Blog

Hello and Happy Spring.  Time does fly, and I see that we neglected to conclude our thoughts on the characteristics of Chinese herbal formulas.  I hope to return to that in the upcoming week or two.

For now, we have noticed a tremendous uptake in callers asking about Harvard Pilgrim insurances.  Apparently other offices have made the probably difficult decision to stop taking that insurance.  Sarah and I (Kevin) remain in network with Harvard Pilgrim.  We have over the past several weeks learned how to be more effective at working with the insurance companies more successfully.  I wish I could say it was easy, but unfortunately in some respects it is not particularly easy.  Certain plans are harder to verify benefits for, and we ask if you have Harvard Pilgrim it would help us if you would be able to verify if you have acupuncture benefits beforehand.  We still do need to check benefits prior to your first visit.  This is because we need to know if you have a deductible, how many visits you might expect to get covered, if and what a copay might be, and sometimes people are told they have coverage but we find out they do not, so there is a miscommunication.  That should be done before your first visit, and if you upload your information into our portal we can check it, sometimes people send us pictures of their cards which is OK, and you can also just come in and we can make a copy of your card to check.  However it is done, we need to check beforehand so as to get the details on the plan.  Wouldn’t it be nice if life were simpler!

So, for those with Harvard Pilgrim coverage, looking for a clinic that will accept it, we welcome you to contact us.  We also take BCBS, Kevin is in-network with Aetna, and we can check other companies on a case by case basis, there are a few others we are in network with presently.

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to meeting you.

We are working on a small article about Chinese herbs, the making of formulas and dispensing granules. This has led me to think of posting on the construction of herbal formula. Chinese herbs work best in the company of other Chinese herbs. A little bit like people? Working best when working together as a team!

You may hear us or someone talk about “Classical” Chinese formulas. These are formulas from the Classics of Chinese Medicine. Since the history of this medical approach certainly predates the written word, we can most assuredly think of this as a very ancient medicine indeed. And it continues to evolve and be repurposed today, for example new formulas were being written to treat Covid. It is a living medicine, and continues to morph and transform over time. But the “Classics” come from one of a couple very ancient Chinese medical texts, the main one being the Shang Han Lun, or “On Cold Damage”. This text has several dozen “Classical” herbal formulas and has been annotated and commented on for literally thousands of years. These are the classical formulas, like Gui Zhi Tang, that have been tried and true all this long time, and we know they work well if correctly applied. These seminal texts not only were collections of herbal formulas and their uses, but were careful delineations of ways to think about how disease manifests, how illness can change and transform through the energy layers of the body. So, Classical medical thought within Chinese medicine uses these strategies to both diagnose and treat illnesses.

But, let us return to the idea of a team. Remember this is from ancient Chinese culture, it is more a discussion of rank in society, or hierarchy and less of a “team”… this is how herbs interrelate. Though formulas vary widely and not all formulas have the cast of characters I will list below, this is a general idea of how a formula works.

Chief. (Monarch, Emperor). The herb of highest importance, chosen to treat the main disease.

Deputy (Minister), Aids the Chief, or treats a coexisting but lesser symptom. Basically, does a similar job to the Chief but less powerfully, like an Assistant Manager helps the Manager.

Assistant. Mainly, this function moderates any side effects of the Chief or Deputy herbs. For example, the Chief may be a hot or heating herb, but a Deputy might be slightly cooling instead, which moderates the Chief herb.

This is a little bit like the old “good cop bad cop” idea.  Both cops are cops, with the same ultimate aim, but they go about their jobs of helping each other by each taking different approaches.  One is a little more heavy-handed (“bad cop”) and one nicer and friendlier (“good cop”).   The “good cop” moderates the harshness of the “bad cop”, and their team of two works very well.   Just like the Chief/Deputy and Assistant work well together.

Envoy. This guides a formula to a certain area of the body, such as a physical structure (e.g., the low back) or an organ (e.g., the lung).  Certain herbs are said to act powerfully on different areas of the body, and those are the envoys of a formula drawing the healing effects of the team to the area that most needs the help.

Next week, I will break down a formula using this nomenclature.

Kevin will be in Colorado for continued education in Core Synchronization this week.

What an incredible whole grain!  This is buckwheat, beloved grain of macrobiotic cookery.  This is a gluten free grain, but so filling and full of essential vitamins and minerals minus any of the negatives for those with gluten sensitivity.  Buckwheat was my morning’s breakfast, done within 15 minutes, with a little cream and maple syrup, perfection!

