Eco-Medicine: Taking Care of Our Inner Tree

Spring and Liver Cleansing

Have you ever wondered why, all over the world, spring is considered a “cleaning” season and people choose that particular time to do an inner cleansing as well?

Do you know that, in Chinese medicine, spring is associated with Liver functions ? Liver and Gallbladder energy are ascribed “Tree” and “Wood” energy.

Why, you might ask.

The ancient Taoists might not have known the word “ecology” but their whole philosophy and medical principles were based on it, not just as a poetic image but as a deep understanding of how our body and nature interact and how each one is contained within the other one.

How can that knowledge help us?

It is my deep conviction that this ancient model of medicine is more than ever necessary and adapted to our times. Cutting our forests like we are doing is, literally, cutting the brand on which we are sitting. Our livers are suffering as much as our trees and forests are.

If we reconnect to that deep image of the Tree and its significance, we can glean from it not only a deep understanding of our Liver and

Happy New Year to all of our dear friends!

Happy New Year to all Earthlings on a little Blue Planet!

Didier and I are busy packing and juggling the numerous challenges that come with an international move. We have both recently become Americans and have lived in the States for over 40 years. Our roots have remained French of course. I have also lived 6 years in Japan and quite a bit in China, so this move is reminding me that, more than ever, we are at a time of ever-increasing global awareness that includes all of us as citizens of our little blue planet. Ecological problems are international and know no walls nor boundaries.

I have kept a clear memory from my travels in China, in Xishuangbanna, near the Thai border. I was truly amazed at how suddenly we had stepped into into a different century. A land of amazing beauty, men and women still wearing century old ethnic clothing with intricate embroidery and patterns. Little black piglets were running free in the villages. Hardly any traffic, difficult access to villages on dirt roads. Yes, we were far away from civilization, or so it seemed. Yet I was struck

I am grateful that I took up Shawngela's 21-day gratitude challenge indeed! I loved it.

Mind you, I did not do it perfectly and I was not a star student. I did not write things down, nor did I always come up with 5 things as suggested; sometimes just 2 or 3. Nevertheless, in this busy time of my life, the quotes chosen by Shawngela and her suggestions to look at what to be grateful for on a consistent basis gave a "color" to my days and a way of looking at the half full glass as well as the half empty!

Even when things were often difficult or stressful; Shawngela's gratitude challenge hovered like a daily fresh breeze, helping me to breathe deeper and open my heart.

Thank you Shawngela for helping me flex those muscles of smile and gratitude! They do need practice and the whole soul responds and loves it.

Take the Gratitude Challenge too! You will not regret it!

Patagonia Community Acupuncture is closing August 11th

I am sad indeed to have to be closing. Our clinic has been a wonderful, vibrant place of healing and community. Working with Leticia and Bethany at the clinic has also been a blessing. So many friends met along the way.

As most of you know, I am gone almost 4 months a year to France for teaching. Juggling both places is becoming increasingly difficult, in spite of Gisa’s wonderful help to try to keep things going when I am gone. My work in France is calling me more and more as my book is gently opening new doors (A translation is a work in progress but it has been started as I found a great American translator in Paris.)

Didier and I are leaving for a number of reasons, some professional but also some personal and family related. We do not intend to leave the US completely though and, God willing, are planning to come back two or three months a year.

Online Consultations

Please keep in mind that while I have not found a way to do acupuncture long distance ,  I do offer online consultations for herbal and dietary recommendations. Learn

The Patagonia Community Acupuncture Clinic is closing on August 11, 2017.
Learn more

The following week, there will be a yard sale to sale items from the clinic.

Do you experience any of the following?

This retreat is for you!

• Mood swings or Irritability
• Hot Flashes
• Weight Gain
• Sugar or Salt cravings
• Night Sweats
• Loss of Libido
• Vaginal Dryness
• Hair loss or thinning

Why Chinese Medicine?

