The Nei Jing, and especially the Ling Shu, contains very many passages with instructions to acupuncturists as to how to needle. All these passages give instructions as to how to engage the Shen, Yi or Zhi (of the practitioner) when needling. Just as a reminder, Yi is the mental faculty of the Spleen which refers … Read More
SU WEN CHAPTER 81 and TEARS Chapter 81 of the Su Wen has an interesting view of sadness and tears. The Jing of Water is Zhi and the Jing of Fire is Shen. The interaction of Water and Fire causes sadness of both the Zhi and the Shen and that is why tears run out … Read More
THE SHEN (神) OF THE HEART The Shen of the Heart plays a prominent role in memory partly by itself and partly because it coordinates the Yi of the Spleen and the Zhi of the Kidneys which also play a role in memory. The Shen of the Heart plays a role in memory in the … Read More
In the past few years it has become common practice by oncologists to advise patients who are undergoing chemotherapy not to take anti-oxidant supplements. The reasoning behind this advice is that chemotherapy destroys cancer cells by inducing free radicals and by promoting oxidation of the cancer cells. Antioxidants, on the contrary, do the exact opposite, … Read More
The thinking about geriatrics in Chinese medicine has been dominated by Kidney deficiency for centuries. As Kidney-Jing declines as we age, the clinical approach to the treatment of the elderly has been based largely on tonifying the Kidneys. However, modern diseases of the elderly that account for 90% of mortality (cancer, heart disease and stroke) … Read More
“Anxiety” is a modern term that does not have an exact equivalent in Chinese medicine. There is no Chinese medicine term that corresponds exactly to what we call “anxiety” but several ancient Chinese disease entities closely resemble anxiety. The four main disease entities that correspond to Anxiety are: “Fear and Palpitations” (Jing Ji) 惊 悸 … Read More
WESTERN MEDICINE VIEW INFLUENZA Influenza spreads every winter and accounts for a substantial mortality every year. Influenza viruses are characterized by a high variability and high infection rate. The so-called “Spanish Flu” of 1918 killed an estimated 40-50 million people world-wide, more than did the First World War.1 Two other pandemics occurred in 1957 with … Read More
An essential tool in Chinese medicine, the Tongue nearly always shows the true condition of the patient. It is particularly useful in complex, chronic conditions manifesting with contradicting symptoms and signs. Its strength relies in the fact that it is nearly always reliable and objective. Compared to pulse diagnosis, it is also much easier to … Read More
Giovanni Maciocia “Question and Answers” for the following topics: Trigeminal Neuralgia Headaches from Raeder’s Syndrome Differentiation of Backache Post-viral Fatigue Syndrome Loss of Sense of Taste and Smell Multiple Sclerosis Calf Muscle Ache Trigeminal Neuralgia Q: I have been unable to find any information about trigeminal neuralgia, i.e. how to differentiate and treat it. Do … Read More
1) Note on Terminology from Giovanni’s book: Please download PDF on Terminology. 2) Extract of letter sent to ‘Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’: The following is an abridged version of a letter sent to the editor of “Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine” in response to an article by N Wiseman published in the same journal. … Read More
