Issue #5 March, 2001
WHAT'S NEW FROM JOEL
In ancient times, all Chinese doctors were required to be involved in some type of art form. It did not matter whether it was music, painting, sculpting, calligraphy, dance, martial arts or any other art form. The “powers that be” knew that each person, especially those who were responsible for the health of the people, needed an area of play. A source of enjoyment to rejuvenate their souls. Only with that type of outlet, could doctors be effective healers. Of course, in my opinion, this is true for all of us. We all need a source of fun in our lives in order to shed the stresses of the day and “get out of our heads and into our hearts.
Many of you know that before I was a Doctor of Oriental Medicine I was a professional trumpet player. Music was my first love, I began playing when I was eight years old. I received my bachelor's degree in music from the University of California at Berkeley and immediately upon graduation started performing with bands, making my living from music.
After about fifteen years, I decided to return to school to learn Chinese Medicine and and threw myself totally into it. Dr. Kim, my master teacher and president of Emperor’s College, after hearing me play told me never to give up music. I thought he was right, but, after receiving my license, I became active in acupuncture politics and for five years spent all of my free time working toward improving the status of acupuncturists in the U.S. After almost completely burning myself out, I realized that politics was not my area and I decided to contribute to the profession by teaching. I taught for ten years at three different acupuncture colleges in the L.A. area and have written two textbooks on Chinese Medicine. I started a publishing company, Lone Wolf Press, and have been selling the books to schools, students and practitioners worldwide.
The books have been very well received and the company has been quite successful. Needless to say, my involvement in music was minimal at best. I rarely practiced and even more rarely got out and played. Because I wasn't practicing regularly, I became very dissatisfied with my playing and, forgetting Dr. Kim’s advice, decided to give up playing completely.
At the end of 1999, as I was putting my horn in the case to store it in the garage, almost as if I had been struck by a bolt of lightening, I realized that I was not doing anything for fun. My life was all about Chinese Medicine. I was giving myself no play time and I was becoming stagnant and joyless. I immediately decided to return to practicing the trumpet and started a jazz band. It was as if some external energy flowed into my body and my mind. My spirit soared and I was totally inspired. I was reminded of what a healing force music is and how much my soul missed it.
Over the last year and a half I have been blessed to be associated with some of the finest musicians in Los Angeles and have put together what I consider to be a first-rate jazz ensemble. At every turn, the doors have flown open. We recorded a four-tune demo CD at the end of last year. I have never been so excited or proud of anything in my life. We will add three more tunes in May and have a complete CD ready for sale shortly. At the beginning of March, we completed a promo package to distribute to jazz clubs in the area. After only two weeks, we have engagements in two of the most beautiful new restaurants in town (see attached flier), a miracle indeed!
I am inviting all of you who are interested to participate in what I hope will be joyous experiences for all involved. The music is accessible, upbeat and exciting, and was arranged with the audience’s enjoyment in mind. It is my hope to create an uplifting environment for rejuvenation of the spirit. Most of us have forgotten how to get out and have a great time with other people. It can do so much to heal the stressful, depressive condition many of us find ourselves in.
The owners of these new clubs have an enlightened attitude about jazz in L.A. By introducing midweek bands, people are exposed to the music and, of course, they boost their weekday dinner clientele. They are aware enough to start and end the shows early 7:00 PM to 10:00 p.m. It enables us to get out there, have a good meal, hear some great music, have a wonderful time and still be home and in bed at a reasonable hour. It can break up a long week at the office and keep us fresh for work.
Because most of the places we play are restaurants, minors are welcome. It can be a fun and educational experience for the kids, as well as a great midweek family outing.
We are unable to put out a newsletter frequently to let you know about all of our appearances, so if you are interested in knowing where we will be playing, please e-mail us at dragonjazz@americandragon.com and ask to be put on the e-mail list, or, if you don’t have e-mail, call us at (818) 840-9167 and ask to be called or faxed with the information. The performance dates, places and times will also be posted on our new website at www.americandragon.com.
Spring: Time for Some House Cleaning
Stacey SmallFirst things first, I am declaring that the new year begin on March 21st, the first day of spring. All those in favor please celebrate with one of Joel’s infamous seasonal rebalancing treatments. I have decided from this year forward that this is the day I will recognize as the first of the new year.
