Clinic Blog

The findings appear in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The lead author, Rachel Manber, a professor of psychiatry  and behavioral sciences at Stanford, said the results suggested that some symptoms of depression during pregnancy might be related to physical discomfort that is alleviated by acupuncture. Still, the results were striking, she said.

I just wanted to share a few words from an ancient medical sage Sun Simiao about taking care of oneself, yang sheng (nourishing life), and these principles being necessary to become immortal (i.e. healthy enough to carry on your family line for generations)...

"...avoid overeating and over-drinking.  Avoid anxiety and worrying, great anger, sorrow and grief, great fear, jumping about, too many words, and excessive laughter.  Avoid eagerly jumping at your desires and do not hold onto hatred.  All of these are harmful to your health and fertility.  Therefore a person who is good at preserving health constantly reduces thoughts, ideas, desires, business affairs, speaking, worrying, anger, likes and dislikes.  If you can follow these simple principles, this is the essence of nurturing life.  Excessive thought imperils the spirit, excessive thought scatters the will, excessive desires muddles the will, excessive business affairs exhaust the physical body, excessive speech wears out the qi, excessive worry intimidates the heart, excessive anger makes the hundred vessels unsettled, excessive likes make you lose you concentration, and excessive dislikes make you haggard and dismal.  These are the root to losing ones health.  Only the person who has neither too much nor too little of these is able to approximate the Tao (the way of wellness and virtue)." 

I really like how Jill Blakeway writes. She takes Chinese concepts and makes them easy to understand for us westerners.  Attached is an article that appeared in Conceive Magazine.  You can also watch an interview I did with Jill on Acubalance TV here.

As a Chinese medicine practitioner, one of the first things I set out to do is regulate the women’s menstrual cycle when treating infertility.  Menstrual pain, clots in the blood and PMS maybe “normal” according to your medical doctor but these signs are not considered healthy from a Chinese medicine perspective.

I am often asked by couples what western medical test are needed to have their fertility evaluated.

Christina thanks for sending me this email I have posted in my blog.  I had a great laugh!

Now  that Vancouver will  be hosting the  2010 Winter Olympics,  these are some questions people from all over the  world are asking.

Believe  it or not these questions about Canada were  posted on  an International Tourism Website.

I enjoyed the following articile by Roby Mitchell, MD on Flu prevention.  Combine this with the posts I have included using Chinese medicine and it is my hopes you have taken preventative measures to prevent the flu from taking hold on you.

Basal body temperature (BBT) charting can provide MUCH more information to  help you conceive than just indicating you ovulated!!! Well, at least if you are viewing the BBT charts through the lens of a Chinese medicine doctor.

Chinese Medicine considers the time around menopause as a transition into a new phase of life for women  — as a ‘second spring”—when the energy that a woman’s body has devoted to menstruation and reproduction can be now be channelled into other creative areas of her life.