Athlete's foot, jock itch, ring worm—They're all fungal infections

Our Athlete's Foot Balm

Most of us think of infections as a simple matter of ridding ourselves of this thing that's invaded our body. But it's important to realize that we're all exposed to same cold and flu viruses and we all step in the same fungus when we're at the pool or in the health club shower.

Our Tinea Liniment

So while we do, in fact, need to take control over these pathogens, we also need to keep our immune systems strong and not create a hospitable environment for the fungi to grow. In Chinese Medicine we refer to this hospitable environment as warm and damp, which is why fungi tend to grow in the warm, damp areas of the body, typically the feet and crotch area. But there are other factors that contribute to an internal body environment that encourage the fungi to grow. 
These are:
* sugar and refined carbohydrates
* beer and alcohol
* fried foods (chips, fries, etc)
* processed foods and meats (think: foods in a can or box and foods with nitrates and nitrites)
* stress and unexpressed emotions

These can all contribute to warm dampness in the system. The more heat something generates, the more inflamed and red the area will be, and in chronic situations, you'll see that the fungus has become dry and yellow or the skin will become dry, thick, and cracked. Many people think they just have ugly feet or weird yellow toenails and don't realize it's athlete's foot!

And if you already have a damp system be

cause of diet or other factors, AND you add heat to your body (as what happens with smoking), this will also contribute to how tenacious and severe the infection can get.  Heat added to dampness makes for a more inflamed and red infection and ultimately makes it more difficult to treat or infections can recur frequently.

So while our products will help with the infection and the external symptoms, you might want to schedule an appointment to treat your body's internal environment and get you back on track to a naturally itch-free life!

Pros and Cons: Bulk, granule powder, tincture or patent pills

We have a lot of herbs here at The Vital Compass.  Maybe this is stating the obvious, but that's what most people say when they walk in for the first time.  The walls lined with dried bulk herbs might be the most impressive thing, visually, but can be overwhelming, too.

Most can't imagine how these dried and foreign looking things get turned into actually digestible medicine, and that's a good question!  It's not as hard as it might seem, and we'll go into that in a bit, but that's why we also carry powders, tinctures and patent pills of the same herbs.  This way, everyone can find something that works for them.  After all, if herbal medicine is to be effective, we have to be able to take it!

Why don't we take an illuminating look at the pros and cons of bulk herbs, granule powders, tinctures and patent pills.  After all, if you know your options, you can make better decisions for yourself and your health.


Bulk Herbs:  Putting it simply, these are the cut and dried raw herbs in their most whole forms.  Without pulling it from the ground yourself, this is the most unadulterated plant medicine you will find.  Some of the herbs have special processing needs.   For example, some need to be steamed before they are dried to reduce their toxicity.  Some are soaked in wine or vinegar and then dried to enhance their effects.  Some are cut particular ways, dried certain ways, or even picked at particular times of the day or season to get the most potent medicine possible from the plant.  So, how do you take a dried leaf, root, twig or flower and turn it into medicine?  Well, the most common way is to decoct it, or boil it in water until the medicinal properties have been extracted.  Do you remember way back to high school science class and learning that water was the universal solvent?  Here's that principle in action!  Adding water and heat breaks down the plant parts enough to dissolve them into the water and make a "Tang" as we say in Chinese medicine, soup or tea.

What we do here is make you packages of a formula--specific groupings of herbs in specific amounts--to boil and make yourself a tea for one or several days.  There's an example of this in the photo to the left.  Here you see what will be two "bags" or packages of herbs (wrapped separately) to be boiled one day at a time to make tea.  Sometimes herbs have specific cooking instructions including cooking for more or less time than the other herbs, or dissolving after the rest of the herbs have been cooked.  These herbs will be kept separate and labelled so you know exactly what to do.  It takes a bit of work, but you get the most concentrated, least processed and most potent medicine this way.  

