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. Becoming an Acupuncturist Erin has a foundational childhood memory of watching TV with her Grandma and seeing people flock to a young woman, ill & lying in bed, who seemed to provide spontaneous healings and miracles for others. Erin became enamored with the idea that one person “could have a magically positive impact on the world” and wondered how one might cultivate such an impact over the course of their life. At the same time, she was profoundly helped by Acupuncture for her own childhood suffering with severe allergies, asthma, and depression. She approached each session with her characteristic curiosity, and her practitioner’s answers were always the same: she should go to Acupuncture school if she really wanted to know. Embedded in a community of like-minded folks through her time at Naropa University, Erin was offered an introduction to the Oakland-based Daoist priest & teacher Liu Ming in the early 2000s. She studied intensively with him, and his teachings offered her a deep understanding of Daoist Cosmology & Astrology, two of the more esoteric branches of East Asian Medicine. Eventually, steeped in Liu Ming’s teachings, she felt the pull to round out her understanding by formally going to Acupuncture school to study the Medical traditions. The Meaning of Ancestral Acupuncture The name of Erin’s Acupuncture practice is “Ancestral Acupuncture” and early in her professional bio she introduces her many cultures of origin. We asked her why it was important to her to frame her practice so strongly around ancestral relationships. She shared, “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.” She shares her own ancestry as an invitation to others to be curious about their own clans and lands and to bring a relational quality back to our interactions. Often it incites curiosity in her patients and they come to know themselves and their best practices for health and wellness through this exploration. There is wisdom in many ways of the past that Erin is eager to usher back into common practice. As a child she was inundated with dreams and visions, but found little guidance for these gifts. She recognizes now that in a different age, and in her own ancestor’s traditions, her gifts would have been recognized & she would have been offered guidance for them. Now, through her own Acupuncture practice, she’s able to normalize the spiritual experiences that her patients have and offer the guidance she lacked. How She Practices Erin says that a theme in her practice is to help patients re-establish trust with their own experiences. “I love to invite people to trust themselves. The person on the table should have the power, and feel equal in the conversation with their healthcare provider.” What arises out of the conversation she has with her patients, their bodies, and their guides is often unexpected and transformational. She says, “we as Acupuncturists can just avail ourselves to what’s happening in the present moment. That’s where the medicine is, in the present.” She thinks of treatments like playing jazz: you have to know your theory to be able to riff. Often her choice of Acupuncture points isn’t coming from the logical or rational mind, but when she looks back on her treatments they make perfect sense within the theory. The Import of Dreaming Sleep and dreaming, Erin thinks, are undervalued in our modern world. She has learned from her indigenous elders & from her teacher, Liu Ming, that nighttime experiences are just as important as daytime experiences. In sleep and in dreaming we enter into the Yin, a space of receptivity and connectivity, which is vital for the life, vitality, and direction of the Yang that expresses through our daytime waking selves. “Dreaming is a community phenomenon that recalibrates us toward health. Some traditional communities even re-enact bad dreams in order to avoid impending disasters. Most of the time, the conversation is more subtle. It’s a form of divination that keeps us in balance with our seen and unseen ecosystems. Dreaming is extremely practical. But this is just one way of looking at it. Day and night are really continuous. I’m interested in that continuity, in how we are dreaming right now.” Dreaming, she insists, is an egalitarian opportunity. “Everyone has the capacity to work with their dreams and flourish; there’s no hierarchy or goal, it’s about playing with the ball where it lands.” This is one of the reasons she agreed to co-teach a course, The Dao of Night: Liu Ming’s Dream Series through the Integrative Healing Institute. The course will “present all the profound potentials found in our natural need to sleep,” and the material is accessible to all (no matter their dream recall). Advice for Future Acupuncturists Ground yourself in your traditions, and bring your heritage to the table. As Erin has a strong relationship with her own ancestry, she encourages all Acupuncturists to be respectful about entering another culture’s indigenous healing traditions. “You wouldn’t show up to someone’s house empty-handed; you want to make sure you’re bringing something to the table. We don’t want to be the hungry ghost at the banquet. We want to bring the ample gifts our ancestors have given us.” As East Asian Medical school is a rigorous and transformative experience, we asked Erin what messages she would transmit to our students in the thick of it, and she offered a list of gems for how to stay grounded, inspired, & quell anxieties through the process. She shared: A Grounding Meditative Practice for the challenging moments: Call upon your future patients and ask them for support. Call upon everyone that you have ever helped and will ever help, and ask them for their support in getting you to the place where you can support them. Words of wisdom: “Don’t try to be someone else. Find your place in the conversation and be that voice without fear. Occupy your own place in the medicine because that’s your strength, that’s what no one else is saying.” A Teaching from Liu Ming: Synchronicity is a sign of success. When we’re in a place of trust, and we’re receptive to the living world, synchronicity can guide us in unexpected ways toward success. Advice for CALE: Team up with the test! Practice making the test your friend, a literal being who is on your side, instead of your enemy or challenger. Looking to start your journey into holistic & integrative medicine and curious if AIMC is the right place for you? Take our quiz  and explore our  Master’s and Doctorate programs,  and  financial aid  options. Attend our next  Open House to learn more, and ask questions! Connect with Erin Erin is an acupuncturist, multimedia artist, and educator. You can read her “Weekly Weather” Chinese astrology forecasts on Facebook , Instagram , and Ancestral Acupuncture . Opportunities to learn with her include her two upcoming courses: Ancestor Series: Origins, Dreams and the Poetics of Medicine and The Dao of the Night - Liu Ming's Dream Series with Erin Langley, LAc and Clarissa Gunawan (registration currently full).

