AOMA Blog

KXAN interviewed with CEO & Acting President, Dr. Mary Faria to celebrate Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine day and AOMA's involvement in offering low-cost or free acupuncture to the Austin community. 

"The whole idea is we treat pain differently than we have in the past. Instead of using drugs, we use a variety of methods, including acupuncture, yoga, mindfulness, looking at nutritional aspects of pain. The program has done very well,” said Dr. Mary Faria, Chief Executive Officer and Acting President of the school."

AOMA offers free community classes throughout the year for those wanting to explore the benefits of qigong and yoga. Community Wellness Hour meets weekly, where participants are offered of free NADA treatments followed with mindful meditation led by Julia Aziz, LCSW-S. 

In addition to these on-campus programs, AOMA MAcOM students may choose to complete supervised internship hours at People's Community Clinic, Seton McCarthy, Austin Recovery Center and the Austin VA Clinic. 

To listen to the full interview check out KXAN's video below! 

Interested in community programs? The current calendar is available at  https://aoma.edu/calendar/grid. Community Wellness Hour, qigong and yoga are all free and open to the community. 

AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine will host a mini-wellness fair on October 24th for National Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day. The event will be free to the public and will provide complimentary acupuncture demonstrations, inform the attendees on the value of integrating western and eastern therapies for best health outcomes, perform herbal therapy demonstrations, and other traditional Chinese medicine practices. Also, movement demonstrations like Tai Chi and Qi Gong will be provided. The event is being held at AOMA’s south campus, 4701 West Gate Blvd, Austin, Texas 78745, from 5:30-7:30 pm. Registration is not required.

Sign up at the eventbrite here!

AOMA has recently been named the exclusive provider of acupuncture services for all City Of Austin employees. AOMA does encourage COA employees to attend this event so they may better understand the unique benefits of this partnership.

Acupuncture is the most well-known traditional Chinese medical procedure. Scientific studies have proven its efficacy for treating inflammation, pain, depression, and a host of other chronic and acute health conditions. AOMA has a passion for helping the general public understand the wide variety of applications for acupuncture. They also give back to the community through partnerships with nonprofit organizations and by providing free and reduced-price treatments to people who cannot afford them otherwise. AOMA has proudly been transforming lives for over 25 years!

About AOMA:

AOMA is one of the largest and most respected providers of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in Austin. Annually AOMA treats close to 18,000 patients. Their professional clinicians are Master, and Doctorate level trained, many with over 20 years of experience and MDs and PhDs from China. All of our practitioners are generalists, but most also have a specialty, including orthopedics, neurology, oncology, women’s health, and ophthalmology. Because AOMA is a regionally accredited School of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, whether a patient chooses our professional or student clinic, the care is safe, effective, and of the highest quality. AOMA works cooperatively and has an integrative approach with many Western healthcare institutions like the Veteran’s Administration, Ascension Seton, People’s Community Clinic, Austin Recovery, and more. To learn more, visit AOMA.edu.

On September 17^th, AOMA will continue in our tradition of recognizing Constitution Day. Since the official day falls during our Term break week, we will celebrate during lunch on Thursday, September 26^th.  This year will mark the 232nd anniversary of the singing of the U.S Constitution by the 37 framers on September 17, 1787. It also recognizes all who are born in the US or by naturalization, or have become citizens. The U.S Constitution is a living document that established America’s government system, laws and guaranteed citizen’s basic rights.

                Under the Articles of Confederation, America’s first governing document, the national government was fragmented and allowed the states to operate independently. There was a strong debate between the Federalists (led by Alexander Hamilton) who wanted a strong national government, and the anti-federalists who opposed a strong federal government and wanted the power to remain in the hands of the state and local governments.

                In 1939 William Hearst, a news tycoon, suggested the creation of Constitution day as a holiday to celebrate American Citizenship.  In 1940, Congress designated the third Sunday of every May to be “I am an American Day”. With Hearst’s continued support for the holiday, within 5 years governors of the existing 48 states issued state holidays. Olga T. Weber petitioned state leaders, Congress in 1952 to change the date of the holiday to the date that the Constitution was signed. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it, and “I am an American Day” became Constitution or Citizenship Day and moved to September 17^th.