Granule herbs:  These herbs have been cooked for you.  They are boiled to a concentrate, which is usually 5:1.  This means that 1 gram of granulated herbs equals 5 grams of bulk, raw herbs.  Once they are boiled, they are sprayed onto an excipient, usually cornstarch.  The herbs in the formula are combined as powders, and taken as a tea as well.  A one gram scoop comes with the bottle of powder, and you may be prescribed to take anywhere from one gram a day up to 20 depending on the action of the formula, your weight, and your practitioners experience.  Granulated herbs are pretty strong, but because they have been previously cooked and have been stored for a while, they are generally not as potent as bulk herbs.  This doesn't mean you won't get great results!  They have the advantage of being much, much easier to prepare--just scoop and serve!  Sometimes, this convenience means the difference between taking your herbs in a day and not and the herbs won't work unless you take them!

Tinctures: Another good solvent is alcohol, and this is what a tincture usually is:  herbs soaked in grain alcohol for a period of time, strained and pressed.  Sometimes a tincture contains herbs boiled in water plus herbs soaked in alcohol, because sometimes there's an herb that's known to dissolve better in water.  Sometimes you can have a tincture that uses glycerin as a solvent, and that's technically known as a glycerinate though often people call them tinctures.  These are generally very concentrated doses of the herb, anywhere from 5:1 to 10:1, depending on the method used to process them.  One of the benefits to a tincture is that it usually doesn't taste strongly of anything except the alcohol, though very bitter herbs tend to have their flavors come through!  A lot of people find them much easier to take than a tea because generally less liquid needs to be consumed at a time.  Because alcohol is inherently a blood and energy moving substance, tinctures tend to work great with herbs and formulas designed to move blood and energy (or qi).  Again, these are less strong than the bulk herbs boiled in water, but better than not taking your herbs at all!  They work well, especially used liberally!



Patent pills:  Patents, teapills, pills, capsules or tablets are there for us when we need them!  For those of us who just can't take tasting the herbs, or are on the go so much that any other format is unrealistic, patents are a great way to take herbs.  They are also most useful for long term use, when taking a little bit of a formula for a long time will have a better effect than taking a more concentrated dose all at once.  You know, sometimes it's best to chip away at a project a little bit at a time rather than all at once, right?  Remember that pile of ____ in your closet you've been meaning to organize?  It's like organizing that pile one thing at a time for days on end until it's gone.  There's no doubt about it, they're convenient!  Generally, they are a weaker format than those discussed above, but can be very useful! 
You may have noticed there are many types of manufactured patents!  The little round pills that look a lot like bee-bees are called tea pills.  They are made small to be easily digestible and easy to dose depending on weight.  Tablets are generally compressed herbs and are often oblong.  Sometimes they are coated for easy swallowing.  Capsules are powdered herbs that are placed in gelatin or non gelatin pill shaped "containers".  The gelatin or other encapsulating material dissolves in your stomach, releasing the herbs.  Sometimes granulated herbs (above) are placed into these capsules for easy swallowing, but often the number of capsules you'd need to take to get one dose is excessive, so that's best left as a tea.  

So, what's the best way to take my herbs??!!:  Well, I'm sure you've noticed there are a lot of factors involved!  Talk to your practitioner about what might be best for your body in the situation you're in right now.  Sometimes you can start by cooking your own bulk herbs to initiate a considerable change and in a few weeks end up taking a patent pill over the long term for maintenance.  Sometimes a tincture will be just right from the start.  It all depends on who you are, what herbs you need, how urgent the change needs to be and how much time you have to make that change happen.  For example, someone with a cold will need herbs that will be most available and absorb-able so they can be taken often--perhaps a tincture--while someone with chronic low back pain and anxiety will need something that can be taken, easily, over a long period of time to create lasting change--maybe a capsule or granule powder.  A woman seeking herbs to enhance fertility will likely want the most potent herbs possible--probably bulk teas-- as the change needed is a large one and is achievable over a measurable amount of time.  So, you see, it's very individualized!  

We hope this clarifies some of the differences in the herbal formats available to you.  If you have any questions, never hesitate to ask by calling or emailing! We are available at 971-373-8378 or info@thevitalcompass.com

Happy herb taking!  

