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Lung meridian

12 Meridians of Chinese Medicine

By Cindy Black / August 24, 2017 /

Qi flows in meridians Qi (energy) flows through specific pathways called meridians. Chinese medicine mapped the pathways of the 12 meridians thousands of years ago. On these pathways, over 350 points (also called acupressure points, acupuncture points, acupoints) were identified. Points are specific locations on meridians where the Qi can be accessed. What are the…

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Emotions on fingers

Elements, Emotions, Organs, and Meridians

By Cindy Black / February 9, 2017 /

Emotions count in Chinese medicine! Chinese medicine approaches a human being from a truly holistic perspective. Emotions, thoughts, moods, and mindsets all impact the energetic system. Energy, called Qi (“chee”), is the focus of Classical Chinese medicine. The physical body is perceived as a manifestation of Qi. Since Qi is the basis of our physical body,…

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Healing at sunrise

The Healing Potential of You

By Cindy Black / January 5, 2017 /

How you heal The infinite methods of human healing all rely on a human to “do the work.” Whether the healing method uses a scalpel, an herb, or hands, a unique individual is utilizing that technique. Without the trained individual, the scalpel is just a sharp knife, the herb is just another plant in the ground,…

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Cun measurements – the key to point location

By Cindy Black / February 18, 2016 /

Cun means “inch” A Cun (“tsoon”) is an important reference for locating acupoints. In order to locate acupoints, you must understand how to measure the body using cun. How big is a cun? One cun is equivalent to the width of your thumb. Notice that I said the width of your thumb. A cun measurement…

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What is the difference between Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine?

By Cindy Black / November 28, 2013 /

Qi. Qi (“chee”) is the basis of Chinese Medicine. Western medicine has no equivalent notion of Qi. Qi is the difference between Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine. As energy, Qi is unseen and unmeasurable with the technology of western medicine. Western medicine has a mastery of the physical, “seeable”, measurable parts of the human body. However,…

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Aroma Qi Therapy and Interview with Terese M. Miller, DOM, CA

By Cindy Black / November 16, 2013 /

Aroma Qi Therapy is a modern blending of ancient Taoist philosophy and plant medicine.   Aroma Qi Therapy was created by Terese Miller, Doctor of Oriental Medicine.  Since plants and Qi are two of my biggest interests, I was eager to talk with Terese about her work. Below are some of my questions followed by…

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Form and Formless

By Cindy Black / November 8, 2012 /

Ancient philosophy offers us the notion of the form and the formless.  Einstein gave us E=MC2, Energy equals Matter times the speed of light squared – that is about as clear as saying that form arises from the formless. Stay with me though! The form is our physical body, the formless is our energy. Western…

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Perseverance

By Cindy Black / September 3, 2012 /

I said this to myself over and over while I was in school learning Chinese Medicine, “Persevere, keep trying, study some more, and figure it out!” My original interpretation of persevering was to yell at myself in order to motivate myself to study. This resulted in a tight jaw, tight neck, and tight intestines, along…

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The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine

By Cindy Black / February 21, 2012 /

Ancient Wisdom for Today Written at least 2,500 years ago, this is a Chinese Medical classic. It is not the easiest book for the western mind to understand, which is why my copy is so tattered, torn, and full of bookmarks. I’ve been reading my copy for 20 years now, and every time I read…

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Super Nova

Harmonize Qi

By Cindy Black / February 7, 2012 /

Qi is energy. Our bodies, thoughts, and emotions are manifestations of energy. From this point of view, we can see that treating anything other than the Qi is treating symptoms rather than the root cause. Sometimes symptoms are so severe that obviously treating the symptom first makes the most sense. However, to alleviate further occurrences and…

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