Philosophy

an innate aspect of the biological imperative to survive, to thrive, and persist through stressors, illnesses, and the insults of injuries. It is at the very core of our survival instinct. Engaging that aspect of ourselves helps to coalesce our energies to overcome illnesses and injury. It is an intentional process of stimulating our innate function of spontaneous remission. Nature finds a way to persist. Life finds a way to adapt and survive.

The organic encumbrances of life lived may create a homeostasis of living in our bodies that is skewed, but there is a way to bring that back to our strongest central pivot or Zhong. Now that “way” may wind itself into a difficult homeostasis pattern; meaning you basically live around something even though your state of health or pain is not ideal. You live, you carry on in spite of encumbrances.

Wouldn’t your life be better, freer if you could eliminate those encumbrances?

The idea of the central pivot of health and being is at the very foundation of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). It is called the Zhong [ 中 ] in the classic TCM literature.  There is an aspect of mind, spirit, and the energetic manifestations of the body entwined in the understanding of Zhong 中.

As we age and encounter various health challenges, we often dismiss aches, pains, and other issues, hoping they will resolve independently. However, when these problems worsen or become more distressing, it’s crucial to consider the next steps. Our bodies are adept at adjusting to numerous stressors, to the extent that our inherent central balance, or Zhong, may become misaligned. East-West Functional Medicine aims to restore this natural equilibrium by reducing compensatory behaviors, aiding your systems in removing excesses, and bolstering deficiencies to foster a more robust and integrated well-being.

I’m frequently asked how I got into this kind of medicine. It was a long road of dealing with a life changing illness in my twenties that was a puzzle for allopathic medical doctors. The medications I was taking only made me less able, less well, and eventually in a perilous health situation. Something had to change.

I took a chance on a nutritionist’s advice and started to improve and was able to leave behind the medications within months of a very strict regime. I was well enough to travel to India to paint a mural on a temple ceiling. Whilst there, I learned about Ayurveda and Siddha medicine approaches. I gained more improvement in my health. Upon returning to the US, I encountered acupuncture and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). The improvements in my health were significant enough to warrant moving to San Francisco to get an education in the medicine and seek more treatment. After two years regular treatment under the care of Dr. Yuan Jin Tao and Anita Huang at ACTCM, I fully recovered when only a few years earlier I was given a bleak prognosis.

It was a long path of working through the dimensions and layers of the mind-body-spirit to pivot into full recovery. It was not simple nor easy but I was absolutely determined to live in full health. I achieved that with TCM.

Other injuries and health problems since then have not deterred me from utilizing the very same methods that helped me achieve a seminal shift in my health.  TCM, functional medicine, homeopathic injections, compounded remedies, and nutrition have all helped me live a better life than I could have ever expected previously.

Recovery and maintaining health do not follow a straight path; it’s a winding journey. However, if you tackle it with a spirit of discovery and challenge, fully committing your mind to the process, there’s you can likely achieve much improved health as well. I managed to do so with very limited resources amidst extremely stressful life conditions.

We are reminded about the essence of life belonging to the journey that we are on. How we inhabit our bodies, cope with change, and manage our struggles nourish us as much as clean food, water, and air do. There is no cure for death, to date, so why not live to the fullest by giving ourselves the best supports we can?