Our nourishing herbal soup mix

What does everyone reach for when they're feeling low?  Soup!  Well, maybe you answered mashed potatoes or grilled cheese or chocolate cake, so let's ask another question.  What should everyone reach for when they're feeling low?  SOUP!  I really try not to "should" anyone, but when your immune system is challenged or you've had an exceptionally draining week there really is no comparison between grilled cheese and soup.  By all means, have grilled cheese with your soup, but have the soup.  Specifically, have this soup, or something like it.  The only downside of this soup is that it is full of things you might not recognize, but will grow to love.  Here's the ingredient list:  Astragalus, Reishi, Tumeric, Job's Tears barley, Goji Berries, Black sesame seeds, Lily bulb, Longan fruit, Lotus Seed and Tremella fungus.  So here's the test--if you recognized all of those ingredients, you should be very comfortable with making and eating this.  If you recognized more than half, you'll be just fine getting to know the rest.  If you recognized less than a third, its time to put on your adventure hat and explore herbal medicine through soup, and maybe have a grilled cheese on hand just in case it's too-ahem-different for you.  Most of the ingredients are pretty bland, so you'll want to spice it up with veggies you know and love anyway and a great broth.  How about potatoes, carrots, celery and your protein of choice?  So, maybe you're asking why you should bother with this mix to begin with, seeing as how you'll be adding normal soup ingredients anyway.  Good question!  Here goes:

Astragalus:  Huang Qi in pinyin (anglicized Chinese), astragalus has demonstrated numerous times in controlled studies its ability to increase the number of white blood cells and other immune modulating chemicals (like interleukins) in the body.  Take a look at this study's abstract studying the effects of TaiJi alone or TaiJi plus astragalus soup in elderly women!  So there's no more perfect herb to add to your soup than this one to increase the number of immune boosting cells in your body when you think you're susceptible to a cold or flu. Unfortunately, even though this is great to boil in your soup mix, it's a bit too woody to chew, so we recommend taking it out before eating. 

Reishi:  So you've heard how good mushrooms are for you, right?  Reishi, or Ling Zhi in pinyin is like the king of all immune modulating mushrooms, and has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.  Take a look at this in depth review of this amazing herb!

Tumeric:  aka Jiang Huang--The only thing you need to convince you to eat Tumeric, the spice often found in Indian curries is that it is also known as Curcumin:  "Curcumin has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, anti fungal, and anticancer activities and thus has a potential against various malignant diseases, diabetes, allergies, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and other chronic illnesses."  Quoted from here.  Enough said!

So, these three herbs are our powerhouses of our soup mix.  I mean, these things alone will probably convince you that you need to eat this soup immediately, no matter how it tastes.  These three things are also difficult to chew, so please take them out of your soup before you eat it.  The rest of these herbs are completely edible once they are cooked, so let's go on!

Goji Berries and Longan fruit:These two super fruits, also known as Gou Qi Zi and Long Yan Rou help balance out the often bitter undertones of medicinal herbs with their sweetness, and also lend their blood building properties to the soup.  Blood building, in Chinese medicine means both adding vitamins and minerals to your body as well as increasing your digestive capabilities so that you get more from all the food you eat. Goji berries are also known to increase eye health and Longan fruit is also used to relax the nerves.

Black Sesame seeds:  Just like regular sesame seeds but a different color, these little guys, call them Hei Zhi Ma in Chinese,  are packed with magnesium, calcium and vitamin B1 (thiamin).  They are used in herbal formulas to darken and strengthen hair and to reinforce your kidney qi.  They are also delicious. 

Lotus Seed:  Lian Zi benefits the spleen and kidneys, astringing loose stools and providing protein as well as protein-repairing agents called L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase.  Here is a lovely article expounding on their benefits from the Institute of Traditional Medicine here in Portland.

Lily Bulb: So, sometime in the summer, depending on how the weather goes, you might have in your garden or see in your neighbors those giant lilys with the big bright petals and the very fragrant pollen.  This bulb of that big beautiful flower, called Bai He, is used for nourishing your lungs.  In small amounts it can treat or prevent colds and flus from damaging your lung tissue, and in larger amounts it is used for chronic asthma and bronchitis. 

Job's tears:  A form of barley, Yi Yi Ren or Job's tears are used to leach dampness out of your body (think phlegm and mucous).  They are also a mind digestive stimulant.  It is very similar to pearl barley, though a little larger. 

