Treatment of Mutes: Children and Horses
In Chinese medicine, treating young children is sometimes referred to as the treatment of mutes. This points to the fact that young children are unable to communicate their experience with words. Practitioners have to rely on signs, most often with the help of the parents. Does the child throw off their blankets at night or do they want more covers? Are they clingy or resistant to being held? Is their cry loud or whimpery? Treating animals is much the same. Though, as a practitioner, I try to hone my observation skills, like most practitioners, I also rely on the patient’s verbal articulation of their experience. Treating beings who cannot express this way can be quite difficult. This is why my confidence in treating animals is shaky.
A recent case in point: My horse Jasper has had a chronic cough. It was never a bad cough but enough that I noticed. Over time I have tried moistening his hay in case it was caused by dust and I’ve tried several herbal formulas. Admittedly, the formulas I chose were not well thought out. It was more of a “maybe I’ll try this” approach. I think this approach is common for practitioners when we don’t have a lot of confidence and part of the reason for […]
Sleeping Piglets 
Recently I was speaking to my friend and teacher, Andy Ellis about Wen Bing. He told me about a book I had not heard of. This text is by the late Dr. Hu Xi-Shu called
When I first learned about Chai Hu, I learned that, among other functions, it serves to “raise the Yang Qi.” In combination with Huang Qi, it is used for this purpose in Li Dong-Yuan’s 
Last week I saw a woman who was having difficulty with nursing. She was 2 1/2 weeks postpartum. She brought her beautiful daughter with her which was such a treat! Then her husband took the baby so we could have some good time to look at what was going on.
Have you ever wanted to go deeply into a body of Chinese medical knowledge, taking your time, making sure you really get what is being taught in a way that allows you to integrate it into your clinic? Have you wanted to do this with the guidance of supportive leading practitioners and scholars in our field, able to ask them questions and clarify your confusions? Have you wanted to do this in a community of learners that you get to know over time as you share your clinical quandaries and successes?
How do we get to know herbs? Zhang Jing-Yue says