Deepest Health

It's a podcast explosion here at Deepest Health.  The third podcast in a single month - I think it's a record!  If you missed out on the last two, be sure to check out my extremely informative interview with Andy Ellis of Spring Wind Herbs as well as my conversation with Brandon Brown about the Essentials of Chinese medicine. This podcast is a little different from my recent pattern, and actually a return to how the podcast started out.  It's just me (sorry) talking about something hopefully useful to both Chinese medicine students and practitioners - learning Chinese medicine. Because of the high workload I've been carrying lately, I simply decided to talk about something via audio that I usually would talk about using text! I just can't stop thinking about learning Chinese medicine - I have to let it all out somehow! The podcast is related to this post where I discussed my commitment to diving deeper into the classical Chinese herbal formulas for the next year.  Here, I set things up, demonstrating how I expect to memorize Chinese herbal formulas using my Mac, my iPhone and iPad, and the fantastic multi-platform application, Evernote.  If you're not a Mac user, I think there's still something here for you because of the platform agnostic nature of Evernote - it runs on all kinds of hardware. This is a short recording - only 25 minutes or so.  The quality is a touch iffy. In a follow up,  I will expand on how exactly I set things up and use them. Let me know in the comments, or by leaving a rating in iTunes, if you like shows that cover topics like this.  Don't worry, we'll still be doing plenty of interviews. Here are some links to some of the things I discuss in the show Evernote Study Blue flashcards Devonthink Of course, my Mac, iPhone and iPad  

 In a special edition of the podcast, I talk with new Deepest Health teacher, Brandon Brown, about... well, a little bit of everything. We talk about the Chinese Medicine Essentials course, launching for the first time in July 2012, but use that as a jumping off point for a lot of interesting discussion.  We cover the meaning of "essential," some things we've learned about Chinese medicine education in the US, the role of the Dao de jing in Chinese medicine, the organ clock, the six conformations and more. It's a little like sitting in the back room of our clinic listening to all the Chinese medicine geekiness unfold, as it often does, over at Watershed.  We both hope you enjoy it.  We enjoyed recording it, and hope to do another one sometime soon! The essentials course will be entering pre-registration very soon, so if you're not already on the interest list, go ahead and add your information to the list below, or by clicking this link to learn more about the course and sign up for more information.  You'll receive a nice visual PDF of some Chinese medicine concepts for your trouble, and of course we'll never spam you or sell your information.

Evidence of my respect for Spring Wind herbs can be found all over Deepest Health.  I was lucky to be introduced to this company early on in my Chinese medicine education.  I was (and am) even luckier that Andy and the whole staff of Spring Wind are so forthcoming with knowledge about bulk Chinese herbs.  I promised Andy I wouldn't turn this into a promotional post for his company, so we'll leave it there. I knew I wanted to get Andy on the podcast as soon as I could.  Being one of the first generation of practitioners of Chinese medicine in the US, I knew he would have a lot of information to share with students and practitioners.  I have to tell you that for hours after recording this podcast, I was simply beside myself.  I was delighted to learn of his experience learning the medicine in the years when travel to China for Americans was extremely difficult or impossible.  I was excited to hear what such an experienced practitioner and herb distributor had to say about the future of Chinese herbs.  I think you'll be just as excited to hear what he has to say. Topics covered: 1.  Andy's history in learning Chinese medicine - valuable for those of us who grew up in the post-institutionalization age 2.  The reality of buying and selling bulk herbs in the US 3.  The future of bulk herbs in the US and how to solve major problems therein 4.  Whether we should be growing Chinese herbs domestically 5.  The problem of pesticides & heavy metals in Chinese herbs Back to podcast archive If you like the Deepest Health podcast, and hope I will do more, would you do me a favor and rate this in the iTunes store?  Just click this link, then click on "open this podcast in iTunes) and near the bottom of the page you will see the place to add your rating.  Thank you!

In this episode of the podcast, we talk to eminent scholar and owner of Legendary Herbs, Eric Brand.  In a somewhat briefer than normal conversation, we discuss topics of Chinese herb processing, the trade in Chinese herbs and questions of herbal access.  Eric is obviously a very knowledgeable person, sharing information that anybody with an interest in Chinese herbalism will be likely to find fascinating. If you want to learn more about Eric's work, or order some of his excellent Chinese herbal single & formula granules, visit Legendary Herbs. You can also access his archived blog articles at the Blue Poppy blog. If you like the Deepest Health podcast, and hope I will do more, would you do me a favor and rate this in the iTunes store?  Just click this link, then click on "open this podcast in iTunes) and near the bottom of the page you will see the place to add your rating.  Thank you!

Interview with Laurie Ayers, LAc (UK) I'm happy to welcome Laurie Ayers to the Deepest Health podcast. Laurie is a rising star in the field of Chinese medicine whom I met through his involvement with the Institute of Classics in East Asian Medicine (ICEAM). He is someone who consistently inspires me to be a better student, and has helped me unlock more than one difficult case. Also, as a Chinese medicine practitioner in the United Kingdom, he has a few interesting notes to share with those of us who practice elsewhere. Learning about the differences in how this medicine is practiced in various countries is always illuminating. In the podcast, we discuss a lot of topics related to the study of Chinese medicine. We focus particularly on the purpose of memorization, as well as digging into how everyday practitioners and students can make real study a way of life. Enjoy! If you would like to find Laurie online, use the links below: Laurie Ayers at Eastern Healing Arts Laurie Ayers at ICEAM Instructors page If you like the Deepest Health podcast, and hope I will do more, would you do me a favor and rate this in the iTunes store?  Just click this link, then click on "open this podcast in iTunes) and near the bottom of the page you will see the place to add your rating.  Thank you!