Tremella fungus:  Ok, many people probably look at the word "fungus" and cringe a little.  So, let's call it by its lovelier name Silver Ear mushroom or Bai Mu Er. But, really, it's one of the nicest, mildest herbs in this soup.  In other recipes it is sweetened and made into a custard like dessert.  It is used as a qi and immune tonic, and is especially useful for repairing lungs damaged by an upper respiratory infection, or preventing one. It contains a fair amount of Vitamin D, more than most foods (Vitamin D is the one your body synthesizes when you get enough sun).  It is often also touted as an "ancient beauty secret" for your skin.  Oh my gosh, will the benefits of this soup never end?!


So by now I bet you're convinced you need this in your life!  It's a little more spendy than regular soup, so I bet you're asking when is the best time to take it.  Take it when you are feeling run down by stress, when you are recovering from a cold, flu, or chronic illness, or take it between seasons to prevent illness in the following season.  You can use the contents of the jar to make one to several batches, depending on how dense you like your soup and how severe your illness is.  Come by the shop to pick up a jar, or visit our online store and we'll send it out to you!

Getting to Know Us: Meet John!

In the second interview of our Getting to Know Us series, John shared with us the very deepest of all wise things anyone anywhere in the world would pay anything to hear. But no one was there to write it down, so we're left with the ramblings of an interview he gave himself just the other day...

John @ The Vital Compass: Testing. Testing. Is this thing on?

John Servilio: I don't know. Should you be talking to yourself?

J@TVC: Well, you are, so...

JS: Oh, right. So what would you like to know?

J@TVC: I'm the one asking the questions, remember? Tell me about the time you were magically healed by Chinese medicine.

JS: That's not a question. But there was that time when I was diagnosed with appendicitis and avoided surgery.

J@TVC: Yeah, right. No one draws the "Get Out of Jail" card with appendicitis.

JS: That's what I thought! I had all the signs and symptoms—severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting—even had it confirmed with a CT scan. But I had given myself herbs and done some self-massage on my abdomen, and by the time the chief surgeon examined me, he said we should "wait and see." He did warn me that if the pain returned I should come back to the ER. So the first thing I did was go home and take herbs and my pain went away completely. But the surgeon was right and the pain returned every six months or so for the next two years, and each time the herbs took care of it. No need to return to the ER and I haven’t had any recurrences since!

J@TVC: That does sound magical!

JS: Dude, this isn't magic. It's medicine, and it has a very real logic to it.

J@TVC: Oooo, logic. Way to take the sparkle out of things.

JS: Oh, it's still got the sparkly bits. We have these super-thin needles that we put into the body and we make our patients drink weird teas with odd-sounding names. And people may not quite understand what’s happening to their bodies or what we’re doing to them during treatment, so the mystery is pretty cool. 

J@TVC: Mystery? Is this medicine or isn't it?

JS: Well, this medicine is kind of foreign to most Americans. People are used to taking a pill to treat a symptom, not thinking of the symptom as being a sign of a larger problem in the whole system. Our lives, our bodies, our spirits, we get out of balance and illness is only the manifestation. And viewing this illness as a message we should listen to, that's what needs to happen before we can put our bodies back into balance.

J@TVC: Easy peasy.

JS: Sure, in a way, but more like common sense. Nobody knows exactly how the body works, including your MD. 

The body is a complex organism that exists within this larger complex organism known as Planet Earth, and in turn is host to billions of tiny organisms that live inside us and help us to function. 

Every day Western science learns something new about the body and every day Western science finds out that they were wrong about something that was considered the gospel truth the day before. I guess I would just be cautious of anyone who claims to have all the answers.

J@TVC: Sounds like you have a beef with Western Medicine?

JS: Not at all. But I have problems with arrogance, and many docs out there don't understand the limitations of their own medicine, or how potent or dangerous the medications they prescribe may be. The stronger the medicine, the more care you have to take with it.

J@TVC: So I should be cautious about going to see a doctor? That sounds really counter intuitive.

JS: Look at it this way: Every time you put yourself on a prescription medication—sometimes for the rest of your life—you deny your body the opportunity to see if it can get better with minimal intervention, if it can heal itself with diet, exercise, meditation, stress management, or acupuncture and herbs. Every time you have surgery, you are creating scar tissue and adhesions where the incision is, when other treatment avenues may have taken care of the problem. Of course there are extreme situations that require extreme interventions, and that is what Western Medicine provides for. But our worship of Western Medicine has created resistant strains of bacteria and an epidemic addiction to narcotic pain medications, not to mention sky-high costs of health care in this country.

