As we have recently had the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US, we have the opportunity to be thankful for friends, family, and much more.  And for many of us we are thankful for the gift of health - or at least the gift of being alive!  But what does it mean to be "healthy"?  Is it simply the absence of serious illness or is there much more to the concept of being "well"?  And what is your role in fostering this wellness?

For many people when they begin to think about acupuncture it can all appear quite foreign.  Outside of the problems people generally have considering needles placed into their body, concepts such as Yin and Yang, Qi, and the "meridians" often mislead people into thinking acupuncture is a sort of pseudoscience alternative medicine.  And if you add in another common misunderstanding - that acupunctur

We now have the fourth addition of the Tong Ren Therapy:  Beyond Acupuncture textbook by Tom Tam.  This book is a personal favorite of mine and I'm glad to see Tom found the time to update it.  While acupuncturists may find the Tom Tam Healing System a better place to start learning Tong Ren, this text teaches

As an acupuncturist, I provide a fair amount of information and advice to my patients.  I make recommendations on lifestyle habits, dietary habits, forms of exercise, and more.  Some take these recommendations and run with it, and others - well - they may just remain immobile.  Either way, it's part of my job, so I do it.

Chinese Medicine has long been used to treat both male and female infertility.  In recent years there have been a number of clinical studies showing a positive outcome of acupuncture treatment with a range of fertility issues.  Along with those studies have been various news reports related to the research and often including first hand accounts of individuals that have been helped with Chinese Medicine.  Certainly within the vast majority of acupuncture clinics, mine included, there are many, many success stories.

No, this article is not about how to be a superman or a superwoman, phrases my teacher Master Tam is fond of using.  And this isn't an article about the deeper theories of Qi in Chinese Medicine (which you can read here, if you are interested).  No, this is an article about what the concept of Qi means to you in your life and your health.

This article is the second in a series discussing techniques that "acupuncturists" use that do not involve needles.  As we discussed in the previous article about cupping, acupuncturists utilize more techniques than needling.  The varying techniques are important to be aware of, one so you are not caught off guard when your practitioner does something other than insert a needle, and two, so the public better understands the full scope of practice for acupuncturist

The opening ceremony at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was certainly an amazing experience.  For many people the ceremony served to give viewers a glimpse into many of the unique aspects of Chinese culture and history.  For many viewers, it was their first experience of the health and martial art of Tai Chi.  ...(tai chi ceremony clip at end of the article)...

The life of an acupuncturist involves, among many other things, being a person with answers.  The world is still learning about acupuncture and, consequently, people have many questions.  The usual ones such as "do the needles hurt?", "does it work?",  "what can you treat?" are relatively easy - just "no", "yes", and "everything"....  If only it was all that easy!

One of the few recommendations that I regularly make is for people who drink coffee to switch to tea.  While there are numerous studies and articles discussing the relative benefits of each, tea appears to have the advantage from an overall health perspective.  Additionally, tea has less caffeine, so from medical and stress perspectives it is easier on the body and mind.