Lauren Hubele is a leading expert in Gemmotherapy in the United States today. She lives in San Marcos where she swims upstream in the river every morning, year round. She’s also a vegan and passionate cook who believes in giving people the tools they need. Besides doing research, writing and lecturing about Gemmotherapy, she also has a plant-based recipe blog on her website. 

Lauren, you’ll have to excuse me, as my background with herbs is primary through the lens of Chinese Medicine - can you tell me about how where Gemmotherapy  fits into the world of herbal treatment? 

Gemmotherapy is different from TCM herbs or any North American herbal product because it uses the meristem cells of the plant. The plants are processed at their freshest state (within 3 hours of picking). It is because of the presence of meristem cells in the bud or root or shoot of the tree of shrub that is used that makes it unique. The meristem cells are what allow  for the incredible rejuvenating process that can be obtained with Gemmotherapy extracts. 

Regarding the history and training behind Gemmotherapy - how do you get trained in it? Is it through taking seminars through someone who is involved in this kind of work? 

Today there are only a handful of key teachers for Gemmotherapy around the world. Each of us shares Gemmotherapy extracts through our own lens of understanding. There is a brilliant professor in Italy, another in producer and key researcher Belgium, several professors, pharmacists, and physicians who teach in Romania, another in Canada and then there are three of us teaching in the United States. We each have our own unique approach. 

The majority of published materials and teachings on Gemmotherapy extracts presents them through in an allopathic view. Extracts are presented by the organs and organ systems affected  and the symptoms or diagnosis they were known to address. While this is helpful information it doesn’t provide a path in which to apply the extracts. Because this was all that was available when I began to study Gemmotherapy that is how I learned the extracts.  However, when I began to apply them in my practice with real patients, I discovered this method really fell short. 

Through a lot of trial and error in my own practice and hundreds of cases, a system started to form itself. I worked with the top research doctors in Romania and Italy, where I would say “I’m really seeing european blueberry acting like this, would you see if what I’m seeing is backed up pharmacologically?” And they would come back with “well not really, maybe what you’re seeing is this [aspect of the herb]”. And so in that I was able to create my own system and that’s what I teach today. 

I’m currently exploring micro-dosing extracts now, something brand new. Instead of the pharmacological suggested dose of 25 drops, only one or two is taken that engage with the nervous system. I’m working with Dr. Olah Nelly, a professor of pharmacology and biochemist in Romania. She’s the director of research for the Plant Extrakt Gemmotherapy lab and supervising my first blind study.  These are exciting times in the study of Gemmotherapy and taking a class with me is not just going to be about studying the materia medica. 

It seems like something that is old, viewed differently now in a modern lens. 

I think I would come back to what you just said and I would say it is actually an older medicine which was being looked at a modern allopathic way and I am taking it back to its roots and of looking at the body holistically. Unless we go there and look at how the body heals, we get partial results. I’m looking at bringing harmony back to the body, so that the beautiful immune system we’re born with is activated and can do its work. 

 Looking at your bio, I learned that you came to this medicine from a patient’s standpoint when you were diagnosed with cancer and were introduced to it by a ND while in Germany. Can you tell me a little about how they use this in Europe and if it’s used more there than here for now? 

In Europe Gemmotherapy it can only be used by licensed medical professionals. They could be physicians, osteopaths, midwives, acupuncturists, or other licensed in the medical field. 

Gemmotherapy is definitely used more in Europe, but it is limited to certain regional areas. For instance, it’s not really used or known in Germany. In Germany they haven’t really figured out how they want to classify it, so it’s just in the no-man's land right now. It seemed natural to me that it would take off in Germany, but instead there are countries like the Ukraine and Bulgaria excited about Gemmotherapy, with no easy access to the extracts.  

How many extracts are currently available? 

Right now, there are a good 60 that are standardized and commonly available. You could stretch that number to 75 if you are looking at some of the newer ones being studied. When I teach my foundations program, I teach 26 entry level extracts. That is more than enough to treat a wide variety of acute conditions as well as begin treating chronic care cases. 

Who is the person or organization experimenting with these newer plants?  

Dr. Fernando Pitera of Italy is considered the grandfather of Gemmotherapy. He is a homeopath, internal medicine doctor and herbalist and author of the only pharmacopeia of Gemmotherapy that exists (Gemmoterapia - published in Italian and French). Dr. Pitera is constantly reviewing other extracts and plants and has dedicated his life to this. 

