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The American Association of Oriental Medicine’s (AAOM) annual conferences bring together a panorama of Oriental Medicine professionals who embrace the expanse of Oriental medicine, nationally and internationally. For more than 75 years, the Wigwam, a Destination Resort and Spa, has been a favorite for visitors who yearn for an authentic…

As 2006 draws to a close, I want to take this opportunity to wish you, your families, staff and patients the merriest of holidays and blessingsfor a safe, healthy and prosperous beginning of 2007. I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to the issues of Acupuncture Today…

After 25 years of instruction, the Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine is closing its doors. Reasons for the closure are primarily financial and include poor fall admissions and the high-rent/low-income economic reality of Santa Barbara, Calif.

Acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners from around the country convened Nov. 2-5, 2006, in San Diego at the Catamaran Hotel for the 18th Annual Pacific College of Oriental Medicine Symposium. New to this year’s symposium was the advanced acupuncture track, offering an alternative to the morning lectures. In choosing this…

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has just made a career in CAM research more financially accessible to acupuncturists and other CAM practitioners. The NCCAM, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has created a career development award for selected CAM clinicians who wish to…

EDITOR’S NOTE: Acupuncture Today Editor Marilyn Allen, Jeannie Kang, LAc (both representing the American Association of Oriental Medicine) and Dr. Brenda Golianu, co-director for the division of acupuncture at Stanford University School of Medicine, recently attended the latest WHO-mediated meeting regarding global standardization of acupuncture point locations. The following is…

First, it is important to convey that the following comments are presented in support of the profession. The AAOM believes that the NOMAA application problems at the U.S. Department of Education pose a serious credibility concern for our profession. In addition, our legislative goals would be impeded by a complex…

When Prince Charles appeared before the World Health Organization recently, he spoke about the need for more utilization of traditional healing methods and emphasized the urgent need for a better balance between man and nature. This brings into focus the need for balance, much of which can be achieved if…

The essence of social entrepreneurship is the understanding that the goal of business is to achieve not only personal financial objectives, but also larger social objectives. People go into business for many different reasons, and some are not satisfied with simply making money. A social entrepreneur wants social gain, which…

Acupuncture appears to have arrived in Japan from China and Korea via Buddhist monks in the sixth century. In the mid 1600s, a blind Japanese acupuncturist named Waichi Sugiyama developed the shinkan (insertion tube). This radical invention allowed for painless needle insertion, and is now used by both blind and…

I have been asked many times, as I’m sure you have, As an acupuncturist, do you treat addictions? If you have answered yes, I now challenge you to think about exactly what it is that you are dealing with and the answers you have to the following questions: What is…

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, it is estimated that 15 million adults in the United States in 1997 (18.4 percent of all prescription users) took prescription drugs concurrently with herbal remedies and/or vitamins. 1 Even though herbal remedies are classified as dietary supplements in the United…

In part one of this article, I discussed the 20-year-long, highly acclaimed research of Professor Long-xiang Huang, vice president of the Acupuncture Institute of the Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing. In his opinion, today’s traditional acupuncture is like a pearl necklace, where the pearls of wisdom and vast…

I continue to be amazed by the effectiveness of a simple technique called microcurrent and color light mu-shu . This is the practice of applying polarized microcurrent stimulation with simultaneous color light to front- mu (alarm) and back- shu (associated) points of Organs, so that the currents flow through the…

Here in the U.S., Oriental medicine is jockeying for professional specialty acceptance. This is not an uncommon process, as history provides a glimpse of repeating patterns. The historical relevance to this modern-day situation comes in the wake of skyrocketing medical costs, an increase in chronic public health issues and, more…

I am always looking for new and interesting things to do with OM. Ever since the early ‘70s, when I first bought handmade needles in San Francisco’s opium dens, I have hunted for novel opportunities. First, I successfully worked with my stepfather, a founder of the Kaiser Permanente hospital chain,…

I have recently been drawn to remember how I felt about TCM when I first entered the program. I remember being so idealistic about what a TCM practitioner did, how they developed themselves to the best of their ability, and how they deeply penetrated into the nature of qi and…

Clinicians and students in a TCM clinic know all too well that patients rarely choose TCM as their first line of treatment. All too often, clinicians are presented with chronic, lingering disorders that have not responded to allopathic and other treatments. Respiratory disorders commonly fall into this category. In this…

On May 4, 2006, I read an article in the Los Angeles Times titled “Bird Flu Would Ravage U.S., White House Warns; A Government Report Says an Outbreak Could Kill 2 Million People and Lead to Quarantines, Travel Restrictions and an Economic Downturn.” Inside the article, the reporter wrote, “[s]ince…

A.B.3014, a bill that would have more clearly defined the practice of Asian massage in the California Business and Professions Code, has been vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, to the dismay of more than one acupuncture organization. “The rest of the profession rallied in united support of this important legislation,” said…