Spring is a time of renewal, regeneration, rebirth, new beginnings. A time when the little seedling emerges from under the hardened soil and pushes through to meet the light of day. As the little seedling awakens from it’s winter slumber, so do we humans. After a long period of hibernation, gestation, we too emerge to meet the light of day.
As one human life follows a natural cycle from birth to death, we see that the seasons follow a similar cycle year after year. From birth and growth in the spring, to expansion and development in summer, to harvest and fruition; maturation in autumn, to old age and death in winter.
Spring in the Chinese Medicine system of the Five Elements is associated with the wood element. The wood element corresponds with growth, not just up and outward, but down and inward as well. It is the extension of the trees branches, as well as it’s intricate root system. It is a balancing of asserting ourselves in the world and allowing ourselves time to reflect on and root ourselves in our experiences. It is a time of creativity, growth, implementing new projects and putting into action new ideas.
As we move into spring we find we may have to do a little "house cleaning’ in order to make room for the new. This may require letting go of some familiar habits and ways of thinking and being. This transition is not always easy, as there is a tendency to want to stay with what is familiar and well known to us which can create a tremendous amount of confusion and stagnation.
In Chinese Medicine, the liver is responsible for the smooth flow of energy in the body. The liver corresponds to wood and spring. It has a tendency to accumulate stagnant energy, particularly in the highly contractive season of winter, when the affects of many months of eating heavier, heat producing foods, staying indoors and lack of exercise add to the difficulty we find making the transition from winter to spring, letting go and moving forward.
If the liver becomes stagnant, we see all kinds of imbalances n the body. We see emotions intensified, frustration and irritability are common, along with more anger and/or feelings of depression. We see headaches and other aches and pains throughout the body which are common manifestations of stagnant energy in the body. We see eye problems, such as red or itchy, teary eyes and many other symptoms due to the liver’s inability to move freely, as is it’s nature.
This is why it is so important at this time, to get rid of any stagnation or accumulation that we may have developed over the winter months, so that we may continue our growth process smoothly, and harmoniously. A seasonal rebalancing treatment is just what the ancient Chinese Medicine doctors ordered. What a great way to start off the ‘New Year’!
Issue #4 June 2000
Staying Balanced
One of the best ways to keep our selves balanced during the hot summer months is a diet that is appropriate for the season. Summer is an extremely yang (active, hot) time of year. To counterbalance this extreme yang, it is best to stick to foods that are yin (wet, cooling) in nature. Summer tends to be one of the most difficult seasons for us to stay in balance. The summer diet should be light and cool. A diet full of raw fruits and vegetables (preferably organic) is ideal.
Appropriate summer foods:
Vegetables: *alfalfa sprouts *asparagus *beets *broccoli *cabbage *carrots *celery *chard *corn *cucumber *dandelion greens *white mushrooms *snow peas *spinach *summer squash *tofu *green leafy veggies.
Fruits: *apples *apricots *bananas *cantaloupe *peaches *asian pears *strawberries *watermelon *any melon *citrus fruits.
To be avoided or moderated:
*alcohol, *dairy products, *meats,*caffeine, *fried foods.
It is important to listen to your own body when deciding how best to maintain health and vitality. Every body is different with different requirements.
A few more tips: remember that as we increase our activity level we also burn more calories. Make sure you are eating enough. Drink lots of water and juice. Have lots of fun!Nurturing Nature
By Stacey Small
In the not so distant past, cultures around the world lived more intimately with their natural surroundings. The daily rotation of the sun was their clock; the subtle shifts in the stars, their farmer's almanac and the plants grown near their villages their medicine. Life was closely entwined with nature. Over time, modern society has become increasingly more disconnected from the natural world; the world that still supplies our food, our air, our water, our medicine, our survival.
As we lay more pavement, build bigger skyscrapers and cut down more trees to keep up with the ever increasing demand for more computer paper, the natural world continues to adapt itself to our big-brained nonsense and tries to restore itself to balance. Intrinsically, we humans have the same natural mechanism inherent within our cells. In the face of great adversity, our cells’ natural response is to restore balance (homeostasis). Despite the inner wisdom of our cells, our big brains have this powerful way of overriding all of the signals are bodies send us and go about business as usual with little to no awareness or concern for what those messages are telling us. It is the same in our external world. Messages are delivered to us priority mail and our typical response is to throw those messages onto the heap to be discarded, as if they were junk mail. We all are at least peripherally aware of some of the ways in which the world around us affects us. The transition from one season to another usually catches our attention. We may notice our allergies flaring up in the spring, our migraines intensifying in the summer, as well as more colds and flus in the winter. Most of us even recognize the calming effect derived from a long walk through the woods and we still to some degree or another, align our activities with the rising and setting o,f the sun. So, despite all of our cloud high buildings, our 10 story parking garages and our convenient mega-grocery stores, we have not completely isolated ourselves from 'wild' nature. We are an integral part of nature and not even the 'Great Wall of China' could separate us from our natural world. Therefore, it seems that we are not completely oblivious to our relationship with the world around us. We just need to try a little harder to nourish that relationship.
