Book Review: The Ancient Wisdom of Chinese Tonic Herbs

Ron Teeguarden is an American herbalist who overcame serious ill health at an early age by using Chinese herbs, and has since specialised in the ‘tonic’ herbs, which is what this book is all about. The tonic herbs are those considered most safe and useful for the general population, and Teeguarden here describes his 22 […]

acupuncture

‘Acupuncture May Help Ease Hot Flushes’

The effect of acupuncture in easing hot flushes and night sweats associated with the menopause has already been proved, but now a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology shows acupuncture to be effective in the treatment of hot flushes that occur as the side-effect of breast cancer treatment. The study shows acupuncture is […]

headache

Chinese Medicine For Migraines

Migraines are often related to stress or can occur along-side fatigue, muscular pains or insomnia and are often accompanied by nausea, dizziness and aversion to bright lights. In all of these cases, Chinese Medicine can be used to treat the root cause of the problem as well as dealing with the manifestation. There are a […]

Find a Tui Na practitioner (UK)

Tui Na is an ancient Chinese form of bodywork incorporating acupressure and massage techniques. It is one of the 5 main branches of Chinese medicine, but is still quite uncommon in the UK. Although it is sometimes described as a very hard or strong kind of massage, it can equally be be very gentle and […]

Kitchen Herbs: Sage

In my opinion, sage is a much undervalued herb. It’s Latin name ‘Salvia officinalis’ gives us a clue as to its healing properties – ‘salvia’ is derived from the Latin salvere, to be saved, and ‘officianalis’ means medicinal. My top tip for sage: A gargle simply made by pouring boiling water on dried sage and […]

Recipe: Rosehip and Astragalus Syrup

Rosehip syrup has been made at this time of year in the UK since the recipe was circulated during the 2nd world war as a way of ensuring that we got enough vitamin C during rationing. It makes a delicious drink (I like it with hot water, and a slice of lemon), and can be […]

Oats – A native superfood?

A while ago I was asked about ‘superfoods’, and why they all seemed to be from the other side of the world. This started me thinking – what are our native ‘superfoods’, if any? What I came up with was Oats and Nettles. In the terms of Chinese Medicine, Oats are a warming, nourishing tonic. […]

Acupoints: Kidney 1 – ‘The Bubbling Spring’

Acupoint Yong Quan – ‘The Bubbling Spring’ – Kidney 1 The point Yongquan, on the sole of the foot, is one of the most important in Qi Gong practice, and is also of great use in Tui na and acupuncture for its calming and relaxing effect. It is located on the sole of the foot, […]

Hard Work? The Meaning of ‘Gong’

The Chinese word ‘gong’ (工) is sometimes translated as ‘work’ but beneath this simple translation lie some powerful and important lessons in self-cultivation. The ‘gong’ in ‘qi gong’ is actually the same word as the ‘kung’ in ‘kung fu’ – 2 different systems of Romanising Chinese words gives us 2 different spellings, but the Chinese […]