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Qiological Podcast — Alternative Health
Qiological Podcast

Acupuncture and East Asian medicine was not developed in a laboratory. It does not advance through double-blind controlled studies, nor does it respond well to petri dish experimentation. Our medicine did not come from the statistical regression of randomized cohorts, but from the observation and treatment of individuals in their particular environment. It grows out of an embodied sense of understanding how life moves, unfolds, develops and declines.

Medicine comes from continuous, thoughtful practice of what we do in clinic, and how we approach that work. The practice of medicine is more — much more — than simply treating illness. It is more than acquiring skills and techniques. And it is more than memorizing the experiences of others. It takes a certain kind of eye, an inquiring mind and relentlessly inquisitive heart.

Qiological is an opportunity to deepen our practice with conversations that go deep into acupuncture, herbal medicine, cultivation practices, and the practice of having a practice. It’s an opportunity to sit in the company of others with similar interests, but perhaps very different minds. Through these dialogues perhaps we can better understand our craft.

Latest Episodes:

251 Medicine, Ethics and Virtue • Sabine Wilms May 10, 2022

Show notes

Like everything else, power is a two-sided coin. It can be coercive and oppressive, but it can also be empowering and nurturing. And according to ancient Chinese texts, true authority is based on ethical inspiration rather than coercion. As physicians, we are in a position of authority—not by claiming the power, but by earning it from competence in our trade.

Our position of influence demands that we use our expertise and influence to help others—and this starts from our own mastery of yangsheng. People will willingly follow someone with virtue; de.

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power."

—Lao Tzu

In this conversation with Sabine Wilms, we explore the complex dynamics of power and the idea of a virtuous hierarchy borne out of the authority of competence. We also bat around the inadequacies of translations and the limitations of language. And as a storyteller at heart, Sabine weighs up the concept of yangsheng using some popular Chinese teaching tales.

Listen into this discussion on mastering the art of yangsheng (養生) as a practitioner, the role of virtue de (德 ), medical ethics, the dynamics of power, and stepping into your ming (命).

250 Moxa to the Rescue, Researching Moxa in the Treatment of Long Covid • Merlin Young May 03, 2022

Show notes

Moxa doesn't just stimulate Qi; it replenishes the vital life force. This Chinese medicine treatment brings nourishment in the form of pure yang that potentially rejuvenates the immune system and restores dysfunctional internal environments. These functions raise the question: can moxa be an effective treatment for Long COVID, which appears to feed off a weakened immune system?

In this conversation with Merlin Young, we talk about the mission of Moxafrica in designing a cheap, adaptable, and safe intervention for COVID long-haulers. We explore how his non-profit is trying to replicate the positive results they saw in moxa treatment for antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis. And how the results of their research could make a difference for long-haulers and provide our East Asian medicine community with valuable research on how moxa might help with the sequela of the coronavirus.

Listen into this discussion on Moxafrica's investigation into the potential effectiveness of moxa as a treatment for Long COVID.

249 Character, Nature and Fate- Navigating the Human Realm with Polestar Astrology • Gregory Done Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

Where do we come from, where are we headed and what should we do in the interim? Is the blueprint of our life set in stone, or do we have the free will to control our destiny? It is so very human to contemplate our mortal fate and infinitesimal position in the cosmos.

But what if the answers to life’s most elusive questions are written in the stars? What if we can catch a glimpse, a silhouette, or a knowing of how our stories unfold? According to Chinese Polestar Astrology life is a dance between Fate, Nature, and Character; factors that intertwine to create patterns and layers that define our existence. Understanding or deciphering their reciprocity may hold the answer to our life’s purpose—giving us a roadmap to better navigate the human realm.

In this conversation with Gregory Done, we glimpse into the experience of being human—including our sense of self, the unique gift of reflective consciousness, and the influences that impact us to shape our existence. As Gregory explains, fate is malleable. We can steer it, and it can in turn, steer us. We also explore the role of the Oracle and how the influences of our ancestors impact us.

Listen into this discussion on how character, nature, and fate interact to shape and give meaning to our experiences through the ancient lens of Chinese Polestar Astrology.

248 Starting a Free Clinic • Bess Randles and Kyle Yoshioka Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

The most powerful lessons come not from a school curriculum, but from life. Our world is full of both problems and opportunities. There is what we struggle against, and what we stand for. And the unfolding dance of yin/yang reminds us that everything has aspects of its opposite. Problems contain opportunity. Injustices in the world catalyze our values and actions in the world that in turn create a new balance. .

“Let yourself be guided silently by that strange power of what you really love.”

– Rumi

In this conversation with Bess and Kyle, we explore their journey of creating a free student-run acupuncture clinic as an avenue to mature as professionals and scratch an itch for social justice-oriented and community-based work. We touch on the existing disparities in health care and their desire to change the narrative around acupuncture, its perceived accessibility, and how it is a potent medicine for healing that invites people into their own power.

Listen into this discussion on the radical nature of acupuncture, finding opportunities to further your vision of what’s possible, and creating something that aligns with your heart.

247 Kath Berry Menopause, The Transformative Gateway of Connection Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

Change is inevitable. Our lives are a series of transitions. Winter blooms into spring. Weekends slow down to Mondays. Puberty arrives and rearranges our psyche, feelings, and sense of self. And for half the population, menopause occurs. Change is constant in life. It’s always swirling around us, pulling us into its wake, and some changes are more transformative than others.

