I am now introducing Sally Rappaport’s Talk: which will be on Monday, April 6 at 12 noon, EST.  As a follow-up to my lecture from last Friday, April 3, White Pine Institute and the Shen Nong Society, with the generous help of Healthy Seminars, are offering a series of classes on the formulas mentioned in the original lecture. This free series is taught by a group of classical herbalists who are all approaching the crisis with similar foundational principles as discussed in the lecture.  These talks are free and are designed to help Chinese herbal practitioners hone their skills in working with the ill patients that come to you.  This is the point of view and methods we are using and having great results with.  Our group is in the process of gathering our clinical results.  We will keep you posted!

Sally will be giving a foundational talk on Ma Huang Tang and Gui Zhi Tang, As You’ve Never Heard Before.  Though these particular formulas will not be appropriate for most presentations of Covid-19, understanding them as Sally is teaching them, is key to understanding the logic behind other very key formulas.  I encourage all practitioners who are facing patients with coronavirus to register for this free lecture.  

There is a lot of discussion going around in Chinese medical herbal communities about what kind of methods are needed to help people who come down with the coronavirus.  Much of the literature coming out of China give protocols for the illness in its most advanced stages in which people must be hospitalized.  Some state that Ma Huang and Gui Zhi will not be correct at these stages because the stage is characterized by strong heat toxin and these herbs are pungent and warm.  Although at first glance, this makes great sense.  On deeper examination, this may be too simplistic for a couple of reasons.

The first reason is that early stages, though they change fast, do sometimes or even often start with Tai Yang presentations.  Intervention at this stage can be very helpful in preventing the progression from becoming as serious.

Secondly, as I’ve discussed in an earlier blog post, even at a serious stage, and even at a stage in which there is intense heat, the exterior may still need resolving and these are the allies to do the job.

Ma Huang and Gui Zhi are a sort of Mutt and Jeff pair.  Though they are very different from each other, you often don’t think about the one without the other.  They work in opposite as well as complementary ways.  They are just ordinary herbs and yet they have extraordinary power for healing, when understood properly.

Plus, Sally is awesome!  She is the founder of the Shen Nong Society and a skilled, smart, articulate practitioner of Classical Chinese Herbalism at its best.  I hope you can all make it to her lecture.