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. Follow the links below to dig in further to this fascinating system, or read our summary & find some local events to celebrate the Lunar New Year in style! The year of the Metal Ox is coming to a close and the year of the Black Water Tiger will kick off on February 1st with the Lunar New Year. The Ox is a global symbol for steadfastness and diligent hard work. Tigers are also a symbol for strength, but represent a more Yang, dynamic, attractive, and independent energy. They’re known for springing into swift action and are often associated with the energy of the Wood element which is all about growth and forward momentum. They’re bold and known for individuality. Some of this energy will be tempered by the fact that we will enter a Water year; Water has a steady, Yin, and continuous nature to it. It can help cool the fiery nature of the Tiger. It is also tied to our deepest emotions, sensitivities, and the mysteries of life, so this may represent a year for tapping into these deep waters and being ready to act on the wisdom found there. This may translate to an experience of "fits and starts, intention and action, but also sudden stops and changes," as Dr. Anna Hsieh Gold, LAc., DACM explained to Well + Good. The Chinese God of Wealth, Caishen, rides a Black Water Tiger, and as this is the year of the Black Water Tiger, this is an omen of good financial luck for the year to come. Caishen is always celebrated on Lunar New Year & there are Feng Shui traditions that welcome his energy into the home. Learn more about Caishen & the traditions around welcoming his gifts into the home. Welcome the Energy of the New Year Start a new project: The energy of the Tiger will support new endeavors as long as you’re prepared to be fluid, like Water, and allow things to unfold. Remember when we said the Gregorian calendar New Year is the wrong time to start new projects and set big annual goals? Now is the right time energetically! Just remember to set your goals in a way that makes sense for living with the seasons; wake times, exercise routines, self-cultivation practices, and healthy meals can all fluctuate appropriately with the season. Explore setting goals that peak in the summer when the Qi is abundant. Check Out Your Zodiac: Find out what this year has in store for you by looking up the Fortune for your Chinese Zodiac as written by Astrologer Susan Levitt. Eat Well: Celebrate the New Year deliciously with SF Eater’s Food Guide to the Lunar New Year in the Bay Area. Celebrate Locally: Check out the virtual or in-person events at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center or Oakland Museum of California . Join the Parade: Watch the San Francisco Chinatown Parade on February 19th. Explore Chinatown: Take a self-guided tour of Oakland’s Chinatown by following the map on pages 11 & 12 of our student-made Community Care Zine . A Deeper Dive for Acupuncturists CT Holman carries the tradition of his mentor, the recently passed Lillian Pearl Bridges. He says, "2021, the year of the Yin Metal Ox, brought many challenges. The passing of Lillian Pearl Bridges devastated the Chinese medicine community and beyond. Lillian was my mentor, teacher, and friend and she will be greatly missed by many in the human family. For decades, Lillian offered a prediction for the upcoming years. The Lotus Institute bestowed upon me the honor of carrying on this tradition, by which I am humbled and will do my best to honor her legacy." Read CT Holman's thorough Forecast for 2022. Looking to start your journey into holistic & integrative medicine and curious if AIMC is the right place for you? Take our quiz  and explore our  Master’s and Doctorate programs,  and  financial aid  options. Attend our next  Open House to learn more, and ask questions! Protect Tigers PS-- Tigers are an endangered species and are illegally hunted. Help protect them & honor their power by donating to TRAFFIC , an organization dedicated to protecting natural biodiversity & supporting sustainable development. About the Author Ally Magill is Licensed Acupuncturist & AIMC graduate with a background in birthwork as a labor and postpartum doula, outdoor education, and the management of thriving community acupuncture clinics. Visit her website to book Acupuncture appointments, Herbal Medicine consults, & Postpartum care.

While we're always encouraging our patients to grow & self-actualize, your Acupuncturist can't really get behind the sentiment of New Year's Resolutions. 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. Notes on Seasonal Living It's still winter: Winter is a time for rest. Our ancestors would have been tending their hearths, living off of the resources gathered in the last year, and not expending more energy than necessary. Yin is dominant: Winter solstice is the most Yin day of the year. After that, Yang energy grows slowly day by day until we reach summer solstice. Yang is just starting to grow. It's not enough energy to sustain the burden of a year's worth of new goals and projects. Spring is Coming: That will be the time to spring into action & to actualize the dreams and learnings of the last year. To gather the strength and willpower to enact our visions and dreams in this complex world, first we must rest & reflect. Take It from the I Ching The I Ching is the earliest text associated with East Asian Medicine-- it's first iteration was likely written over 3,000 years ago. It is and was used as a Divination tool by comparing a person's circumstances to the greater cosmic & natural world. The text offers innumerable insights into the natural world & order of things. Hexagram 24, translated as "The Return", describes the energy of the Winter Solstice, or the return of the light. "Movement is just at its beginning; therefore it must be strengthened by rest so that it will not be dissipated by being used prematurely. This principle... of allowing energy that is renewing itself to be reinforced by rest, applies to all similar situations. The return of health after illness, the return of understanding after an estrangement: everything must be treated tenderly and with care at the beginning, so that the return may lead to a flowering." - I Ching Hexagram 24, The Turning Point Translated by Richard Wilhelm About the Author Ally Magill is Licensed Acupuncturist & AIMC graduate with a background in birthwork as a labor and postpartum doula, outdoor education, and the management of thriving community acupuncture clinics. To learn more about living with the seasons & the wisdom of East Asian Medicine, you can join her Introduction to East Asian Medicine course starting soon. Visit her website to book Acupuncture appointments, Herbal Medicine consults, & Postpartum care.

