Qiological Podcast

Trauma has both a physiological and emotional impact on us. It can set up a kind of dysregulation that while in the midst of trauma can be adaptive, and in fact help us to survive, but over time can be source of all kinds of physical and emotional problems.In this "part two" conversation we discuss the cycle of healing that can occur as patients move through the five phases of trauma and recovery. And how Chinese medicine, an understanding of modern neurobiology, and gentle hands on work can not only heal trauma, but help to build greater resiliency.

Mushrooms are a curiosity. Neither plant, nor animal, they are stuff of fairy tales and dreams. They hint at something dangerous. They could be delicious, or they could kill you. They sprout up unexpectedly and then quickly melt away. Their underground mycelial networks make them some of nature’s largest collective organisms. Yet their fruiting body is just one small momentary expression of their unique life.Mushrooms like Ling Zhi (Reishi) and Dong Chong Xia Cao (Cordyceps) have long been part of the Chinese medicine materia medica. But these substances, until recently, were preciously difficult to come by. Now with modern cultivation methods and scientific assay tools we have increased access to these unique healing substances.Listen into this conversation on the use of medicinal mushrooms that are you familiar with, as well as some mushrooms that have recently emerged onto the “superfood” scene.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

We rely on the skills of experts. The car mechanic, plumber, web designer, business coach. We want to trust the people that are in the position where our lack of knowledge leaves us vulnerable. We’d like for them to have our best interests in mind, and we also know from experience that we question the car mechanic’s assessment when they find more problems with our vehicle than we’d suspected. Most of us would like some kind reassurance that the person diagnosing the problem is trustworthy, especially when they stand to gain financially. It can be difficult for the expert to have a clear-eyed view when their livelihood is based on finding and correctly problems. And because the expert is used to knowing their territory inside and out, they can be blind to new information that does not fit the metrics of how they usually operate.The downside of being an expert is that our knowledge and sense of understanding can blind us to valuable information and give us a false sense of security. As acupuncturists we too are experts. Which gives us a level of skill that truly can help others. But at the same time we run the risk that all experts face of thinking we understand, when in fact we are ignoring vital information.Listen into this conversation on the benefits and challenges of being an expert.  Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

Chinese medicine has a long, long history of puzzling through and treating women’s health issues. In this conversation we touch on clinical considerations that come to us from the Song dynasty.Listen in to this conversation that just might make you question some of your assumptions about some things we consider to be true when it comes to our modern understanding of Chinese medicine gynecology.

Business is one of those aspects of practice that many new practitioners approach with a not small amount of fear and loathing. Business is often viewed as something bothersome and takes away from focusing on our practice. But the truth is, just like there is a false dichotomy between mind and body, the idea that business is somehow separate from our practice not only is not helpful, but cuts us off from all kinds of creativity and learning.In this conversation we use the entrepreneurial mindset to discover solutions and opportunities where previously you might have only seen obstacles and annoyance.Listen in to this conversation and learn why learning to care for your business is not so different from learning to care for your patients. Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

The experience of trauma is as much a part of life as is falling in love, having family disagreements, and wondering how we fit in this life. And while we tend to focus on the problems that have their roots in traumatic experiences, it is also possible that we can become more resilient and anti-fragile by moving through traumic experiences in a way that allows us to harvest the lessons of the experience.In today’s conversation we explore aspects of modern bio-physiology, the insights and perspectives from somatic experiencing, and how these relate to the five phases.Listen in for a discussion of how the fact of trauma is less important than how we move through the cycle of resolution. As we know from Chinese medicine, when things stagnate there are going to be problems. But if there is movement, then the zheng qi of our system will work to help us to resolve the difficulties and bring us to a place of harmony, health and resilience.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

What we tell ourselves might be more powerful than our actual experiences. Not only that, our thoughts shape our bodies. Practitioners of East Asian medicine have hard-won, clinically derived tools for conceptualizing how biography affects physiology.  Importantly, this is not limited to counseling our patients.  Instead, through palpation and other components of East Asian medical physical exam, patients can physically experience how emotional patterns affect structure and function.Effective treatments can then help shift that monologue running between the ears to change the state of our sympathetic tone, organ function and blood chemistry in order to ultimately shape the way our sensorium interacts with the world. Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview. 

When I was a kid it was easy to smell a snow storm coming, or to be able to feel how the wind shifted and the light in the sky meant that you’d better take cover as a thunderstorm was maybe, if you were lucky, 20 minutes away. Us humans have the ability to sense deeply. And if you don’t’ think that’s true, reflect on the last time you knew there was trouble in your relationship, but when you probed your partner said, “nothing.”Us humans have extraordinary abilities to sense deeply. Actually, these abilities are not extraordinary, they are just not in this day and time ordinarily used. As conventional medicine relies on the “evidence based” objective tests, and we in the Chinese medicine community have our own questions, theories and processes that prescribe how we use our sensing to determine what is going on for our patients.In this conversation we go deeply into sensing. Into trusting our first impressions, and how listening attentively with our touch and presence can lead us to places where our patients need attention, even if they are not themselves aware of it. And even if it at first makes no sense to us either.Listen into this conversation that explores the crossroads of Chinese medicine and old-school osteopathy.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

When you come right down to it… the practice of Chinese medicine is a kind of applied natural science.What makes for an effective natural scientist? Mostly an abiding sense of curiosity. A willingness to have yourself proven wrong. The capacity for a kind of encouraging delight that emerges from following a thread of inquiry. And the fortitude to spend years or decades on following something that may or may not pan out, but journey is worth the effort.In this conversation we explore and reflect on the path of practice, and the unexpected places to which it will take us.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

Fake it till you make it is not a helpful strategy for acquiring confidence. Any halfway competent human being can sniff out inauthenticity. We can only work at, and improve from, our genuine growing edge of ability and skill.Cultivating confidence requires time and experience, generous amounts of both failure and success, and a kind of dogged persistence. It requires confronting what we don’t yet understand with an inquiring mind and willingness to be teachable. It demands a kind of steadfast trust that we can learn and adapt. And it takes both patience and a sense of urgency that we don’t waste any opportunity that shows up as challenge on a good day, and trouble on a bad one.Gaining a sense of confidence is not something we can learn in a class, or purchase as a service. It can only arise from being lived. Listen into this conversation as we inquiry into the practices and experiences that help us to gain a sense of confidence and comfort with our clinical work.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.