Category Health Care
Under Pressure
Today is Wednesday, the day I juggle two outreach clinics in one day. The clinics sit about twenty minutes apart by motorcycle. The morning clinic is in the village of Sipodol, nestled between green mountains and terraced fields. The afternoon clinic is in the bustling urban metropolis of Bhaktapur. It takes Sachyamohan and me forty-five […]
Rooftop Clinics and Motorbikes
Ramesh kickstarts his motorbike and looks at me expectantly. “How should I get on?” I ask, thinking about Nikki, our clinic director, instructing us not to wrap our arms around our interpreter when riding the motorbike. “Don’t grip with your knees,” Nikki said with a grin. I look at her blankly, thinking that you ride […]
My First Day at the Vajra Varahi Clinic
Coffee in hand, I stroll downstairs into the Vajra Barahi Health Clinic’s waiting room to prepare for my morning. Before the clinic bustles into life, I have the privilege of traveling out to a nearby Newari village and treating Asa Maya, a sweet, elderly woman, who recently had a stroke. I have been hearing about […]
Coffee in Thamel
At eight a.m. we venture out for breakfast. The streets are relatively sleepy compared to last night. Only a handful of cars weave through the streets and we can walk normally across the ring road. At various intervals along the sidewalks, people huddle around temporary fires built from scrap wood, and I wonder if they […]
Getting Ready for Nepal- Part Two
Today, I am trying to finish packing for Nepal. The Acupuncture Relief Project dropped off my two heavy duty, rubber-fortified duffle bags and about fifty pounds of medical supplies for me to carry into Nepal. The medical supplies are mostly Chinese herbal formulas in pill form, since I am replenishing the herbal pharmacy in Chapagoan. […]
Compassion Connects: Volunteering in Nepal
In just three weeks, I will be boarding a plane at the SeaTac International airport loaded down with clinical supplies and warm clothing. My destination– Nepal. Once in country, I will spend the next two months volunteering for the Acupuncture Relief Project at a high-volume, non-profit acupuncture clinic based in the Kathmandu valley. The […]
The Pulse: The Flow of Information from You to Your Acupuncturist
Most acupuncturists use pulse reading as a diagnostic tool to provide a deeper understanding of what is going on in the body. The pulse provides an objective view of health, and can give information on imbalances that patiences are either not aware of or cannot put into words. It is another way that East Asian […]
Of Tongues and Men
I know your mom taught you that it wasn’t polite to stick your tongue out at people, especially not to esteemed individuals such as healthcare professionals. I’m here to tell you that you can righteously loll your tongue out as an emblem of your current health. Why? Practitioners of East Asian Medicine (acupuncturists) use a […]
Getting to know you.
Stick out your tongue for health? Yes, please fight the urge for politeness and let your tongue just loll out. This is a blog about acupuncture and the broader world of Chinese medicine. Soon you will know all about how your tongue is a weathervane for personal health. You can join the ranks of my […]
Stick Out Your Tongue 