Qiological Podcast Michael Max

Understanding and acknowledging how things are is a terrific starting point. It’s what led Ilan Migdali to not just understand how health insurance worked in California, but opened up a path for him to create an insurance network that specifically aimed at helping acupuncturists to thrive.
Beyond the creative and practical work Ilan has done with insurance, he’s also a student of the Balance Method and in particular looking at the yi jing and how the transformations of the gua can be stimulated within the body using particular acupuncture points.
I always hope that when I speak with people Ilan a bit of their broad perspective might wear off me. Maybe it will broaden your perspective as well…. We’ll find out right after a word from the people you can thank for making Qiological possible.

I was cautious and reluctant about studying acupuncture when it first really caught my attention.
Then there are folks like John McDonald who when he first caught wind of acupuncture thought… far out man, I want to know more about that.
That enthusiasm has followed him through his time as a practitioner and even through doing a Ph.D.

In this conversation we’ll discuss trickster shamans, the ethics of using the controlling cycle of the Five Phases to influence your patients emotions, why people with stanch beliefs are most easily brainwashed, and the curiosity of how the body “makes decisions.”

For sure, it’s far out, and I think you’ll want to know more.

Tinkering and creating, I suspect that anyone who's been lucky enough to have grown up in an environment that encouraged exploration, risk taking and curiosity— they've got a perspective that has them asking “why not” instead of “why.”
Figuring out how things work is fun. Even more so when you don’t take other people’s word on what is doable or not, and you go and see for yourself.

Adrian Larsen has been one of those “how’s this thing work” kind of people his whole life. That’s what led him into all kinds of interesting projects, one of which was the creation of the acugraph. It’s great when curious people push an edge and find a whole new territory to share with the rest of us.

In this conversation we’ll learn more about how the Acugraph came about, as well as how it can be used.

 I had the delightful surprise of Zoe Coldham reaching out to me to tell me about the documentary she’d created that goes into the early days of acupuncture finding its way into the mainstream of British culture.
As you probably know, Qiological has been doing a little mini-series on acupuncture’s journey to the west as well. So I was keen to have her on to hear her perspective and what she’s discovered.
Listen in for this documentarian’s perspective on acupuncture’s Journey to the West.

The late 60s and early 70s were a time of openness and experimentation. It was the beginning of the civil rights movement, more equality for women, and the recognition that sexuality included more than love between men and women.
Cultural norms were questioned and that included dietary practices, the healing arts and the relationship between humans and the planet. It was in this rich milieu of change that acupuncture started to take root in the imagination and then practice of those who were willing to follow a path with heart.
We are going to hear more about those early days with Randall Barolet. Some of you might recognize his name on the first Formula and Strategies book from Eastland Press. Randall did not set out to be a translator, that was something that organically showed up as he followed his interest with Chinese medicine.
In the words of Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter, what a long strange trip it’s been.

It’s fun to solve problems. Especially when you’re not quite sure what to do, so you have to pay attention and learn what’s important. You must develop the capacity to learn from both your failures and success.
Mark Brinson wanted a liniment for patients and was not happy with what was on the market. So he thought he’d just mix up his own. That turned into a process of learning a lot about everything from the quality of the herbs, to the nature of the water, to distilling his own alcohol.

The final product is not just a quality liniment, but a point of view. When it comes to marketing and assisting practitioners not just about helping their patients, but also doing well financially so they can sustainably do their doctoring work.

Listen into this conversation on herbal alchemy, marketing with a sense of humor and how to have fun as a mad scientist.