My dog’s collar snapped open unexpectedly, and he lunged at the neighbor’s dog. My kids refused to eat the healthy dinner I found the recipe for, bought, and cooked for them. Two people almost crashed into me while driving (2 separate occasions). Looking at my schedule for the next 2 days, I realized I’ll have zero…
Neuropathy pain includes a variety of sensations like numbness, tingling, pins and needles, or burning sensations. Usually it affects people on their fingers or toes. As a holistic practitioner, my first question is always “WHY is this happening?” In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the answer is pretty clear, “Qi and Blood stagnation.” Something is blocking the free-flow…
Acne is why I got into Chinese Medicine in the first place. In college, I started getting really bad breakouts. I used makeup to cover them up, but obviously that’s not a solution. In fact, the makeup made my skin even more itchy and uncomfortable. The internet was relatively new at the time, but I…
Did you know that menopause is NOT a health problem? In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), we call it a woman’s “Second Spring.” “First Spring” is your first period. When you think of Springtime, you think of growth, fertility, and abundance. 🌸 Second Spring is a new beginning! 🌹 The beginning of focusing on yourself. And not…
I looove yoga, y’all. Yoga without breathing is NOT yoga. It’s just stretching. My own practice evolved over time. That happens when more than 30 years goes by. I started barely able to touch my toes, and suddenly, one day, I discovered I could do the splits! (Side splits, not middle splits – I’m not that…
Chinese New Year 2024 starts Feb. 10 ~ The Year of the Wood Dragon. Wood is a “Heavenly Stem,” of which there are 10: 5 Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) and Yin and Yang versions of each. Dragon is one of the 12 “Early Branches.” The cycle of pairs of Heavenly Stems (10) and…
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are 6 “Evil Qi”: Dryness correlates with Autumn (mid-August through mid-October), the element of Metal, the Lung and Large Intestine organs, and the emotion of grief.  The Lungs and their Yang-paired organ, the Large Intestine, regulate breathing, including the skin and sinuses, and the removal of toxins from the body. It…
Most back pain involves one or more of these meridians: Bladder (leg Tai Yang), the “extra” Belt (Dai) Vessel, and the Gall Bladder (leg Shao Yang). Not that there is anything wrong with those organs! It’s just the name of the location according to TCM. Acupuncture works by bringing more circulation to those areas. At home, between acupuncture…
I get it – the thought of trudging to the grocery store, picking up a bunch of stuff you may not even use, and then starting the whole process of slicing, dicing, and stirring. It’s a lot. Especially at the end of a long work day. Especially when you’re hungry NOW. What helps me the…
Interstitial Cystitis (IC) has many of the same symptoms as a urinary tract infection….except it’s not. There’s urgency to urinate, frequent urination, and often pain and discomfort. But there’s no infection (according to the urinalysis). As of now, Western medicine has no concrete answers, and the underlying causes of IC are poorly understood. I’ve had success treating IC…