Shows
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 28: An update on Notes from Your AcupuncturistHey podcast listeners, I’m putting an indefinite pause on Notes from Your Acupuncturist. This quick episode talks about why, or you can read the written update on Substack here. Thank you for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notesfromyouracupuncturist.substack.com2024-02-1604 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp 27: What’s the deal with acupressure mats?Patients have been asking my opinion on acupressure mats for years. I finally got tired of saying, “I don’t really know,” so I decided to try one out for myself.If you don’t know what an acupressure mat is…picture a thin rectangular mat, like the kind you used to lie on at nap time in kindergarten, and it’s covered with rows of plastic circles, each about the size of a quarter, and each plastic circle has several short plastic spikes sticking out of it, and you lie on it. It’s like a plastic bed of...2023-11-2240 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp 26: Thriving Through Perimenopause and Menopause, with Clarissa KristjanssonHave you ever found yourself in a difficult and confusing phase of life, wishing you had a guide—someone to sit you down, pour you a cup of tea, help you make sense of it all and show you the way forward?If you’re navigating perimenopause or menopause, Clarissa Kristjansson is your person.Clarissa is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, educator, and an internationally recognized expert on perimenopause and menopause. She offers a wealth of practical advice and recommendations for weathering all of the changes that come with this phase of life, and enco...2023-11-0854 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 25: Becoming a Curable Person, with Jason Moskovitz“I have recognized myself—as a professional, as a parent, as a partner—that the better I take care of myself, the more I can be present and connected to those that I care about.” -Jason Moskovitz, L.Ac.One of the things I love about doing this podcast is reconnecting with people I knew years ago, seeing where life and practice has taken them, and hearing some of the wisdom they’ve accumulated in the decades since we first met.Jason Moskovitz is one of those people. We both studied acupuncture at Yo San University...2023-10-2542 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 24: Is acupuncture safe? Exploring the risks and side effectsIn recent weeks a news story has been making the rounds about a woman who suffered a double pneumothorax as a result of an acupuncture treatment. A pneumothorax is just a fancy way of saying a collapsed lung, and although it’s exceeding rare for acupuncture to cause one, it is a possible adverse event. So I thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about the risks, side effects, and safety record of acupuncture.Acupuncture is safe. Really, really safe. But like all forms of medicine, it is not entirely risk-free. So let’s talk abou...2023-10-1335 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 23: Lunar Acupuncture: Harnessing the Power of the Moon for Healing, with Dr. Michelle HamiltonHave you ever had more insomnia during a full moon? Have you ever felt more introspective or melancholy during a new moon? Have you ever wondered if the pull of the moon might be affecting your physical body, your emotional state, and your life? We know the moon affects the tides, and our own bodies contain about 60% water—so why wouldn’t the phases of the moon affect us as well?Licensed Acupuncturist Dr. Michelle Hamilton has spent a lot of time exploring these questions, and has developed a unique treatment approach she calls Lunar Acupuncture, using the...2023-09-2051 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 22: Unraveling Long COVID: A Chinese Medicine Approach with Luriko Ozeki“China has had many epidemics over its thousands of years of existence, so Chinese Medicine developed an exquisitely complex and sophisticated understanding of disease, especially epidemics and infectious disease.” -Luriko Ozeki, L.Ac.Licensed Acupuncturist Luriko Ozeki has specialized in pediatrics for many years. But at the start of the covid-19 pandemic, she took on a new role: offering telemedicine services for adults who were suffering from the effects of long covid, and desperate for help. She’s gone on to work with many long covid patients, both adults and children, using Chinese Medicine to help guide their...2023-09-0646 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 21: Challenging Systems of Oppression and Reclaiming Ancestral Practices with 李道玲 Camellia Dao-Ling McDermott LeeWhen 李道玲 Camellia Dao-Ling McDermott Lee contacted me about coming on the podcast as a guest, I knew that theirs was a perspective I wanted to hear and share. As a biracial member of the Asian diaspora, and a fifth-generation Taiwanese healer, Camellia has spent years trying to understand why their own Asian family members would express disdain for the ancestral healing traditions of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. Was it internalized racism? Survival instinct? Perhaps even, love?Camellia's narrative is interwoven with tales of war, empire, and anti-Asian racism that profoundly impacted their