There’s also Philippe Andrianne, who is conducting his own research. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting these gentlemen personally.  We have a great deal of mutual respect for one another. Even though our work and approaches are very different.

That’s kind of the nice thing, with a group so small, it’s so easy to stay connected and have some real conversations and support each other. 

Yes! I love that. Is it a newer medicine. I love batting around ideas. This only hit the pharmacopeia in the late 1950s. When we look at medicines and therapies that’s very new. It is quite insular because all the writings were in French - that really slowed down the process. My books are the first coming out in English. 

Can I ask how you work with clients differently than a homeopath or TCM herbalist might? 

When you look at allopathy, it’s the study of symptoms as opposed to the whole. Homeopaths are trained to cure the whole, but my experience as a homeopath is that it doesn’t manage to cure the whole. 

When I work with a client, I will enter with a similar approach whether you’re coming to see me for fertility or a ruptured disk. Your body heals in the same order; whatever the problem is, we’ll start in the same place, but what follows will vary. There are no set protocols (like in homeopathy). 

In TCM just as with gemmotherapy, you also are not looking at any set of protocols. If you’re looking at high blood pressure, you’re looking to treat the root of that pathology. Gemmotherapy is an absolutely beautiful complement therapy for acupuncturists, because it aligns with TCM way of treating patients with herbs. I use TCM consistently when classifying the extracts and when looking at the organ clock to plan treatment timing. I’ve worked with a lot of acupuncturists, and we’re helped inform each others work. 

How are patients finding out about this? How do most patients come to you? 

You know what? People are now searching gemmotherapy. It’s actually becoming a thing. Seven years ago, totally not true. Even three years ago, people would find me because a friend referred them but knew nothing about it. But now people are literally searching and I get emails from around the world daily with questions. 

What does your practice look like these days? 

My practice is actually the smallest part of my work today because I do so much traveling, teaching and writing (generally one book a year). I give talks for health advocacy. What I call my practice now is health coaching. It’s my goal that you become so self sufficient that you only come see me when you can’t figure it out yourself. 

I love that!

My goal is very different than when I started as a practitioner where I was the “expert” and people would come to me and if it didn’t work they would come back. Energetically, that felt uncomfortable to me. I later trained in coaching skills and learned how to give that responsibility back to my client. We collaborate on their health decisions. I am the topic expert, but they are their body’s expert. The only way to succeed is to work together. I train practitioners in all different fields to use that approach. The other is simply not serving people who feel powerless over their health and often leaves both practitioners and clients frustrated. 

I feel like many patients intuitively know what is at the root of their health concerns, so I am so glad that you collaborate with them to find solutions! 

Awareness is step one, the next steps forward require something of great interest to me. Currently I’m researching this field of emotional immunity, and how building up our emotional immunity makes us stronger and more capable of making those lifestyle choices needed for full healing. 

When we’re in this victim mode, we’re not going to GIVE UP CHEESE. That might be the one pleasure we have in life! When we build in this space, and have the capacity to have more perspective it gives us the opportunity to make important  lifestyle decisions. This is one of the most powerful changes in my practice I’ve made over the years, and a large part of what I will be teaching at AOMA. Teaching how to help our clients this way is almost as powerful as teaching gemmotherapy. 

As a practitioner, do you consult with anyone when you’re stuck in treating yourself? 

I have a long time acupuncturist, AOMA graduate, who is my acupuncturist in Austin and also a dear friend who studied gemmotherapy with me. My homeopath is in Boston whom I also consult with when I get stuck. She grew up in Kolkata with her father who was a homeopathic physician. In my opinion she has one of the greatest homeopathic minds in the U.S. 

 Right now, herbs in general are not regulated in the States, what are the differences you see in Europe? 

Let’s put it this way: I buy my product from Europe because it’s regulated. There are a few producers in the US who are making small batches. I’m not comfortable with purchasing from them yet, because they are not regulated here. I’m not a big government person by any means. But the EU and its ability to make agencies uphold the pharmacopoeia and how gemmotherapy is meant to be prepared is so important. 

 Is there anything else you’d like to leave readers to know about you that I haven’t already asked? 

