Mark A. Miller is the founder of Mark Miller Architecture, "a full-​service architectural and building firm that plans, develops and creates environmentally friendly, sustainable, passive homes and buildings." While at the University of Arizona, he was introduced to the Japanese martial art of shotokan karate-​do. With his thesis work, he began the endeavor of studying how architectural environments may be designed using Eastern philosophy, to encourage the opportunity for experiencing this transcendence within its users. He continued his practice of Eastern zen disciplines after returning to Chicago, studying karate with Sugyama Sensei; and aikido with Shihan Aikira Tohei.
Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) affects more than 15% of the U.S. population but evades most practitioners’ radar. Just five years ago, it wasn’t even on my radar, despite already having 20 years of experience as a clinician at that time. The more I dug (similar to leaky gut and post-COVID syndrome), the more I found my patients were suffering from this disorder.
Research supports the effectiveness of selecting the distal acupuncture points for the treatment of microtrauma and for relieving pain, particularly in cases of chronic shoulder pain. But to make the treatment results long-lasting, clinical experience and research suggest that instead of treating the most painful structure first, we identify the inhibited driver, restore reliable recruitment, confirm it with immediate re-testing, and only then address the painful area as a branch of a deeper pattern.
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The motivation behind our practice of medicine is important, impacting not just our experience but also the experiences of those we treat. It is perhaps for this reason that the aspiration to help not just some, but all beings heal, has historically been an important part of the medical tradition. To explain this, we need to consider how medicine is interwoven with other social domains.