409 The Invitation in Troubled Times • Ed Neal & Mel Hopper-Koppelman

409 The Invitation in Troubled Times • Ed Neal & Mel Hopper-Koppelman

What do we do when the world feels like it’s unraveling? How to respond when our systems—political, economic, medical—feel brittle, even broken? It’s easy to fall into despair, or look away. But maybe what we’re being asked to do is look closer. To stay present.

In this conversation with Ed Neal and Mel Hopper Koppelman, we explore the edges where medicine, ecology, and culture meet. Both are thinkers who don’t shy away from complexity. Ed draws from classical Chinese texts and ecological systems. Mel, from her knowledge of science and systems thinking.

Listen into this discussion as we explore the role of Chinese medicine in times of crisis, the importance of narrative and metaphor in clinical work, how despair and possibility coexist, and the invitation to practice medicine as an act of presence and participation.

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May 20, 2025

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146 Acupuncture and Neurology • Michael Corradino

146 Acupuncture and Neurology • Michael Corradino

We have many different ways to view the body with Chinese medicine and each of these lenses gives us a different perspective on both physiology and functionality. It’s not unlike those old acetate transparencies that would allow you to overlay...

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May 19, 2020
144 The Dao of Communication • Margot Rossi & Nick Pole

144 The Dao of Communication • Margot Rossi & Nick Pole

You’ve noticed in the treatment room, that moment when something “lands” for the patient, and there's a palpable internal shift. You’ve noticed this in yourself, that a question can be inviting as a whisper, or make you bristle like a growling dog....

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May 12, 2020
Practice, Attitude and Success • Lamya Kamel

Practice, Attitude and Success • Lamya Kamel

Getting a practice started is hard. Part of the process is recognizing the strengths and skills we already have, and the other part is being open to allowing our experience to teach us.

In this Part Two conversation with Lamya Kamel we look at how our practices ask us to grow in challenging, yet essential ways. And that while we may not have confidence in the beginning, over time it can arise when we approach our work with integrity and passion.

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May 11, 2020
137 Listening • Michael Max

137 Listening • Michael Max

Listening is not a skill that I expected to develop. I thought I’d get good with palpation or pulse reading. After all, the masters are said to get what they need with the pause and a few questions. That’s what I was aiming for, however it did not...

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Apr 14, 2020
Immunity and Resiliency

Immunity and Resiliency

With the novel coronavirus spreading through the world, health care practitioners of all stripes are offering treatments and methods to “boost immunity.” Patients and consumers are also keen to find and purchase products with this claim as well. Is immunity what we are looking for, or would it be better to cultivate a vital resiliency?

Chinese medicine does not have an immune system in the same way that we think about it with modern bio-medicine. It’s not that there is a lack processes that help the body to maintain its integrity and function— there are. But those processes are less about identifying and killing intruders, and more about helping the body to adapt and respond.

Each individual will response a little differently to infections or external invasion, and the state and strength of our vitality also plays a key role.

In this panel discussion with Laura McGraw, Toby Daly and Chris Powell we take a look at the “immune response” from the Chinese medicine point of view.

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Apr 12, 2020
136 Abundance, Perspective, and Practice • Lamya Kamel

136 Abundance, Perspective, and Practice • Lamya Kamel

The opinions we have about “doing business” can dramatically affect the kind of practice we have, the opportunities we recognize or are blind to, and how we feel about ourselves as we begin to generate some momentum and success in our work. Success...

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Apr 7, 2020
134 Curiosity in the Time of Corona • Greg Bantick

134 Curiosity in the Time of Corona • Greg Bantick

Some of the difficulties faced by many of us in this time of pandemic are the disorientation, anxiety and fear that arise from uncertainty. But if you look more closely, you’ll see that there never is in this life the guarantee of certainty. It can...

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Mar 26, 2020
133 Researching the Essence of Moxa • Alice Douglas

133 Researching the Essence of Moxa • Alice Douglas

Moxibustion is one of the more interesting methods in toolbox. Stunning in its simplicity and often brings deep relief for those who are a good fit for this method. It’s curious how the burning of this particular herb can bring about healing. Alice...

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Mar 24, 2020
132 Acupuncture in the Borderlands • Ryan Bemis

132 Acupuncture in the Borderlands • Ryan Bemis

Ours is a portable medicine. In the 1960’s the barefoot doctors in China took Chinese medicine into the countryside. Over the years acupuncturist’s response to natural disasters has show us that acupuncture can be practiced in makeshift shelters or...

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Mar 17, 2020
Encore Episode, Tidal Flows and Channel Resonance • Brenda Hood

Encore Episode, Tidal Flows and Channel Resonance • Brenda Hood

The 子午 zi wu, “Chinese Clock” that helps us to learn the flow of qi through the channels can give us a glimpse into many underlying dynamics of organ relation, influences of the six qi and the five phases.

In this conversation we take a deep gaze into what Brenda Hood likes to call the Tidal Flow Clock.

There is a lot here when you start look below the surface.

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Mar 7, 2020