It’s important for people to know what my passions are. For anyone taking this class, it’s an opportunity to come out as a better practitioner, not just to gain a new tool. I will challenge the way people look at the human body, even in a TCM perspective by looking at the layers and how they should heal. 

My personal passions are empowering mothers all over the world. I’ve started international gemmo-mom groups. These  are groups of mothers teaching mothers how to use these extracts acutely so they can treat their children in the middle of the night. This is such a safe, gentle-acting extract that it’s simple. It’s not like learning thousands of herbs or thousands of homeopathic remedies. It’s a real passion of mine as well as my developing research on  emotional immunity and gemmotherapy. 

Thank you so much for your time, Lauren! Readers - if you are interested in learning more about Lauren and her work, feel free to check out her website, Facebook, instagram and upcoming class (TX Acupuncturists will receive 8 Biomedical and 8 Herbal CEUs). 

Ann Sanders is one of the students we welcomed in our new Summer cohort. At the end of her first term, we gave her some more homework. Here, she shares a little about her background as well as four things she recommends to prospective acupuncture students.

What is your background? 
I've been an RN for the past 11 years working in a variety of settings-ER, Outpatient Surgery, Pain Management, Endoscopy and home health care. Prior to being a nurse, I worked as a Certified Veterinary Technician in anesthesia at Mississippi State College of Veterinary Medicine. I also have my B.S. in Paralegal Studies

Where are you from? And what made you interested in starting acupuncture school? 
I grew up in a military family so calling one place home is hard. I've lived overseas and stateside. Although, I moved here from Mississippi this past July. 

Two years ago, I was working at my local hospital when it hit me, "there has got to be another way to help and treat patients." I'd become disenchanted with the approach that I was currently practicing. So shortly after that epiphany, I put in my notice and began researching holistic healthcare. I looked at a multitude of avenues and none of them seemed to fit. By happenstance, a friend suggested that I fill in at a mutual friend's acupuncture clinic. I volunteered for a short time and it quickly evolved into my office manager position at Thrive Health Acupuncture Clinic.

I had an awesome opportunity to see the difference acupuncture made in peoples' lives. They were getting results that I hadn't witnessed in Western medicine. And the outcomes were amazing and done without pharmaceuticals or invasive procedures. The more I learned about acupuncture, it's history and philosophy, the more I fell in love with it. So naturally for me, acupuncture school was the next step.

Why did you choose to come to AOMA? 
I interviewed at Bastyr and AOMA but I ultimately choose AOMA due to the impressive faculty, the strong herbal competent, tuition costs and the fact it's closer to my family in MS. Everybody here is wonderful so I definitely made the right choice. The staff is amazing!

What class are you most enjoying this term and why?
This is my first term here and I love Dr Wu's Foundations class. It's been a little challenging for me at times coming from a western medicine background. There are concepts that I'm having to relearn along with benching some ideas that I practiced as an RN. In addition to his class, I'm enjoying Practice Management and Ethics because they challenge you to address misconceptions you may have had about your worth and value as a practitioner, what owning your own practice may look like and what ethical situations you may find yourself in.

How do you decompress? 
Through nursing, I definitely had to find ways to prevent compassion fatigue. Prayer/meditation; yoga; movies (huge SciFi and Marvel Nerd); travel; music and concerts/festivals; Zip-lining; camping; reading; gratitude journaling and recently, calls to family and my support group back home. In the near future, I hope to add skydiving to the list.


I feel like new students have this beautiful, fresh outlook. What are four things you would recommend to someone hoping to start acupuncture school soon?

1. Observe in an acupuncture clinic for a few months and note the patient-centered care and time spent with them along with the business side of the clinic. Also receive treatments and see how your body responds to acupuncture.
2. Volunteer at a doctor's office or hospital and take note of patient care, the western medicine model with diagnostics with recommended treatment.
3. Formulate your personal budget and work the kinks out. Knowing how to manage your personal finances will only benefit you in your practice.
4. Read, read, read on acupuncture and finances! AOMA has an excellent list of recommended books to explore. Sales experience is a plus when you have your own clinic. Work with the public and get comfortable talking with people while in a service role.

Thank you so much for sharing both your advice and your precious finals week time, Ann! It's so nice to have new, fresh faces and perspective on campus.