Every time you put yourself on a prescription medication—sometimes for the rest of your life—you deny your body the opportunity to see if it can get better with minimal intervention.

J@TVC: You're bumming me out.

JS: Here. Look at this cat hanging upside down.

J@TVC: Aww. That's so cute!— Wait, are you making fun of me?

JS: No! Well, yeah. But go to the doctor if you need to. 

When I see a patient, I'm looking not only at the symptom they’re coming to us with, but the whole body, what else is affected by this condition, and what else might be affecting this condition. It takes a lot of concentration to see a whole being, to look at the constellation of symptoms and signs, and come up with a treatment plan that brings everything together in a way that makes sense. And because this medicine provides a completely different system for looking at the body and its diseases, it can help with almost anything. And your Western doc will always be there in case you need them.

J@TVC: I guess I still don't know when it's appropriate to see you.

JS: Well, it's always a good idea to have a general health evaluation. But for something specific, I guess it depends on what's looming over you. If your options are surgery or Chinese Medicine, and it’s not an urgent life-or-death situation, the choice is obvious and should be Chinese Medicine. Why? Because you can’t undo a surgery. And acupuncture is one of the safest procedures around. And the needles are so thin they part the skin, not cut into it. Herbs do everything acupuncture does, but with a different mechanism of action, which means they work great together!

J@TVC: I cook with herbs all the time! Are they good for me?

JS: That, actually, is a great question, and the answer is yes! 

J@TVC: Yay me!

JS: Sure. Kitchen spices have all kinds of benefits from aiding in digestion to alleviating pain and inflammation in the body. We often use more potent herbs in Chinese Medicine than what's in your kitchen cabinet, but some of them are still pretty amazing. Like cinnamon.

J@TVC: Like on Snickerdoodles!

JS: Ignoring you...I have to say, though, that cinnamon may be my favorite herb. You know, some herbs are used more often than others, and I think it’s not because they’re the most potent, but because the body loves them. Give the body the kind of energy it needs to draw from, and then add to that the other medicinals to provide the finishing touches to the healing process. Well, cinnamon is the first kind of medicine, one of the essentials. 

J@TVC: What if I...like...just took, say, one gram of each of all your herbs on the shelf?

JS: These aren’t multivitamins.

J@TVC: But—

JS: No.

J@TVC: If everything—

JS: Don't. 

J@TVC: —in the supplements section is good for you, why not take everything?

JS: Because not everything is good for you! You take what you need at a particular time because those herbs have very specific properties to help with what’s going on in that moment of your life. Otherwise, you're pushing yourself in the wrong direction. That's what my job is: to provide the right kind of medicine.

J@TVC: Do you like treating people?

JS: Of course! Why?

J@TVC: Well, you're kinda mean to me...

JS: Oh, shut up. You're fine.

J@TVC. OK. So what do you enjoy most about your role in patient care?

JS: People can tell me about any symptom and I’ll do my darndest to understand how and why it’s manifesting based on my understanding of Chinese medicine. 

J@TVC: Oh, cool! Because I have this growth—

JS: And people feel listened to, they feel like there is a logical reason they have these symptoms, and they feel as though I have a plan to address them. Because, again, we look at the symptom in the context of the person in this moment of their life.

J@TVC: So you wouldn't treat my insomnia or anxiety the way you would another person's?

JS: No! That's why it's so powerful! Acupuncture works with the individual's own capacities for healing, so the treatment is never the same for everyone. I'm here to find out what the body needs to heal itself and provide that. 

J@TVC: A unique treatment plan for each patient?

JS: It's the only way to get to the root of a problem, but I love a good challenge! I love the challenge of working with chronic difficult-to-treat conditions, things people have seen every other specialist for and they’re coming to me as a last resort. Now, I would much rather they come to me at the beginning before the condition has gotten chronic, but I like providing some glimmer of hope to people who think they’ve tried all avenues.

J@TVC: Do you have any advice you give to your patients that you don't follow yourself?

JS: "Don't talk to yourself. Ever." 