Chinese medicine is a complete system of medicine with its own forms of diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and therapies.Chinese Medicine addresses hormonal balancing from a different perspective than traditional allopathic medicine. When we link the best of both worlds, we get a very thorough map for healing. For instance, in Chinese Medicine, hot flashes are considered forms of trapped heat often caused by overactive livers. Western science tells us that the liver regulates sex hormones, estrogen in particular. The map of the chakra, linked to acupressure points, points to the solar plexus and emotional and spiritual issues of personal power.The tools of Chinese Medicine enable us to design a protocol of herbs, acupressure, food therapy, qigong and meditation to balance the organs that are the root of the problem. 

Oriental philosophy offers a medicine that has been practiced for thousands of years and already knew to address all aspects of mind, body and spirit. as a whole. Through the lens of Chinese

Fantastic Spring Cooking Liver Cleansing booklet

with Dr Papin and Chef Didier Cuzange

Filled with information, this booklet provides great recipes to keep our Liver happy. It also provides a solid and simple theoretical handle of the Chinese medicine approach to Liver and Gallbladder health. Spring cooking refers to the association of our liver functions to the spring season; but also to the inner spring of our steps, bodies and spirit provided by a healthy liver with its promise of youthful energy through constant cleansing, renewal and growth.

In this booklet, you will find an array of cooked as well as raw plant-based recipes; description of various fasting and cleansing methods; simple “how to” guides for sprouting and fermentation; recipes for vegetal cheeses and non dairy-yogurts; and great desserts. This is a booklet packed with goodness and links health to delight for our taste buds and liver.

Purchase now for only $10!

 Summer hours for East West Holistic Medicine have changed. Please pay special attention to the new hours.

Get a gift certificate for massage, treatment, cupping or home-made chocolate goodies!!!

February 2017 promises to be a Fire month! it is marked both by St Valentine, love Fire day, and by the Chinese New Year, starting January 28th, which this year is a year of the Rooster, a Fire sign according to the Chinese zodiac. The Heart, in Chinese Medicine, also belongs to Fire energy.

From an energetic point of view, we all know that Fire is a positive radiating energy that brings warmth, love and reaches out to others. No fire ever keeps its warmth for itself. It naturally spreads. Its positive heart qualities in human beings therefore are love, enthusiasm, generosity, zest for life and gentle joy and compassion. Fire is also a purifying energy as we know when we burn anything we want to get rid of. Scorching is a way for the earth to renew itself. Fire can burn obstacles, boundaries and knows no frontiers. Fire purification ceremonies or simple “cleaning up” are therefore good practices to get rid of clutter in our environments and hearts.

When Fire is out of control however, as we also well know, it brings destruction. Fire is a

Do you experience any of the following?

This retreat is for you!

• Mood swings or Irritability
• Hot Flashes
• Weight Gain
• Sugar or Salt cravings
• Night Sweats
• Loss of Libido
• Vaginal Dryness
• Hair loss or thinning

Why Chinese Medicine?

Chinese medicine is a complete system of medicine with its own forms of diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and therapies.Chinese Medicine addresses hormonal balancing from a different perspective than traditional allopathic medicine. When we link the best of both worlds, we get a very thorough map for healing. For instance, in Chinese Medicine, hot flashes are considered forms of trapped heat often caused by overactive livers. Western science tells us that the liver regulates sex hormones, estrogen in particular. The map of the chakra, linked to acupressure points, points to the solar plexus and emotional and spiritual issues of personal power.The tools of Chinese Medicine enable us to design a protocol of herbs, acupressure, food therapy, qigong and meditation to balance the organs that are the root of the problem. 

Oriental philosophy offers a medicine that has been practiced for thousands of years and already knew to address all aspects of mind, body and spirit. as a whole. Through the lens of Chinese

• Feeling irritable and moody? "Oh! It must be my hormones."
• Gaining weight? "My hormones must not be working properly."
• Hot flashes? "My hormones are really out of whack."
• Sugar, salt cravings? "My hormones are off again…they make me want to eat anything in sight."
• Difficult period? Homonal imbalance....
• Rough menopause? My hormonal changes feel like a tsunami!