How did you decide to become an Acupuncturist? Was there one a-ha moment or was it a more gradual process of deciding? I wound up in acupuncture school as a complete accident! I had done my undergrad degree in metal arts, sculpture and jewelry making. I knew I didn't want to be a bench jeweler and really wanted to do large scale installation art, at the time that wasn’t really a thing so I wound up taking a job as an underwriting assistant for farm insurance, not Farmer’s but literal farms. The job was pretty dry, but for the first time ever I had some disposable income which I used to join a yoga studio. I loved yoga so much I thought about teacher training, and by some fluke I wound up attending a workshop by a local naturopath at the studio. He spoke about how all the parts of the body are all connected and how something off in one area may lead to something else being off somewhere else. I just inherently knew all of this to be true and was fascinated by this type of medicine. I started working with him on some digestive issues I was having that my Doctor was no help for - they simply told me to take a pill that ‘turns off your gallbladder’ without even testing anything, lo and behold I'm just lactose intolerant and that was the issue. I was so awed by the whole system of medicine that I wanted to go to naturopath school, but you can’t get into medical school with an art degree! I really didn’t want to do a second undergrad, and had come across acupuncture schools in my search so I checked it out and wound up signing up. I had never even had acupuncture before! Do you have a favorite memory of being in school or class? I think the beginning of school was the most exciting, when everything was new and really magical. When I was in school was when Harry Potter was really gaining steam so we all referred to class as ‘Harry Potter class.’ Also, on brand with the ‘4th Pillar of Health’ we learned in nutrition class, my friend Ashley and I started ‘Waffle Fridays’ where we would make waffles every Friday morning, it was a really nice way to get through the term, lol. What surprised you about learning East Asian Medicine, either in school or after? I think after school was when I really started to figure out who I was as a healer. What I’ve found to be true is that there really aren’t any hard and fast rules when it comes to East Asian Medicine. Yes there are specific systems of medicine, points, etc, but there isn’t just one system, there are hundreds if not thousands. My only hard rule is: do no harm. Outside of that the medicine really depends on intention, not mentally figuring out point prescriptions or reading the latest journal article. I think it’s actually mostly about the space we hold which helps patients feel safe and connected enough to start to release things that no longer serve them. I think a lot of the ‘failed’ acupuncture research proves this point, when they try to do sham acupuncture by not using acupuncture points or having people who aren’t trained perform it or by using fake needles etc. What most studies find is that the real acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups perform similarly, and usually outperform the no treatment group. Some people use this as an excuse as to why acupuncture is a fraud or liken it to placebo effect, but to me this just proves that intention is paramount, this medicine is much more complex than what we have time to learn in school and its so much more than just point prescriptions. If you give a treatment with a contact needle or not in an ‘official’ point and it still gives a result, it tells us that the systems of acupuncture are far beyond our westernized view of them, not that they don’t work. You're a Medical Intuitive-- can you tell us a little about what that means? In line with what I mentioned above about intention being everything, my work as a medical intuitive, or rather my blend of work as an intuitive acupuncturist is dependent on this. As a medical intuitive I use my intuition to help ‘see’ inside the body and detect imbalances. The way I practice is mostly by palpation and communication with my guides and my patients' guides to help me find the right points to use, and rarely will I practice by using a traditional point description, i.e. Large Intestine 4 because it helps with headaches. I don’t offer medical diagnosis or anything of that nature as some medical intuitives do, rather my strong suit is helping people to understand what their disease, illness or difficulty is helping them with. I believe that all issues we have stem from an imbalance in our spiritual field, usually they are helping to guide us back on track to align with our purpose for being here on earth, at minimum they are helping us to learn something that we likely had wanted to learn as an intention for coming into this life. Perhaps we are learning how to go slowly if we have arthritis, maybe we are learning to find our voice if we have vocal cord spasms, there are an infinite number of ways disease plays out in our lives, and I don’t believe that it is ever random. So my work is in helping my patients have more clarity around themselves and why they are here. What drew you to Cosmetic Acupuncture as a specialty? I first learned cosmetic acupuncture in school with Virginia Doran. I honestly was drawn to it because we were told it would be a great way to make money, after learning it I found that I have a very good ability to do the treatments because of my background in jewelry making and art. There is an art to being an acupuncturist, particularly in needling, with facial acupuncture even more so. I enjoy doing the treatments because it's a place I get to use my dexterity skills well, and often the results are pretty nice as well. In my course I offer in Integrative Cosmetic Acupuncture a big piece of the learning is around why and how the treatment works, which is multi-layered, but it’s something in all the courses I have taken had never learned or had explained before so I felt that was important to add. Can you share a little bit about how Cosmetic & Facial Acupuncture fits in with your spiritual development work? Is Facial Acupuncture a spirit-level treatment? The patients who come for facial acupuncture are usually pretty healthy people, but there is usually some type of disconnect or imbalance with how they view themselves on some level. I see cosmetic acupuncture as a tool to help people tune back into their true nature. Since we aren’t needing to address much physical dysfunction there's a lot of room for growth in other areas. Particularly it’s about creating a safe space for the Shen and other spirits to call home, releasing limiting beliefs and programs around beauty and tuning back into our true selves. 