On June 21st, the sun will be in the northernmost position relative to the earth. At the summer solstice, we have the longest daylight of the year. We may be disconnected somewhat from nature, but we have never broken the long chain of worshipping our sun god. Although our manner of ritual has changed, and for some of us worship is as passive as four hours lying supine beneath the thin layer of ozone, soaking in the rays of the divine one, nonetheless, we still have preserved our deep appreciation for the warmth and brightness that the sun brings to our lives.
Of all the seasons, summer seems to be the one in which any truth to the saying "everything in moderation" is lost on us. It is a season of extremes. Everything we do seems to be intensified by the fuel of the sun's heat. The longer days allow us to fill our time with more activities. We play more, we laugh more, we eat more, and we dance more. All of these activities seem to be life affirming and beneficial to us, but here is where "everything in moderation" must be reinstated. Even the most healthful activities and those that seemingly bring us the most happiness, without moderation can have negative consequences for our minds and bodies.
Although, summer is the time of year when things are most expansive and outwardly directed, we must still be aware of the delicate balance required for us to maintain our health and happiness for the long haul. If we neglectfully spend all of our energy during the summer months doing, not stopping to rest and replenish ourselves, we will have no harvest to reap once fall comes, nothing to store for the winter months and no seeds to plant in the spring.
The ancient Taoists spent their lives in pursuit of happiness and longevity (things have not changed much, aay?). By observing the natural rhythms in their external world, they found that those rhythms and patterns had a profound effect on their minds and bodies. They found that by taking notice of the events, both small and large, in the world around them and by aligning themselves with those patterns and shifts, they could indeed enjoy a happier and healthier life.
With the coming of the summer solstice, another shift will occur in our natural world, whether we notice or not. If we choose to notice, and explore the ways in which we can best harmonize our lives with the coming summer months, we will find ourselves all the more happy and healthy.
Issue #3, September, 1999
THE ACUPUNCTURIST AS SHAMAN
In the last issue of “american dragon” I explained that some illnesses may not be easily treated by traditional medical practices, be they Western or Eastern. Some illnesses are the result of what we might call sickness of the soul. These illnesses must be treated in ways that are directed towards making fundamental changes in the way we view ourselves and live our lives. Much of our behavior is habitual, either learned as children or brought in genetically as part of our DNA. Everything we think generates a thoughtform, which is a magnetic imprint of that thought. These thoughtforms exist as energy patterns which we carry around in our energy fields and in the musculature of our bodies. This is the reason that often, when release is brought about through massage, Rolfing, acupuncture etc. many times past memories and emotions are brought to the surface and re-experienced. Many thoughtforms are contained primarily in the bio-magnetic energy field which we all have (often called the aura). Every time a thought or habit is repeated, it strengthens the thoughtform and makes it that much harder to get rid of. This is why it is so hard to quit many habits even though we know they are bad for us. The ways that we view ourselves are also thoughtforms, things like self worth, e.g. “I am not capable of doing such and such” or “nobody could ever love me” or “this disease that I have can never be cured”. These thoughtforms are strong because of frequent repetition and often run us without our being aware of it.
Virtually all indigenous peoples knew of this problem and had ways of treating it. The methods consisted of devices to put the patient into deep meditation such as rhythmic drumming chanting. Other methods to break up and dissolve the harmful thoughtforms were also incorporated. Physical noisemakers that create “white noise” such as rattles are very effective to break up thoughtforms. We also know that energy follows thought, so various practices of energy balancing using visualization and color are very effective. Many indigenous peoples used animal helpers who are energetic entities that also, through visualization techniques, work to break up these harmful thoughtforms and generate “miraculous” healings. Many esoteric energy balancing techniques operate in the same manner. We know that when the old thoughtforms are dissolved and balance is restored to the energy field, healing occurs. The problem remains that the person must accept responsibility for their continued good health They must not revert to old thoughtforms after the rebalancing. We have free will. We can be whatever we want to be and think whatever we want to think. Therefore it is our responsibility to replace old negative thoughtforms with new, positive, healthy thoughtforms. This is why affirmations are so effective. They build new thoughtforms to replace the old.
