Category: Wellness Articles

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 …

Summer sunshine, warmth, and longer days are finally here! In East Asian Medicine (EAM), summer is associated with the fire element, which makes sense given the warmer temperatures, longer time that the sun is out, and our overall warmer feelings in our body. Summer is also the most Yang time of the year, meaning it is the time that is most bright, active, warm (compared to winter, which is the most Yin time of year, meaning it is dark, slower, cooler). With all of this in mind, it is especially important to be taking care of our bodies in a way that keeps the fire in balance, not too much, or not too little. According to EAM, there are many ways you can care for …

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 …

What is Sun tea?

Sun tea is tea that has been made using the power of the sun. Instead of steeping herbs in hot water, you put the herbs & water in a vessel under the sun to infuse. Any combination of tea-appropriate plants can be used in sun tea, either fresh or dried. The most important thing is to place the herbs in a safe, clear container in direct sunlight for at least an hour. In choosing your container, we suggest using glass, as plastic containers can leech chemicals into the tea.

Making the perfect sun tea is more of an art than a science; no precise ratios of herbs to water are needed. To get more flavor, you can start the brew with a high …

In honor of Pride Month, we at AIMC have been reflecting on ways that acupuncture and East Asian Medicine (EAM) can support our LGBTQ+ community, particularly with medical challenges that are specific to their identities and experiences.

Today we’re highlighting some ways that acupuncture, EAM, and herbal medicine can support gender-affirming surgeries and post-operative healing. There is increasing demand for gender-affirming surgeries each year, and surgeries have become more accessible thanks to professional associations, healthcare providers, and advocacy groups. These gender-affirming surgeries support transgender and gender expansive folks’ ability to feel that their bodies represent their true identities, and significantly reduces mental health challenges and psychological distress. According to a recent study published in JAMA Surgery, there was “42% reduction in the odds of …

While we anticipate this to be the hottest summer on record due to the planet’s imbalanced climate, Chinese medicine offers some dietary advice that can help us keep cool and prevent heat illness, protect the Heart and support the Shen or spirit. It’s intuitive to many Americans to reach for iced drinks when the temperature climbs, but it turns out that this can make the body overheat as your system struggles to warm up the fluid to body temperature. Instead, choose room temperature water, perhaps with a squeeze of citrus juice or a few cucumber slices added, as well as cooling teas such as peppermint, chrysanthemum, nettle and hibiscus.

Enjoy a trip to the seasonally abundant farmers’ market to seek out cooling …

In a recent continuing education course, AIMC Berkeley hosted Dr. Jenny Nieters, DACM, LAc., for a day of Grand Rounds. In addition to her private clinic in Alameda, CA, she is the team acupuncturist for the San Francisco 49ers Football Team and the Saint Mary’s College Men’s Rugby Team. She has built a career treating world-class athletes, including Olympians, NBA, MLB, MLR, NFL, and amateur athletes including runners, cross fitters, triathletes and swimmers, supporting injury recovery and athletic performance.

Acupuncture for Sports Performance

Many people know Acupuncture can be used effectively to treat chronic and acute pain, but did you know it can also enhance sports performance more broadly? During our day of observation of Dr. Nieter’s treatments, we watched Dr. Nieters …

Did you know that one branch of East Asian Medicine is the ancient art of Astrology? It’s a complex tradition rich with mythology and metaphor. We’re lucky to rely on experts who can carry the torch of interpreting the astrological tidings for us, as it’s not something we’re able to cover in the rigorous medical canon of modern East Asian Medicine school.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere where we’re still in the depths of winter, the only Resolutions we could get behind this time of year are ones related to sleep, rest, taking it easy, cultivating stillness, & faith. Let’s call them New Year’s Restolutions.

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.