(Originally published as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) Addictions are a prevalent feature of modern American life. Tobacco, alcohol, coffee, pain killers, sleeping pills, television, porn, the internet . . . Humans are creatures of habit. While addictions undermine our sense of…
From a pretty young age, I had a sense of the divisiveness surrounding differences of religion, but it was hard for anyone to help me understand why. Especially since, aside from our labels, I couldn’t find much that was different between the Jews and Christians…
(Originally published as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) About five years ago, my wife announced that she was going to open a spa and asked me if I wanted to move my practice there. I had been practicing Chinese medicine for a…
I wrote this article (more of a list, really) around winter of 2002, after having been in practice for just three years. Since then I’ve changed my thinking a bit around some of my previous recommendations, and I’ve adopted some new ideas. So, this being…
Ah, summer. The warm, bright sun, birds chirping, bees buzzing, and the sound of ice cream trucks in the air. We crave cold, sweet things like lemonade, ice cream, popsicles, and gelato. Somehow the specialness of summer convinces us to let ourselves and our kids…
(Originally published as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) In the late 1950s, a psychologist named Lawrence Kohlberg proposed six levels of human reasoning, a theory now known as Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development. In a nutshell, Kohlberg explained that these six stages…
(Originally published as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) Bowel health is a topic that rarely comes up in everyday conversations. More often we talk about what we should or shouldn’t consume at the other end of the digestive tract. But let us…
(Originally published as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) Autumn returns us to our essence, moves us to eliminate what we no longer need, and reveals again what is most precious in our lives. Each of the seasons offers lessons about the world…
(Originally published as a two part article for Imbue Pain Relief Patch) Part One Many people who have pain or numbness in the wrist, hand, or fingers are told they have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and may believe surgery is their only option. But CTS…
(Originally published as an article for Imbue Pain Relief Patch) Fundamental principle of pain #1: All pain is caused by stagnation. Blood that’s not moving properly causes pain (such as the pain of a heart attack, menstrual cramps, or any trauma that damages blood vessels). …
(Originally published as a twelve part series of articles for Imbue Pain Relief Patch) You can just scroll down to start reading or use these links to jump to a particular section: Part One – Intro to joint pain, what it is, the most basic…
(Originally published as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) The soybean is an amazingly useful, versatile plant. It has been manufactured into everything from printing inks, plastics, and textiles, to a fire-extinguishing foam. Soybean oil and soy protein have found their way into…
(Originally published as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) As the owners of The Dragontree, an unusually challenging part of our job is deciding which massage therapists to hire. Briana and I have always agreed that if the spa is to going to…
(Originally published as a two part article for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) My pursuit of a deeper understanding of Chinese medicine has led me to an exploration of Chinese culture. And the study of Chinese culture has led me to Daoism, Confucianism, and Chan…
(Originally published as a three part series of articles for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) Part One Commitment means different things to different people. It’s generally regarded as a noble thing, though sometimes our commitments make us feel obligated or trapped. Other times, being committed…
(Originally published September 2009 as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) I am so frequently asked about milk substitutes by my patients that I decided to present a survey of the options. The purpose of this article is not to go in depth…
The “Chinese Clock” is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine in which each of our organs is considered to have a time of day when it is strongest and does its best work. The day is divided into twelve two-hour segments, each belonging to a…
Often in human history, the significance of a major discovery hasn’t been appreciated until a much later date. Sometimes the one who made the discovery died before the world recognized their achievement. One such discovery, still awaiting the widespread recognition it deserves, is the concept…
(Originally published as a four part series of articles for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) Part One Recently, I saw the movie, Limitless, about an author with writer’s block and little in the way of personality or potential. He discovers a drug that allows him…
(Originally published as a summer newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) We have just entered what Chinese Five Element philosophy defines as the Fire season. And, as wildfires scorch much of the Mountain West, it seems a fitting time for a discussion of this…
(Originally published as a newsletter for The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa) Last month, I wrote about how visualizing a desired outcome can enhance our chances of achieving that outcome. It’s practiced all the time in sports, with athletes creating mental movies of themselves performing at…