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
Oct 27, 2018 • 48min
056 Focusing on the Basics: Treating Degenerative Eye Conditions With Chinese Medicine • Paul Nebauer
There are basics, principles, fundamentals, some building blocks of how the matter and energy of creation interact and transform. Over the centuries, through wildly different ideas of illness, health and workings of the human body, doctors have applied these principles to the challenges of their day to relieve suffering.As practitioners, we too are part of this stream. We use the ideas and perceptions of those who came before, and do our best to see how these fundamentals play out in our clinical work.In this conversation we explore how the basics have been both useful and effective in treating degenerative eye conditions such as macular degeneration and retinal tears. Our guest takes the fundamentals we all share, and applies them as seems appropriate in his clinical work. The result is a deeper understanding of how “incurable” illnesses can respond to the principles of medicine we all share.Listen in for a conversation on how to learn from 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.
Oct 21, 2018 • 1h 8min
055 A Historical Investigation of Constraint • Eric Karchmer
Liver qi constraint might be one of the most common diagnosis in the modern Chinese medicine clinic. But the role of the Liver has changed over time, and at one point it was even considered to be part of the neurological system.In this episode we take a nuanced look at that wide and slippery constellation of symptoms that falls under the general rubric of “stress.”Listen in for a conversation about Chinese medicine from a historical, anthropological and clinical perspective. And be prepared to be surprised!Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.
Oct 15, 2018 • 1h 15min
054 Nei Jing Perspective on Life, the Universe and Acupuncture • Ed Neal
We trace our medicine back to the Nei Jing, but most of our actual practices come from a more modern perspective.Going back to those roots is not easy. Even for native speakers of Chinese, reading the 文言文 wen yan wen, the classic Chinese is difficult. For those of us in the modern West, these ancient texts are challenging. They require not just language, but a minset that views the world from through a completely different set of lenses and prisms than Cartesian and materialistic science offers to us.Immersion in this ancient material changes us if we allow it. Gives us hints at seeing how matter and energy interact in ways toward which modern medical science is blind.In this conversation we listen into how the Nei Jing gives another way of approaching acupuncture, the 脈 mai, channels, and helps us to understand our bodies as fluid based ecosystems. Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.
Oct 9, 2018 • 1h 13min
053 Investigating Errors and Adverse Effects - Grist for the Mill of Practice • Daniel Schulman
Like hitting black ice, suddenly all sense of traction and stability evaporate into a gut wrenching vertigo. Adverse reactions of our patients to acupuncture can trigger this kind of disorientation. And this is when we have an opportunity to learn something that we didn’t previous know. Adverse reactions could be due to a botched treatment, we were thinking one thing, but did another. Or our diagnosis was off. Or maybe it was on, spot on but the patient’s processing of the treatment gives rise to a frightening amount of discomfort and sends them scurrying for a quick pharmaceutical fix to calm their fear and anxiety. It requires a certain amount of maturity the part of the practitioner to hold steady in a moment of deep uncertainty. And degree of personal development on the part of both patient and practitioner to not let unforeseen reactions stop what might be an important turn in a patients healing process.In today’s conversation we consider adverse reactions to acupuncture, how to tell the difference between an uncomfortable healing process and an unskilled treatment, and how uncertainty is part of the game when practicing medicine.
Oct 2, 2018 • 1h 11min
052 Herbs- History, Identification, granules and manufacturing • Eric Brand
It’s easy for us to think that because we have a darned good English version of the material medica that the centuries of herbal knowledge is at our finger tips. But there is a lot of back story to the medicinals that we use everyday in our practicesWhere herbs come from, how they are cultivated, how different plants have been used over the centuries; there is a lot we take for granted. Or simply trust our suppliers to have worked out the details of identification and quality. The medicinals we use regardless of whether they are granulated, tableted or raw have a natural history. This includes not just the process of growth and harvest, but also various kinds of processing as well. In today’s conversation we look at the identification, cultivation and processing of the plants we use everyday in 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.
Oct 1, 2018 • 49min
Encore Episode • Clinical Questions on Saam Acupuncture: Group Discussion One
In this conversation we have a couple of practitioners who have listened to Toby’s podcasts on Sa’am acupuncture and read his article from the Journal of Chinese Medicine ask questions based on their experience of using this perspective in their clinical work.This not a discussion of theory, but rather clinical applications from practitioners who are engaging the method.If you are starting to work with the Sa’am method, or thinking about it, you’ll appreciate this nuts and bolts discussion with Sasha Kremer and Nkosi Pierre-Kafele.
Sep 23, 2018 • 1h 10min
051 “Why doesn’t this work” is a good place to start - the unending cycle of learning and practice • Stuart Kutchins
These days we worry about getting through school, passing the boards and then getting a practice started. But there was a time when there were no schools, or national accreditation and practicing acupuncture was a felony. That world was not so long ago, and as is often the case, it is difficult to understand the present moment without a sense of the history that it contains.Our guest in this conversation began practicing acupuncture before there was licensing and accreditation. He has a view of our medicine and it’s practice that can only come from decades of engagement, learning and integration.Listen in to another discussion on a view of medicine that comes from the experience of practice over the course of decades.Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.
Sep 18, 2018 • 1h 8min
050 Upper, Middle and Lower Class Herbs: An Investigation of Resonance • Andrew Nugent-Head
Even when speaking in our mother tongue we often misunderstand each other. Due to our biases, perspectives, and background it is easy to overlay our story on just about any situation. Add in that we are dealing with translation between language and culture; it gets even trickier.In today’s conversation we explore the use of “upper, middle and lower” class herbs. This does not mean that upper is better; it means each medicinal has an affinity for more formed or less formed aspects of a person. “Upper” does not mean better, nor “lower” mean worse, these are simply demarcations on where a particular herb will be effective. It’s our job as practitioners to choose the right tool for the right job.Listen in to this conversation that cautions about conflating “upper” with “better.” And goes into how Chinese medicine can be used for acute and emergent conditions that some doctors used to treat quite well before the advent of emergency rooms. Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.
Sep 12, 2018 • 1h 6min
Encore Episode, Old Medicine, A Conversation with Lorraine Wilcox
In this encore episode with a guest interviewer. Njemile Carol Jones pulls out her old radio day skills and sits down with Lorraine Wilcox for a conversation on what has caught her attention over the years, and the various projects in which she is currently involved.Njemile and Lorraine knew each other from back in the day when they both worked at NPR. Since then they've both traveled their own paths into Chinese medicine.Listen in for a delightful discussion on what happens when you follow your curiosity and internal leanings.
Sep 11, 2018 • 56min
049 Attending to the Flow: Attention and Needle Technique • Justin Phillips
Needle technique is more than knowing how to insert a needle and count the turns in a particular direction. It requires more than the memorization of some protocols, or the rote following of a recipe of steps.In this conversation we explore needle technique as a part of understanding how to feel into the tissues of the body. We discuss the creation of a treatment that relies not on someone else’s outline, but from your own understanding of first principles. Listen in for a discussion of using ourselves as much as using the pins when doing acupuncture. Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.