As I stated in the last issue, I have developed a rebalancing technique that is a combination of traditional Native American Shaman methods, esoteric balancing techniques and traditional Chinese Medicine techniques, which include herbs and Medical Qi Gong. In the past three months, several people have taken advantage of this method to enhance their own healing and I am pleased to report that the results have been remarkable.
I encourage all of you who are finding that your health problems are not responding to traditional methods to consider this program. It consists of six monthly one hour sessions with herbal medicines to be taken in between the sessions. The procedure is completely painless and, as I said, has been remarkably effective. The sessions cost $150.00 a piece or a total of $900.00 for the entire six month course of treatment.
Time to Reap What We Have Sown
Stacey Small
The classic Chinese text the Ling Shu reminds us, “Do not fail to observe the four seasons and to adapt to heat and cold.” To truly follow this very simple advice is ,according to the Ling Shu, to shun or “observe”, to follow the natural current, being able to recognize how it is at present and knowing the paths to take to conform to it.”
I love the old adage, “change is the only constant in the universe.” Being able to ‘conform’ our paths and find health and harmony in our lives involves adapting to and accepting the myriad changes that we are continuously confronted with from day to day, month to month, season to season and year to year. Change is a process that for many of us is difficult and it is the cause of much resistance as we struggle to preserve that which has become routine and well known. As a result of our inability to let go and move forward, our minds and bodies often suffer.
Autumn is just around the corner and for many of us the waning days of summer can be a great source of sadness. The fire, the passion, the electricity and activity of summer brings to our lives a tremendous amount of joy. Summer is a time of external activities; seeing friends, picnicking in the park, a day at the beach. Autumn arrives and for many it is a return to their serious lives of school and work.
Autumn is a time when feelings of melancholy and that vague feeling of ‘something's missing’ begins to kick in. The irony in feeling this way is that this is a time of great abundance. Autumn is harvest time, when all of the growth of spring and summer come to fruition. This is both true of the natural world around us, as well as within us. All of the projects, ideas and energy put into our jobs, relationships, and health over the past several months are ready to be harvested. The seeds planted in the fertile soil of spring and sown throughout the summer are now ready to be reaped. So in reality we are not ‘missing’ anything, quite the opposite, we are just too busy mourning the loss of summer to see the harvest in front of us.
In the Chinese Five Element system each season has many corresponding aspects. Fire is the element associated with summer and it has been slowly transforming into metal, the element associated with autumn. Fire is by nature very expansive. In summer we are very heavily influenced by this energy and find our state of mind more spacious, our energy more abundant and our activities more external. Metal, on the other hand is very contractive. It has the energy that influences us to draw inward, to begin to store the fruits of summer for the upcoming months and into winter. It is a time to finish up old projects and open up to more contemplative activities, like writing and reading.
The organ associated with the metal element is the lung. Because the main activity of the lung is breathing, it seems appropriate here to use the breath as a metaphor in an effort to gain perspective on the subject of change and the difficult transitions we are faced with in our lives.
Breathing involves both the intake of new air (energy) during inspiration and the elimination of the old (that which we no longer need) in expiration. These words, “inspire” and “expire”, can suggest to us the process of living and dying, the most obvious and most difficult to face of all the transitions we endure in one life. The Buddhist’s see each breath we inhale as giving new life and each breath out as a little death. From this perspective, each moment is then a new life to be lived
It is so common for us to feel with every out breath, with the end of summer, the end of a relationship or a job that we have “lost” something, something familiar, some part of ourselves that will never be recovered. We grasp at and try to hold onto experiences and situations, because we become habituated to the way those experiences make us feel. We can experience each breath or change in terms of what we have lost, focusing on what we no longer have or we can be open and welcome each breath, each change by looking at it as a new opportunity for growth. So let us do as the Ling Shu suggests and learn to ‘recognize‘ how it is at present and know the paths to take to conform to it.
