Opening Through

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Classical Chinese Herbal Principles in Action in Response to Covid-19: Free Talk

Good Morning!

Today, at 12:30 EST (9:30 am PST) I’ll be giving a free, online talk called Classical Chinese Herbal Principles in Action in Response to Covid-19.  You can register free at this link:

https://healthyseminars.com/sharon

This lecture discusses the foundational principles a group of us are grounding ourselves in as we work with patients with the coronavirus.  The treatments that follow from these principles are proving to be very helpful for those who are quite ill.  This talk will be followed by a series of talks that go into the specifics about the formulas we are using, when and why.

After the talk, the recording will be available for 48 hours.

I hope you can make it!

 

By |2020-04-03T04:04:40-07:00April 3rd, 2020|Classic Formulas, Corona Virus, Individual Herbs, Opening Through, Shang Han Lun Physiology, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Bai Zi Ren 白子仁

How do we get to know herbs?  Zhang Jing-Yue says

“There are many medicinals, each with their own respective natures. Because the countless indications and contraindications are diverse, it is difficult to know them all. If he who uses the medicinals does not grasp the essence, it is inevitable that he will make many mistakes. If he only considers the which governs, or only considers the secondary actions; if he only cares about ‘what benefits this but does not benefit that’, then his ignorance about what is true and the rigidity in his attempts to lasso the wild horse will result in a lack of effectiveness.”

What does it mean to “grasp the essence” of an herb?  Zhang goes on to say:

“There is only one truth for the use of herbs, and that is the mastery over their qi and taste, along with the knowledge of their yin and yang. This way, even though there are many of them, one will be able to grasp their essence.”

We often learn herbs simply in relation to their listed functions.  “What does this herb DO” is the place […]

By |2019-06-09T14:21:42-07:00June 9th, 2019|Experiential Formulas, Gynecology, Individual Herbs, Opening Through, Xia Guisheng|0 Comments
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Teeny Tiny: Chi Xiao Dou Dang Gui San

It’s been a while since we’ve had a teeny tiny formula post. I am writing today about a favorite of mine, one that really packs some power: Chi Xiao Dou Dang Gui San.

This formula is written about in two places in the Jin Gui Yao Lue.

Firstly it is in Chapter 3 on Pulses, Patterns and Treatment of Bai He (Lilly) Disease, Hu Huo Disease and Yin Yang Toxin Disease. Line thirteen says:

“The patient has rapid pulses, no fever, slight vexation, reticent but with a desire to lay down, and sweating. Three or four days after the initial onset, the eyes are red as those of a turtle dove. After seven or eight days, the four corners of the eyes turn dark. If the patient is able to eat, this indicates that pus has developed. Chi Xiao Dou Dang Gui San is indicated.”

Secondly, it is in chapter 16: Pulses, Patterns and Treatment of Fright palpitations, Purgation of Blood, Fullness in the Chest and Static Blood where line 16 says:

“With bleeding in the bowel, first there is bleeding followed by defecation. This is called proximal bleeding. Chi Xiao Dou Dang Gui San is indicated.”

Ah, the Jin Gui text…..it can be difficult to determine how […]

By |2018-01-01T16:46:58-08:00December 30th, 2017|Classic Formulas, Gynecology, Individual Herbs, Liu Han Tang, Opening Through|0 Comments
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Chinese Herbs for Lactation

Recently a practitioner posted a query on our Chinese medicine egroup wondering about a patient who suffered from insufficient lactation. It gave me the idea to post some interesting and very helpful material for this type of thing. Anyone working with women during pregnancy and through the postpartum time will come up on nursing issues and Chinese herbal medicine has so much to offer. I myself had insufficient lactation some 21 years ago and made myself some Pig’s Trotter Soup (see below) and experienced first hand the way it worked instantaneously.

In the Graduate Mentorship Program we spend a 3 full days on treating women during pregnancy and postpartum and some of the principles taught in this program are illustrated below. I’d like to mention these before going into the case studies:

When seeing women during the postpartum time, there are several checks that need to be done along with your regular intake and diagnosis. All of the issues you check for have an influence on the breast milk.

The first thing you check for is the woman’s appetite and thirst. If the woman has a poor appetite, it will be difficult for her to transform her […]

By |2017-12-29T20:18:03-08:00November 15th, 2012|Famous Doctors, Gynecology, He Shao-Shan, Obstetrics, Opening Through, Our Courses, Zhu Xiao-Nan|0 Comments
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A Case of Difficult Birth

Here is another interesting case from Dr. Yuan Ming-Zhong 原明忠 of Shan Xi.

As Dr. Yuan says below, most cases of difficult birth end up as cesarean sections.  In this case, the woman had an allergy to any type of drugs which made both Pitocin and surgery unavailable as viable options.  This case and the one in the last post make me think of how much wisdom Chinese medicine carries that should not be lost.  With the advent of high technology in the world of birthing, there is a risk much of this could be lost.

