toby daly

Before writing this post, I want to let you know about a precious Sa’am learning opportunity.  You can learn about it here.  This course will be such a profoundly good investment in your acupuncture practice.

Toby Daly and Dog

In my clinic, I’ve been practicing Sa’am acupuncture pretty exclusively for almost a year.  I learned about it first from an article in the Journal of Chinese Medicine and then by hearing a Sa’am practitioner, Toby Daly, being interviewed by Michael Max on the Qiological Podcast.  It was listening to this interview that really started to get me intrigued by the ideas behind Sa’am acupuncture.  In my own work, I had been studying the relationship between the Wu Xing and the Liu Qi, the 5 phases and the 6 Qi in relation to herbal medicine and classic formulas.  Toby’s discussion brought the two together for me in relation to acupuncture in an exciting way.  Each Zang and Fu is related to both a phase and a Qi.  For example, the kidneys are of the water phase and of the fire Qi (the Qi of Shao Yin).   The liver is of the wood phase and wind Qi (the Qi of Jue Yin).  Based on the characteristics of these combinations, one diagnoses, and treats.  I […]