I was excited to welcome Z'ev Rosenberg onto the podcast recently.  Z'ev is a practitioner with over 30 years of experience in practice.  He teaches and nurtures the Chinese herbal program at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, as well as working with K'an Herb Company & writing on his own blog.  Visit those links to learn more about him.  You should do so, because what I've said barely scratches the surface of what Z'ev offers the Chinese medicine profession. In this podcast, we mainly discussed the state & nature of the Chinese medicine profession.  Z'ev helps us understand the early history of the profession in the states, how things have changed, what troubling and promising streams he sees coming together now.  We cover topics like the community acupuncture model, how we should do integrative medicine, how to study Chinese medicine and more. Do yourself a favor and listen to this without delay. Some of the texts that Z'ev mentions (aff link) Shang han lun (Treatise on Cold Damage, Zhang Zhongjing) Jin gui yao lue (Pearls from the Golden Cabinet, Zhang Zhongjing) Nan jing (Classic of difficulties) Huang di nei jing su wen (Yellow Emperor's simple questions) Huang di nei jing ling shu (Yellow Emperor's divine pivot) He also references the Pacific Symposium, a West coast conference focused on Chinese medicine that comes up every year in the fall, coming again during the second week of November in 2012. If you like the Deepest Health podcast, and hope I will do more, would you do me a favor and rate this in the iTunes store?  Just click this link, then click on "open this podcast in iTunes) and near the bottom of the page you will see the place to add your rating.  Thank you!

One of my great passions is to practice Chinese herbalism as close as possible to the way it was practiced when the great texts of our medicine were compiled.  I may not always practice that way, and I'm not so arrogant to think it's the only way, but for now it is my dearest wish and something that brings me (and my patients) great satisfaction. Because of this passion, I have always been keenly interested in the way individual herbs are prepared and the way those individual herbs are then offered to patients. One facet of that interest revolves around the difference between prescribing bulk herbs versus prescribing granules. Tim Rudowsky of Green Tea Apothecary (at Cookmyherbs.com) shares my passion and has turned it into a business!  In this month's podcast, we dig into the issue and have a good deal of fun along the way.  This podcast also features a new musical intro by one of my favorite new electronic music artists, Oleg Mokhov.   Show notes 1. Green Tea Apothecary : www.cookmyherbs.com 2. Tim's great Classical Chinese herbalism manual is for sale online click here to view more details 3. Slate and Shell PDX, blog of a NCNM student and friend who made Wumei Wan 4. Nuherbs.com - herbal company Tim mentions as testing for pathogenic organisms 5. Book by Eric Brand, of Legendary Herbs, that Tim mentions. A Clinician's Guide to Using Granule Extracts If you like the Deepest Health podcast, and hope I will do more, would you do me a favor and rate this in the iTunes store?  Just click this link, then click on "open this podcast in iTunes) and near the bottom of the page you will see the place to add your rating.  Thank you!

Another aspect to the more advanced Chinese herb learning method that I teach is diving into the huge amount of information concerning where herbs grow up.  Using the metaphor of the growth and development of a human being, it is undeniable that where we grow up influences the people we end up becoming.  The same is true of Chinese herbs! Topics covered 1. Why I love the herb method I teach 2. Why location matters when it comes to Chinese herbs 3.  Small application of the herb learning method with one of your friends and mine, Chenpi - aurantium - citrus peel Back to podcast archive If you like the Deepest Health podcast, and hope I will do more, would you do me a favor and rate this in the iTunes store?  Just click this link, then click on "open this podcast in iTunes) and near the bottom of the page you will see the place to add your rating.  Thank you!

Topics covered 1. What to do when you cannot secure the herbs you need (for instance, Mahuang and Xixin) 2. What about growing our own herbs locally and using them in Chinese herbal formulas?   If you are interested, please check out parts I and II of this interview. Back to podcast archive If you like the Deepest Health podcast, and hope I will do more, would you do me a favor and rate this in the iTunes store?  Just click this link, then click on "open this podcast in iTunes) and near the bottom of the page you will see the place to add your rating.  Thank you!

When I contacted Mark Silver, founder of the Heart of Business and Portland local, I was hoping to entice him to come and speak to students at NCNM.  I succeeded in that, with the additional bonus that he was kind enough to offer to do a podcast interview with me for Deepest Health! After a few fits and starts, we managed to make our schedules line up nicely and we sat down for a chat on an early spring morning. Topics covered 1.  Should healthcare practitioners worry about the recession? 2.  How you can get more patients without constantly explaining what we do 3.  What Chinese medicine practitioners should watch out for when starting their own businesses 4.  Technology & business : are they antithetical to holistic medicine? Back to podcast archive If you like the Deepest Health podcast, and hope I will do more, would you do me a favor and rate this in the iTunes store?  Just click this link, then click on "open this podcast in iTunes) and near the bottom of the page you will see the place to add your rating.  Thank you!