Rebecca Avern is a traditional acupuncturist and founder of The Panda Clinic, a children’s acupuncture centre in Oxford. She is also author of Acupuncture for Babies, Children and Teenagers, writes a blog at Nurturing the Young, and is senior lecturer and clinical supervisor at the College of Integrated Medicine, Reading, UK.
In this vlog, Rebecca discusses the effects and impacts of the current lockdown on children, and what parents can do to help them through this difficult period – whether they’re primary school-aged or teenagers – from both a Chinese medicine and a parenting perspective.
To read more about Rebecca’s background and motivation to write her book, read our #MeetTheSDAuthor interview with her by clicking here.
Our new book, Chinese Medicine Psychology: A Clinical Guide to Mental and Emotional Wellness, is the culmination of many years of clinical work, teaching, research and collaboration. It includes and expands upon some of our previous conference and published papers. It also contains a lot of new material to provide a more complete guide to Chinese medicine’s practice response, management and cultivation of mental and emotional well-being.
What does the book cover?
The book applies classical ideas to the contemporary clinical setting, modern disease categories and individual patient presentations, and is in two parts. Continue reading →
As part of our Meet The Singing Dragon Author series, we speak to authors to discuss their motivation for entering their respective industries, inspiration for writing their books, what challenges they faced, and who they would recommend their books to. Is there a specific Singing Dragon author you would like to hear from? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation using #MeetTheSDAuthor.
How did you become interested in Chinese medicine and acupuncture?
My interest in Chinese medicine began in my teen years, when I started practicing yoga and macrobiotics at seventeen years old in New York, to which I continue to practice both disciplines today. This was in part to the “sixties revolution” where consciousness and ecology came in on the boot heels of the Beatle’s personal explorations. I took classes in shiatsu with Shizuko Yamamoto in New York and Boston, and opened macrobiotic centers in Boulder, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico after a stint in the natural food business in the early 1970’s. Continue reading →
Our readers have asked and we have responded: we are proud to present the first Singing Dragon audiobook, The Spark in the Machine by Daniel Keown.
This immersive listen enables you to enjoy our best-selling title on the go, during a busy day of practice or on your commute.
The Spark in the Machine shows how the theories of Western and Chinese medicine support each other and how the integrated theory enlarges our understanding of how bodies work on every level. Full of good stories and surprising detail, Dan Keown’s book is essential listening for anyone who has ever wanted to know how the body really works.
The audiobook is read by Gavin Osborn.
“It is surprising how little research has been done over the years to examine the relationship of acupuncture to Western medicine. Now at last we have Dr Keown’s thoughtful and stimulating book to help fill this gap. Dr Keown talks from personal experience of working on both sides of this medical divide. His book is an invaluable contribution to helping practitioners of both disciplines understand how far they speak a common medical language, though they may express themselves in somewhat different terms.” – Nora Franglen, Founder of the School of Five Element Acupuncture (SOFEA) and author of seven best-selling titles with Singing Dragon
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We are publishing a host of exciting titles throughout 2019, from an accessible clinical handbook of Tui Na principles and practice to a narrative-based manual of qigong and meditation from a Daoist master.
Part I of the book comprises a series of 27 charts covering the primary meridians plus the extraordinary meridians and the known extra points. These charts show the location of the meridians and acupuncture points within the body, while explaining the functions of the points.
The second part of the book provides blank charts for the student to annotate. Continue reading →
As part of our Meet The Singing Dragon Author series, we speak to authors to discuss their motivation for entering their respective industries, inspiration for writing their books, what challenges they faced and to whom they would recommend their books. Is there a specific Singing Dragon author you would like to hear from? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation using #MeetTheSDAuthor.
How did you become interested in paediatric acupuncture?
I began treating children twenty years ago and was immediately struck by how quickly they responded to treatment. When I had my own children, I became more and more aware of how many young people are struggling either with their physical or psychological health, or are simply not thriving. I realised that many of the issues they were struggling with were well suited to being treated with acupuncture. I love working with children and it has become my mission in life to enable more of them to receive acupuncture treatment, by writing and teaching about it. Continue reading →
As part of ourMeet The Singing Dragon Authorseries, we speak to authors to discuss their motivation for entering their respective industries, inspiration for writing their books, what challenges they faced and who they would recommend their books to. Is there a specific Singing Dragon author you would like to hear from? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation using#MeetTheSDAuthor.
How did you become interested in cupping therapy? Were there any challenges in entering this field?
I would not be exaggerating if I said that I was born into the cupping therapy world! My grandmother, who at the time was living with us in Lemba in Cyprus, was a renowned midwife and herbalist. She would often use this technique to treat the expectant mothers for their various complaints, including colds and muscular aches and pains. It was my mother’s duty – and, much later, mine – to wash and clean up the cups after each use. Later on in 1982, when I studied traditional Chinese medicine in Melbourne, Australia, to my surprise I discovered that cupping therapy is also part of the traditional Chinese medicine treatment tools. Needless to say I was so familiar with the techniques that our professor, Dr Wang, asked if I could assist him during the sessions! Continue reading →
Rebecca Avern is a traditional acupuncturist and founder of The Panda Clinic, a children’s acupuncture centre in Oxford. She is also a senior lecturer and clinical supervisor at the College of Integrated Medicine, Reading, UK. In this piece, the author of Acupuncture for Babies, Children and Teenagers discusses the values of acupuncture for children and the diverse range of conditions it can help treat.
Acupuncture is used all around the world to treat children. In the developing world, where antibiotics and vaccinations may not be available or affordable to many families, acupuncture may be used to help children through acute illnesses. Treatment during, for example, a severe febrile disease may reduce the chances of the child being left with significant morbidity, such as breathing problems or even paralysis. Some of my colleagues in the wonderful World Medicine charity (www.worldmedicine.org.uk) treat children hit by poverty, trauma and natural disasters all around the world. Acupuncture’s ability to treat both the body and the spirit means it is of great value to these children, who may have suffered huge amounts of trauma, as well as coping with enormous physical hardships.
“Heart Shock refers to a systemic instability, and to some degree, chaos, resulting from life insults or traumas (…) Not all shocks are created equal. Some are more significant than others, and individual constitutions vary considerably, creating the need to weigh all the variables as we interpret our findings”.
In this extract from Heart Shock, Ross Rosen explains how physical and emotional trauma can affect the body, and how an understanding of ‘heart shocks’ can improve treatment with Chinese Medicine.