We're back to the organ systems podcasts, this time connecting two organ systems that are commonly discussed together - the Spleen & Stomach! These organ systems, commonly associated with the Earth elemental phase, are CENTRAL in more ways than one.

Join us for a deep dive into the fascinating world of Chinese medical symbolism, and learn a little about your digestion & immune system in the process.

Lots of supplemental information for you today, any/all of the links below will help you make the most out of this podcast:

• Our main podcast page
• The main Spleen organ system page, you'll find a Spleen associated herb and acupuncture point linked there
• The main Stomach organ system page, you'll find a Spleen associated herb and acupuncture point linked there
• The main Large intestine organ system page, which I referred to several times in the podcast
• The page discussing this whole organ system conversation

Enjoy!

We've reached the all-important Large Intestine in our cycle of the organ systems! In this podcast, I discuss the basic functions of the Large Intestine, the course of the Large Intestine acupuncture channel, and then move to explore some of the symbolism involved with this important, but sometimes ignored, organ system. We talk about letting go and touch into how Chinese medical symbolism can bring us into a new relationship with our bodies, as well as some of the ways this system is used in the treatment room when you see your acupuncturist.

As always, check out the resources below if you'd like to learn more about this organ system and you can always use the contact form on our website to submit questions or comments about this or any other episode.

Thanks for listening!

• Overview podcast about Chinese medicine organ systems as an intro to this series
• The first in our series - the Triple Burner
• A full page of information about the Large Intestine
• The famous Large Intestine acupuncture point, He Gu, or Large Intestine 4
• A famous herb that treats the Large Intestine, Dahuang or Turkey rhubarb root

(Yes, the artwork for this podcast does feature both the small and large intestines. :))

In the latest installment of our 12 organ systems podcast, we discuss one of the most important organs in the body - the Lung. As with the previous entrants in this series, we use the symbolic information compiled by the ancient Chinese to come to a deeper understanding of the Lung and its use in treatment.

Eric talks about the Metal phase element, the course of the Lung acupuncture channel, some ancient text information of relevance, and the basics of how the Lung is used in the treatment room.

Use the links below to learn more & feel free to head over to our podcast page at any time to listen to other episodes and submit your comments about the show. We appreciate your support! Enjoy!

• The Lung page on our website, with lots more information about this organ system
• General overview of Chinese medicine organ systems

In this episode, the first in 2023 and the third of the organ system series by Eric Grey, we discuss one of the most important Chinese medicine organ systems - Gān 肝, the Liver!

I first discuss some slight changes to the series to make it simpler and more applicable to everyday concerns. Then we talk about the major symbols associated with the Liver & dive into the organ clock as it relates to this multi-purpose and regenerative organ.

Finally, we discuss the importance of the Liver in gynecological condition treatment including a little foray into differential diagnosis. Please feel free to leave feedback and suggestions for the next podcast on our podcast page!

Here are some resources related to this episode:

• Primary Liver organ system page
• General information about Chinese medicine organ systems
• Liver - 3 acupuncture point referenced in the discussion
• Chaihu - bupleurum chinensis, one of the herbs discussed in the podcast

It's another entry in our 12 organ systems of Chinese medicine series!

This time, we look at an organ some of you may no longer have in your body - the Gallbladder! Eric discusses why its removal doesn't much matter to acupuncturists and then explores the many fascinating symbolic categories of information associated with this important organ system.

To get oriented around the information Eric discusses, be sure to check out the intro podcast linked here. And use any of the links below to explore more deeply. If you ever have any questions or comments, visit our main podcast page and let us know!
Happy Solstice! 

1. Basics about organ systems in Chinese medicine
2. Main page about the Gallbladder organ system

I was happy to have Amanda Koennecke, LE on the podcast again - always a fun guest.

We have an enjoyable chat about winter skincare concerns, her annual harvest of Vitamin C rich rosehips & the winter skincare special that will be running through March. We also spent a little time talking about our 4th annual Winter Food Drive in partnership with Clatsop Community Action.

If you donate to the food drive, you can be entered to win a $100 gift certificate usable for products & services at Watershed Wellness. But most of all, you get the wonderful feeling of knowing you are helping friends and neighbors stay well fed during the cold season. If you prefer, you can also donate money directly to CCA.

Happy Winter everyone!

NOTE : In the originally uploaded version of this podcast I made a minor error in the dates on the Gregorian calendar associated with the Triple Burner. It was corrected and reuploaded on 12/2/22).

This is the second podcast in a 13 part series that will be released one per month. In the last episode, Eric provided a basic introduction to the Chinese medicine concept of organ systems. If you've not listened to it yet, and are new to Chinese medicine, you should go back and listen to that first.

The Triple Burner is a unique organ system not fully tethered to a recognizable biomedical organ system, which is one of the reasons we've started with it. But the primary reason is that the time of the release of this podcast - between November and December 7 - is "Triple burner time" on the Chinese medicine organ clock. So, get cozy with a cup of tea and your favorite blanket, and dive into a little Chinese medicine geekery with Eric.

You can find out more information about this organ system on the Triple Burner organ system page on our website.

If you have any questions or comments, head to our main podcast page and use the contact form to reach us.

This is the first of a 13 episode series that will cover some rich and useful information about the Chinese medicine concept of organ systems. In this introduction to the series, Eric Grey discusses the basics of Chinese medicine symbolism with a particular focus on organ systems.

You'll learn about what makes the ancient Chinese way of looking at organ systems different from conventional biomedical ideas, and why that's important. This information will be useful as we unpack the 12 organ systems over the next 12 months.

You can use the links below to learn more about many of the concepts that Eric discusses.

If you have any questions about this, or any information in any of our podcasts, don't hesitate to head over to our podcast page and ask a question using the contact form.

We look forward to sharing this fascinating and clinically relevant information with you!

1. Basic overview of Chinese medicine foundational science (by Eric on the WW website)
2. A new page that gives an overview of the Chinese medicine organ systems, on the WW website.
3. 7 Unique Facets of Chinese Medicine Organ Systems (old article by Eric on his Whole Life Practitioner website)
4. A basic intro to the organ clock (by Eric on his Whole Life Practitioner website)
5. The best version of the "Chinese organ clock" - this one by Heiner Fruehauf, he calls it a "holomap." We will reference this often during the series.
6. Wikipedia page on "Yin Yang" which is referenced in this episode, take a look at the image for a good example of a symbol used in Chinese philosophy.
7. A nice overview of the five phases, an important set of relational symbols related to the organ systems, from website TCMWorld.

In this episode, I bring on Tia McBride, LMT for her first Watershed Wellness podcast appearance. Tia has joined WW already prepared with a great new skillset for the North Coast community - therapeutic breast massage. Since most people haven't heard of the importance and regulation of this important modality, we wanted to hear from Tia how it works and what folks should look for when seeking it out.

If you'd like to learn more about Tia, you can visit our website. And for some additional reading about this potentially controversial topic, you might check out this article.

As I noted in the preliminaries for this podcast, we use the word "breast" to refer to these tissues, but some people, including trans masculine folks, may use other words to refer to this part of their body. Our use of "breast" is not intended to exclude those people in any way!

If you have questions about breast massage and its suitability for your situation, do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form on our podcast page.