CHANGEABLE WEATHER - CHANGEABLE HEALTH
It seems as though the weather patterns have been very different this year. One day it’s warm, the next day it’s cold, or there have been extreme changes during the same day. This alternating type of climatic behavior reflects in our bodies and our emotions. Because of this, I have been seeing a lot of people with alternating types of physical and emotional conditions. In Chinese medicine this is called a Shao Yang syndrome. Shao Yang appears as alternating types of symptoms or those that appear and disappear. Other symptoms of Shao Yang can be a one sided headache, irritability, rib, hip and flank pain, ear pain and sore throats. We have a wonderful formula to treat Shao Yang called Harmony-XCH. It is based on the classic Chinese formula Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) and was specifically formulated to treat this type of condition. It is safe and has no side effects. It has been the most prescribed formula in China for many years and has been the most prescribed formula in my practice for many years also, primarily for its ability to eliminate severe mood swings. This year, however, I am seeing a lot of Shao Yang headaches, hip pain and ear pain and have been using Harmony-XCH for these conditions with great success. If you are suffering from any of these symptoms and want to know if Harmony-XCH can help you, please call for an appointment at (818) 840-2728.
Issue #2, March 1999
THE ACUPUNCTURIST AS SHAMAN
In the course of my practice, I have noticed that some people, no matter how hard they try or how many different practitioners or types of practitioners they see are unable to get relief from their ailments.
Chinese Medicine is the original holistic medicine. The tools of the medicine (acupuncture, herbs, moxibustion, diet therapy, and Qi Gong) are designed to relieve physical, mental and emotional problems and, should be able to deal effectively with any and all problems of the human condition. The area that seemed to be left out had to do with the spirit. What we might call sickness of the soul. It seems to me that a great deal of our problems as a society, and to a great extent, a world community result from a deep seated emptiness. We do not understand who we are or why we are here. What is our purpose as human beings living on this planet? I believe that this lack of purpose, this void that we feel as individuals and as a people is at the root of most of our physical, mental and emotional problems.
I began to address this in my studies. Why doesn’t Chinese Medicine address spiritual problems? What are the tools that my medicine provides for the treatment of soul sickness? What I discovered is that indeed, in the past Chinese Medicine did address this subject, but most of the information was purged during the Communist regime. There may be secret societies that still hold this information or it may be held by Taoist masters, to be released only to the initiated. Wherever these practices may be stored, they seem to be unavailable to me.
In my quest to find a method of treating soul sickness, I turned to the study of native practices of the world. What I found is that native peoples worldwide have certain things in common. First of all, they all have a deep-seated understanding of the purpose of life and of mans place in the universe. Second, all native healing practices address the healing of the spirit and revolve around the use of ceremony. Third, virtually all native practices include the use of drumming or rhythmic chanting.
I have now been intensively studying various forms of shamanism for more than fifteen years. During the last three years I have taught shamanic practices to beginners and have done numerous healings in the context of Native American drumming ceremonies. This, along with the fact that I have been studying worldwide spiritual practices including many forms of meditation, yoga, medical Qi Gong, energy and color healing for more than thirty years, has led me to the point that I feel now, in these troubled times, I must offer this knowledge to my patients in the context of my practice. I have hesitated doing this in the past for fear of appearing “airy-fairy” or “new-agey” and alienating many of my patients. At this point in my life,however, after having been in practice for about fifteen years, I feel that it is imperative to incorporate some of these methods in my practice.
I have developed a program that includes Chinese herbal medicine, energy healing (Qi Gong) color therapy and traditional Native American drumming and ritual for the healing of the soul. I will devote one day of my practice per week to this program. The sessions will last an hour to an hour and a half. Generally, one to six treatments are required at intervals of one month. Chinese herbs will be included as daily treatment during the intervals between sessions. The cost will be $150.00 per session. No needles will be used and the procedure is completely painless.
I want my current and future patients to rest assured that I will continue my Chinese Medicine practice as it stands and am only offering this program to those who feel an affinity toward this type of work. I do, however highly recommend this program for all who are receptive to it, especially those who have been unable to find relief through other means.
High Blood Pressure?
While I was in China last September, I was introduced to a method of treating high blood pressure called the “Hypertension Patch”. It is an herbal patch that is worn at night and removed in the morning. I have seen some remarkable results from its use. It is not available in the U.S. at this time, however I am in the process of exploring the possibility of importing these patches. I brought back about three-hundred of them and have used them on several patients with impressive results. If you are suffering from high blood pressure and are interested in seeing if the patch works for you, please call for an appointment.
