Posted in China, Culture, Wellness on Oct 26th, 2008 No Comments »
Xinzuobiao is a vertical community just out past the Fang Zhuang exquisite food street; where the towering new China bumps up against city peasant markets, broken pavement, dust and Soviet era utilitarian boxes of concrete. The subway with its new Olympic induced lines flow new underground rivers of people as the roadways triple park themselves [...]
Posted in China, Culture, Travel, Wellness on Sep 11th, 2008 1 Comment »
Gratitude is the first thing that comes to mind.
The splash of summer flowers spilling out into a sidewalk draped in September blue sky.
The smell of vegetables off gassing fecund fields.
Travelers and locals allowing life, for a moment, to unwind outside the their usually consensual reality.
Seasons of salmon gray rain that warp time with its incessant [...]
Posted in Acupuncture, Culture, Curiosity, Health, Herbs, Language, Wellness on Aug 21st, 2008 No Comments »
There is a method of telling fortunes in Taiwan. Actually, there are many methods of telling fortunes in Taiwan. 算命先生 fortune tellers in Taiwan are as numerous as psychotherapists in any trendy west coast American city, and for the most part serve the same function. Which is to help us ask the questions that get [...]
Posted in Culture, Curiosity, Wellness on Aug 12th, 2008 No Comments »
Of course, we all do.
Dreams elude us.
Troubles dog us..
Inspiration evaporates into drudgery…
I suspect John Dane knows a thing or two about following a journey to its guiding star. He has been trying to get into the Olympics for 40 years.
He is now in Qingdao competing!
John Dane 加油啦！
Thanks to 37signals for the lead to this inspiring [...]
Posted in Acupuncture, Health, Medicine, Wellness on May 30th, 2008 No Comments »
Unless we have been involved in some accident, we don’t get to our current state of health overnight. It often a journey of years of slow accumulative action. Days slide into weeks, slide into months, then we wonder where the years went. Along with our agility, digestion, flexibility or mental clarity. It is a [...]
Posted in Curiosity, Wellness on May 22nd, 2008 No Comments »
OK is not good enough.
I’m not talking here about the nitpicking endless knot of perfectionism. Nor, about a careless disregard for what does indeed require our attention and concern. The problem with OK is that it has no teeth. It is comfortable enough to allow years to slid into oblivion because it lacks [...]
Posted in Acupuncture, Health, Medicine, Wellness on Dec 5th, 2007 No Comments »
1- Acupuncture is not just for treating pain.
2- You don’t have to “believe” in it for it to work.
Heck, the practitioner does not even need to believe in it for it to work.
3- Anxiety or depression are not simply psychological problems.
4- There are no [...]
Posted in China, Health, Wellness on Nov 12th, 2007 1 Comment »
One of my favorite breakfasts in China is a steaming hot bowl of beef noodle soup. Sure, it might sound a bit odd from our western breakfast point of view, but a nice hot bowl of noodles swimming in a nourishing bone simmered broth, with the protein of “hong shao” beef is one of [...]
Posted in Health, Tea, Wellness on Jul 20th, 2007 No Comments »
There is plenty of research literature these days on the benefits of green tea. How it is full of anti-oxidants. How it effects blood sugar levels. Cholesterol. How it gives energy without the jolt and buzz. That it is good for the liver. That it calms the spirit. It is good stuff!
But, what research [...]
Posted in Acupuncture, Curiosity, Wellness on Jun 28th, 2007 1 Comment »
Asking an acupuncturist about acupuncture can give you plenty of information about the use and curative effects of acupuncture, but to get at the experience of acupuncture, ask a patient.
Recently, I had a patient tell me this about the experience of acupuncture:
The sensation is like that of food prepared with just the right amount of [...]