Budget Beauty: Manicured Without Getting Clipped - Frugal Traveler Blog - NYTimes.com

Image by NYCTCM via FlickrBudget Beauty: Manicured Without Getting Clipped - Frugal Traveler Blog - NYTimes.com
Matt Gross, NY Times Blogger for "Frugal Traveler" writes about his visit to NYCTCM Acupuncture Clinic in Manhattan.
"As the needle went into my skin, somewhere between the two biggest toes on my left foot, I felt an almost electrical jolt—my metatarsal bones pulsed with energy, like a muscle cramp but completely painless. It was as if my entire foot were a neon sign that had never been switched on before.
“Wow,” I think I said, and the four people in white lab coats observing me hurried to ask if I was okay. Was it a burning pain? No. Was it subsiding? Um, maybe a little. Okay, then everything was fine.
Then they stuck more needles in me.
For aficionados of acupuncture, this is old hat. According to the tenets of Chinese medicine, tapping skinny needles into your pressure points is an age-old way of rebalancing the body and restoring, or ensuring, general health.
The first stop, at 10:30 a.m., was the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (13 East 37th Street; 212-685-0888, nyctcm.edu), an accredited school with three- and four-year degree programs in acupuncture and Chinese herbology. It is located on the fourth floor of one of those anonymous office buildings in the East 30s, just north of Murray Hill. Inside, the school felt like a regular doctor’s office, with forms to fill out detailing medical history and current problems, and lots of people in white lab coats...
After answering some intimate questions about my gastrointestinal workings, I was escorted into the treatment room, where I undressed, put on a paper hospital gown and lay down on a table. The needles went in, most of them painlessly, but every once in a while — like when they went into my foot or lower back — the feeling was incredible. I don’t know how much store I put in Chinese medicine, but those pressure points are definitely connected to deep systems in the human body."
Visit New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture Clinic
New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NYCTCM)'s Teaching Clinic offers affordably priced Acupuncture and Chinese Healing Arts to the community while providing our advanced students with a clinical internship.
Our interns are senior-level students who have passed a series of qualifying exams that allow them to diagnose and prescribe therapies for the patients who come to our clinic. Licensed Acupuncturists and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners supervise our interns. Many of our supervisors have M.D. degrees from China, and all have considerable clinical and teaching experience.
Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM encompasses both acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. While acupuncture is perhaps the most widely recognized area of TCM, Chinese Herbal Medicine is also very important in your treatment. Chinese Herbal Medicine administers natural herbal formulas specifically designed to correct imbalances in the body, aiding in the treatment of disease. Our clinic provides Acupuncture Therapy, Herbal Prescriptions, Nutrition Counseling and Massage Therapy.

Antioxidant activity of 45 Chinese herbs

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Antioxidant activity of 45 Chinese herbs and the relationship with their TCM characteristics
Here, 45 Chinese herbs that regulate blood circulation were analyzed for antioxidant activity using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. A recent publication by Ou et al. identified a close relationship between in vitro antioxidant activity and classification of Chinese herbs as yin or yang.

The 45 Chinese herbs in this study could be assigned the traditional characteristics of natures (cold, cool, hot and warm), flavors (pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty) and functions (arresting bleeding, promoting blood flow to relieve stasis, nourishing blood and clearing away heat from blood). These characteristics are generalized according to the theory of yin and yang. We identified a broad range, 40–1990 µmol Trolox Equivalent/g herbs, of antioxidant activity in water extracts. There was no significant correlation between ORAC values and natures or functions of the herbs. There was a significant relationship between flavors and ORAC values. Bitter and/or sour herbs had the highest ORAC values, pungent and/or sweet herbs the lowest. Other flavors had intermediate values.

Flavors also correspond with the yin/yang relationship and our results are supportive of the earlier publication.

We reported for the first time antioxidant properties of many Chinese herbs. High antioxidant herbs were identified as Spatholobus suberectus vine (1990 µmol TE/g), Sanguisorba officinalis root (1940 µmol TE/g), Agrimonia pilosa herb (1440 µmol TE/g), Artemisia anomala herb (1400 µmol TE/g), Salvia miltiorrhiza root (1320 µmol TE/g) and Nelembo nucifera leaf (1300 µmol TE/g). Antioxidant capacity appears to correlate with the flavors of herbs identified within the formal TCM classification system and may be a useful guide in describing their utility and biochemical mechanism of action.

Keywords: flavor – function – herbs – nature – oxygen radical absorbance capacity (orac) – traditional Chinese medicine
Hui Liao, Linda K. Banbury and David N. Leach
Centre for Phytochemistry and Pharmacology, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia and 2Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030012, China
http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/nem054v1#B2

reBlog from nyctcm.edu: Dr. Tan's Eight Magic Points for Digestive Disorders

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Eliminating Waste in Practice: Dr. Tan's Eight Magic Points for All Digestive Disorders

By Lisajeanne Potyk, LAc

Acupuncture Today
December, 2005, Vol. 06, Issue 12

Most of the patients I see in my clinic suffer from a variety of digestive disorders. They do not effectively process their food. They have diarrhea, heartburn, and acid reflux disease. They're nauseated.And who would expect any different? In this fast-paced, high-technology culture, we're overrun with time constraints and stressors of all kinds.People unaware of what a good diet consists of rely on processed fast foods and meats packed with hormones and antibiotics. In the West, we're overprescribed antibiotics and other medications; women are reeling from the side-effects of birth control pills; and we regularly take any of a myriad of anti-inflammatories for the slightest ache. It's no wonder so many people are experiencing internal disharmony. And if all of that wasn't enough, most people either don't know how to, or are afraid to, release their emotions. Opting for a sense of control, they "hold." And they get constipated.