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. Any recent themes you're seeing in the treatment room? A practice is an ever evolving thing, right now I'm actually currently closed to new patients for cosmetic acupuncture and am possibly thinking about phasing it off entirely. My main focus has been on spiritual type treatments, which I call Gateway Healing. This is a process where we use acupuncture to help with spiritual growth and alignment in the etheric, mental, and astral bodies along with chakras in body and out of body. By working on these ‘outer’ levels we can influence physical changes, but mostly the intention is to grow as a person and move more into alignment with our true purpose and service. Many of my newer patients are very focused and committed to this level of growth. These types of treatments can be very transformational, helping the body keep up with the spirit and offering a safe harbor for the spirit along this journey. Essentially I see this as going way back to the alchemical roots of acupuncture history where acupuncture was a means of alchemy - transformation and the quest for immortality. Of course we aren’t becoming immortal with acupuncture, but as we connect more fully to our divine self and intention we can actually experience a life much greater, in all ways, than just the programmatic birth - school - marriage - work - give birth - die life we’ve become accustomed to. This type of treatment isn’t for everyone of course, and does require that a person be also supporting themself with their own growth processes, looking at their inner shadow, meditating, etc. I know you've got a new project starting, the Integrative Healing Institute. What inspired this project and what's it all about? Yes! The Integrative Healing Institute is a soon to be 501(c)3 non-profit research and education institution that I’ve founded. The primary goal is to offer affordable continuing education courses to acupuncturists, and eventually other healthcare providers and the general public with a focus on content that bridges the spirit - mind - body connection. In addition I hope to see this project start to take on research projects looking at how different modalities affect patients in this way across all aspects of what it means to be human, not just the physical body. I wanted to offer these courses and content because it’s an aspect of this medicine I feel is sorely lacking in general practice and these areas of practice aren’t included in school curriculums. The courses currently have a really good range of topics and interests, from emotional wellness, facial acupuncture, we have a big year long dream series course, ancestral healing, differential diagnosis and treatment of lower back pain and a business course taught by my personal business coach Ryan Rigoli on Uncovering the Uniqueness of Your Brand which I think is an essential for any business owner who wants to be successful without ‘selling their soul’ to do it. In 15 years, what do you hope you'll be able to say about the direction our field has taken since the time of this interview? In 15 years I hope that East Asian Medicine and Acupuncture is able to not only become more accepted and mainstream as a treatment, but also that we can call back the roots of the medicine to make it more complete. We see this stripping down of the medicine to fit into the western mold continuously happening, like with dry needling or the medicare ‘inclusion.’ And while it’s obviously great to become more accepted in the western field, I hope we are able to do that without paying the price of the alchemical essence of the medicine. These systems of medicine were created thousands of years ago, and it was not by some logical type process of noticing a needle in the ankle helped the back feel better, it was done through intuition and connection, a real ability to see into the body, sense the energy flow and how it manifested in a particular pattern. This is part of the mission of The Integrative Healing Institute, to help preserve this beautifully poetic essence of the spirit of the medicine and not let it get washed away with the point prescriptions and randomized control trials. I hope every acupuncturist one day comes to ask themselves, if being accepted into a broken and failing system like westernized healthcare in the United States is truly what we want to happen? Particularly when it comes at the cost of the beauty, nuance and vast potential of the medicine when we include the spirit, mind and body? I think with the growing number of people looking more into their own existence, spirituality and doing this kind of deep healing work where we are breaking generational patterns and limitations, we have a real opportunity to help support people through this process of growth. Acupuncture is so much more than just pain reduction or better sleep, it can actually be a tool we use to help know ourselves more deeply, to attune to our intention for this lifetime, to help others around us heal and move forward into a state of more community. We have a powerful system of medicine at our hands, we should use it wisely and to help create more harmony on Earth. About Kim Dr. Kim Peirano, DACM, Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM), LAc, CNC has been a licensed, practicing Acupuncturist since 2010, a published author, speaker and intuitive healer; her treatments aim to access the deep inner workings of the mind-body-spirit connection to help her patients unlock the root cause of disharmony. Dr. Kim is a pioneer and teacher of Integrative Cosmetic Acupuncture, with over a decade of experience with Facial Acupuncture, her unique and innovative style aims to demystify the science behind why this treatment is effective, teach students an effective protocol and open the doorway to the greater healing potential of the treatment by addressing the Shen and Spirit of the patient. You can find out more about her San Rafael-based practice at www.lionsheartwellness.com/ or explore the offerings of her new non-profit at www.theintegrativehealinginstitute.com

This Community Care Zine was created as a project for Dr. Nishanga's Public Health & Chinese Medicine class at AIMC Berkeley Fall 2021. Use the arrow keys to flip through the Zine or use the menu to download a copy to your computer or view Fullscreen! Leslee Kurihara: Illustrations, Printing Yin Tang, Dropping The Yin, (By Alicia Dawn Rympa) Seaweed Recipe / Winter List (By Nishanga Bliss) Railyn Taylor: Cover Art Herbal Salve (By Carmel Javier) , Whole Home Free Sam Lai: Editor, Fundraising Outreach Illustrations and Content: Oakland Chinatown Map, Tui Na Sarah Siegel: Art Direction, Layout Note from Authors Shan Zha Recipe, Four Gates/Horses, Of Grain and Water

Read & download this zine to learn about discrimination & racism in healthcare-- and how the Black Panther Party and other activists fought for public health initiatives in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It provides a historical roadmap of healthcare injustices towards communities of color and specifically Black people in the U.S.– and also an inspiring glimpse into grassroots healthcare projects from the Young Lords, the Black Panthers, and other activist organizations. Enter fullscreen mode for an immersive experience, or download the Zine so you can follow the links throughout to learn more. About the Author AIMC graduate Maya Zitrin, LAc., MS, authored this zine as a project in her Public Health course at AIMC Berkeley. She published the first version in June 2020 and revised it in November 2021. She is an RN and truly understands integrative medicine. She is working on a research project studying ambiguous racism, it’s affect Ego-depletion leading cardiovascular disease in Black people, and how acupuncture and qi gong provide effective treatment modalities.