That’s the litany I hear from my women patients to the point that I swear I can sometimes visualize little hormones with wings flying in the ether, a bit like Eros, sending arrows to make women’s lives miserable.

It was those comments from so many women that led me to the upcoming Women’s Hormonal Wellness Retreat where we are going to define and demystify those tricky little hormones and find ways how we can make peace with them and turn them into friends as opposed to pestering nuisance. A fantastic and beautiful journey into the deep and rich anatomy of our female bodies.

We are lucky to live at a time when we can access Eastern wisdom together with modern science, today and yesterday’s knowledge, an amazing crossroad where we can pick the best of both worlds and find many pearls of

Summer heat is wonderful: it is an expansive energy that makes us want to go outside, get up early or stay up late to enjoy morning and evening freshness...midsummer nights, in particular, as Shakespeare well knew, vibrate with magic...fireflies are dancing, it is warm and pleasant. Evenings are long and lend themselves to social gatherings. Everywhere we see picnics, people travel and go to the beach or the mountains, seeking both freshness and ways to enjoy this special time of year.

Like any season or climate, though, summer heat has both positive and negative aspects and is considered one the six external and climatic pathogens in Chinese Medicine. It belongs to the energy of Fire, that can weaken the Heart when out of control. Symptoms of Summer Heat ? diarrhea (often called “explosive diarrhea”) and digestive upsets are the most common. Summer heat can easily spoil food, in particular meat and fish. It is also easy to get caught in a summer storm and suddenly get chilled. People who leave for long hikes without preparedness might suffer from that. We can see that easily in the Western desert in higher altitudes where there is such a difference between day or

• Hypertension
• Hypotension
• Arrhythmia,tachycardia or bradycardia
• Anxiety
• Lack of concentration and memory
• Stroke
• Cardio-vascular accidents

These are some of the all too common symptoms or diseases that refer to our heart and its’ physical or emotional suffering. Actually, within the Oriental model, you cannot distinguish between the two. A broken heart is a reality and hurts our heart organ. A weak heart will make it more difficult to withstand emotional challenges. In the Oriental model, our heart houses our “Shen” or spirit and is always affected by all our emotions while all of our emotions are affected by the health of our heart.

We know from all of our cardiology wards today, that meat, saturated fats, cheese, greasy foods and alcohol are common culprits damaging the delicate drum within our chest. Hearts like light vibrations. They enjoy rivers of blood that flow easily and nourish them with that nutrient rich red color that is the color of a vibrant and healthy heart.

Emotionally, our hearts resonate with warmth, gentle joy, love and zest for life. Oriental medicine associates our hearts with the Fire energy. Our hearts are literally the suns of our body’s inner planetary system. Because they are our inner

Strengthen your Cardiovascular System

3-week Challenge in the Park

Come join us for another Qigong Challenge. Starting May 30th until June 17, 2016. Meet us in the Patagonia Park from 7am to 8am.

This is a FREE Event!

What is Qigong

Qigong (pronounced “chee gong”) is an ancient Chinese health care system that integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused intention. The gentle, rhythmic movements of Qigong reduce stress, build stamina, increase vitality, and enhance the immune system. Those who maintain a consistent practice of Qigong find that it helps regain vitality, maintain health even into old age and speed recovery from illness. If you are experiencing palpitations, arrhythmias, high blood pressure, and insomnia or sleep disturbances, there are some Qigong Heart exercises which can help improve your heart and circulation.

Qigong is for all fitness levels. Please wear comfortable clothing and bring a chair if mobility is an issue.

A Chinese Medicine Perspective

If the levels of Viagra advertising and sales are any indicator, modern men are still very actively searching for aphrodisiacs. As for women, a few voices have been heard protesting against bias and lack of research to find a female equivalent of Viagra. They want their own!

