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Nourishing Destiny: The Inner Tradition of Chinese Medicine – Lonny S. Jarrett
This book is genuinely eye-opening. It is an advanced text focusing on five-phase acupuncture models. It discusses various phase types, and also utilizes case studies to clarify his perspective. It is highly psycho-emotionally oriented, and therefore useful to add to the more standard library of acupuncturists.
Lonny Jarrett is one of the few authors who provides a complete analysis of the five elements that can be applied to everyday practice. His approach provided extra information needed to better treat an energy imbalance, rather than symptoms alone. The way Lonny combines the things we learn, the way we interpret the world, and the make-up we bring to it, was practical and applicable. If more books like Lonny's come to print, I believe Western Chinese Medicine will really have come of age.
There are other books out there, but few that have an easy to read format for both students and patients. This is a must read for anyone who desires to learn and understand Five Element Chinese Acupuncture. Lonny is great to hear in lecture but much better in his writing style.
The Practical Application of Meridian Style Acupuncture – John E. Pirog
As the name implies, meridian based acupuncture places a prime importance on the meridian system in both the diagnosis and treatment of disease and dysfunction in the body. It is often called classical acupuncture because its theory is based on ancient classical texts like the "Ling Shu", the "Su Wen" and the "Nan Jing."
Meridian based acupuncture contrasts with the herbalized form of acupuncture taught in most TCM schools in the USA today. Where herbalized acupuncture has strict anatomical location of acupuncture points and assigns functions to points based on the "Eight Principles" like clearing, harmonizing, tonifying and reducing in order to effect the Zang-Fu, meridian based acupuncture stresses palpation to locate points and ascribes two functions to points... tonifying deficiency and reducing excess.
Until recently information on classical meridian based acupuncture was only available in workshops from practitioners like Miki Shima, Kiiko Matsumoto, Jefferey Yuen, Mark Seem and others. A few books on the Japanese style of meridian based acupuncture are available ("Introduction to Meridian Therapy, Denmei and Brown") and Mark Seem's books are based on meridian acupuncture ("A New American Acupuncture".)
Just as the body is viewed as a series of energetic zones and levels in meridian style acupuncture, Pirog designed his book in five sections leading step by step to a deeper understanding and application of Meridian Style acupuncture.
Pirog begins on a superficial level by laying out the basics of Meridian Style acupuncture: (1) finding and needling locally tender ahshi points, (2) determining the meridian(s) involved and (3) needling key distal points of the involved or energetically related meridian.
Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine – Harriet Beinfield & Efrem Korngold
For anyone seriously interested in learning about Chinese medicine, Beinfield and Korngold provide a comprehensive, though technical, look at it. The book is divided into three parts: theory; the psychology of Chinese medicine and therapy; and such treatment methods as acupuncture, herbs and diet. Licensed acupunturists, Beinfield and Korngold stress that the models of Eastern and Western medicine are significantly different. Consequently, so are methods, emphases and outcomes. Chinese medicine, they claim, readjusts the body's balance and enhances self-healing–while Western medicine, in contrast, stresses suppressing and eliminating pathological phenomena, and crisis-intervention.
The authors don't discount the need, in some instances, for Western medicine. In fact, they bring this issue up poignantly with an event close to home: their son was born with a heart deformity that required specialized surgery. To help maintain his health, his parents incorporated herbal remedies in his diet. A particularly interesting concept is "culinary alchemy" or kitchen medicine, based on the Chinese tenet "Who we are determines what is most beneficial for us to eat." The authors provide an extensive, cross-referenced compendium of herb names, as well as information on using Chinese patent medicines and formulas for general health problems.
Student Manual: Fundamentals of Traditional Oriental Medicine, 4th Edtn – Tyme
This work presents the theory and practice of abdominal diagnosis with the greatest care ever applied to an important diagnostic technique. Beginning with an historical and cultural perspective on the use of palpation in general, and abdominal palpation in particular, the book details the information required to master and extend the techniques presented. Introductory chapters concern the role of the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of Chinese medicine. Detailed etymologies, historical context, and classical sources are used to acquire a greater insight into hun, po, zhi, jing, and shen, as well as many other seminal concepts.
