Qi Node 2: 雨水 Yǔshui (Rain Water)
Anticipating the rise of Yang qi and how to feel the change in the season
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Chinese Medicine
Qi Node 1: 立春 Lìchūn (Spring Begins)
Anticipating the rise of Yang qi and how to feel the change in the season
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Everyday Alchemy: Bedtime as a Boundary
In Chinese medicine, sleep isn’t just rest — it’s restoration. This post explores how bedtime can serve as a boundary, not just a stop button, and offers simple, nourishing practices to support the body’s natural descent into yīn 陰 . Better sleep starts with honoring the transition into night.
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What They Came In For: Peripheral Neuropathy
When Karen T. began losing feeling in her feet, no one could explain why. At Root and Branch, we started by mapping what she could feel—and building it back with herbs, acupuncture, and attention. This is the story of how sensation returned, one visit and one footstep at a time.
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Qi Node 6: 谷雨 Gǔyǔ (Grain Rain)
The nature of Earth is to hold space and to create context. This qi node sets the stage for the coming summer and gives us insight into how we dealt with the qi of last Fall.
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The Cosmic Cycle: Yin and Yang
In a palace shaped by seasons, Yang rises from a spark to a blazing emperor before fading into shadow. Yin, steady and wise, expands through stillness and reflection. This tale of cosmic succession weaves through joy, unraveling, and return—an eternal dance of power, presence, and the rhythm of time.
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Why You and Your Parents Don't Need To Suffer As you Age
Everything I have seen in my short but lively career as a Chinese medicine practitioner suggests that most of the negative experiences we associate with the aging process need not come to pass . But in order to understand how our experience may differ from the common definition of aging, we must look at why suffering is a possibility as we age. Once we understand the problem, then we may understan
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How Bugs Can Heal Chronic Pain & Disease
“I hate to sound like a broken record,” said one of my teachers, “but a lot of her problem is due to blood stagnation .” I smiled at Greg’s remark. It was a familiar piece of advice, but one that bared repeating. Greg was one of the few westerners to go to China, learn chinese, finish a P.H.D. in Chinese medicine, and then study with various doctors who had decades of clinical experience. “But why
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Behold The Humble Ginger Root: Understated Workhorse of Good Health
Fresh ginger’s warm nature and spicy flavor make it a powerful ally at the first sign of a cold. Used early, it can help the body push out pathogens and restore balance.
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