Our means might be a bit more sophisticated and “scientific” than witchcraft, potions and aphrodisiacs but not by much. Men are willing to risk the health of their heart and overlook the fine print that comes with Viagra. The old age quest remains the same: how to awaken and keep alive that obviously often flickering light of sexuality. Glossy magazines continue to feature regular articles on sexual secrets and never seem to exhaust the topic.

To the risk of sounding rather boring I would like to infuse a few ounces of common sense mixed with a few drops of Chinese Medicine

1. Health and sexuality go hand in hand. This is the basic tenet and there is no short cut. Lack of energy, lack of breath, fatigue, weak heart, weak lungs and wheezing, constipation or diarrhea, migraines, bloating or acid reflux are all guaranteed killers of any remotely romantic “performance”.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Make health part of your resolution because it is the center of your life. As we all discover at some point, without it, everything else falls apart…dreams, projects, travels…In French the traditional New Year greeting is “Bonne année, Bonne santé” (Good year, good health). There is much wisdom in that greeting.

The team of East West Holistic Medicine is here to wish you “Bonne année, bonne santé” and support you in achieving “vibrant health”. The ancient Chinese define as health way beyond the mere absence of symptoms…herbal remedies, food therapy, massage, energy work, acupuncture, online consultations, Qi Gong and Yoga…all of it at your disposal!

Make Qi Gong for Kidney part of your 2016 New Year resolution toward health!

Join us on Monday January 11, the day we are beginning our 3 week challenge and practice of Qi Gong for Kidney. Many of you asked for it, you got it!

The event starts at 7:00 in the park, every morning from Monday through Friday, just like before. Well…if it is really cold, we will compromise this time and practice in the Community Center.

This is a Free event!…the third of its kind in

We will have our third “Qi Gong challenge” this January. And, yes, as much as possible we will do it outside and do like the Chinese do: wear warm clothes, hats and gloves. Some mornings in October were already cool and we sure had to get our Qi moving at 7:00 in the park! Yet, our hearty Patagonians asked for more and wanted me to organize another challenge in winter…so, here it is: one more in January!

So, come join us! if it really is too cold, we will meet at the Community Center.

What Kidney and Bladder mean in Chinese medicine - beyond the organs

Relationships according to the Wheel of 5 energies:

• Kidney/Bladder: Water energy
• Season: winter
• Color: Deep blue or black
• Movement: descending, horizontal, inward, quiet
• Taste: salty
• Sensory organ and sense: ears and hearing
• Controls: bones, teeth, spine and marrow, brain
• Manifests into: hair
• Functions: regulates sexuality, reproductive and hormonal functions
• Secretion: urine
• Positive aspects: humidity, moisture and freshness, body fluids, resilience, fluidity and flexibility, renewal, purification, energy reserve
• Negative aspects: water retention, inundation, edema, deformation, lack of water, dryness, brittleness, stagnation, decomposition
• Positive emotions: calm will, intuition, self-confidence, spiritual and ancestral memory, courage and

A common question when people switch to a healthier diet is “what about breakfast?” Here are a couple options to help you get away from toasts, eggs, butter and jam!

The following is a healthy breakfast recipe from my husband, Chef Didier Cuzange who regularly prepares breakfast at the Tree as well as our breakfast at home. Didier never runs out of ideas and I especially enjoy his summer concoctions when all the fruit are out!

If you mix greens and fruit, you get a delicious morning smoothie that balances the bitterness of those sometimes bitter greens with the sweetness of the fruit while balancing the sugar content of fruit with the alkalizing effect of greens. The best of both worlds! Combinations are endless. If you tend toward diabetes or hypoglycemia you can omit the fruit and use a sweetener such as stevia. The chia provides protein and energy as well as deep hydration but you can substitute or add any protein powder or your choice either homemade such as ground flax seeds or commercial (as long as there is no sugar). Didier’s favorite is “buckwheaties”…buckwheat groats that he dehydrates and mixes with small pieces of apples.

The second