TCM Lifestyle

No matter your type or time of travel, the family First-Aid kit is an essential item. Though the standard First-aid kit contains the usual emergency care items, traditional Chinese medicine has its own special list of medicines to address common health issues that can come up during many adventures. Over the decades of teaching traditional Chinese herbal medicine, countless students have asked me to share my list of recommended herbal formulations to always have on hand. The Plum Flower® Travel Kit includes covers the most common emergency needs.

During these times of isolation and physical separation, we like to make the best of it and take advantage when an opportunity presents. Sometimes, "Making Hay While the Sun Shines" comes with a cost: unexpected and unwanted aches and pains.

Zongzi are a traditional food during the Dragon Boat Festival. The story behind these dumplings started over a thousand years ago during the Warring States period, when there were seven kingdoms in China who were constantly battling for dominance.

Welcome to the Year of the Rat! Not only is 2020 the start of a new decade, but in Chinese astrology, the Rat is the start of a new twelve year cycle. There are twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac, thus the twelve years in the cycle, beginning with the Rat. It's an excellent time to plan and set intentions for this next cycle of life. This is the fourth 12-year cycle in the current 60-year cycle which means this is the year of the Metal Rat. Metal is cool, dry, hard, and forceful. Metal also represents justice, or right versus wrong...

Taking into account the symptoms and characteristics of how the acne presents is vital to diagnosis. If pimples are primarily red, swollen, hot, painful, then it indicates true heat. If redness, swelling, heat and pain are less pronounced, then it is likely due to deficiency heat. Pronounced itchiness is likely due to wind, and pus is usually due to dampness. If pimples expel yellow pus, then it indicates damp-heat. If fresh blood comes out after a pimple bursts, it indicates heat in blood, which is forcing the blood out erratically. If pimples congeal and harden, particularly if they do not resolve for long periods of time, we must consider blocked Qi and stagnant Blood. However, we always need to consider the entire patient presentation, not just these symptoms.

Mayway invites you to come celebrate the full moon, bounty of the season and enjoy a gathering of TCM professionals. We have some delicious Chinese herb dishes planned, so swing by to taste them and get a recipe card! Take a free 1.5 CEU class - on the Treatment of Chinese Herbs with Sulfur Fumigation, taste herbal soups, extract powders, moon cakes and more!

We are celebrating women's health and the fabulous contributions that women are making in traditional Chinese medicine! Check out our interviews with Yvonne Charles of Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, Valerie Hobbs, L.Ac., specializing in women's health and former midwife, Susan Johnson, L.Ac., respected author and instructor of Master Tung's points, Sally Rappeport, L.Ac., acupuncturist and co-founder of the Shen Nong Society, and Ravyn Stanfield, Executive Director of Acupuncturists Without Borders.

The classic writings I quote are taken from the Zhubing Yuanhuo Lun, the Mawangdui, and Sun Si Miao. They will offer you the ability to contemplate the first three of the ten lunar months of pregnancy, interpreted and practiced by the leading physicians of that time. In studying the ancients on their thoughts regarding pregnancy, we must realize that these teachings came from the astute observations and witnessing of nature in all its glory and violence. The lessons the ancients learned originated from watching the power and influence of the moon, sun and stars, the weather, seasons, elements, the sowing, cultivating, and harvesting of crops, the language of plants and animals, and bottom line, the interdependence of all these factors as they affect everything on earth. These lessons influenced the religion, culture, philosophy, politics, and wars waged during those venerable times.

Special postpartum herbal soups and stews are nutrient-dense, easily digested and assimilated foods. They are used in traditional cultures around the world to help women with postpartum healing; to recover their energy stores, increase milk production, balance their hormones, and prepare for the full-time job of taking care of their newborn. Included recipe for mildly sweet pork and herb soup is perfect for the second week after birth when there is a focus on gently building Qi and Blood, nourishing Jing-essence, strengthening the Spleen, and restoring and holding the organs in their proper place.

In 2019 we shifted from the Yang of the Earth Dog year to the Yin of the Earth Pig (or Boar). The easy-going Pig is not without his issues! The energetics of the year can influence everything from the weather forecast to the kinds of illness that will be prevalent in our patients. Learn what to expect so you can have the right treatments in mind and the right herbs on hand.

We are all busy towards the end of the year, so why not make life easier and get some holiday shopping done while placing your order with us at Mayway? We have all sorts of gift-worthy items you may not have seen, from TCM t-shirts to herbal teas.

Mayway invites you to come celebrate the full moon, bounty of the season and enjoy a gathering of TCM professionals. We have plenty of fun (and free!) activities planned, so swing by! Take a free 1-CEU class on cooking decoctions, make your own herb pin, taste herbal soups and moon cakes and more!

Recently, one of our staff who is a homebrewer, and another who is our chief herbalist collaborated on a brewing experiment using Chinese herbs. After much discussion and some decoction sampling, we decided on a 3-ingredient simple Qi & Yin tonic formula. Sheng Mai San seemed appropriate both for its tonifying action and because we hoped would give the beer a lovely rose color from the Wu Wei Zi.