Hey friends. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but we’re in for some *changes* these days. If you're like us you've been getting emails from every corporation you've ever given your email to about how they are handling this. A lot of what we take for granted is being challenged and I’m sure we’re in for some interesting times. Routines are off, and a lot of what we do for self-care in group community settings is being cancelled - and for good reason.

My hope is that we address the shortage in sick leave policies, more rugged safety net systems and make a shift from fierce individualism to a more tampered community-mindset.

If you are looking for support, we’ll be uploading some new Qigong videos, and also check out the existing ones on tapping and breath-work. Many TCM practitioners are offering herbal consultations online with the option of delivery to your home. Apps like Headspace and Insight Timer (& Insight Timer en español!!) have some wonderful, free, guided meditations for sleep and anxiety. Black Swan Yoga just started offering donation based online streaming classes and our favorite Yoga with Adriene has always been free and web-based. AOMA is featuring community classes offered online. 

Hello friends. 

I'm sad to announce that in an effort to keep our greater community healthy, we will be postponing Thursday morning community qigong classes at AOMA's campus for the rest of the term, along with community yoga. AOMA's administration is monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely and will announce when qigong classes will be back! Please contact them directly with any questions about community classes. 

I'm working on getting videos set up soon, and hope to still offer free web-based classes through April on the good ol' internet. 

Until then, stay healthy, take good care of yourselves, and check out some of the links below: 

• A beautiful blog post on "Building Immunity to the Worry Virus" by Julia Aziz, LCSW-S, CCH, Rev.
• Stretching & breathing meditation techniques with us at bit.ly/howtheheckbabes.
• A collection of some of my favorite Qigong videos on YouTube.
• Mimi Kuo-Deemer has some fabulous qigong content on Instagram. 
• Some of my favorite guided meditation apps: Insight Timer & Headspace. 

Are you feeling the stress from upcoming holiday travel, maybe dreading interacting with that least favorite family member in the next couple of weeks? This has come up a lot in interactions with patients and (especially female) friends this week. ​

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.
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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.

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.
Patients often want to know how to best eat along with the season. One of the tenants of TCM philosophy is to live in harmony with your surroundings. What may be appropriate for Austin might not be the best for someone in Arizona. What may be best for a peri-menopausal woman might not be best for a 12 year old boy. While everyone is different, there are some guidelines that apply to most you can follow to make summer a little more bearable!