The text offers an exceptionally well detailed exploration of interior meridian pathways and the role of classical Chinese energetic anatomy, including concepts such as source and origin. This is followed by a description of the anatomy and physiology of the body's energetically active fascial system, drawn from the latest Western studies, that establishes the authors' rationale for acupuncture based in a complex biological information system. Detailed, step-by-step procedures for practical diagnosis and therapy are accompanied by profuse illustrations and useful case histories.
The treatment systems described are coordinated through the abdominal patterns and are staged from the general to the specific. Therapies and techniques include hara shiatsu, sotai and breathing exercises, and five-phase treatments. Clear instructions are provided for using Manaka's ion pumping cords, mu point diagnosis, O-ring diagnosis, and secondary diagnostic and treatment strategies such as palm diagnosis. The text concludes with a full description of biorhythmic treatment procedures drawn from the Da Cheng and Dr. Manaka's practice. This chapter contains the information necessary to use the biorhythms, including tables for the bi-hourly and daily meridian rhythms, stem-branch rhythms, the ten-day cycle of the phases and source points, and the sixty-day cycle of the extraordinary vessels. The point associations are detailed, as are the selection procedures.
The text presents everything that is required for a practitioner to begin clinical application. Hara Diagnosis is replete with useful therapeutic and diagnostic information, clinical and theoretical insight, and approaches to the understanding of acupuncture that draw East and West ever closer. It is the first text generated in the U.S. that has been favorably received by Japanese practitioners.
Hara Diagnosis: Reflections on the Sea – Kiiko Matsumoto & Stephen Birch
In 1996, I published the second edition of the Student Manual on the Fundamentals of Traditional Oriental Medicine which has been widely adopted by Traditional Chinese Medicine students and teachers alike as a major source of TCM reference material. I constantly hear students express their gratitude for these materials which has proven useful in classes, clinical use and the preparation of comprehensive exams.
Since that time, and while constantly working with students, I have noticed certain areas of TCM that lack a more thorough treatment of certain material. In this, my latest effort designed as a thorough and concise reference text, I have accomplished a major reorganization of the original material in addition to new topics that were not included in my original work. The inclusion of new topics has arisen from clinical necessity and includes sections on auricular and scalp acupuncture, root and branch diagnosis and a much needed section dealing with the details of electro-acupuncture.
Reorganization of older material includes new sections on complete differentiation of tongue and pulse diagnosis and organ physiology including both diagrams and written explanations of internal pathways complete with organ and channel pathologies. The section on acupoints includes point locations with individual diagrams next to its description along with functions/actions according to the major source texts.
As our medicine becomes more popular and clinical cases demand a more thorough knowledge of source material, I hope to provide students and practitioners alike with the most complete and consolidated reference text available in our field.
A Practical Guide to Vibrational Medicine – Richard Gerber
A practical, succinct description of tomorrow's medicine.
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the old paradigms underlying the sciences are beginning to fall apart. This is nowhere so clearly seen as in medicine and in the physical sciences. Physicists seeming to be less resistant to innovation than physicians, quantum theory has effectively replaced the mechanistic theories of Newton and even the relativistic teachings of Einstein as orthodoxy.
Vibrational healing now occupies a space in relation to conventional biomedicine precisely analogous to that held by what was called the 'New Physics' in the 1940's and 50's.
Dr. Gerber informs us that vibrational medicine philosophically rests on the recognition that the human being is more than a physical body, but also incorporates a "body" of life energy, a "body" of sensitivity and feelings, and a spiritual essence or Self. Vibrational modalities interact with these subtle bodies of the human being, evoking specific qualities in response. We can say that they work in a similar way to inspirational music or art, which carry meaning through the vehicle of sound or light, while the modalities of vibrational medicine work through the medium of the patterns of energy that suffuse, enfold and interpenetrate our physical selves.
Modern physics has known for decades that matter and consciousness are intertwined so finely as to seem to present the two as but aspects of a single phenomenon. Medical science nonetheless continues to utilize a nineteenth century model of the human being as a mechanism, but another machine―in a world of machines. Given present trends, we can reasonably expect that in the coming century medical science will develop ways of assessing the impact of consciousness on health, and we will learn more about ourselves and the ways in which vibrational healing modalities work.
