Qiological Podcast

Heaven and Earth, the creative and the created, micro and macrocosm. All ways of saying there is a reality we inhabit, and beyond that a lot of mystery. And mystery is something us humans have, at best, an ambivalent relationship with.We seek to find some sense of order in what can be a captiously unsettling and unpredictable world. We look to the heavens and seek a larger frame for our experience as we look for the patterns that connect.In this conversation Deborah Woolf graciously entertains some questions that I had arise after her Qiological Live presentation on the Earthly branches. Listen into this conversation on how the Earthly branches reflect back the influences of Heaven, and help us to understand where we stand in the cosmos and in relation to the seasons, cycles and tides of time.

Classical Chinese medicine recognizes the Heart (心 Xin) as a central organ to our being. It’s seen as holding the sovereign position as the emperor of the kingdom (i.e., the body). The Heart is where the Shen (神), the spirit, resides. It’s what gives us discernment and consciousness. In a way, phrases like “follow your heart,” “home is where the heart is,” and “from the bottom of my heart” seem to pay homage to the spiritual and coherent nature of the Heart. But how does this influence our work in the clinic?In this conversation with Josephine Spilka, we discuss the importance of being in coherence, acting from a place of presence amid impermanent stories, staying true to our capacities, and setting boundaries in the clinic. Josephine also touches on the influence of the eight extraordinary channels and their connection to the Zheng Qi. Listen into this discussion on coherence, and the need to honor our faculties, integrity, and capacity in any clinical encounter

Tuning in is a cultivated skill that’s in many East Asian Medicine practitioner's toolbox. We learn early on to bring our intention, attention, and awareness to the clinic encounter. To pick up subtle movement and cues on the diagnostic table.  But our "tuning in" often tends to focus on "outside facing" senses; the appearance, smell, sound, taste, or feel of something.Interoception turns the gaze to internal sensing—from the clenching of the stomach, to the beating of the heart, or tension in the muscles. It's tuning in to what is going on inside the body. Nurturing interoceptive awareness and honing a heightened bodily awareness helps us and our patients in our clinical work. It improves our capacity to understand, interpret, and process the world around us.In this panel discussion with Lisa Taylor Swanson, Elizabeth Osgood-Campbell, and Nick Lowe, we explore interoceptive awareness. We unpack how mindfulness practices can help us cultivate our inner knowing and how ancient Chinese theories factor into all this. We also touch on the use of cutting-edge technologies to track our clinical outcomes and how placebo is merely stuff we don't yet understand about medicine.Listen into this discussion on making meaning of our inner sensations and leaning on this to improve our embodied experiences and clinical outcomes.

No one gets through life without difficulties. We all carry wounds and the consequences of the meanings we’ve made in the moments of heartbreak, fear and confusion.In this second conversation with Randle Lyons we discuss the dark forest of transformation. How our wounds can be a source of healing, if properly digested and how it’s harder to surrender when you have something to lose.Listen into this conversation on addiction and what can happen when we work with an open mind and heart when exploring story, experience and belief.

I recently got to thinking about wei qi, especially as we are moving into the dark of the year in the northern hemisphere, and I realized that I hear discussions about wei qi, and how we should attend to it, or nourish it. Often enough, perhaps too often, we equate wei qi with the immune system. And think about strength, rather than balance. What’s more, the commonly used formulas that are famous for ‘stabilizing or strengthening the exterior” are frequently prescribed without any kind of actual differential diagnosis. Concerns about effectiveness and maybe even safety naturally arise.In this conversation with Ann Cecil-Sterman, Laurie Ayers and Master Wu, we bring together the perspectives of an acupuncturist, an herbalist, and a qi gong practitioner. The intention here is to see how experienced clinicians from these three  disciplines within East Asian consider the Wei and its use in clinical work. Listen in to this discussion of the Wei qi, its source, cultivation, and connections with the yang, zheng, fluids and Heart.