J@TVC: Too late. What else?

JS:  I should probably get myself treated when I need it instead of waiting, and I have three amazing people I work with who can take care of me!

J@TVC: You get treated? What about: "Healer, heal thyself?"

JS: I hate that saying! Sure, we could all do more to care for ourselves, but we're still going to get out of balance, or experience stressors outside of our control. And so we all need the support of those around us, whether it's friends, family, or people in the healing professions.

J@TVC: What do you do for self care?

JS: Number one is to live a right livelihood as much as I can. That means spending time with my family and making time for those things that feed me spiritually and physically. I exercise, write almost daily, and spend time with my husband Rick and our dog Harley. I think I’m one of the few people in this world who can say they don’t have regrets about where they are in life. I’m extraordinarily grateful for the people in my life and the vocations that are incredibly meaningful to me. And, you know, you're OK, too.

J@TVC: Aw, shucks! How about your dreams for the future?

JS: Aside from making The Vital Compass even more awesome than it already is?  Well, I’m a playwright and I have dreams that theatres around the country will find value in my plays. My writing exists in the intersecting realms of the worldly and the earthy. Big messages in very down-to-earth ways. It’s a way to bring yin and yang into my art, and find other ways to share myself.

J@TVC: What do you dream about when you're asleep? 

JS:  I often don’t remember my dreams, but some of them involve awakening into a cult situation and realizing I don’t belong. I think I struggle with finding ways to connect with people in my world, especially when so much about technology can pull us apart rather than draw us together. And I don't think I'm alone in feeling this way. 

J@TVC: Sounds like integrating everything and view everything as a whole is what you've been talking about with Chinese Medicine. 

JS: Yes! And it's also why my healing practice is so healing for me; because I connect with real people in real time and make real connections that so many others don’t have the opportunity for in their lives. This is one job you can't do remotely!

Earthquake Relief in Nepal--Thank YOU!

View from the rooftop of the clinic in Chapagoan, Nepal

Hello Friends!

When the Earthquakes happened in Nepal, I thought of all the patients I had met there during my two trips in 2010 and 2013, all the interpreters who were my friends and colleagues, all the monks who tirelessly pray for our collective enlightenment.  I had to stop myself from looking to fly there right away, my mind knowing that my body would be more in the way than helpful in the midst of all the chaos, as much as my heart wanted to help.  So, I printed some photos, framed them, and began a little fundraiser on the counter here at The Vital Compass.  Many commented on the beauty of Nepal, and many purchased photos in support of the thousands of people who have lost their homes, their drinking water, and their friends and family in the Earthquake.
Today, we received a letter of thanks from the organization we donated to, the Chokgyur Lingpa Foundation.  Follow the link to see all they have done, or donate yourself!  It is really a letter of thanks to you all who have donated through the purchase of your photos.  And so, we pass the thanks onto you.  

This is the same organization who hosted the non profit I worked with in 2010 and 2013, the Acupuncture Relief Project, who now is focused on not only providing much needed medical care, but also shelter, water and food to the many villagers affected by the natural disaster.  They are now working urgently to take care of the basic needs of the locals who are most remote and unable to receive care from the larger organizations.

Coldly administering care January 2010 in Nepal

If you haven't had a chance to purchase a photo yet, there's still time!  While much have the world has moved on, and the West coast especially attempts to prepare for it's own potential earthquake, we will continue to sell photos and make donations through the end of the summer.  Consider purchasing one at your next appointment, or stop in to browse the herb shop and pick out a photo for donation.  See you then, and thanks again!
~Alison Loercher, L.Ac

Getting to Know Us! Meet Ali!

In the first of our fun interview series on The Vital Compass's worker-owners, we've thrown a bunch of questions at Alison Loercher, all of which she has answered swiftly and deftly...except how to pronounce her last name. And if you want to know that, you'll have to schedule an appointment with her!

Ali on top of Huang Shan

John at The Vital Compass: Hey, Ali!

Alison Loercher: Hi!

J@TVC: The Vital Compass is well into its second year of being open. How do you feel about how things are going?