Issue #1, September, 1998
What’s going On!
Hello to all of you. I hope 1998 has been good to you. It has certainly been interesting for me. I would like to share with you some of the things that have been happening. First, as many of you know, I relocated my office into my home in December and have found it to be a most satisfying and rewarding move. It has afforded me the opportunity to maintain a smaller patient load and pursue all of my other interests, including teaching, writing, publishing and lecturing. I am fortunate to have a beautiful back yard with fountains, ponds, gardens and two separate treatment rooms. The peaceful atmosphere creates a healing environment which most of my patients report allows them to begin to relax as soon as they enter the area. I am also fortunate to have a wonderful assistant named Stacey Small. She works in the office and assists me with patients when necessary. She is an acupuncture student and has written an article about her new life in Chinese Medicine for this newsletter. Another major development for me this year is the publication of a textbook I have co-authored on Chinese Medicine. I have been working on this project for almost eight years and it is due out this fall. It is a hardbound volume for use by acupuncture students and practitioners. The last bit of information I’d like to share is that I’ve been invited to participate in a symposium in Beijing this September. I will be gone the last part of August and will return to work on September 10th. I hope you will all be feeling well and won’t need my services during that period, but if you do, please call. I will have a referral number on my message machine for another fine doctor.Chinese Medicine
Stacey Small
Joel asked me to share with you all a brief summary of my journey as a student on the Oriental Medicine path. If you are reading this newsletter then you have also had the good fortune to meet with this incredible medical system, as I did about five years ago. I became very interested in the philosophies and practices coming from the far east ten years or so ago. What I have found through my explorations is a more holistic approach to living. Life is filled with tremendous challenges and obstacles and we are greatly in need of tools to overcome these obstacles and meet the challenges. Here in the west we have turned away from the holistic approach to living that our eastern neighbors are still embracing into the 21st century. We have learned to attend to the different and complex aspects of our lives in neat little packages that are seen and dealt with separately, leaving most of us with this vague feeling of a kind of separation from our selves. Health to us here in the west is defined as the absence of illness, where in China, Tibet and other Asian nations, health is a matter of wellness, not just physically, but mentally/emotionally and spiritually. What I have found in Oriental Medicine, particularly Chinese Medicine is a medical system with spirit. That spirit is 2000 years of wisdom passed down through the ages and has arrived to us in the 20th century as viable and effective as it was 2000 years ago. My experience as both a patient and student of Chinese Medicine has been one of a reintegration of my total body. What I mean is that I have derived a great deal of healing through this medicine and the study of it, in all spheres of my life. If I had to choose one word to describe what I have learned most from this medicine it would have to be patience. Again it is interesting to look at our western mind sets and see that what we want mostly from our doctors is a quick cure. Sometimes Chinese Medicine can provide that and just as we see in western medicine sometimes it cannot. For a lot of us we have shifted so far out of balance and so many of our health problems are far more chronic than we know, that to really get to the root of our ill-being requires more than taking a few rounds of pharmaceuticals. It requires a ‘whole’ approach to health, not just a fixing of our physical bodies. This often requires patience and perseverance. In our fast paced, quick fix, immediate gratification culture, patience is often hard to muster up, especially if we are suffering in some way. As I said above, I believe the key to achieving the state of health and happiness we desire is patience. This medicine can provide immediate relief, immediate gratification, but it also has the ability to aid us to a place of long lasting health and well being. My wish is for all beings to have these things and thus I have devoted my life to becoming a healer to help others achieve the same thing I desire, to be free from suffering and to find true joy and happiness. I sincerely look forward to meeting you all.Dental Problems?
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to an amazing herbal formula that has been shown to very effective for a variety of dental and periodontal problems. I originally created the formula to replace antibiotics for some dental surgery I was having. I used the formula prior to and following the surgery and had no problems. Actually the recovery time was quite rapid and painless. I noticed that while taking the formula, many of the periodontal problems that I had been experiencing cleared up. These primarily included gum bleeding and receding gums (gingivitis). This result was to be expected because I based the formula on a Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to gum and tooth disease called Stomach Fire Blazing. The acupuncture meridians which run through the gums and teeth are the Stomach Channel, the Large Intestine Channel and the Small Intestine Channel.
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