The digestive system is a mirror to how we process our external world on every level. Are we assimilating good nutritional, emotional and spiritual nourishment, and effectively eliminating what is toxic to us? Are we letting go of negative situations and allowing ourselves to be nurtured by positive ones? Without the foundation of a healthy, properly nourished body, we can't find the strength to feed into our emotions. If there's a backlog of undigested emotions, any digestive symptom can manifest. Once balance in the body is established by poor nutrition and digestive functions, we gain the platform to integrate our internal and external worlds.Traditional Chinese medicine teaches us to properly diagnose and treat our patients using staid, ancient teachings recorded thousands of years ago. People don't change from century to century, but their circumstances do.

The environment, food, medications, and stressors affecting our patients are very different today, and since the disharmonies that cause them are rampant, digestive disorders are also rampant. Diagnosis and treatment according to the TCM model, written in (and for) a different time, can therefore be complicated and confusing.Now, imagine a group of acupuncture points that could be used to balance every kind of digestive disorder, including irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, ulcerative colitis, indigestion, and more. Imagine that the points are simple, easy to follow, and quite effective. There is no need to take the pulse, no need to consult a textbook, and no need to fumble through myriad causes. Wouldn't that be magic? It is, thanks to Dr. Teh Fu "Richard" Tan.

Dr. Tan has dedicated his life to experimenting with combinations of points, which are used with excellent clinical results, often instantaneously. Isn't that what we, as practitioners, want - to insert our needles, see an immediate change, and know our treatment is working? With the eight magic points, Dr. Tan offers the ability to elicit consistent, positive results.One could consult any number of the core books written on TCM theory, but isn't the practice of acupuncture - of healing - about how much better the patient feels after being treated? Better to learn the laws of acupuncture, become skilled at them through knowledge and discipline, and then break out into your own successful expression of them.

Dr. Tan's Eight Magic Points

nyctcm.edu, Dr. Tan's Eight Magic Points for Digestive Disorders, May 2010



You should read the whole article.

NYCTCM Acupuncture School New York

NYCTCM Acupuncture School New York

Now is a good time to consider a professional career in Chinese Medicine —Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology — since these centuries-old healing arts continue to gain acceptance among American health practitioners and patients. The New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine is New York’s premier institution of authentic Chinese Medicine. NYCTCM teaches Traditional Chinese Medicine much as it is taught in China, while helping students relate this approach to the practice of Western Medicine in the U.S.

NYCTCM is fully accredited and our programs have been shown to thoroughly prepare our students for the NCCAOM national certification examination in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. NYCTCM accepts new and transfer students at the beginning of each trimester, in January, April and September. Prospective students must have at least 60 college credits and proficiency in English before applying. Please visit the NYCTCM website for complete information about our programs.

The excellent faculty, most of whom were trained in China and have extensive teaching and clinical experience in both China and the U.S., combined with small classes and master - apprentice type teaching relationships in the school’s teaching clinics, mean that this ancient knowledge is carefully transmitted to the students who will make up the next generation of master practitioners.

NYCTCM offers flexible scheduling with classes mostly on weekends and a friendly family-style atmosphere that encourages stress-free learning. The main campus, located in Mineola, Long Island, is easily accessible by LIRR, bus and auto. (Mineola is 1/2 hour by LIRR from Penn Station).

For Manhattan-based students, the Manhattan clinic/classroom facility offers the possibility of completion of up to 50% of the program in Manhattan. The Manhattan Clinic is open 5 days per week, and a limited number of classes are offered there on weekday evenings.

Please see our website for a schedule of Open Houses. Saturday Open House sessions include an opportunity at the end of the session to sit in on classes and receive a complementary treatment in the NYCTCM Teaching Clinic.

Or you may arrange to visit NYCTCM as a guest student on another day (Saturday is the best day) — attend classes, meet with faculty and students, and speak with our Admissions and Financial Aid staff.

Following the Mother Nature Dao (Tao)

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Five Yuns and Six Qis

Through observation, ancient Chinese learned that every thing in universe including the universe itself could be described by using five elements, which are called Mental, Water, Wood, Fire, and Earth. These five elements constitute the universe and they interact to each other. The relationships between these five elements form the Five Elements Theory. These five elements are also called five Yuns in the Constitution Theory of the Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM). Yun in Chinese means changing, moving, and continuing.

Land is part of the universe. Besides constitutes by the five Yuns, the land is also influenced by six climates, which are called Tai Yin, Shao Yin, Jue Yin, Yang Ming, Tai Yang, and Shao Yang. These six climates are related to the temperature changes on the land due to the influence of the universe. These six climates are called six Qis in the Constitution Theory.

Since people live on the land, all the influences to the universe and the land are also affected to the people. From the philosophy of Five Yuns and Six Qis, the theory of Heaven Stems and Earth Branches has been developed to describe the health of people and to predict the future of people.

Read complete article at Steve Chang's Yong Kong Blog

reBlog from nyctcm.edu: Acupuncture Needle Techniques: Tonifing and Reducing CE

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NYCTCM presents the Continuing Education Course for Acupuncturists - Acupuncture Needle Techniques
Speaker: Grand Master Dr. Yongjiang Xi
When: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Sun., 05/23/2010
(NCCAOM PDA Points: 3)

Dr. Xi will discuss needle quality and evaluation of acupuncture manipulations related to tonification and reduction, the relationships between strength of needle manipulation and tonification/reduction, differences between puncturing Qi points and puncturing muscle knots. He will also demonstrate needle techniques for some muscle-skeleton disorders, as well as needle techniques of hot-tonification/cold-reduction in both simple way and complicated ways. His son, Dr. Depei Xi will assist his teaching.nyctcm.edu, Acupuncture Needle Techniques: Tonifing and Reducing CE, Mar 2010

You should read the whole article.