Randi Savage, Mary Ellen Metke and Kathleen Robinson are each accomplished professors, students and practitioners of the Worsley school of Five Element Acupuncture. They will be on campus together on October 26th and 27th to share the knowledge they've collected over the last decades of practice and study.  

Kathleen studied directly under Dr. JR Worsley at his school in Leamington Spa, England from 1988-1990. Kathleen has written curriculum, taught Worsley Five Element Acupuncture, and served as faculty member and clinical supervisor at ITEA since 1992. She brings 30 years of experience to her acupuncture practice and students. With a focus on treating and teaching the underlying cause of illness, per the tenants of pure Five Element Acupuncture, both patients and students develop an awareness and embody an understanding of this powerful medicine's impact on the body, mind and spirit. Five Element Acupuncture saved her life. She believes it can do the same for others. As such, she both teaches and treats from that perspective.

Mary Ellen began her studies in Chinese medicine with Ben Lo in 1980. She began teaching Tai chi and Qi Gong in 1985, then went on to study Five Element Acupuncture at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (TAI) in Columbia, Maryland. Mary Ellen did an intensive training in England with Dr. JR Worlsey, participated in Teacher Training, and the Master Apprentice Program. She attended/hosted patient consults for 20 years with JR and Judy Worsley as well as Hilary Skellon. Mary Ellen has been a teacher and clinical supervisor at ITEA since 2000. She has built and maintained a thriving Five Element Acupuncture practice in Boulder, CO since 1989 and continues to teach Tai chi and Qigong. She is currently working on her Doctorate in Acupuncture through the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. 

Randi has been studying, practicing, and teaching Tai chi and Qi Gong since 1997. She earned her Licentiate and Master’s in Acupuncture in 2006 at the Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture (ITEA), followed by her Doctorate of Acupuncture from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and in 2018. She has been teaching and doing clinical supervision at ITEA since 2013 and served as Vice President of the Worsley Institute for 5 years. Randi blends her Western medicine knowledge (Master’s in Nursing) into her Five Element practice and teachings.

How did you meet? What made you want to start teaching CFEA as a group as opposed to individually? What does each of you bring to the table?

Randi: We all met at the Institute of Taoist Education and acupuncture (ITEA) in Louisville, Colorado and over the years we have become good friends and colleagues. I feel we have an amazing synergy when we work together. We each come from different backgrounds and have our own unique talents. Then put us in a room together and things start happening. Ideas, thoughts, observations, and things start to happen and we can make a class exciting, challenging and invigorating so people can walk away with new things they can use in the treatment room and beyond.

Kathleen: I did my first Teacher Training with Dr. JR Worsley in 1992. I began teaching four years later. It has been a singular joy doing so. About five years ago, Randi and I began leading a monthly clinical students meeting and we found the energy of two multiplied the experience tenfold. We began hatching the idea of teaching together. While we each bring our perspective to the table, we realized something was missing. Mary Ellen’s gift of bringing in the physical aspect of training was the next intelligent choice for us.

Speaking of, what are your backgrounds, and do you find that you use things from your “pre-acupuncture” lives in practices today?

Mary Ellen: My acupuncture practice has been heavily influenced by my background in art as well as by studying T’ai Chi Ch’uan with Ben Lo. I still am a painter and photographer. T’ai Chi taught me many things about energy, listening, sensing and where people have tension in their bodies. Acupuncturists are constantly developing listening, looking and feeling skills, and creating art and practicing T’ai Chi contribute to those skills. As acupuncturists we are fine-tuning our skills so we can pick up subtleties with our clients to help us hone our diagnostic skills to assist our patients. The artist’s mind takes note of different subtleties of color, light, wind, weather, sounds and so on. Keeping that artist mindset trains one’s mind to continually look not only at other people but also at nature. Being more in tune with nature helps one be a better acupuncturist; as a teacher, I encourage my students to also embrace nature’s glorious lessons.