Join AIMC Berkeley's Herb Pharmacy Manager, Le Jiang, to learn how to make a nourishing pear paste for the Autumn. Pears are known for their moistening and cooling properties in East Asian Medicine. With the addition of other yin-nourishing herbs and the tonifying properties of honey, this delicious paste is the perfect salve for fall's dryness. Qiu Li Gao (Autumn Pear Paste) Ingredients: The raw herbs are available through the AIMC Pharmacy ; ask your practitioner for a "prescription" of them next time you visit our in-person or telehealth clinic! Pears ----------------------------------- 2000g Luo Han Guo (Monk Fruit) -------- 1 piece Sheng Jiang (Ginger) -------------- 70g Chuan Bei Mu (Fritillaria Bulb) --- 15g Fu Ling (Poria) ----------------------- 25g Bai He (Lily Bulb) -------------------- 15g Mai Dong (Ophiopogon Tuber) --- 15g Ge Gen (Kudzu Root) --------------- 30g Hong (Hei) Zao (Date) -------------- 70g Feng Mi (Honey) --------------------- 75g Sugar ----------------------------------- 100g Water ------------------------------------ 3500ml Prepare Work: Core the pears and cut them into small pieces. Peel the ginger, slice it to a quarter-inch thick. Crush Luo Han Guo (Monk Fruit) into small pieces. Grind Chuan Bei Mu (Fritillaria Bulb) to fine powder and mix it with honey. Soak the herbs (Bai He, Mai Dong, Fu Ling, Ge Gen, Da Zao) for 30 minutes. Mix all the herbs with pears and Luo Han Guo, covered with water, and soak for 6-8 hours. Cooking time: After soaking, boil for 2-3 hours. Pour out & preserve the juice, cover ingredients with water again, and boil for another 2-3 hours. Add ginger to the second boil. (If you do not like ginger’s taste to be too strong, add ginger in the last 15 minutes of the second boil.) Filter & combine juice from both batches & bring to a boil. Turn down the heat once fully boiling. Add sugar into it. Keep your eyes on the thickness of the juice and stir frequently to avoid burning. It is ready when the liquid is dripping slowly from the spoon. Pour the paste into a glass or ceramic that can seal. Wait until the temperature drops to around 40°C (104°F), mix the Honey Chuan Bei Mu with it. Seal it and enjoy. Preserve and dosage: Preserve the pear paste in the refrigerator. It can be used for up to 8 weeks. Take a tablespoon full of the paste and dissolve in warm water. Take as needed or consult with your Chinese Medicine practitioner. Caution: If you are interested, please contact your Chinese Medicine Practitioner to make sure this paste is a great fit for you.

A Day of Fun One day in October of 2021, we founded a new AIMC Tradition: The Annual Community BBQ & Intern Olympics . Students, friends, family, and all of our staff & faculty members were invited to join us for a day of fun, food, and friendly competition in Tilden Regional Park. The Intern Olympics The Intern Olympics started with an opening Wuji posture ceremony, followed by balloon needling, blind herb taste testing, point location bingo, and a Jeopardy grand finale. Spirits and excitement were high as our competitors stood to win a consortium of herbal goodies, CBD products, some amazing Shen Nong t-shirts, fancy acupuncture needles, beautiful insulated tea mugs, valuable herbal gift cards, and other assorted donations from Mayway , BioEssence , LhasaOMS , TCMZone , Pure Spectrum CBD , & Crane Herbs . Thank you so much to all of our teachers, supervisors, staff members, & student volunteers who made the day a success! We can't wait for the next one. More Photos Head to our Facebook Photo Album to check out more of the action!

Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College, Berkeley proudly supports the work of the Sogorea Te' Land Trust. We recognize that our school is located on land that was the home of Ohlone people who lived in reciprocity with the land. Lisjan Ohlone leaders in the East Bay today are the descendants of the survivors of genocidal terror and colonization. We mourn the loss of Indigenous lives and wisdom and offer deep gratitude to the surviving families who are building and visioning the path to healing. "Shuumi means gift in Chochenyo." -Sogorea Te' Land Trust As a voluntary "tax," the Shuumi land tax contributes to the important work of the Sogorea Te' Land Trust, which includes tending the land, growing traditional crops and medicinal plants, revitalizing ancestral practices, the creation of an emergency response hub, and educational outreach efforts. As of 2021, Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College, Berkeley will pay Shuumi land tax annually. Today, on Indigenous people's day, we want to invite all of our community members to do so as well. Visit the Sogorea Te' Land Trust website to calculate & pay this "tax" to participate in the healing process. Their website also includes a wealth of information about Indigenous history in the Bay Area & provides many resources to learn more about the Ohlone people & the land back movement.

About Sapho Sapho is a queer non-binary East Asian Medicine practitioner who has a background in social work, nursing, and massage therapy. Their passion to work with people of all genders, bodies, abilities, race, economic status, age has cultivated their experience over the years. They have a strong motivation to work with people who are in any kind of life transition, grief, hormonal transitions, anxiety, depression, sleep and digestion issues. Their focus is to encourage and support an individual’s movement towards freedom and a sense of wholeness by providing a safe space to heal and grow. Q & A What was the catalyst for you to explore practicing East Asian Medicine & attend acupuncture school? I was a bodyworker/massage therapist for several years and started working at an acupuncture clinic when I moved to the Bay. I was really attracted to herbal medicine and learned more about my ancestry and how my grandma used herbs to help people in her village in the Philippines. Everything aligned to move me towards studying medicine as I trusted my process. Do you have a favorite part of your day or part of treatment? I really enjoy connecting with people and witnessing their growth as they build awareness of their bodies—holding space as they shift and change. As trust is built, it can feel very intimate to hear stories from their pain. Do you have a particular vision for the future of our field? This medicine plays an important role in connecting to our bodies through awareness and felt sense. The more we're connected with ourselves, we can connect to other people and all beings and the land we live on. I hope that everyone who goes through Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture school will help share these principles of nature that this medicine is based on. I also hope that insurance companies will recognize acupuncture more, in a way that doesn't extract from it, to keep its sacredness. This world is changing so rapidly, it's also hard to predict what I'll be doing with my practice in the coming years. I'm focused on doing whatever I can to be in reciprocity with the land, like farming and making herbal medicine. I'm also developing skills in feng shui and divination. My life is my practice, it's all integrated. I'm excited to see how everything unfolds. Often practitioners notice cyclical patterns of symptoms in their patients at different moments in time. Any particular themes in your patients or treatments of late? With the pandemic and fires, there has been a lot of grief and loss, on top of flare-ups of pain and inflammation. It’s been a heavy time. Also something that has always fascinated me is when people from the same bloodline come in together for treatments and I notice they have similar pain as if it was passed down or ancestral. I’m seeing more and more that we must heal as a community, our pain isn’t independent of each other. Inside of your mission statement, you say, "Sessions are aimed to be accessible and inclusive to all." What does that look like in practice and how do you work towards this goal? I try to make this medicine as accessible as possible, starting with the clinic space. I try to work in spaces that are accessible to differently-abled folks with ramps and different modifications to how you can lay or sit to get a treatment. I strive to have low to no scent clinic environments to be mindful for folks with multiple chemical sensitivities. I also try to use language during consultation that doesn’t inflict shame, so it feels safe to share. On my intake forms, I always include a space to share pronouns. I also offer sliding scale rates for those who need it. What advice would you share with current students? It may be hard to do this under all the pressure of exams and studying, but don’t forget your joy and do things that make you really happy because that’s what will sustain your energy throughout school, and eventually work. Do you have any resources you recommend for students or practitioners who may not be a part of the LGBTQ+ community but want to make sure that their treatment rooms are safe(r) spaces for that community? I think a big way for people to create safety not only in the clinic but for our world is to stay updated with trans and gender issues to become an ally. There is way too much death and anti-trans bills in our country right now and it comes from our system and cultural misunderstandings. You can follow Alok Vaid-Menon for a start, an international non-binary poet and artist. Connect with Sapho Sapho offers home visits & treats patients in several Bay Area Acupuncture & Wellness clinics. Visit their website saphoflor.com to get in touch.

