Deepest Health » tcm

Deepest Health Podcast 15 – Does where Chinese herbs are grown really matter?

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:20:10 +0000

Another aspect to the more advanced Chinese herb learning method that I teach is diving into the huge amount of information concerning where herbs grow up. Using the metaphor of the growth and development of a human being, it is undeniable that where we grow up influences the people we end up becoming. The same is true of Chinese herbs!

Topics covered

1. Why I love the herb method I teach

2. Why location matters when it comes to Chinese herbs

3. Small application of the herb learning method with one of your friends and mine, Chenpi – aurantium – citrus peel

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Deepest Health Podcast 14 -Interview with Dr. Arnaud Versluys (Part 3 of 3)

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:18:44 +0000

Topics covered

1. What to do when you cannot secure the herbs you need (for instance, Mahuang and Xixin)

2. What about growing our own herbs locally and using them in Chinese herbal formulas?

If you are interested, please check out parts I and II of this interview.

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Deepest Health Podcast 13 – Interview with Mark Silver

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:17:13 +0000

When I contacted Mark Silver, founder of the Heart of Business and Portland local, I was hoping to entice him to come and speak to students at NCNM. I succeeded in that, with the additional bonus that he was kind enough to offer to do a podcast interview with me for Deepest Health! After a few fits and starts, we managed to make our schedules line up nicely and we sat down for a chat on an early spring morning.

Topics covered

1. Should healthcare practitioners worry about the recession?

2. How you can get more patients without constantly explaining what we do

3. What Chinese medicine practitioners should watch out for when starting their own businesses

4. Technology & business : are they antithetical to holistic medicine?

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Deepest Health Podcast 12 – Interview with Dr. Arnaud Versluys (Part 2 of 3)

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:15:29 +0000

Topics covered

1. How one uses the Shang han lun in contemporary clinical practice, particularly concerning complex diseases typically seen in modern times

2. The importance of specializing in a particular style of Chinese medicine

3. Some advice to those of us seeking Chinese medicine knowledge

I think you’ll really enjoy the information AND the audio quality – I think I finally got it right. Check it out at the bottom of this article!

Note : Dr. Versluys uses a few names that may be unfamiliar to listeners – I want to clarify these things for you. Li Dong Yuan is the author of The Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach: (Pi wei lun). Zhang Zhong Jing is the author of the Shang Han Lun and the Jin gui yao lue (originally united as the Shang Han Za Bing Lun).

If you are interested, please check out Part I and Part III of this interview

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Deepest Health Podcast 11 – Interview with Dr. Arnaud Versluys (Part 1 of 3)

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:13:47 +0000

This is the first section of a three part interview with Dr. Arnaud Versluys of the Institute of Classics in East Asian Medicine. Arnaud has been part of my education and inspiration in Chinese medicine since the beginning. As well as leading & teaching at ICEAM, he practices his craft in NW Portland, OR.

Topics covered

1. The relationship of the Classical texts to the practice of medicine

2. The importance of careful study

3. Food for thought regarding the various schools of Chinese medicine

Note: Please pardon the relatively low volume of this podcast – we had some technological problems. If you are interested, please check out Part II and Part III of this interview.

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Deepest Health Podcast 10 – End of term clinical reflections

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:12:23 +0000

Topics covered

1. My reflections as I come to the end of my first term/quarter in clinic at NCNM

2. The importance of memorization

3. The weirdness of caring for patients

4. Using all our gifts

Note: The book about Davinci that I reference in the podcast is an easy, inspiring read How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day (affiliate link)

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Deepest Health Podcast 9 – Interview with Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, Part II

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:10:46 +0000

Topics covered

1. How a classical understanding can transform our understanding of medicine

2. The real importance of legendary figures in Chinese medicine history

3. What the classical approach lends to a contemporary Chinese medicine context & the importance of lineage

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Deepest Health Podcast 8 – Interview with Dr. Heiner Fruehauf

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:05:24 +0000

This is the first of a two part interview series with Dr. Heiner Fruehauf. Heiner is a founding professor of the school of Classical Chinese Medicine at National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR, owner of Classical Pearls, purveyor of truly great Chinese herbal products and primary contributor to Classicalchinesemedicine.org.

Topics covered

1. What is Classical Chinese medicine?

2. Different models of learning and teaching Chinese medicine – the importance of transmission

3. Upper, middle and lower level physicians in Chinese medicine

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Deepest Health Podcast 7 – Clinical confidence and memorization

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:03:49 +0000

Topics covered

1. What it means to have confidence in clinic

2. Shy I believe memorization is so important for Chinese medicine practitioners

3. Best practices for memorization

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Deepest Health Podcast 6 – Schools of Chinese medicine and learning

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:02:17 +0000

Topic covered

1. Different schools of Chinese medicine and how students should look at the possibility of “choosing” between them (it’s a big topic, and the only one in this podcast)

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Deepest Health Podcast 5 – Interview with Brandt Stickley

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:00:16 +0000

I am honored to offer this interview of Brandt Stickley talking about his practice and teaching of Chinese medicine. This was early in the podcast’s history, and the first interview, so the sound quality is a little dubious. Dr. Stickley apologizes for his very high volume.

