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Category: Student, Faculty, Alumni Spotlights

July 10, 2023

Plastic-Free July at AIMC Berkeley

Head to our beaches this summer and you face a stark reminder of today’s plastics crisis as you squish through the sand, increasingly composed of microplastic. As the fossil fuel industry faces growing public pressure, it is turning toward using petroleum to produce ever-more plastic instead of fuel.

Plastic and Your Health

From a Chinese medicine perspective, the jing (deep energy reserve) of the planet is being tapped and either burned, creating either excess heat/yang and warming the atmosphere, or made into plastic and chemical compounds, which can be seen as pathological yin or phlegm. Chinese medical wisdom teaches that “phlegm is the mother of a hundred diseases.”

A growing body of research links chemicals produced in …

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April 21, 2023

An Earth Day Conversation with AIMC’s Dr. Nishanga Bliss, DAIM, DSc, LAc

In honor of Earth Day, we had the pleasure of speaking with one of AIMC’s long-time community members and professors, Dr. Nishanga Bliss, DAIM, DSc, LAc, about her work to educate practicing and aspiring acupuncture and East Asian Medicine practitioners, her call to action to support a healthy environment, and her hopes for the future.

Nishanga has been with AIMC since 2008, and has been practicing Chinese medicine since 1999. She has always been interested in the public health aspect of Chinese medicine and health, but felt more drawn to it, especially living in the times that we’re living in today.

Becoming an Environmental Activist

Nishanga watched her father, an environmentalist, work with the East Bay chapter of the Sierra Club in a time of …

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November 14, 2022

Student Spotlight: A Visit to Oakland Chinatown

This term I am doing my Herb Room internship under the capable direction of the Herb Pharmacy Manager, Le Jiang. Spending time with the raw herbs and  granules, mixing formulas has proven enriching to say the least. Le is a  wealth of knowledge, and a terrific resource and an even better study mentor- especially where formulas are  concerned.

Imagine my surprise and enthusiasm when she asked me if I’d like to go on a field trip to Oakland’s Chinatown! With no hesitation, we were off.

The Mission

Our mission was to secure more Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang for the school pharmacy. It’s proven an effective treatment for the symptoms of Covid-19, and having it in stock to support our community has been an important measure.

After parking and walking a …

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July 14, 2022

Student Spotlight: Summer Self-Care with Sarah Siegel

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Summer is in full swing, with warm and sunny weather, outdoor events, and lots of opportunities to be outside connecting with friends, family, and community. In the Bay Area, we are so lucky to have such beautiful weather, especially during summer, that you can’t help but smile! When we think about summer, our AIMC community and students think about Five Element Theory, and how summer is represented by fire.

We were lucky enough to connect with one of our current students, Sarah Siegel, whose work with her “With the Seasons” Instagram explores the art of seasonal living, narrative medicine, and inspiring people to connect with the Five Elements. Seasonal living for our health is rooted in indigenous values and East Asian medicine wisdom. Seasonal …

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February 2, 2022

Alumni Spotlight: Erin Langley, LAc. of Ancestral Acupuncture

"We used to know each other based on our relationships– with people and with lands; it’s a new phenomenon not to center these things in introductions and interactions."

One of the gifts of becoming an Acupuncturist is the capacity to build your dream practice, and in Erin Langley’s case, she’s done that quite literally. Dreams, the spirits of the body and the lands, and ancestral connections are all fundamental pieces of how she practices and connects with East Asian medicine.

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December 20, 2021

Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Kim Peirano, DACM, LAc.

When we are truly being our higher self we are beautiful, beauty isn’t about what we actually look like at all, in essence it’s more of a verb – it’s who we are being.

Meet Dr. Kim Peirano, DACM, LAc., an Alumni of AIMC Berkeley. She has a thriving practice in Marin focused on Facial Acupuncture & spiritual development. She recently founded the Integrative Healing Institute, a non-profit focused on providing high-quality continuing education courses.

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December 10, 2021

Community Care Zine, Winter 2021

Practical applications of East Asian Medicine for life beyond the treatment room.

This Zine serves as a bridge that connects East Asian Medicine traditions with your daily life practices – so that we may all find the way to health and happiness[…]May the offerings within these pages enrich and inspire you to align yourself with the nature and medicine that we hold so dear.

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November 29, 2021

Acupuncture is Activism: Updated Zine by Maya Z.

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A look at the activist movement to bring healthcare & healing to the BIPOC community in the U.S.

Read this interactive zine to be more informed about discrimination & racism in healthcare. Learn how the Black Panther Party and other activists fought for public health initiatives in the 1960’s and 1970’s and what that has to do with the history of Acupuncture in the U.S.

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October 5, 2021

Alumni Spotlight: Sapho

"I’m seeing more and more that we must heal as a community, our pain isn’t independent of each other."

Are you wanting to learn more about acupuncture and Integrative medicine? Learn more about how our school changed Sapho’s life and what they’re doing now.

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September 1, 2021

Alumni Spotlight: Erin Wilkins

Erin’s story of success as an herb shop owner and acupuncturist brings to light the creative potential and personal transformation possible with a career in East Asian Medicine.

Explore Erin’s journey as an Asian American herbalist and acupuncturist. We love learning about the personal and transformative journey her career has taken into showcasing her identity as an Asian American practicing traditional East Asian medicine. You can learn more about her herbal shop and her experiences with AIMC. Read more!

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