Every Acupuncturist has an origin story. You can ask any of us about the treatment or series of moments that led us to the big, scary thought “I want to be an Acupuncturist.” We had already asked our Acupuncturist why they look at our tongues or why some points feel spicier than others, we’d listened to podcasts about East Asian Medicine or maybe even read The Web That Has No Weaver , we’d tried some meditative practices, and stacks of books about herbalism and the energetic body threatened to topple over on our nightstands. Some of us took Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College’s Introduction to East Asian Medicine course just to peek a little further. And then maybe we looked up some information about the career. We discovered that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics all signs look good with the mean annual wage for Acupuncturists at $97,270 in 2020 and growth in the field. We read about the VA & hospitals hiring acupuncturists , and expanding insurance and Medicare coverage for Acupuncture. We were ready. So what's next for the curious-Acupuncture-fan-turned-wannabe-Acupuncturist? First, you have to choose the right school & program for you. A Masters or Doctorate of Acupuncture is a 3 to 4 year degree, so do your research & see what feels right for you. After earning your degree, each state has its own regulations around licensure & practice. Choosing a School Finding the right Acupuncture school for you requires some time and investigation. It’s helpful to create your list of priorities in a school. My priority list in choosing an Acupuncture Medicine College includes a friendly, supportive community, affordability, highly experienced faculty, strong herbal training, and located in the beautiful Bay Area. Some questions to consider: Are you open to moving for the right school? Are you looking for a more friendly or competitive environment? If you will be working, what options does the school provide for part-time, working students? What financial aid & scholarship opportunities does the school offer? How much experience does the teaching staff have in both the arenas of teaching & clinical practice? What are your career goals as an Acupuncturist & does the school have Faculty or Alumni role models for that kind of practice? How successful are Alumni on their Licensing Exams & in their careers? What internship or study abroad opportunities does the school offer? Any school that you’re considering should have ACAOM accreditation information on their website, or you can look up their accreditation status here . If your ultimate goal is to practice Acupuncture in the state of California, check to make sure that the schools you’re considering are approved by the California Acupuncture Board so that you can sit for the California Acupuncture Licensing Exam. To get a feel for the school environment and quality of the education, we always recommend sitting in on classes and visiting the Student Clinic of the schools you’re considering. Usually, the Admissions Team can set up these visits for you. Study, Study, Study From day one of school, Acupuncture students dive into multiple modes of medicine. They learn to converse in and understand the language of Western Medicine and evaluate and treat patients in the language of East Asian Medicine. Major Subjects of Study: Foundations of East Asian Medicine Diagnostic Skills & Treatment Planning Acupuncture & Treatment Techniques Herbology* Western & Integrative Medicine *Not all Acupuncture programs teach Herbology. If that’s a specific area of interest, double check the curriculum & title of the Degree to ensure you’re getting the well-rounded knowledge you’re looking for. All California-approved schools must teach Herbology as part of the degree. As a multi-faceted medicine, Acupuncture school involves some rote memorization, some embodied, kinesthetic learning, and a chunk of personal growth and development. We memorize anatomy, acupuncture point locations and functions, and herbal properties. We practice Qi Gong & massage techniques to gain an embodied knowledge of East Asian Medicine. And, no matter what age we are or professional background we come from, we all find that there is an aspect of personal evolution that East Asian Medicine school unlocks in us. Learning happens on all levels-- body, mind, and spirit-- in the East Asian Medicine classroom. Getting Licensed Once you’ve got your Acupuncture medicine degree in hand, there’s a little more to do before you start building your private practice, join a Community Clinic, or apply for jobs. Every state has its own regulations on the practice of Acupuncture. Check the NCCAOM State Licensure Requirements Map to learn about the variety of regulations from state to state. In California, to-be Acupuncturists are required to take the California Acupuncture Licensing Exam. Some other states require a combination of 3 or 4 of the NCCAOM Examinations or NCCAOM Certification. Then, it’s off to the races for the career of your dreams! To see the array of creative possibilities for a career in Acupuncture, read up about our Alumni in our Alumni Spotlights . Study at AIMC Ready to start your journey into holistic & integrative medicine and curious if AIMC is the right place for you? Take our quiz and explore our Master’s and Doctorate programs, and financial aid options. Attend our next Open House to learn more, ask questions, & have your application fee waived! About the Author Ally Magill is a recent AIMC graduate with a background in birthwork as a labor and postpartum doula, outdoor education, and the management of thriving community acupuncture clinics. Her mission in her practice and life is to co-create a world where individuals and families are living into their own epic radiance and embodied wellness. She studied Five Element Acupuncture at the Maryland University of Integrative Health before joining AIMC for the herbal & integrative medicine portion of her Master's degree. She has had the opportunity to study the teachings of Daoist master Jeffrey Yuen through his students & incorporates Classical Chinese Medicine into her practice.

