Please enjoy the hundreds of articles that Dr. Borten has written over the past 20+ years. There’s something for everyone, including explorations of spirituality, learning from the natural world, exercise and stretching, nutrition, psychology, posture, breathing, pain management, Eastern medicine and philosophy, and much more.
As we approach fall, it’s a good time to discuss seasonal junctions. Both Ayurvedic and Chinese systems of medicine see the changes of seasons as times when we are more susceptible to being thrown out of balance as our body is challenged to adapt to…
This month, I’ve been writing about Ayurvedic medicine and Vedic science. Ayurveda is an ancient healing system with ashtanga, meaning “eight limbs” (like the highly popular eight-limbed system of yoga outlined by Patanjali and developed by Patabi Jois). The limbs of Ayurveda include disciplines such…
In last week’s article on longstanding medical philosophies, I introduced India’s ancient system of health and healing: Ayurveda. In any discussion on Ayurveda with English speakers, the first thing to get out of the way is pronunciation. About half the people I meet pronounce the…
Several years ago, an old friend of our family from Germany became a proud graduate of medical school. She worked at several hospitals in Europe and Israel and then was awarded a residency at a prestigious medical center in the U.S. I was very curious…
This month I’ve been thinking about the most memorable experiences I’ve had through The Dragontree. One that stands out is this. About ten years ago, a young man came to see me for treatment of multiple sclerosis. He was in a large electric wheelchair and…
In this month’s series on pain, I’ve detailed the interventions that I feel make the biggest difference in sustainable pain management without medication. I haven’t mentioned drugs because I feel their side effects make most of them inferior for chronic pain management. For short term…
This month’s we’ve been focusing on non-pharmaceutical approaches to pain relief. (If you missed the previous articles you can click to read part one and part two.) The Chinese Medicine concept that’s been central to our discussions is that all forms of pain are caused…
In last week’s article, I introduced the Chinese Medicine concept that all forms of pain are caused by stagnation, and I explained that the standard of care for traumatic injuries – rest, ice, compression, and elevation – may actually inhibit the healing process. This week…
This month’s theme is one of my specialties: pain management. There’s so much I could write about dealing with pain, but the fact is the approaches that are of greatest benefit to most people don’t need much explanation. As with most simple things, they’re easy…
The human microbiome is the total collection of organisms that live on and in your body, and there’s a growing recognition among scientists that they have quite a lot to do with our health. Different organisms live in the armpit versus the toe creases. In…
Last week I wrote about the importance of getting the garbage out of your system to promote healthy skin. In Chinese Medicine, the skin is sometimes referred to as the “third lung,” because it “breathes” through its pores – excreting toxins and absorbing what’s put…
When you think about people, chances are you think about skin. Most of what we see that isn’t covered up by clothing is skin, after all. Humans are skin bags. Sorry, did that make you feel kind of gross? Anyway, like it or not, the…
In the past month’s series on nutrition, I explained how the manner in which we eat can affect us as much as our food choices can. We looked at the vital roles that cooking and chewing play in digestion, and the importance of eating slowly…
This month’s theme is nutrition, and I started the series by explaining that, while we have greatly improved humans’ odds of surviving childhood, we haven’t made as much progress in prolonging the lives of older people. Old people tend to die of conditions that are…
When I was quite young, my family experienced a “health revolution.” As my mother learned more about holistic health and how to take care of her body naturally, she began to change the way our family ate. We had always been an active family, so…
Last week I wrote about the tremendous jump in average human life expectancy that occurred just in the last 200 years. It went from 30-something to 70-something. The thing is, this change was almost entirely due to a reduction in child mortality. If we compare…
When I sit down to write an article, I often feel like I’m having a conversation with you, the reader. Except that it’s a one-sided conversation, in which I never ask you about yourself and I just monopolize the whole exchange. So. . . how…
In this month’s series of articles on meditation, I’ve tried to be gentle on you. They say people can be motivated by the threat of a stick or the reward of a carrot, and I really want to believe the carrot works better than the…
Once upon a time, a woman stumbled upon a tarnished bronze oil lamp in her backyard. Hoping it was one of those genie lamps you hear so much about, she rubbed it. Sure enough, a genie popped out. “Hello,” said the genie. “As you’ve probably…
In case you’re wondering what’s the cause of all the buzz around the water cooler, well, people have been talking about The Borten Principle. I introduced it in last week’s newsletter, Meditation and the Lottery. Basically, it states that your decision to act (versus not…
Oftentimes when flying, travelers may find themselves with a few minutes to spare prior to their flight, just enough time to get a bite to eat and a quick chair massage to address those shoulder knots. However, there are those *fun* times when travel plans…