, all without having any contact with the living plant at all. Give it a try!

I want to make clear that I’m not suggesting people just sit with herbs and use that information exclusively. It’s a matter of using our sensory experience to enhance and ground the head knowledge of which we get so much. Also, I wonder how long it will take for these students to forget that Baihe is related to the Lung? Won’t they have a slightly better understanding of the herb, having spent a little time with it? What if they were to use all their senses, and consistently reengage with it over a period of months, years? It gives me high hopes for their future as herbalists! Give it a try, and come back here to tell us how it went – add your thoughts in the comments!

Reawakening the faculty of touch in learning Chinese herbs

Related posts:

1. 7 tips on how to study single Chinese herbs and even enjoy it
2. A relational method of learning Chinese herbs
3. Understanding Chinese herbs using Classical Chinese Medical thinking

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Hello my patient readers,

I have a few items of interest for you today.

1. I am working hard on several things for the blog. My work has been stymied somewhat by the new course I’m teaching at NCNM (have to get my teaching legs under me) and the intense amount of activity going on at Watershed Community Wellness. In the queue are the following:

• Information, currently being worked on with students at NCNM, about the relationship method of learning Chinese herbs
• A special offer for Deepest Health readers on some excellent books for learning Classical Chinese in the context of Classical Chinese medical texts
• An interview with Paul Rosenberg, tea monk in Portland, about the energetics of tea

2. Watershed Community Wellness is currently upgrading our website. You can see the newest iteration by clicking on the link in this sentence. New to the site is a sign-up page for our newsletter. Geared towards patients and people looking for useful, accurate everyday health information, it may be of interest to some of Deepest Health’s readers – so go ahead and sign up if you are interested. Thanks!

3. A question : who would like to see the weekly Eric rambling about Chinese medicine podcast return to Deepest Health?

4. Michael Givens, MAEC, MSOM, recent graduate of NCNM and long time student of Chinese medicine, history and culture has several courses coming up at Watershed Community Wellness. Below find a schedule of his current offerings. If you are interested, please contact him directly.

Classical Studies Saturday Series

Reviving the old to gain knowledge of the new…

At Watershed Community Wellness

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with Michael Givens, MAEC, MSOM

Advanced Formulas Study – new class beginning soon!

This course is an advanced study of the Shanghan zabing lun. Beginners are welcome and will benefit from taking the course, but it is geared towardsthose who have an interest in studying the depth and intricacies of the work of Zhang Zhongjing.

We will discuss the major formulas in each of the six conformations, including their internal and modular structure, their directional quality according to classical physiology, and their relation to many other formulas in the Shanghan lun and Jingui Yaolue lun.

This course will also demonstrate the seasonal wisdom inherent in the system of the six conformations as understood both from the Neijing Suwen and the Shanghan lun. Students in the course will begin to see the diverse application of classical formulas and thus will be able to begin using them to treat the diverse diseases and imbalances of the modern patient.

We will cover the six conformations in this order so as to correspond with the seasons:

9/26:             Taiyang

11/7:            Yangming

12/5:             Taiyin

1/9:             Shaoyin and Jueyin

1/16:             Shaoyang

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $300 or $70 per class (drop-in : you can commence at any time after the first class and still benefit)

Introduction to the Shanghan lun

This course will prepare you for studying the classical formulas of the Shanghan lun, as well as establish a firm basis of all formulas study. The Shanghan lun offers us a deep understanding of physiology, pathology and the correct approach to treating all diseases. This class is for the beginning and advanced student. Even if you already have a strong formulas education but would like to dig deeper into the text of the Shanghan lun, this class is for you.

We will be reading and analyzing the introductory lines of each of the conformations in the Shanghan lun, and discussing the fundamental formulas in each chapter and how they are representative of the physiology and pathology of each of the conformations.

Dates: Saturday 10/3 and Saturday 10/17

Time: 9-noon

Location: Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee: $120

Discussion of the Trigrams in the Yijing

This course will deepen your understanding of the core principles of the Yijing (The Classic of Change). Through carefully looking at the Shuogua (the Discussion of the Trigrams) we will unearth core principles of Chinese medicine, and the philosophy of the superior physician.

The Shuogua is one of the “wings” of the Yijing, ancient commentaries which had a significant impact upon the understanding of the Yijing, as well as on the theories of the ancient classics of medicine. We will discuss the deeper aspects of the trigrams, numerology, symbolism and correspondence, as well as moral philosophy, as they came to influence Chinese medicine.

The Shuogua introduces many key concepts found in Chinese medicine, especially within the theories of Yin and Yang and Five Phases, as seen in the Hetu (Yellow River Map) and the Luoshu (River Luo Writings). This pre-Confucian treatise offers for us a glimpse of the root of these very fundamental theories.

Dates:                         Saturday 10/10 and Saturday 10/24

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $120

The Great Battle of the Dragon and Turtle

A 3 hour lecture on the Open – Close – Pivot (Kai He Shu) theory in the Neijing Suwen chapter 6, as understood through the lens of ancient Yijing calendrical science and the Six Conformations of the Shanghan lun. This class will present a unique way of looking at time and change (and transformation) as well as a deeper understanding of physiology, pathology and the fundamental concept of “one yang.”

Date:                         10/31

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $60

The Joy of Learning, the Delight of Discussion

An Introduction to the Confucian Analects for the Chinese Medicine Practitioner

“To learn and at due times to repeat what one has learnt, is that not after all a pleasure? That friends should come to one from afar, is this not after all delightful?

“The Master said: Let a [student] first be incited by the Songs (Shijing, Book of Odes), then given a firm footing by the study of Li 禮 (ritual / virtue of the Heart), and finally perfected by Yue 樂 (music).”

Following the example of this statement found in the Analects, we will discuss the ancient Odes (Shijing) of the early Zhou dynasty, then explore the depth and meaning of Li 禮, and then finally engage with the concept of music and joy (yue / le 樂) in the Analects as well as in the art of Chinese medicine. Please join Michael in on two Saturdays in November for this discussion series on the wisdom Confucius can offer to students and practitioners of Chinese medicine.

Dates:                         11/14, 11/28

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $120

The Erdan and Liushen Formulas in the Tangye jing

This course will present the important Erdan and Liushen formulas in the Tangye jing (the ancient all-but-lost classic of formulas), which have been shown to be precursors to the formulas in the Shanghan lun. They provide for us an ancient perspective of seasonal illness.

There are two sets of Erdan formulas (the Yang Dan formulas, and the Yin Dan formulas or the Sunlight in the Sunrise formulas, and the Shade in the Sunrise formulas), which include a total of five formulas, the most important being Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction).

The Liushen formulas are based upon the six directions (North, South, East, West, Above and Below), but also can be seen as corresponding to the Twelve Branches, as understood in classical Chinese medical theory. They are the original Dragon, Phoenix, Tiger, and Turtle formulas.

Both of these sets of formulas treat Tianxing (or seasonal diseases or epidemics). This course will provide an understanding of how these ancient formulas are very relevant for modern epidemic diseases.

Dates:                         11/21, 12/12

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $120

More Classical Chinese Medicine courses in Portland, an update and a question

Related posts:

1. Live near Portland and want to learn the basics of Classical Chinese herbal formulas?
2. Upcoming Portland-area Chinese medicine events of note
3. A quick update : I’m never leaving NCNM!

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