Randi: My first profession was as a nurse and my second was as a massage therapist. I specialized in Psychiatric nursing. I worked in-patient psych for many years. I became disheartened by the overuse of psychotropics and psychotherapy. I knew there had to be a better way to help people feel better within themselves despite having a diagnosis of mental illness. I found Five Element Acupuncture when I attended a month-long Qi Gong training at the Omega Institute. While at the retreat, someone gave me a copy of JR Worsley’s book on the Elements and the Officials. I knew in that moment that I wanted to become a Five Element Acupuncturist so I could use the Spirit of the Acupuncture Points to help anyone suffering on any level: especially on an emotional/mental/spirit level. My previous life as a nurse and massage therapist has helped me as an acupuncturist to really be able to assess the whole person on all levels from both Western and Eastern perspectives.

Kathleen: I came to Five Element Acupuncture early in life for the times. I graduated with a B.A. in Religion and became a waitress because what else does one generally do with a liberal arts degree. I knew I had to find something significant to do professionally, and so I left the service industry and made my way to a small town in Maine. By luck, I found a 5 Element practitioner there. I was 25 when I began treatment and by the third treatment knew I had found my calling. TAI in Columbia, Maryland was the only 5 Element school in the US at the time. Within months of deciding to study acupuncture, Dr. JR Worsley opened his British school to Americans and I began WICA. Fortunately, all of my training was directly under JR Worsley, Judy Worsley, and JR’s daughter, Hilary Skellon. It was a remarkable education to say the least.

While being a 5 Element practitioner has been my first profession, my childhood and the years working in the food industry taught me so much about trauma and the basic needs of people. I was and remain intrigued by the interplay of the two and how something as simple as the practice of acupuncture can bring peace and resolution to the troubles which reside, for most people, just below the surface of things.

How is Classical Five-Element Acupuncture different than other styles of acupuncture?

Randi: In Five Element acupuncture there are several differences: using direct moxa, needle technique, some of the points are located differently, treatment planning is very different-we use the acupuncture points for the Spirit of point-what/how it can help a person on the “spirit” level.

Kathleen: One of my first experiences of Five-Elements was the notion of the “spirit of a point”. The poetry and depth of the translation of a Chinese character, applied in the material of a patient through needle insertion and moxibustion was a startling discovery to me. To witness the changes within a patient based on this application is thrilling. To me, this is the most significant difference.

Mary Ellen: In a lot of ways I see similarities as we all want the patients to improve, feel better and experience less pain. We also make note of what we see, hear, and what we experience when we take their pulses. Five-Element requires building a deep rapport with the patients and focused observation of subtleties: the color of the face, the odor, the highly-tuned reading of pulses to assess energy before, during and after treatment, taking note of blocks to be cleared. Treatments are very individualized, based on treating the whole person on the body, mind, and spirit level. We draw upon the classical wisdom of “the spirit of the acupuncture points” to help the patients realize their full potential.

Do you have any advice for current students who will be going out into the world with fresh new acupuncture licenses soon?

Randi: Come from your heart, be present, and get out of your own way!

Kathleen: Believe! Believe! Believe! This medicine does not come from the mind. Embodying the medicine, believing it to be valid and true, and speaking and practicing it from that place is all you need to be the best practitioner possible. This belief enables you to build a practice not based on ideas, but on authenticity of the spirit. And that is one powerful magnet!

Mary Ellen: Stay curious. Never stop learning, listening, feeling, asking and being present. If you become complacent then your skills will diminish and it will affect your practice. Also listen to your gut instinct. It is often very accurate, both in the treatment room and in life. Lastly don’t get too caught on your agenda and how things “should be” a certain way. You never know what is around the corner.

Thank you so much for your time! We really look forward to meeting you in October. For any readers outside of Austin, if you are interested in their CEU course, it will be available on livestream as well. 

Dr. Yongxin Fan is an accomplished instructor of traditional Chinese tuina. He practiced and taught as an attending medical doctor and instructor at the Acupuncture Institute at the Chinese National Academy of TCM and at the Beijing International Acupuncture Training Center. A member of AOBTA, Yongxin Fan has lectured and worked as a visiting professor in Holland, Germany, and Japan. He has more than 16 years of clinical experience and his research has been published in the National Journal of TCM.

He specializes in applying an integrated therapy consisting of acupuncture, herbs, and tuina to treat various pain syndromes, including acute and chronic articulation and muscle injury lumbago, recovery from fractures, and headaches. Such integrative treatment is a hallmark of his approach to common ailments such as stress, allergies, insomnia, and gastrointestinal disorders. Fan has been on the faculty at AOMA since 2002.

