Mend Acupuncture

Fall Ritual and Recipe
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Fall Ritual and Recipe

Nutrition, Seasonal Changes

Fall Ritual and Recipe

One of the many gifts I’ve received as a student and practitioner of East Asian medicine is connecting to the cycles of seasons. I have a deeper understanding that nature is not something out there, but that I am nature and can feel the movement of seasons within me. As we transition from the season of Late Summer with its abundant harvest to the cooler crisper Autumn, I know some people have been craving this change, while others are dreading it. With the seasonal shift from the relatively more yang outward energy of outdoor gatherings and summer BBQs, to the [...]

Dr. Heming Zhu
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Dr. Heming Zhu

AAPI Heritage Month, Acupuncturists

Dr. Heming Zhu

Dr. Heming Zhu is a local, Columbia, Maryland-based practitioner, teacher, and scientist who trains cohorts of acupuncturists at the Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH). His academic credentials list is long with a PhD in Anatomy and Neuroscience and and MD in neurology, an international certificate of Chinese Medical Doctor by the World Federation of Chinese Medical Societies, a Master of Acupuncture from MUIH (formerly Tai Sophia), and he is a nationally board-certified acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist through the NCCAOM. He has worked in research for the National Institute of Health (NIH), published many peer-reviewed articles, and authored a [...]

Dr. Miriam Lee
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Dr. Miriam Lee

AAPI Heritage Month, Acupuncturists

Dr. Miriam Lee

While I never studied with Dr. Miriam Lee (1926 - 2009), she was an influential practitioner, teacher, and leader in the acupuncture community during her life. I have learned about her and from her in waves and through various sources. I was in acupuncture school the first time I heard a story about Dr. Lee. Someone shared about how she practiced acupuncture from her home before there was a licensing for it in the United States. Her treatments were so effective that word-of-mouth spread. I learned from her book, Insights of a Senior Acupuncturist, that one day “there were [...]

Asian/American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
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Asian/American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

#StopAsianHate, AAPI Heritage Month

Asian/American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

The month of May is Asian/American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month which aims to highlight and commemorate the myriad of cultures, traditions, and histories of Asian and Pacific Islander people in the United States. As we move into AAPI Heritage month, we at Mend would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the healing arts and sciences of Asian medicine by honoring some of our teachers. Each week during this month, our newsletters will include a highlight of someone who influenced an acupuncturist in our clinic. We are grateful for the long history of this medicine, the many lineages [...]

In Support of the Asian Community
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In Support of the Asian Community

Anti-Racism

In Support of the Asian Community

Over the past year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in anti-Asian violence and harassment. As an organization that delivers medicine and a staff whose livelihoods are supported by practices with origins in China, East Asia, and lineages through many Asian traditions, nations, and groups, we have a special responsibility to speak-up against this racism and xenophobia. We at Mend stand in solidarity with, and in support of, our Asian friends, colleagues, neighbors, and the myriad Asian communities. Anti-Asian violence is white supremacy in action and hurts all of us. While there [...]

What Really Matters at the End of Life
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What Really Matters at the End of Life

Seasonal Changes

What Really Matters at the End of Life

One key emotion that comes up in, and resonates with, the fall is grief - a deep feeling of loss, of letting go, or the sense of inability to let go. While grief is not a fun emotion, it is healthy, normal, and worthy space and time for feeling and acknowledgement. While we often correlate grief with death, we may feel grief with any passing - even the end of an era that we welcome or when we are excited about starting something new. For example, getting started at the college that you worked hard to apply to and [...]

(Ease the) Sufferin’ Succotash
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(Ease the) Sufferin’ Succotash

Acupuncturists, Nutrition, Seasonal Changes, Wellness

(Ease the) Sufferin’ Succotash

Photograph by Irina Iriser In a recent blog about Late Summer, there is a description of a number of symptoms of imbalance that are “damp” in Chinese Medicine. And, right now, I have every one of them. I’m feeling sluggish in my body, don’t want to move, wake feeling kind of phlegmy in my throat and sinuses. My brain is foggy, it’s hard to get my thoughts together, I find myself worrying more than usual, and my digestion and bowels are weird (TMI? #sorrynotsorry. Even though not everyone is used to talking about it, information about bowels are useful [...]

Nothing Beets Nourishing Your Heart
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Nothing Beets Nourishing Your Heart

Nutrition, Seasonal Changes, Self-Care, Wellness

Nothing Beets Nourishing Your Heart

Image and recipe from My New Roots. We can nourish the Heart and cool summer heat through food, which includes not just what but how we eat. From an emotional perspective, the Heart corresponds with joy which can be stoked through connection with others and making choices that bring deep, personal delight. Cultivate joy in selecting food. Go to the farmer’s market with a friend and change the chore of grocery shopping into a fun outing. Chat with the sellers, savor the samples, try a food you’ve never had before and create a new recipe with it. Prepare [...]