恭喜發財 Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái!
Happy Lunar New Year to everyone!
I just wanted to send out a quick post to wish everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous Year of the Wood Dragon.
A Course Announcement
I also wanted to announce that I am happy and honored to be included in TCM Academy of Integrative Medicine’s online 30-day Wood Element Exploration event. It's a daily series of short teachings, each with a different insight into the Wood element: Liver, Gallbladder, diagnosis, treatment, emotions, the Hun, acupuncture points, etc. It's all free.
Each video is live for 24 hours, starting today, February 11. Check in every day and get a certificate at the end, or start anytime during the month for a taste of the teachings, from great teachers around the world. Here’s the registration link:
Spring Into Balance: 30-Day Wood Exploration
A Liver Yáng Case
Okay, finally, this being the mulch, and since my contribution to the 30-day event is on treating liver yáng headaches (with acupuncture), I will throw in a brief liver yáng case (with herbal medicine) from Wáng Xùgāo Lín Zhèng Yī Àn (Wang Xugao's Clinical Records), compiled in 1897.
何 肝風陽氣上冒,頭左偏痛,連及左目難開。胸脘氣脹,肝木乘胃。法以泄降和陽。
羚羊角 蔓荊子 川連 刺藜 池菊 鉤鉤 石決明 神麯 茯苓 半夏 桑葉
Hé: Liver wind and yáng qì rising and veiling, left sided headache, including difficulty opening the left eye. Qì distension of the chest and stomach duct, [from] liver wood overwhelming the stomach. The treatment method is to discharge, downbear, and harmonize yáng.
Líng Yáng Jiǎo, Màn Jīng Zĭ, Chuān Lián, Cì Lí, Chí Jú, Gōu Gōu, Shí Jué Míng, Shén Qū, Fú Líng, Bàn Xià, Sāng Yè
Mulch comments: This is taken from the liver wind cases; it sounds like what we would consider today to be a fairly typical migraine presentation.
Let’s take the prescription ingredients and group them into treatment principles:
Extinguish wind - these ingredients calm liver yang, disperse wind, course the liver, and brighten the eyes.
Líng Yáng Jiǎo [Cornu Saigae]
Shí Jué Míng [Concha Haliotidis]
Cì Lí [Fr Tribuli]
Gōu Gōu [Uncis Uncariae] – here the uncaria hooks are especially effective to “pull out” pathogenic wind
Cool acrid - these ingredients are in the wind-heat category but they are also important to clear liver heat, especially in cases of headache and heat affecting the eyes.
Màn Jīng Zi [Fr Viticis] - especially indicated for headache
Chí Jú [Fl Chrysanthemi]
Sāng Yè [Fm Mori]
Drain fire
Chuān Lián [Rz Coptidis] – drains fire from the heart (child of the liver) and stomach
Support spleen
Fú Líng [Poria] – bland and balanced, mildly supplementing, mildly spirit-calming, mildly damp-draining, a nice buffer herb to include here.
Harmonize stomach - these ingredients help to downbear the stomach and eliminate distension.
Bàn Xià [Rz Pinelliae]
Shén Qū [Massa Medica Fermentata] - especially indicated to help digest the other ingredients, especially the animal horn and mineral.
Okay, that’s all for now. As always, thanks for reading.
Note: this newsletter is for information purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please seek the opinion of a health care professional for any specific medical issues you may have.
References
Wáng, X.G., & Fāng, R.Y. (1897). Wáng Xùgāo lín zhèng yī àn. https://jicheng.tw/tcm/book/%E7%8E%8B%E6%97%AD%E9%AB%98%E8%87%A8%E8%AD%89%E9%86%AB%E6%A1%88/index.html Retrieved April 15, 2023.