Tell us a little about your time practicing TCM before you were at AOMA.

In Beijing, I worked at China Academy of TCM's hospital, the top Chinese TCM research academy (now Academy of Chinese Medicine Science). I also worked in the Acupuncture Institute and Beijing International Training Center.

After 1970, the World Health Organization asked China to provide training for outside professionals, as there was more international demand for TCM. The Acupuncture Institute and Beijing International Training Center was one of the first three international training centers in China to train non-national acupuncturists.

In 2001, I met Dr. Wu in Beijing, and I arrived to Austin 17 years ago to teach at AOMA.

How did you first become interested in becoming a TCM practitioner?

In China, Chinese Medicine is really popular and widely used. When I was about 2 years old, I fell off a bike and hurt my arm. Chinese Medicine helped me recover. When I was 6 or 7, I got the mumps and doctors prescribed topical herbs. I remember them being smelly, but they reduced the swelling in 2 days! Even today, I remember the color and texture of the paste. It was so effective, and provided quick relief, and so I knew I wanted to learn more.

In China, we use the traditional ways first to prevent or treat small things like a common cold or sore throat, stomach aches. My kids even ask for me to pinch their throats for sore throats now.  I’m open to Western medicine of course and always work collaboratively when it is called for.

How have you seen TCM change in China?

TCM right now in China is completely modernized. They use modern techniques with traditional herbs and acupuncture while using information from modern research. There’s a lot of new research about acupuncture and pain, especially with new knowledge and imaging of anatomy. In class, I try to explain physiologically why the 5 shu points can treat pain and proximal issues. We have a chance to use traditional techniques to treat modern diseases.

What are your specialties?

As TCM practitioners, we are all trained to be general practitioners, even though I treat mostly pain. I also treat many sleep issues, GI issues, and stress related problems. Another common issues I see is infertility due to stress.

What kind of soft tissue problems do you see most in clinic?

Most of the time I treat pain, but you have to do a thorough examination. We learn muscular examinations in tuina class. Here in the seminar we’ll learn how to differentiate 5 tissues pain. Joint pain is very complex.

Low back pain presents with lipomas. Fascia - people have started to understand it, but it’s still a mystery to most people. We know when we work on it it works.  

Finger joint pain. Factors that cause the pain are really important to know. Muscular, facia, nerve, bursa, ligaments.

Do you use herbs topically? What are your favorite ones we carry in the herb store?

I use the foot soak herbal combination we sell at White Crane for soft tissue damage and joint pain. It's a classical formula and patients find it to be very effective. We even have an AOMA alumna who has made it as a tincture/spray and has had some great results. 

I use jin gu shui, white flower oil, and other tinctures often as well. 

You are known as an effective but intense practitioner! What size needles do you usually use for soft tissue injuries? 

Most of the time I use 0.18 x 30 or 0.18 x 40. I used to be more aggressive in my treatments but have mellowed out in the 17 years since I arrived.

How do you prepare patients if you know they will be sensitive to the treatment or if it is their first time getting acupuncture?

I try to only use 6-10 needles for people who are nervous. If you have a diversity of tools you can use to treat, you don’t have to use as many needles.

You have to tell patients when they need to come back to feel better. You need to explain how you understand the pain and what your plan is. I try to tell them what I think. People like to know how long recovery will take. Tell patients what your past experience is treating their condition and give them a treatment window instead of a fixed amount of visits (ex: 4-6 visits). They want to know that you are confident that you can treat the pain, and that they will continue to improve. 

Do you work with any General Practitioners who refer patients to you regularly? 

We receive referrals from western doctors but usually just to the clinic. They come to see us because their GP told them to try. I’m glad to see that there are more and more doctors who are open to TCM. Because it works!

Recently I saw a patient with pain on his feet for 7 years - constant numbness and pain. He saw many doctors and specialists and tried many things. He had to wear a pad under the foot to relieve the pain. Acupuncture helped relieve his pain so he could sleep after the very first visit. It is patients like him that go back to their GP and advocate for acupuncture who help spread the word. 

How will your upcoming training help students and practitioners in clinic? 

We see a lot of soft tissue pathologies in clinic. The key to treating patients effectively is to diagnose the mechanism and where the pain originates from. It is muscular, nerve damage, or will working on the fascia or ligaments help?

