Frequently Asked Questions


Does Acupuncture hurt

Acupuncture as a practice varies widely from one practitioner to the next; some doctors prefer more aggressive styles of needling while others are very mild and gentle with the needles, the potential for discomfort with the treatment depends on who is controlling the needle. My style is not one which would be considered aggressive or painful. I don’t like to receive painful treatments, so I don’t give them.

Does acupuncture treat “______”?

Chinese medicine is a complete system of medicine which has the capacity to address and treat all health disorders. In my office we do not treat emergency, life threatening events such as acute major lacerations or contusions, heart attack, stroke, broken bones, etc. If you are dealing with anything apart from this, Chinese medicine treats it. Sometimes the acupuncture is primary, sometimes herbs; in the case of a lot of chronic health issues diet is the primary treatment. For questions about specific health disorders please reach out and I’m more than happy to discuss what the treatment plan looks like.

How Does acupuncture Work?

Acupuncture stimulates different aspects of the body in different ways. The human being has three basic levels: The physical body, the energy body, and the mental body, also called the spirit. On the physical level acupuncture stimulates nerves to send a central nervous system feedback and issue physical changes by way of the brain. On an energetic level acupuncture affects the energy flow in the channels, increasing or decreasing the flow at certain areas to alter the energy system overall. On a mental level acupuncture causes the mind to gather at the point of the needle; this focused attention in turn also affects the nerves and the energy reinforcing the effects of the other levels.

How to cook herbal tea

If you’ve been prescribed an herbal formula for the first time you may find yourself asking: How do I cook Chinese herbs?? You aren’t alone in your confusion!

If you have been prescribed dried herbs then you will be cooking them in the form of a tang / 汤, which means a soup! This basically means you are going to put them in water and boil them. That being said, there are several considerations when it comes to how you should cook a specific formula:

  1. Temperature

  2. Lid on vs Lid off

  3. Cook Time

Let’s look at the three most common preparation instructions for different types of tea!

The first case: For formulas meant to induce sweating, warm the exterior, or disperse stagnation we will always follow a similar procedure. Because this type of formula is meant to be warming and moving, especially relying on the acrid / spicy nature of the herbs we will cook it at a high temperature and a short duration. Furthermore this type of formula should be cooked with the lid off or with the lid half-cracked. So in cooking a formula like, for example, gui zhi tang or chuan bi tang, you will cook your herbs in 6-8 cups of water over a medium to high flame with the lid off for a shorter duration, like 10-20 minutes. Cooking too long will mellow the acrid nature of the herbs and make the formula less moving and less diaphoretic.

The second case: For formulas which are meant to nourish yin, nourish blood, generate qi, or which are meant to be grounding you will want to cook for a longer duration and at a lower temperature - this is because the most important quality for these types of decoctions is going to be the sweet flavor, which is ideally extracted in this way. So for a formula like si wu tang or liu wei di huang wan, or really anything with the most important ingredient being something like Di Huang, E Jiao, Ren Shen, or something like that then you will want to cook low and long with the lid on tight! So we are talking about a low to medium low flame for anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours or even overnight in some cases (as you might do with a crock pot).

The third case: For formulas which are meant to regulate the qi, harmonize, or if you want to produce a relatively gentle moving effect in a formula which moves the qi or blood then you will want to cook the formula halfway between the first two methods. This means cooking 30-45 minutes on a medium flame, usually with the lid cracked. This is the preferred method with formulas like xiao chai hu tang, or formulas with a chief ingredient like zhi ke, xiang fu, or something like that.

Ultimately the process of cooking an herbal formula can have a million variables and is a trial and error process when it comes to perfecting it. If you have specific questions about cooking herbal formulas get in touch directly to get a more personalized answer.