Herbal medicines & herbal supplements have grown in popularity in recent years; they’re on grocery shelves and promoted in the pages of beauty magazines. You may reach for Elderberry and Echinacea at the first sign of a cold or flu or put “Functional Mushrooms” in your smoothies for their promises of extra brain-power or smooth skin. So what’s the difference between picking up recommended herbs off the co-op shelf and visiting an East Asian Medicine-trained Herbalist? What Are Herbal Properties? In East Asian Medicine, we study herbs for their many properties: they all have a taste, a temperature, a set of channels they enter, a main category of function, and secondary functions. Many have regions of the body that they have an affinity for or can guide to. Let’s take one of East Asian Medicine’s most famous & sought after herbs to see how this works: Ren Shen, Ginseng Temperature: Slightly Warm Taste: Sweet, Slightly Bitter Channels Entered: Lung, Spleen Category: Tonify Qi Functions: Tonify the Original Qi. Tonify Spleen & Stomach (Digestive) Qi. Generate body fluids & stop thirst. Tonify Heart Qi & calm spirit. Treat impotence related to Kidney yang. Looking at all these functions, it would seem that Ren Shen could be considered a panacea for any fatigue, exhaustion, anxiety, or digestive sluggishness. So why is an East Asian Medicine herbalist much more likely to prescribe a formula that includes Ren Shen, like Si Jun Zi Tang, than Ren Shen alone for our patients? Balance & Harmony Because we know that everything in life and everything in the body is connected, an herbalist knows that using a strong, tonifying herb like Ren Shen to prop up the Qi without looking at the whole system could invite some unintended consequences. If Qi is the thing responsible for warming and lifting the muscles and organs, what will happen to someone who is exhausted and menopausal with hot flashes? If this person doesn’t have the Yin to support such a big boost in Qi, we could be setting them up for a sweaty disaster. What about someone with sluggish digestion who also has hypertension headaches where their face flushes and their head hurts? Patients with these “Liver Yang Rising” symptoms could get worse from taking Ren Shen even though it's energy boosts may appeal to their high-achieving work ethic. These patients can still have a formula that includes Ren Shen-- or its more mild cousin Dang Shen-- when we apply the basic principles of formula building in East Asian Medicine. Building Formulas To build a well-balanced formula, the Classical texts teach us that each formula should ideally have: Chief: The main herb to address the primary issue at hand. Deputy: One or more herbs that also address the primary concern or secondary symptoms related to the chief complaint. Assistants: Herbs that mitigate any unwanted effects of the Chief & Assistant herbs and help bring the formula together as one working unit. Often include “harmonizing” herbs that aid in the digestion of the formula itself. Envoy: An herb or herbs that guide the formula to the specific channels, areas of the body, or organs the formula is designed for. Classical Chinese Medicine often borrows metaphors from everyday life in the era and culture that birthed it; the metaphor of Chief or King, Deputies, Assistants, and an Envoy helps bring life and understanding to the dynamic, strategic role each herb plays in a given formula. As we build a formula or customize a Classical formula from one of the great herbalists of history, we look at the temperatures, tastes, regions of the body, and functions of each herb to ensure that the formula won’t be too harsh, too hot or too cold, too hard to digest, too uplifting or downbearing, or any one of a hundred other factors at play in formulation. It is both an art and a science that our student interns spend over 3 years learning to perfect in our classrooms and clinic. Formulating with Ren Shen We name dropped Si Jun Zi Tang earlier-- it's one of East Asian Medicine's most famous & beloved formulas. The simple four-herb Qi Building formula is a building block for many others. Let's take a look at how the effects of Ren Shen can be enhanced and balanced in a thoughtful formula. Chief: Ren Shen, Ginseng-- Powerfully tonifies Qi. Deputy: Bai Zhu, Atractylodes--Tonifies Qi. Assistant: Fu Ling, Poria-- Drains Dampness. Moderates Ren Shen & Bai Zhu's uplifting, warming features with some gentle downward, elimination-oriented effects for balance & harmony. Envoy: Gan Cao, Licorice-- Guides the Qi of the formula to the Middle Burner, or the digestive system, & harmonizes the formula. There are many formulas that further build on the harmony of Su Jun Zi Tang and add more layers of complexity to the clinical picture: Liu Jun Zi Tang, Shen Ling Bai Zhu San, and Gui Pi Tang to name just a few. Whole Picture Medicine We can bring in an example from Pharmaceutical History to demonstrate the advantages of looking at the whole picture & using whole plant medicines rather than extractions, synthetic versions, or even single herbs rather than whole formulas. Willow Bark and Aspirin Aspirin was developed from Willow bark, which was a traditional medicine in Indigenous communities across Europe, parts of Northern Africa, & North America. Chemists of the late 1800’s isolated Salicylic Acid as the “active ingredient” at work in this plant medicine, and set about finding a synthetic version. They successfully created acetylsalicylic acid and gave birth to Aspirin. The trouble with this story is that salicylic acid is much less abundant in Willow bark than in a dose of aspirin, and yet Willow Bark has a powerful analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect just like high dose Aspirin. What’s more, Willow Bark does not damage the gastric mucosal lining as we know Aspirin does. With more investigation over 100 years after the discovery of the wonder-drug Aspirin, we now know that the flavanoids and polyphenols of Willow bark are an important part of it’s therapeutic effect and are even more beneficial than salycylic acid alone. Zooming out, this lesson even extends to combining plants-- the compounds in each plant can build on another’s potency, balance effects, and help our bodies integrate their medicines. Try an Herbal Formula Want to see the difference that a custom herbal blend can make for you? Check in with one of our Clinic Interns or Professional Acupuncturists at the AIMC Berkeley Clinic to get your custom blend. Book your appointment , where we can offer you individualized treatment advice and create an herbal medicine prescription that is tailored to you. Learn Herbal Medicine Come study at AIMC! AIMC Masters & Doctorate students start learning Herbal Medicine in their very first trimester and continue building on that foundation throughout their several years of training. Learn the difference combining Eastern and Western medicine can make, for you and your patients. with any questions you may have. About the Author Ally Magill is a recent AIMC graduate with a background in birthwork as a labor and postpartum doula, outdoor education, and the management of thriving community acupuncture clinics. Her mission in her practice and life is to co-create a world where individuals and families are living into their own epic radiance and embodied wellness. She studied Five Element Acupuncture at the Maryland University of Integrative Health before joining AIMC for the herbal & integrative medicine portion of her Master's degree. She has had the opportunity to study the teachings of Daoist master Jeffrey Yuen through his students & incorporates Classical Chinese Medicine into her practice.