My goal is to use TCM to treat soft tissue injury under the understanding of how anatomy has changed with pain. By introducing this technique to students, they will have more tools to improve their practice and patients’ outcomes.

In the class I will explain the different symptoms of these different tissues so you can diagnose effectively. We’re going to talk about how soft tissue damage affects pain and how we treat different kinds. We try to use traditional techniques and make them better and better to treat pain.

We will also go over the tools and techniques to use for each different indication (filiform needles, cupping, gua sha, bloodletting). Frozen shoulder, heel pain, or tendonitis are hard to treat with needles alone. You might help 80% of people with pain relief immediately, but for the remainder, you might need to incorporate different tools.

Although I do use them, the class won’t focus on topical herbs due to time.

Do you have any mentors in China or teachers you most look up to? How did they influence your career?

In China, most new practitioners, you have older doctor and senior doctors as mentors for several years until they are ready to advance themselves. They lead you and help you to practice and then you have to find your way.

For acupuncture, you always have to study on your own to make your own way. It can be from older teachers, books, lectures. It is important to keep learning.

What is your biggest piece of advice to students at AOMA and acupuncture practitioners who are just starting?

You need to really focus on foundations - they are so important! Most famous practitioners have a better outcome because they really understand their foundations.

When I was in school, my professors always told me that, and eventually I found that it was true. I tried to find magic techniques for a long time, but my biggest takeaway is that there is no magic technique and you can't take any shortcuts. You just have to put in the work.

Thank you so much for your time and thoughtfulness, Dr. Fan! We really look forward to learning more at your seminar in the fall.  

If you’re in the Austin area, then you definitely know that we are smack in the middle of summer season. Summers in Austin tend to be incredibly hot and humid. This year has brought warm temperatures and abundant rainfall. My tomatoes, mugwort and jalapeños are loving it, while I am left to sweat continuously until October arrives.

1. Eat with the season! Check out your local farmers markets. What is IN season right now and growing in your area, is likely the best thing you could be eating. Nature is so smart and graciously provides what we need. Okra, cucumber, squash, melons and tomatoes are all beautiful right now.
2. Watermelon - there’s a reason it’s so popular in the summer. It’s an amazing fruit that will keep you hydrated, is incredibly affordable and has an energetically cooling property, especially the fruit right by the rind. With high levels of lycopene, it can even help prevent UV-induced sunburns. Keep one in your fridge, sprinkle tajin on it if you’re in Texas, cut it into cubes, or cut it in half and hand everyone a spoon (my favorite way to share watermelon).
3. Mung bean is also a great cooling legume. It can be pounded into a juice/soup when boiled, added into recipes you would use lentils for, or even found in grocery stores as a noodle these days.
4. Bittermelon can help if you tend to be constitutionally damp (think: feeling heavy, thick tongue coat that you brush off, foggy mind). Check with your practitioner - it’s an extremely cold-natured vegetable that may cause loose stools. If it does, discontinue.
5. Feeling low on energy? Schedule an acupuncture appointment. Summer is the most Yang time of the year, and one of the best times to boost your Yang energy with moxa if appropriate for you. As always, check with your local acupuncturist.

Watermelon Gazpacho (serves 6, total prep time 20 minutes)

This super refreshing watermelon gazpacho really hits the spot on hot days and you don't even need to turn on a stove! This recipe from Love and Lemons makes a big batch, so store the leftovers in the fridge for easy lunches all week long.

(image and recipe from www.loveandlemons.com) 

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Ingredients

• 4 heaping cups cubed watermelon (seedless, or remove seeds) 
• 1 English cucumber, diced, reserve half
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced, reserve half
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced, reserve half
• ⅓ cup chopped green onions, diced, reserve half
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small handful basil
• 3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ jalapeño pepper (optional)
• diced avocado (optional)
• micro greens for garnish (optional)
  
  

Instructions

1. Set aside the reserved half of the chopped cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper and green onions and place the remaining half in a blender. Add the watermelon, garlic, basil, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and jalapeño pepper, if using. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
2. Pour into a large bowl (or small individual jars, as pictured) and stir in the reserved chopped vegetables.
3. Chill for 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Serve with drizzled olive oil.
4. Optional: garnish with diced avocado and/or micro greens before serving.