Topics covered

1. Contemporary Pulse Diagnosis

2. Working with and learning from the incomparable Dr. Leon Hammer

3. Dr. Stickley’s basic understanding of Classical Chinese Medicine

4. Entering the mystery, the importance of the senses, and other exciting stuff

Links of note:

Dragon Rises.org : site containing articles, links and information about seminars pertaining to Contemporary Pulse Diagnosis
Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine

Dr. Leon Hammer’s two most well-known books are Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies and Chinese Pulse Diagnosis: A Contemporary Approach (Revised Edition) (both affiliate links)

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Deepest Health Podcast 4 – Cancer, pulse taking & trust

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 02:54:17 +0000

Topics covered

1. What can Chinese medicine do for cancer?

2. Difficulties in pulse diagnosis

3. Confidence in prescribing herbal formulas

Note: The natural medicine business blog I mention in the podcast no longer exists.

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Deepest Health Podcast 3 – The Power of Self Cultivation

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 02:49:19 +0000

Topics covered

1. The power of self-cultivation for Chinese medicine practitioners

2. Caring for patients from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave

Note : You can find most of the links discussed in the post in the recommendations vault.

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Deepest Health Podcast 2 – Visualizing my way to Chinese medicine success

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 02:43:42 +0000

Topics Covered

1. My clinical experience thus far: difficulties and excitement

2. How I use visualization as a way to learn to be more effective and efficient in clinic

3. A few questions I have about clinical practice

Note: The new blog (about natural medicine and business) mentioned is now defunct, its content mostly absorbed into Deepest Health.

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Deepest Health Podcast 1 – Lessons learned in Chinese medicine clinic

Eric Grey — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 02:31:35 +0000

This first try into podcasting had its bumps and bruises as I got used to the process of podcasting, including the technology. As the episodes wear on, you can notice an increase in sound quality and my comfort with the process.

Topics covered

1. Focus and intention: getting out of one’s own way

2. How it was needling “real” people for the first time

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Overcomplicating Things

G. Michael Reynolds — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:24:04 +0000

After posting an earlier post discussing the first of my five maxims, a request came up to present the rest of them. Never one to shy from a good request, today I’d like to present Reynolds’ Second Maxim, which is “Don’t hear horses and think zebras” which could also be phrased “Thou shalt not overcomplicate!”

“This will be the seventh time we have destroyed Zion…”

I remember going to the movies to see “The Matrix Reloaded” during the course of which a neat and tidy story which everyone was familiar with was exploded into about a million little subplots and alternate storylines with a new cast of characters that became hard to keep track of and events and motivations that didn’t make a great deal of sense. That and some sort of rave/orgy. Upon leaving the theater, my girlfriend at the time turned to me and said “Uhh…that was needlessly complicated.” This I feel is an excellent example of the typical state we frequently find ourselves in, especially once herbs enter the picture.

I feel that this concept is heavily tied in to my first maxim (“What are the symptoms?”) in that you don’t want to make the mistake that many physicians have made throughout history, East and West, which is deciding what a great idea a particular path of treatment would be and implementing it without bothering to first find out if it’s a good idea.

Not women, THIS woman

This very much applies to the TCM habit of protocol-making, where, in the example of one very popular protocol, a treatment method including both points and formulas is decided upon depending on what week of her menstrual cycle a woman is currently in. If it’s week one, she gets Formula A and Point Protocol A. Week two is Formula B and Point Protocol B and so on. Now at first glance this seems like it could be a great idea, as it appears to take into account the fact that a woman is likely to be in a slightly different physiological state depending on what week of her cycle is in. However, it fails to take into account the only thing that matters, which is the condition of the patient before you. It’s very easy to get caught up in thinking of things in broad strokes, the nature of women, the resonance between this or that herb and female physiology, lab results, and a million other things when in fact the only question of importance is still “what are the symptoms?” All information regarding symbology, tendencies, studies, typical clinical solutions, etc. is only of value insofar as it can be translated into a specific and accurate treatment for the individual. What works on “women” is of little use as we are interested in what works for this woman, whose specific menstrual complaints may have very little to do with Spleen Qi Deficiency, Blood Deficiency, etc. and may instead come from sources as varied as emotional trauma, overexercise, or acute stress.

Now this is not to say that I don’t use protocols, which would be the furthest thing from the truth. Technically, as long as we are borrowing from someone else to match a situation, that’s a protocol. I just do my best to a) use the most powerful and effective protocols and b) only use protocols that are very strongly indicated for the case in question. The truth of the matter is that I tend to avoid overcomplication by using the most simple, direct, elegant, profound, and well…broad protocols we’ve ever had the privilege of being handed, which lie in the work of Zhang Zhong Jing.