family's choices. Their unique academic path...2023-08-2348 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 20: Is acupuncture just a placebo? And what even is the placebo effect?No, acupuncture is not “just a placebo.” Let’s talk about why.I can’t tell you how many times I and every other acupuncturist I know has been asked, “Isn’t acupuncture just a placebo??” Usually it’s by someone who’s keen to dismiss the legitimacy of one of the world’s most enduring forms of medicine, simply because they don’t understand how it works.First of all, don’t knock placebos. They work. Sometimes they work just as well as the Real Thing. For example, which would you rather undergo: real knee surgery or pretend...2023-08-0922 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 19: The Microcosm Reflects the Macrocosm: Chinese Medicine as a Holistic Model for Disease and Health, with Jeffrey SchifanelliChinese Medicine history, philosophy, and practical advice…all in one episode!What happens when you blend ancient wisdom with modern understanding? Jeffrey Schiffinelli, licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese medicine, provides an enlightening exploration into holistic disease models, the power of adaptogenic medicine, and the beauty of this ancient practice that views the body as a whole functioning organism, reflecting the natural cycles and biological systems that exist on our planet.In this episode, Jeffrey and I journey through some of the classic texts of Chinese medicine, a few scholarly theoretical concepts (which we try ou...2023-07-2649 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 18: No, berberine is not "nature’s Ozempic." So let’s talk about what it actually is.You know an herbal supplement is having a moment when it’s mentioned in a New York Times headline. I’m not on TikTok, so I had no idea berberine was a rising social media star until the attention-grabbing NYT headline landed in my inbox, asking “Is Berberine Nature’s Ozempic?” And that’s how I learned that influencers on TikTok, Instagram and who knows where else were touting it as the newest and hottest weight loss aid—a natural, cheaper version of Ozempic. But let’s be clear: berberine is not nature’s Ozempic. There’s no such thing as “nature’s O...2023-07-1218 min
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 17: How Acupuncture Supports a Healthy Pregnancy, with Jerusha DeGroote StephensAt every stage of pregnancy, acupuncture benefits parents and babies, and offers natural, drug-free relief from common ailments in pregnancy.Back in episode 11, Jerusha DeGroote Stephens and I talked about the benefits of Chinese Medicine for infertility and IVF support. Today, we’re talking about what happens AFTER the positive pregnancy test.Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it can also be a time of great anxiety, particularly for someone who’s been through a pregnancy loss. As Jerusha says, acupuncture creates the space for your brain to downshift and let go of the stress of a...2023-06-281h 00
Notes from Your Acupuncturist: Conversations on Acupuncture, Alternative Medicine and Holistic HealthEp. 16: Currents of qi: A journey along the acupuncture meridiansMeridians. They’re where the qi flows, where the acupoints are located, and what we tap into with acupuncture needles… But like, what ARE they?Acupuncturists tend to use analogies to describe meridians. Meridians are like blood vessels, but they carry qi instead of blood. They’re like a system of roadways. They’re rivers of energy flowing through your body. They’re all of these things and more.Meridians are hard to define because they’re immaterial, yet they do so much. Without them, we’re not alive. They flow in predictable patterns, and yet we can man...2023-06-1411 min
Life Fulfilled Podcast — Ever wonder? “Is this all there is?”Ep 87 My Voice Box Battle and the Promise of Acupuncture TreatmentWelcome to episode 87, a takeaway from my conversation with Alexa Bradley Hulsey on episode 86, where we delved into the health benefits of acupuncture.Alexa, a board-certified acupuncturist since 2005, shared her journey from social work to acupuncture, driven by her fascination with this ancient Chinese medicine. She adopted a community treatment model to make acupuncture affordable to more patients, focusing on balancing blood, chi, yin, and yang for optimal health.Acupuncture can treat a range of conditions including pain, stress, anxiety, depression, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, skin conditions, allergies, and more. Alexa's approach treats both the...2023-06-0712 minLife Fulfilled Podcast — Ever wonder? “Is this all there is?”Ep 86 How Acupuncture Can Improve Your Health in MidlifeOn episode 86 we delve into the fascinating world of acupuncture with Alexa Bradley Hulsey. Alexa found her calling when she visited an acupuncture school and felt an immediate sense of belonging. Today, Alexa works independently, adopting a community treatment model that allows her to see 6 to 8 patients per hour at a more affordable rate for her patients.Alexa takes us through the basics of acupuncture, explaining the concepts of blood, chi, yin, and yang. These elements are all about balance and harmony, and how they interact within our bodies can affect our health.A...2023-06-0533 min