Kai Gu San (Open the Bones Powder) modified to treat difficult birthing by Dr. Yuan Ming-Zhong

Ms. Guan, age 29

Main Complaint: Ms. Guan’s water had broken on March 4, 1982 and so she entered the obstetric ward of the hospital.  On March 5, she passed some blood which spontaneously stopping on the afternoon of March 6.  She was not aware of any fetal movements.  On March 8th, the obstetrician did a check up and saw that her pelvis was relatively small.  The fetal heart tones were low.  They wanted to do a caesarian section but Ms. Guan had an allergy to both the anesthesia and to antibiotics so she was unable to have surgery.  She also had […]

By |2017-12-29T17:32:39-08:00May 13th, 2011|Famous Doctors, Gynecology, Obstetrics, Opening Through, Yuan Mingzhong|2 Comments
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Opening-Through Presentation

In this entry, I am offering a presentation taken from a class I recently taught.  I went into some detail about the method of opening through.  At the end of the presentation I have included two case studies from my own practice.  The intent of these case studies is to show how the opening through method can be used for pathology in which the main complaint is clearly not gynecological.  In these cases, though this is true, taking into account the blocked menses was clearly an important aspect of the diagnosis and treatment.  I hope you find this as interesting and useful as I do!  Click below to start it.

Opening Through Presentation

By |2018-01-25T15:00:41-08:00May 31st, 2010|Famous Doctors, Gynecology, Opening Through, Theory and Practice, Xia Guisheng|0 Comments
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益腎通经汤 Yi Shen Tong Jing Tang Boost the Kidneys and Open-Through the Menstruation Decoction

In this next entry on Dr. Xia’s opening through methods, we learn some very interesting principles.  His formula, Yi Shen Tong Jing Tang is indicated for Kidney deficiency type amenorrhea or scanty menstruation.  However the mechanism of the formula works with the Heart’s descending action to both supplement the Kidneys and to open through the menstruation.  This formula and this chapter on the formula illustrates a fundamental aspect of women’s physiology that is not often described.  This is the relationship between the Heart Qi and the vessels of the womb.  The Heart Qi must descend to the womb.

It is also interesting to note that Dr. Xia uses this formula for adolescent women who are suffering from amenorrhea, scanty or late menstruation.  He makes clear that there must be some vaginal discharge present to begin this formula.  In other words, if the woman is completely dry, with no vaginal discharge, the first treatment principle must be to increase moisture.  When the moisture just begins to show – that is the time to use this formula.  After using this formula, the vaginal discharge and ovulation mucous will begin to flow even more abundantly.

Yi Shen Tong Jing Tang

Formula Name:

Yi Shen – refers to supplementing and […]

By |2018-01-25T15:08:20-08:00May 30th, 2010|Experiential Formulas, Famous Doctors, Opening Through, Xia Guisheng|0 Comments
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进退温经汤 Jin Tui Wen Jing Tang Modified Warm the Menses Decoction

This is the next entry in this series of entries.  If you haven’t read the previous 3 entries, I recommend you go back and read them.  Each entry is an expansion of the previous one.

Here we expand on the idea of opening through by looking at blocked menstruation when there is cold.  Dr. Xia has created this formula based on Wen Jing Tang (Warm the Menses Decoction). What i didn’t realize before reading this chapter, is that there is another formula named Wen Jing Tang besides the one from the Jin Gui Yao Lue (Essentials from the Golden Cabinet).  There is a formula of the same name from the Fu Ren Da Quan Liang Fang (Complete Book of Effective Formulas for Women).  The ingredients of this formula are as follows: […]

By |2010-05-30T18:40:09-07:00May 30th, 2010|Experiential Formulas, Famous Doctors, Opening Through, Xia Guisheng|0 Comments
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五味调经散 Wu Wei Tiao Jing San Five Flavor Synchronize the Menstruation Powder

“He substituted Mu Dan Pi for Zhi Zi and Shan Zha for Liu Qu.  He did this because Mu Dan Pi and Shan Zha enter the blood level while Zhi Zi and Liu Qu do not.  Brilliant! ”

Todays entry includes the next section in Dr. Xia Guisheng’s chapter on opening through menstruation.  He uses his formula Wu Wei Tiao Jing Tang (Five Flavor Synchronize the Menstruation Decoction) as a jumping off point to discuss some basic ideas about the treatment of irregular menstruation due to congealed blood.   Wu Wei Tiao Jing Tang is a simple and small formula.  It’s design represents some of the basic principles of working with blood stasis in relation to menstruation and it’s size makes it ideal for combining with other formulas or for adding other herbs. […]

By |2010-05-30T18:31:57-07:00May 30th, 2010|Experiential Formulas, Famous Doctors, Opening Through, Xia Guisheng|0 Comments
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