Now those of you who attended NCNM have likely not experienced what those of us who are classic-minded but came through TCM schools have, so please try to put yourself in our shoes a bit. My particular experience frequently involved the presenting of a case to a supervisor who, especially the Chinese ones, would roll their eyes at my Shang Han Lun-based approach and instead begin rattling off piles of points, truckloads of herbs with dosages set to numbers gained via some inexplicable method that had more to do with cooking than herbology in my opinion, and sent off to make the patient better instead of doing whatever craziness I had been working on, despite the fact that 10 times out of 10 I could point to textual support in the Shang Han Lun or Jin Gui Yao Lue for what it was I was trying to accomplish. This to me is the ultimate overcomplication and unfortunately this “whatchagot” method of making formulas out of single herbs (or dui yao pairs amongst the more enlightened) is the hallmark of TCM herbology’s gross ineffectiveness.

An Example

I’ll give the following example which is, admittedly, a straw man, but one that will hopefully illustrate what I’m going on about to the non-TCM trained set. I can assure you that I have seen this very approach many times by TCM herbalists, even very experienced ones. Suppose a patient presents with the following: sore throat, somewhat mild all-over pain that is especially strong in head and back, fever, chills, yellow phlegm in chest and sinuses, headache in occipital, parietal, and frontal regions, coughing, sneezing, nasal drip, nausea, irritability. Tongue has thick white coat. Standout pulse qualities are floating and moderate at left cun position and slightly deep and tight at left guan position. I will present three different ways of dealing with this case:

Method #1: The completely wrong way: Diagnosis: Wind-Heat Treatment: Yin Qiao San, or failing that Chuan Xin Lian Pian + Bi Yan Pian. Rationale: , YQS is primary formula for early stage Wind-Heat. CXLP is extremely antiviral and antibacterial, BYP is good for runny nose and sneezing.

Method #2: The needlessly complicated way: Diagnosis: Wind-Cold invasion turning into Heat. Treatment: Make the following symptom-based custom formula (with rationale):

Lian Qiao + Jin Yin Hua: Good for Wind-Heat, clears Heat, reduce fever, soothes sore throat
Yan Hu Suo: #1 herb for pain
Du Huo+Ji Sheng: #1 combination for back pain
Gao Ben: relieves head pain, back pain, also good vs wind
Ban Lan Gen: clears Lung Heat, antiviral/antibacterial
Lu Gen: clears Heat Phlegm from Lungs
Jing Jie + Fang Feng=expel Wind
Niu Bang Zi: relieves cough, clears toxicity
Bo He: releases exterior, clears Heat, relieves irritability
Sha Ren: nausea
Gan Cao: clears Heat, harmonizes formula

Method #3: The right way : Diagnosis: Combined Taiyang-Shaoyang syndrome Treatment: Xiao Chai Hu Tang modifed as follows (as listed in the original SHL text):

Chai Hu
Huang Qin
Ban Xia
Gan Jiang
Zhi Gan Cao
Wu Wei Zi
Gui Zhi
Gua Lou Shi

Rationale: These are the modifications given by Zhang Zhong Jing to match this very situation. Even if you didn’t know these, by having a working knowledge of the SHL/JGYL you would know enough of the approach to work this out for yourself. There’s no fishing around for herbs to match up vs symptoms and having to guess which opti
on is better than another, its all there already. The problem is primarily blockage in the Shaoyang network with some accompanying Taiyang symptoms. Xiao Chai Hu Tang is the primary formula for resolving this type of blockage with a couple modifications made to assist. Note that the point of this formula is to unblock Shaoyang, unblock Taiyang, unbind the chest, drain damp, strengthen Taiyin and that all curative actions are based out of that without having to make the World’s Biggest Formula in an attempt to solve a relatively simple problem that was solved (and written down) a couple thousand years ago. As Arnaud Versluys says, “there’s really no reason to re-invent hot water every time you need to cook something.”

Even in the case of chronic disease, the approach remains the same: choose the correct root that most accurately fits the situation and modify to match specifics. It also helps to have reliable information to draw from, which is of course why I insist that Zhang Zhong Jing’s work must be the toolbox that all Chinese herbology reaches into when it needs a tool. Before you start thinking “Ok, I’m going to take this formula and mix it with that formula and then add these herbs and then refer them to that doctor for this therapy and…” first see if there is a simple solution to the problem, as is so often the case. Don’t be afraid ti mix and match with formulas, herbs, modalities, etc. but make sure it’s necessary first.

I’m sure I will expound upon this at a later date but for now I hope this gets you thinking in the right direction.

Strategy in Chinese Medicine: Timing and Momentum, pt. 3