Sung

I receive the question quite often about meditation in my clinical practice. What is meditation? How do I do it? And what are the benefits? Quite simply, meditation is the intentional practice of experiencing life in the present moment. It's about realizing the power of now vs. the power of the past or future.

When we meditate, we can feel our breath trickle past our nose, tickle our throat, and expand our lungs and diaphragm. It is the moment when we lie down in bed after a long day, and luxuriate in the warmth and comfort of the sheets. And it is the sipping and enjoyment of a frosty mug of beer.   Read more...

Begone, evil spirit! Begone! OK, so that’s not how a typical acupuncture treatment begins (at least in my clinic). Even for possession. And when we talk about possession in Chinese Medical terms, we’re not usually referring to an evil spirit or the devil, like in the movie “The Exorcist”. Instead, we’re referring to an internal possession of the mind. This internal possession occurs when a person is unable to control their own thinking, resulting in a pattern of compulsive thought and behavior.   Read more...

You’ve heard it over and over from your Chinese Medicine doctor: “don’t eat or drink anything cold. Especially with ice!” What’s the rationale behind this? First, we’ll start with Chinese Medical theory and then conclude with Western Medical theory on why you shouldn’t consume cold food and drinks. And we’ll also see how the two medicines see eye-to-eye on this issue.

In Chinese Medical physiology, the stomach is the first organ to receive food and drink and has been compared to a cauldron in which foods are “cooked” by the stomach fire. Because foods are “cooked” by the stomach fire, anything cold hinders this process. After it has been cooked, it then becomes “the pit where rotting and ripening occurs”. I know, it sounds pretty gruesome. We’ll see later how this process has a western explanation.   Read more...