Our job as Chinese Medicine practitioners is not so much to impress our ideas on patients but to cultivate a capacity and restraint to allow them to come back to themselves. Our assessment is meant to determine the patient’s understanding of their disharmony, and uncover blockages or excesses. As trusted intermediaries, our role is to increase our awareness, bring our focus to the unfolding moment, listen from a place of genuine curiosity, and see the patients’ experiences from their perspective while letting go of attachments to a particular outcome. You may be an expert in your modalities, but the patient is the expert in their personal experiences. Our job is to help them discover their own inner wisdom, to help them chart and navigate their own path to wellness.Zoe Brenner has engaged the practice of acupuncture with a renewable curiosity for the last four decades. In this conversation we explore the delicate world of subtle sensing, intention, and awareness as tools to help the patient emerge into a great state of wellbeing. We talk about the issues of looking too hard at a point, confirmation bias, over-treatment, and knowing where to bring our attention in the clinical practice. Listen into this discussion on meeting patients where they are, engaging without imposing, and allowing them to emerge.

Many acupuncture traditions share the idea that our troubles stem from a root cause , and treating the root is an essential part of the therapeutic process. Then there is the branch where symptomatic issues present themselves, this is the focus for the patient, and often enough the practitioner as well. But with Ishizaka-ryu, treating the root is the most important thing. In this conversation with Kubota Sensei, we discuss Ishizaka-ryu, a traditional Japanese acupuncture method. Sensei focuses on stimulating qi blockages along the primary meridians surrounding the entire spinal column, so as to increase blood flow, open the central channel and utilize the body’s own healing power. His method of acupuncture includes using a spiral motion of his supporting hand, to add a vortex of qi to the needle.Listen into this discussion and learn about the Torus, a core around which the acupuncture meridians are all connected. How acupuncture affects the electrical flows in the body. And the key importance of having an open and empty space in the great Chong vessel.

Life is built on rhythms, the natural world is constantly in a state of transformation. A cyclical flow of growth and decline—manifested in the turning of the seasons, waxing and waning of the moon, and the oscillation of day and night. The intertwined correspondences to the universal tidal flows are the warp and weft upon which our lives, our health, and our medicine is woven. This knowledge is preserved in the Chinese Lunisolar calendar.Harmony comes from living in accordance with the shifts in time; honoring and riding those waves. Leaning into the seasonal flows brings us closer to the natural rhythm of our medicine. It invites the universe to run through us as we live into greater states of coherence.In this conversation with Sheri Lee, we explore the seasonal cycles of qi according to the Chinese Calendar and how to align ourselves with the changing tides and flow of time. We discuss the seasonal markers to keep an eye on, the earth phases, the 24 nodes, and the Japanese concept of doyo. In addition to aligning ourselves with the seasons, we talk about aligning ourselves to what our patients are showing up with.Listen into this discussion on living right with time and being in harmony with the seasonal rhythms and tidal flows of the year in our personal lives and clinical work.

Movement is life. Movement is part of how our body communicates with itself and senses itself in the outside world. Proper and ease filled movement, be it with our emotions, the circulation of our blood, the way our joints through their range movement, and how we can move and be in the relationships, work and interaction with the 10000 things. All of this is tied in with our well-being and capacity to thrive. In this conversation with Margot Rossi we explore the terrain of movement and sensing and how this fundamental capacity is the foundation of our life, and gives us the ability to live the seasons of our lives. Listen into this conversation on the wisdom of the body, and how movement with attention is part of the language of wellbeing.

To most, acupuncture is a curious riddle. An ancient medical art whose theories are poetic, and healing outcomes seem lopsided considering the gentle stimulation of a thin needle. And regardless of context or complaint, the goal remains the same as it was millennia ago: restoring balance to the whole being. While our medicine has gained significant traction poking its way into the mainstream healthcare landscape, the journey has been non-linear and, at times, haphazard. But from our conversation with this episode's guest, perhaps trust and mutual respect are the catalysts to bridge the still-existent gap and facilitate the confluence of ancient medicine with modern culture. In this conversation with Jenny Nieters, we discuss her clinical work as the team acupuncturist for the San Francisco 49ers, the place of East Asian Medicine in sports medicine, and her personal experience enhancing physical performance for both elite professionals and active patients looking to maintain their strength and mobility. We also touch on the need for soft skills as a practitioner, including simplifying and communicating the 'magic' of acupuncture, being present, inviting mutual respect, and creating space for trust. Listen into this discussion on acupuncture in sports medicine, the experience, the challenges, and the opportunities it holds.