It is not so easy to navigate, especially with the shifts that herald a new season. It gets more daunting when the life transition in question is menopause—this is a moment when women are challenged in terms of identity, physicality, meaning and status. In the spirit of change and growth, we must redefine and wring new meaning from this life change, and reframe the narrative around female sexuality and health.

In this conversation with Kath Berry, we discuss women’s health, the transitionary stage of menopause, the need for self-care, and how Chinese medicine philosophies/treatments offer women a transition that includes more meaning and textured sense of self. We also talk about the value of learning how to “hold space” for our patients, reading the room, and offering the right emotional and physical support to help them navigate the tides and changes of life.

Listen into this discussion on navigating the transformative gateway of menopause, and the Yang Sheng principles of self-care.

246 Tools, Perception and Attention • Gary Klepper Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

Our tools don't just expand our faculties. They change what we can do by training our physical and cognitive senses. They temporarily become part of who we are. In a sense—we are the tool in our clinical work. We act as a kind of both filter and mirror for our patients, and help them tap into latent resources they did not know they had.

In this conversation with Gary Klepper, we investigate the idea of perceiving the Teishin as a listening post to amplify our attention and how to interpret and utilize that sensory stream of information within clinical settings. We also explore the topic of cultivation, working from home, and how online tools help open up new lines of communication to facilitate the practitioner-patient relationship.

Listen into this discussion on cultivating a personal relationship with the Teishin along with the other tools of our clinical trade, the role of the practitioner, and changing with the times.

245 Climate Change and Chinese Medicine • Nishanga Bliss Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

Yin and Yang flow through every aspect of our lives. Understanding their ebb and flow gives us a glimpse into the nature of the universe, and our place in it. In our formed world forces exist to interact with the other; to maintain balance; to sustain life. This dynamic is one of the pillars of our medicine, which teaches that health arises from the harmony between people and nature.

As Chinese medicine practitioners, facilitating balance is a central element of our trade. A question from today’s episode is, can we master the integrity and awareness to articulate a connection between our work with our patients and the health of our planet?

In this conversation with Nishanga Bliss, we explore planetary health and climate change from the multiple lenses of Chinese medicine. Our medicine may be founded on the microcosm (humanity), but it is a reflection of the macrocosm (universe). We can use the useful lenses of Yin and Yang to better understand the state of planetary health and see the imbalances causing climate change, which Nishanga diagnoses as a deficiency of Yin. She suggests that a seemingly small input can have dramatic systemic effects, like a well-placed acupuncture needle.

Listen into this discussion on the threat of climate change, electronic activism, and how Chinese medicine fits into this puzzle.

244 Gleaning the Spirit of Medicine • David Allen Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

According to the Chinese philosopher Confucius, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” Imitation, observation, and reflection can help fine-tune our competencies, but true wisdom comes from experience.

When you practice acupuncture long enough; when you start to see the world through the lenses of Chinese medicine it begins to change your instinct. Putting your skin and heart in the game, creates the conditions and circumstances that allows the fundamentals of our medicine to teach you. It will change your perception and thinking. Gazing through the tides of Yin & Yang or the interplay of the 5 phases will awaken something that will allow you to see otherwise hidden things. There seems to be a spirit in the work we do.

In this conversation with David Allen, we touch on the curious path that brought him to Chinese medicine and pediatrics. He talks about the influence of a mentor and the idea of a native intelligence that points us in the direction of our hearts’ desire. We also riff a little on the malleability of acupuncture and the importance of reading between the lines in the clinic.

Listen into this discussion on the choices we make throughout our lives, the people who intersect us on our path, and how our hunches sometimes act as a reliable form of navigation.

243 Engaging Vitality, The Practice of Attention, Sensing and Perception • Dan Bensky Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

When traveling do you turn on the GPS and follow the instructions, look at a map to orient yourself, or do you have a sense of the terrain and the capacity to navigate by landmarks, waterways and a sense of where north lies?

In your clinical work, are you orienting to a theory or idea, or toward something in the patient that is telling you in the moment what is needed? Are you working off a map, or attending to signals from the patient’s body and being?

In this conversation with Dan Bensky we investigate some listening tools that have their origin in Osteopathy, but also can be used to help us find acupuncture points and interact with them in a potent way. Furthermore, these methods can guide us in tracking the patient’s response to our interventions in real time.

Listen into this discussion on engaging our patients vitality through the use of palpation, sensing, and attention that will aid you in listening to the subtle messages from the patient’s body and qi.

242 Acupuncture as Revolution • Rachel Pagones & Beth Sommers Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

The image of China’s Barefoot Doctors struck a resonant chord with those in the West who were looking for simple and effective means of helping people with medicine that was not tied to an established medical hierarchy.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s acupuncture had not made its way from the Chinese communities into the dominant culture. And the early adopters of Chinese medicine were just beginning to find their way to the East where they’d learn the language and medicine.

It was in this time that the Black Panthers and Young Lords in their work in building community resources came across acupuncture. And began to explore its use as a people’s medicine. And that connected with the groundbreaking addiction treatment work at Lincoln Hospital in The Bronx. This aspect of the history of acupuncture in the West has received little attention, but it caught the attention of Rachel Pagones, and she’s written a book about it.

Listen into this “community voices” conversation between Rachel and guest interviewer Beth Sommers on acupuncture as revolution and this grassroots effort of community organization, self-care and acupuncture.

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