Premium lessonSafety and clinical practice

Clinic II: gynecology, Shen, and pain

Dysmenorrhea, menopause, insomnia, anxiety, and Bi pattern: the patterns and their reference formulas.

19 min
Lesson 28 of 33
Course: Chinese Herbal Medicine

How it starts

Prescribing the same formula all month sometimes works. Adjusting it by phase works considerably better, and above all it lets you reason through a new presentation.

The rest of the lesson opens with Chinese Herbal Medicine.

In this lesson you will learn

  • Reason through a gynecological presentation by cycle phase instead of by recipe.
  • Tell the four dysmenorrhea patterns apart by how the pain behaves.
  • Choose among the sleep formulas according to the tongue.
  • Treat chronic pain without forgetting the deficiency that sustains it.
  • Recognize gynecological and neurological red flags.

What is inside

  1. 1Gynecology: thinking in phases
  2. 2Shen: insomnia, anxiety, and mood
  3. 3Pain and Bi patterns

One of the 33 lessons in

Chinese Herbal MedicineMateria Medica and Formulas

“The needle moves; the herb replenishes.”

6 modules
33 lessons
10 hours
Specialty

The other half of Chinese medicine. How a plant is described in the language of Chinese medicine (the four Qi, the five flavors, channel tropism), the nine major categories of the materia medica, the Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi architecture of a formula, the twenty classical formulas that anchor practice, and real-world safety: interactions, hepatotoxicity, pregnancy, and product quality.

By the end of the course, you will know how to

  • Read the profile of any Chinese herb and know what it does and where it acts.
  • Recognize the nine categories of the materia medica and their leading herbs.
  • Break down a classical formula into emperor, minister, assistant, and envoy.
  • Modify a base formula to fit a specific patient.
  • Spot the interactions and risks that mean you should not prescribe.
  • Divide the work between needle and herb in the same case.

What you will study

Module 1 · 5 lessons

The language of herbs

Before the first herb: how Chinese medicine describes what a remedy does.

  • What Chinese herbal medicine is (and what it isn't)
  • The four Qi and the five flavors
  • Channel tropism, direction, and tendency
  • Toxicity, processing (Pao Zhi), and quality
  • Dosage forms: from decoction to granules

Module 2 · 8 lessons

The materia medica

The nine major categories, with the key herbs of each and their full profile.

  • Releasing the exterior (Jie Biao Yao)
  • Clearing Heat (Qing Re Yao)
  • Purging and warming the interior
  • Dampness, water, and Bi pattern
  • Phlegm, cough, and dyspnea
  • Regulating Qi and resolving food stagnation
  • Moving Blood and stopping bleeding
  • Calming the Shen, pacifying the Liver, and opening the orifices

Module 3 · 3 lessons

The tonics

Bu Xu Yao: the star category of modern herbal medicine, and the one most often misprescribed.

  • Tonifying Qi and Yang
  • Nourishing Blood and Yin
  • Astringents and antiparasitics

Module 4 · 5 lessons

Building a formula

From the single herb to the prescription: the part that truly sets Chinese herbal medicine apart.

  • Jun, Chen, Zuo, and Shi: the architecture
  • The classical formulas you need to know
  • The practice formulary
  • Modifying a formula
  • Prescribing: dose, preparation, and regimen

Module 5 · 3 lessons

Beyond the decoction

The other three ways a plant enters treatment: the plate, the skin and the local herbalist.

  • Chinese dietetics (Shi Liao)
  • External use: washes, compresses, and plasters
  • A bridge to Western herbalism

Module 6 · 9 lessons

Safety and clinical practice

The part that separates a professional from someone selling herbal teas.

  • Interactions, liver, and kidney
  • Pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood, and older adults
  • Clinic I: digestive and respiratory
  • Clinic II: gynecology, Shen, and painYou are here
  • Clinic III: dermatology
  • Supportive care in oncology
  • Integrating needle and herb (and using Fitoki)
  • Integrated clinical case
  • Final exam · Chinese Herbal Medicine

Requirements

Acupuncture I, or equivalent knowledge of Yin-Yang, Wu Xing, the vital substances, and Zang-Fu.

How it works

Specialties

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Read “Clinic II: gynecology, Shen, and pain” today

This lesson and the rest of the course: 33 lessons, 10 hours, quizzes and exercises. You pay once and it is yours for life, with one year of Atlas Pro as a gift (if you already have it, it adds to the time you have left).

Chinese Herbal Medicine

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