Live in the Balance – Linda Prout
For over three thousand years practitioners of Chinese medicine have known that food is health-giving. Now path-breaking nutritionist Linda Prout synthesizes the basic principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with the science of western nutrition. With a clear focus to help readers achieve balance, Prout introduces the concept of balance and describes the signs and symptoms of various patterns of imbalance from a TCM perspective. She provides simple self-assessments readers can use to determine their own tendencies toward imbalance, and recommends foods, cooking methods, and lifestyle changes to balance each pattern. Fats, proteins, carbohydrates and sugars are each discussed from a western nutrition and eastern perspective, with beneficial and potentially unhealthful choices given for each body pattern.
From Publishers Weekly
Prout, a nutritionist at the Claremont Resort and Spa in Berkeley, Ca., believes that people could lose weight and improve their general health by modifying their Western diet to include the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM is based on the principles of balance (yin-yang) and Qi, which the Chinese believe is our vital life force. Key to the success of TCM, she explains, is understanding one's "pattern of imbalance" (e.g., "dry," "damp," "warm," "cool") and personalizing one's diet to maintain healthy equilibrium or "strong spleen Qi." Nevertheless, Prout acknowledges that "it is likely that you will have combinations of more than one pattern," and even if a person is balanced, he or she can experience periods of imbalance (e.g., PMS, insomnia, depression, bloating). Though her explanations are sensible and she offers considerable anecdotal evidence, readers not well-versed in Eastern thought may be overwhelmed by the inordinate details of TCM (e.g., the five elementsAwood, fire, metal, water and earthAof nutrition, climate, food colors, etc.) and how to use them. To ease confusion, Prout recommends the best foods for particular patterns of imbalance and offers considerable anecdotal evidence. Unfortunately, impatient readers who are used to opening a typical Western diet book that spells out exact menus for every meal every day may dismiss Prout's recommendations. (Jan.)
The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine – Ted J. Kaptchuk
One of the best and most accurate introduction to standard Chinese medicine on the market. There's a reason it's been in print since 1982. It was one of my favorite study guides when I was in school and today it is one of my favorite book to recommend to my patients.
The first few chapters are very explicit for those unfamiliar with the Chinese way of thought. It explains the differences between western and eastern scientific understanding without necessarily saying one is better than the other. I use some of his statements in my lectures to western medical students and doctors.
Completely and thoroughly revised, The Web That Has No Weaver is the classic, comprehensive guide on the theory and practice of Chinese medicine. This accessible and invaluable resource has earned its place as the foremost authority in the synthesizing of Western and Eastern healing practices.
Book Info
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Classic, comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of Chinese medicine. Including reviews of scientific developments in the study of acupuncture and herbal medicine and a discussion of the possible adverse effects of these therapies. Previous edition: c1982. Softcover.
Cosmetic Acupuncture: A TCM approach to cosmetic and dermatological problems – Radha Thambirajah
A practical handbook for the diagnosis and treatment of cosmetic and skin problems according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. This book presents the TCM theory that provides the rationale behind the choice of treatment and offers step-by-step instruction on how to treat cosmetic and skin problems through the use of acupuncture.
The needling techniques for face lifting, cellulites and more are described clearly and the text is supported by illustrations showing the techniques.
The Foundations of Chinese Medicine – Giovanni Maciocia
A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists. (2nd Edition)
This successful Chinese medicine textbook covers the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and discusses in detail the use of acupuncture points and the principles of treatment. The material is based on rigorous reference to ancient and modern Chinese texts, and explains the application of theory in a Western practice context. The new edition features new and updated material, including discussion of 50 additional acupuncture points and more patterns. A redesigned layout complements the accessible writing style and makes the material even easier to follow. Plus, an accompanying CD-ROM contains over 750 self-testing questions in a variety of formats.
The Seirin Pictorial Atlas of Acupuncture – Hans P. Ogal
This is a visual atlas showing needles inserted into each of the acupuncture points on the 12 Meridians, and the Du and Ren vessels.
Some of the Extra points are also included. It's a good reminder for needle angle and depth of insertion for those who want a visual guide - there is full nudity, by the way, for those points (such as Du 1 or Ren 1) which are in areas normally clothed.
Atlas Grafico de Acupuntura (Spanish Edition) – Hans P. Ogal
Edición en español completa. |
