Qiological Podcast
Michael Max
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 15, 2023 • 1h 16min
317 Following a Hunch • Malvin Finkelstein
Often enough at the beginning of a sea change, you don’t know what’s coming next. You’re already part of a current, a flow, and while you can steer within current, you’re caught up in a flow that is beyond your capacity to fully understand.In this conversation with Malvin Finkelstein we take a trip in the Wayback Machine to 197xx and his first encounter with acupressure, acupuncture and the potency of nutrition. We visit the early years of acupuncture education, the challenges of making a living when most states did not offer licenses to practice acupuncture, and crafting of standards and valid testing that would become the foundation for licensure.Listen into this discussion of serendipity, passion, persistence and contribution.
Aug 8, 2023 • 1h 43min
316 Growing Up with Herbs • Yvonne Lau
What you grow up with, that’s what becomes normal. You could be smack dab in the middle of something extraordinary, but it’s simply everyday life for you.In this conversation with Yvonne Lau we reflect on her experience of growing up as the daughter of immigrants from Southern China who ran an herb store in San Francisco’s Chinatown. It was a time when a few dedicated young people from the mainstream culture began to show a respectful and insatiable interest in Chinese medicine.The interest of those young people was part of what would become a growing acceptance of Chinese medicine in the west. And the herb store; it too has grown through the years.Listen into this conversation of playing hide and seek behind bags of uncut herbs, some of the characters who made up the Asian Chinese medicine community, how her parents herb store has become a major supplier of medicinals, and some of the challenges we face in this moment of time.
Aug 1, 2023 • 1h 17min
315 Importance of Structure, and the Freedom That Comes From It • John Myerson
What do you do if you’re interested in learning and practicing acupuncture, but there are no schools, standards or licensure?You built it yourself; with help of other spirited colleagues.In this conversation with John Myerson we go back to the days when acupuncture was just coming into the mainstream of American life. It wasn’t there yet— but it was close enough to intuit.John was there in the early days of the New England School of Acupuncture. And he helped to create the academic structures required to give our profession legitimacy in mainstream culture.It was a grand experiment, gutsy when you think about it. And those early influential pioneers, they created the foundation we stand on today.Listen into this discussion of vision, steadfastness and risk taking as we take a trip in the Wayback Machine to a moment when acupuncture and East Asian medicine was just beginning to emerge into mainstream culture.
Jul 25, 2023 • 1h 33min
314 Channel Dynamics, Time Streams and Unlocking Latency • Sean Tuten
The transport points are rich in story, function, connection and seem to have a capacity for engaging qi in profound ways as it flows from the tips of the fingers and toes, up to the elbows and knees. Lou points are particularly interesting as they both connect yin and yang channels.In this conversation with Sean Tuten we investigate the capacity of the luo channels to act as a first defense against overwhelming experiences that come from the outside. How they both protect against and can storage pathogenic influences. More importantly, the kind of treatment that removes these obstructive influences.Listen into this conversation on time streams, channel dynamics and understanding pathology as a useful response by the body.
Jul 18, 2023 • 1h 34min
313 The Heart of Practice • Ross Rosen
The heart of our work, often enough, leans on the connections and capacity of the heart.In this conversation with Ross Rosen we explore the importance of the patient-practitioner relationship, the concept of negotiating a diagnosis and some Daoist practices in medicine.Listen into this discussion on practical clinical strategies and how traditional medicine intertwines and overlaps with our everyday lives.
Jul 11, 2023 • 1h 39min
312 Nature in Medicine • Ed Neal
East Asian medicine is a nature based medicine. And nature… nature is weird, and mysterious. And as much as we like to come up with “Laws of Nature” they are more like approximations. Useful for sure. But you’re asking for trouble if you confuse the map with the territory. And with nature, the territory is always changing. How do you keep your senses open and unencumbered with habit and belief? How do you stay present to what your patient might need in this particular moment? How do you wisely use knowledge in such a way that it doesn’t become dogma?In this conversation with Edward Neal we discuss understanding nature’s patterns through East Asian medicine, the impact of technology on human consciousness, and how the Nei Jing helps us to map our way through nature and healing.Listen into this discussion of nature based medicine, technology, consciousness and the importance of illuminative beauty and Shen based living.
Jul 4, 2023 • 1h 30min
311 理 法 道術 Principles, Methods, Knowing and Know-How • Jason Robertson & Stephan Brown
The story of the blind men exploring the elephant is alluded to often enough that it’s easily dismissed as cliche. And yet, the profound truth of how our senses and meaning making influence of our mind are worth pausing to consider.In this conversation with Jason Robertson and Stephen Brown we consider the 理 Li, the patterning or connective coherence that runs through creation. As acupuncture and East Asian medicine are pattern languages, this concept touches on the core of our work.We touch on how our methods and ways of working come from this foundation of understanding pattern. Along with how theory is most helpful when balanced with know-how, and the importance of putting our hands on people. Perhaps our work is so not different from the blind men and the elephant.Visit the digital tip jar
Jun 27, 2023 • 1h 28min
310 Navigating Destiny, A Personal Journey Into Japanese Acupuncture •. Maya Suzuki
Mind and body are inextricably entangled together. The effect of emotions on the physiology leave a palpable trace. It’s something that we as practitioners can acquire the capacity to discern and use as part of assessment and treatment.In this conversation with Maya Suzuki we touch on how touch is a potent aspect of treatment. How it gives us direct access to a patient’s inner terrain, and how it gives us reliable information that stands apart from theory and protocol. We also explore unique properties of moxa and how it engages the adaptive healing process.Listen into this discussion of how Maya followed the circuitous route that landed her in exactly the right place to study the medicine she wanted to learn since she was a child. And just happened to have the language skills that would allow her to engage it with depth.Visit the digital tip jar
Jun 20, 2023 • 1h 30min
309 AI for Acupuncturists • Heidi Lovie
Is it the end of the world, or the beginning of a new one? That is the question of the day when cultures go through seatide changes. Ever since the turn into of this yin water rabbit year in February, we’ve been hearing about power, potential and perhaps peril of ChatGPT and the other Artificial Intelligences that have burst into the digital landscape.What is in store for us as acupuncturists? That is the question I put to Heidi Lovie who has been getting her hands dirty with various kinds of silicon based intelligence for quite a few years now. You might not know this, but she can make Excel spreadsheet datasets dance and sing. We practice old medicine and we live in the modern world. AI– it’s not going away. Listen into this spirited conversation on data, signal, noise and in many ways, you’re already using AIVisit the digital tip jar
Jun 13, 2023 • 1h 26min
308 Body Constellations, Qi Maps and Full Throttled Curiousity • Jason Brazil
The acupuncture channels are a curiosity that practitioners have puzzled, and argued, over for centuries. Even as these structures and processes so fundamental to life have been used for treatment and well being since Chinese medicine first began to emerge far beyond recorded history. In a sense, the channels are maps that help us to orient and navigate life, health and meaning.In this conversation with Jason Brazil we discuss his voyage of discovery as he took his hand's on experience as a massage practitioner, and began to investigate the clock opposite organ pairs of the Chinese meridian flow clock. We'll touch on the importance of fostering a presence between practitioner and patient, the crucial role love and connection play in healing, the impact of self-cultivation on a healer's capacity to work and the way love creates a matrix of connection for healing and wellbeing.Listen into this lively discussion of body constellations, qi maps, and the reminder to bring love into your practice.Visit the digital tip jar
