Topics in Chinese Medicine Blog

Reflections on the wisdom, practice, and living tradition of Chinese Medicine

Two Excellent Zhi Zi (栀子Gardenia Fructus) Formulas for Sleep

2026-06-17T18:50:30-04:00By |Blog, Classic Formulas, Individual Herbs|

Continuing the discussion of classical formulas for sleep, Sharon introduces two effective zhīzǐ formulas: Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng and Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng.

She begins with zhīzǐ itself, the fruit of the gardenia plant: bitter in flavor and cold in nature, it discharges fire, dispels vexation, clears heat through urination, cools blood, and resolves toxins. Its key action is to disinhibit the shàoyáng pivot. When that pivot is inhibited, descending heat (the physiological life-force) accumulates and turns pathological, affecting all three jiāo. Zhīzǐ is uniquely able to clear heat across all three. It works especially well when an inhibited pivot agitates the spirit or blood and concentrates the urine to a hot yellow.

Both formulas treat an agitated spirit manifesting as insomnia, differing by where the blocked pivot sits. Sharon uses Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng when the insomnia involves too much thinking (waking and unable to turn the mind off), and Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng when the patient wakes with a distinct feeling of anguish. When patients relate to neither, a zhīzǐ formula isn't appropriate. A follow-up post will explore why dàndòuchǐ and gānjiāng are used.

Read More
 0

Venus Rising Spotlight Interview with Sharon Weizenbaum

2025-10-27T22:14:14-04:00By |Podcast|

In this Venus Spotlight Interview, Sharon Weizenbaum, L.Ac.—renowned herbalist, acupuncturist, and founder of White Pine Institute—shares her journey through decades of study, teaching, and clinical practice in Classical East Asian Medicine. Her Graduate Mentorship Program continues to shape the next generation of practitioners with its focus on diagnostic clarity and classical roots.

Read More
 0

Chinese Herbal Medicine for Depression and Anxiety by Sharon Weizenbaum

2025-10-27T22:01:26-04:00By |Videos|

In this in-depth presentation hosted by Kamwo and ASNY, Sharon Weizenbaum shares her clinical experience using classical Chinese herbal medicine to treat depression and anxiety. Drawing from decades of practice and teaching, she discusses the energetic patterns behind emotional suffering—such as Yin–Yang disharmonies, cold blood, and Shao Yang pivot issues—and how classical formulas can restore balance, vitality, and emotional ease.

Read More
 0

Sharon Weizenbaum on Classical Chinese Medicine: Cases (Staph, Diabetes, Epididymitis) (Part 3 of 3)

2025-10-27T22:16:18-04:00By |Featured Pod, Podcast|

In this final conversation of the three-part series, Waleed Almusharaf speaks with Sharon Weizenbaum about real clinical cases—ranging from diabetes and staph infections to post-COVID syndrome and epididymitis. Sharon demonstrates how accurate diagnosis unfolds through attentive observation and classical understanding.

Read More
 0

Differentiating Several Patterns that can Explain Insomnia

2025-10-27T17:35:31-04:00By |Blog, Classic Formulas, Neijing, Our Courses, Shang Han Lun Physiology|

One of my students, Polina Shneyderman, recently posted her results using Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng as follows:

I wanted to share a case that was helped so much by a tiny formula I learned from Sharon in her GMP. I have a patient who is a textbook Guìzhī Tāng pattern and who has done really well on different modifications of Guìzhī Tāng. She has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, where her body produces too much collagen, and as a result, she has heart palpitations, agitation, and very loose joints. Guìzhī Tāng has helped with heart palpitations, periods, cold, and body aches. One thing I could not tackle was her waking up before her alarm in the morning, feeling a sense of terror or fear of missing something important.
I learned from Sharon that there is a formula called Zhīzǐ Chǐ Tāng—zhīzǐ and dàndòuchǐ—and that it can help with this kind of terror. I added these two herbs to her formula, and she now sleeps soundly and peacefully until her alarm wakes her up. The bonus—her blood pressure is normal now, too—patients with EDS tend to have dangerously low blood pressure.
Just wanted to share a success story and thank Sharon and other White Pine mentors who help us all be better clinicians.

In the next post, I will discuss this […]

Read More
 0

Zǐwǎn (紫菀, Aster tataricus) for Constipation

2025-11-24T10:02:08-05:00By |Blog, Chinese Translation, Individual Herbs, Opening Through|

I am currently in a translation workshop, led by Stephen Boyanton, with Lorraine Wilcox and others. The quirky cases Lorraine shares are a constant delight for the participants. Recently, she shared a case in which the doctor spun the patient on a home-made wheel until he vomited to obtain a cure for the patient’s insanity. In another case, the patient had a lump due to grief, and the doctor successfully treated him by teasing him until he laughed so hard he could barely stand it. These cases are wonderful and will hopefully find their way into a book for all to enjoy and learn from.

Today, Lorraine posted this case in our new White Pine Circle Translation Support Group. It is from Volume 2 of 俞弁《續醫說》 Xù Yī Shuō by Yú Biàn (1522, Míng):

宋蔡元長苦大便秘，國醫用藥，俱不能通利，蓋元長不肯服大黃故也。時史載之未知名，往謁之閽者，齟齬久之，乃得見既而診脈，史欲出奇曰：請求二十文錢。元長問何為，曰：欲市紫菀耳。

(Northern Sòng dynasty prime minister) Cài Yuánzhǎng suffered constipation. The Imperial Doctors used herbs, but nothing could free his stool. It was probably because Cài Yuánzhǎng was not willing to take dàhuáng. At the time, Shǐ Zàizhī was not a well-known doctor. He called on Cài, but the gatekeeper argued with him for a long time. Eventually, Shǐ got to see Cài and took his pulse. Shǐ was about to leave and strangely asked for 20 coins. […]

Read More
 0
Skip to content
Go to Top