Hello,

What I wanted to write a few sentences about today was Core Synchronism.  This extremely special technique was developed, or should I say, continues to evolve, by Robert Stevens, who led the New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics in New Mexico.  Sadly, that school has now closed, but a small group of dedicated practitioners continue to develop and learn Core Synchronism, including myself who did not attend the New Mexico school.

I first learned about Core Synchronism around 2002, when I received it from friends in New Mexico.  It was life changing, to say the least, and tuned me into the real magical possibilities of healing, and indeed the human body and consciousness.  We are each of us full of qi and life, and there is a motion very quietly and profoundly occurring in our bodies all the time.  I will call this the tidal flow, or yin and yang phases of the body.  Core Synchronism touches this level of Being, and helps bring harmony to the very subtle movement coursing through our Beings all the time.  As we are chronically stressed, checking out our cell phones, being inundated with TV news, difficult driving, financial pressures, and toxins, no doubt the natural flow becomes out of harmony.  We become accustomed to life “not in the flow”.  This is the normal we are accustomed to.  With Core Synchronism, you can touch right back into your true flow, the flow that Nature intended.

Core Synchronism is not widely practiced.  There are a handful of practitioners East of the Mississippi, and most of the others are on the West Coast.  This is a therapy that I often include at no extra charge with my acupuncture patients, particularly if there are sleep or stress concerns.  While people rest with needles, I often will do up to a half hour of Core Sync on them.

It is non-pathology specific, which is to say, it isn’t specific for any particular condition.  However, I have noticed that nearly everyone feels better, more energized, better sleep, less stress, and less body pain when receiving it.  Come, try some Core Synchronism today!  In March, I will be taking Level 3 with Robert Stevens himself, and will have much more to say about the healing potential of Core Synchronization soon.

We have migrated over to a new online booking system, Jane App.  This is a highly functional online booking system and we think that if you are looking to schedule yourself online, it will be easier to look up available times than our previous system.  If you are a new patient and are looking at the online schedule you will find that it won’t work, but you can see available times and get an idea of when you might like to come in.   However, to do the actual initial booking, please contact us by phone or text first.

The reason is that we really have had some confusing moments with some new people that we hadn’t had an initial conversation with before the appointment.  We will take just a few minutes on the phone with you first to make sure we can meet your needs and that any questions will be completely answered before we see you.  I hope this makes sense and that it will be a better system overall.

Looking forward to seeing you soon. Here is the link to the new online booking system.

Happy December!

The first fickle flakes of snow are drifting downward upon Southern New Hampshire.  As this cold air filters into our environment and the Yuletime solstice draws nearer, it is an especially good time to try MOXA in your treatment.  Current visitors may notice we recommend it a bit more this time of year.

Perhaps you have stepped into our office and wondered – what’s the strange smell?  Are Sarah and Kevin heading down to the Massachusetts dispensaries in their spare time??  No!  That unique smell is moxa, which is the herb mugwort.

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses moxa in a variety of ways.  Taken internally it is called Ai Ye, and is very warming to the interior, helps bleeding disorders, and more. This is a herb we use in some of our formulas, for example Jiao Ai Tang.  Most often we customize our formulas and add it into some other classical formula.

Moxabustion is used externally, and is one way we warm the needles.  (We also use TDP mineral heat lamps, which nearly everyone loves).

Moxa is a loose herb, and we roll small balls of it and place it on selected needles.  We burn these balls or cones of moxa, and the heat passes through the needle deep into the interior of the body.  Wow, this can be so effective for things like where cold is lodged in the interior (do you feel worse in cold weather?), arthritis, pain from muscles or even internal organ disorders like constipation or ovarian cysts.  Most people – if they don’t mind the smell or trails of light smoke wafting over them love moxa – it feels like warmth is penetrating deep into the body, going just where it is needed most to give healing qi and warmth to those aches and pains that just won’t go away.

So, moxa is one of the many offerings we provide here at Perfect Point Acupuncture.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Moxa can also be done using smokeless “moxa sticks”.  These cigar shaped black cylinders arc a very penetrating heat and it can be very helpful for different areas harder to effectively treat using ball (smoky) moxa, like the neck or jaw, or finger joints.

Happy Holidays!