Thea Elijah

Thea Elijah has been a practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine for more than 20 years. She is the former Director of the Chinese Herbal Studies Program at TAI SOPHIA and at the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture. She has studied with Ted Kaptchuk, Leon Hammer, and Lonny Jarrett. (Note her herbal article in Lonny Jarrett’s book, The Clinical Practice of Chinese Medicine.) Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallee and J.R. Worsley have been equally influential in shaping her understanding of the depth of Chinese medicine. She lives in Vermont with her family, and teaches widely. For more of her articles, audio and teaching schedule: www.perennialmedicine.com.

Previous Articles

The Spirit of the Herbs
May 2013 (Vol. 14, Issue 05)
Trending
Acupuncture & Acupressure
It’s Time to Stop Prescribing Points
It's Time to Stop Prescribing Points

A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.

Bruce W. Park, DACM
Acupuncture & Acupressure
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations

Acupuncture can be highly effective in cases of nasal congestion so common in allergy presentations; so much so that I often treat such issues using acupuncture protocols alone. In cases of seasonal allergies with highly predictable causes such as obvious elevations of environmental allergens, I use a skeleton acupuncture prescription that can easily be fleshed out to target potential underlying patterns and effectively customized to the patient.

Craig Williams, LAc, AHG
News / Profession
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change

The field of acupuncture in the U.S. continues to grow in visibility, patient demand and clinical effectiveness. Yet behind the curtain, many acupuncturists are quietly struggling to keep their doors open. While the profession is rooted in centuries of healing tradition, modern economic pressures – particularly those driven by insurance limitations, low reimbursement rates and job-market saturation – are making it increasingly difficult for licensed acupuncturists to thrive.

Shabnam Pourhassani, LAc, QME, DACM