What are the Meridians?

As the second article in the three articles planned by my mentor, Dr. Zhang, as published in the October issue of Acupuncture Today.

In it, Dr. Zhang discusses the qualities of the Meridian System from multiple angles, coming to a conclusion that seems so obvious, yet seems difficult to grasp for those of us who are firmly planted in what we understand of the physical world. While this may seem to be an esoteric and academic topic to some, the idea is to challenge the way we view the space that exists all around us and hopefully to raise our skills in recognizing root causes of illness as clinicians.  

Please have a read!

Where are the Meridians

Due to the new format of Acupuncture Today, I am unable to link directly to the article. The article is split into 4 sections, located on pps 28, 32, 43 and 45. I apologize for the trouble. For those of you who wish to read the whole document off the AT website, you can do so here.

Any comments or thoughts on Dr. Zhang's theories are welcomed and I promise to relay them to Dr. Zhang if I am not able to answer them. 

Search For The Meridians

Just in time for Leap Day, this is the first in a series of articles that my mentor Dr. Kezhen Zhang of Beijing Tai Ji Tang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital will write about the Meridian System in Traditional Chinese Medicine and published in Acupuncture Today. I'm honored to be his translator for these articles and I hope that his revolutionary ideas will help the TCM professionals and the scientific research community take a second look at existing experimental design for research into the Meridian system. 

Search for the Meridians

Footsteps of the Sages: An Apprenticeship with Dr. Kezhen Zhang

This is an article that I wrote for Acupuncture Today (November 2015) about my experiences apprenticing with Dr. Zhang in China. He is a brilliant practitioner and I am very fortunate and honored to have had the chance to study with him.

Footsteps of the Sages: An Apprenticeship with Dr. Kezhan Zhang

June 2015, with Dr. Kezhen Zhang in his office.

Video of Marilyn Allen's visit to Tai Ji Tang

Here are the Chinese and English versions of a video that was compiled from footage of the visit that Marilyn Allen of Acupuncture Today paid to Tai Ji Tang in June 2015. You get a good view of the beautiful facilities of the hospital as well as the exciting conversations that were transpiring during the visit. 

2015年6月Marilyn Allen女士參觀北京泰濟堂中醫醫院視頻。

English Version

中文版

June 2, 2015. Marilyn Allan and other delegates visit Dr. Zhang and Traditional Chinese Medicine representatives in China.

Enjoy！

Marilyn Allen Visits Beijing Tai Ji Tang TCM Hospital

Here is an article on Xinhuanet about a meeting I mediated and interpreted for while studying in China with Dr. Zhang at his hospital this past May/June, 2015:

Article is in Chinese. Here is a quick summary: 
World renown traditional medicine experts Marilyn Allen, Rachel M Brooker, and Eric Raymond Buckley visited Beijing Taijitang hospital and experienced TCM diagnosis and treatment first hand. They showed great interest in acupuncture theory and Chinese herbal medicine. 
Dr. Kezhen Zhang feels that TCM is receiving more recognition worldwide, although there are still difficulties facing wider acceptance and the promotion of TCM, such as how to truly integrate TCM with WM and modern sciences, as well as how standards for TCM theory and clinical practice should be established. For example, there is no accepted standard for how meridians should be measured or even whether or not they are an objective existence. Therefore, setting up such a standard should be of the utmost importance.

June 2, 2015. Marilyn Allan and other delegates visit Dr. Zhang and Traditional Chinese Medicine representatives in China.