AL:  Things are pretty amazing here!  Green and I had a vision when we opened and I feel so lucky that so much of that has been fulfilled.  There's a lot to still do to complete our initial goals, like develop our CEU curriculum and a lot of brain storming has been done that is leading us in new directions, like the development of a product line. 

J@TVC: You've done a lot! What keeps you going when you have so much on your plate?

AL: Definitely my clients!  

J@TVC: How so?

AL: I love people, I love getting to know them and the kind of relationship that is formed between myself and my clients.  And a few months ago, someone called to me across the street and said "Hey, you're the Vital Compass lady, right?" and I thought my heart would explode from happiness!

J@TVC: Zowie!

AL: I know! I've had the honor of seeing so many people already throughout my career, both here in Portland and abroad in Nepal, and it only takes a moment of reflection on any of them to appreciate the wonder of the body, of nature, and life itself.  I am consistently amazed at the healing power our bodies innately have, and am humbled to be a part of that process for the people who choose to see me as their practitioner.

J@TVC: That sounds like quite the responsibility.

AL: It can be. I have people who have told me they see me as their "doctor", and that's not quite appropriate, and I've had people who see me and the treatment as more of a "Spa" experience, and that's not appropriate either. 

J@TVC: What is appropriate then?

AL: Aside from being a practitioner of Chinese Medicine with a professional degree? Well, I'm a problem solver. Chinese medicine is a system that allows me to contextualize seemingly huge problems. From a couple of simple theories, five element and yin/yang theory, comes a way of understanding not just human nature, but all of nature. The biggest challenge right now, both for myself as well as I think for the profession as a whole is finding our place in people's healthcare.  I look forward to there being a greater understanding of our profession so that people can find us at the right time for them in their healing process.

J@TVC: And how does someone know when the right time is?

AL: That's not for me to say, but the most all encompassing answer would be to not come until you're ready.  Don't come for a treatment until you are ready for change.  We don't have to be optimistic and expectant all the time, but we do have to be willing to be different from who we are in order to become someone new.

J@TVC: Are you a new person as a result of Chinese Medicine?

AL: Oh, god, yes. Chinese medicine has helped me in so many ways!  It has given me a path to dedicate my life to, as well as a way of healing myself from the array of things life throws at us.  It lets me feel useful in situations where I may have felt at a loss before, and I will be forever in its debt for that.


J@TVC: How about how you've benefited yourself from the medicine?

AL: Have you ever heard of someone being allergic to the cold?

J@TVC: Sure. My friend's mother is.

AL: Yeah. That was me, but I wasn't born with it. 

I was 20 and I went for a hike with some friends at Silver Creek Falls.  It was the middle of summer--warm and dry, so we all jumped into a pool at the base of a waterfall.  Immediately, I was covered in hives from head to toe, exhausted and itchy.  And the hives came back every time it got wet or cold out, which was often being that this was Oregon.  

J@TVC: No! Not Oregon!

AL: Mhm. The dermatologist told me that I was spontaneously allergic to the cold (!) and that the only remedy was steroid antihistamines that I could be on for the rest of my life.  Though I didn't know anything about medicine at the time, I figured this couldn't be a good idea.  

A friend recommended that I see an acupuncturist, and that was the only thing that helped!  After a couple of weeks of treatments, the hives weren't as severe, after a few more, they came to only limited parts of my body, and after a couple of years they went away completely. Not only had it relieved the hives, but also relieved my anxiety, helped me lose weight, and have a better outlook on life as a whole.  I could think of no better way to spend my time than helping people with this seemingly simple tool--and still can't!

J@TVC: C'mon. It can't all be rainbows and roses.

AL: It's pretty darned close. Of course, people have some strange misconceptions about the medicine.

J@TVC: Such as?

AL: Sometimes people want to know if acupuncture is part of a cult or religious ritual.  They're concerned that having an acupuncture treatment was an un-Christian thing to do! I'm pretty blown away by that one! 

J@TVC: What? It's not Voodoo?

AL: Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine is neither a religious tradition, nor from the same part of the world as Voodoo.  No belief or ritual is required!

J@TVC: What other misconceptions have you come across?

AL: The one I battle with the most is that one treatment will fix you.  There are some stories out there about people having one treatment and their problem going away and never returning!  After having been in practice a while now, I can see where this might happen, but most often seen situations in which people will need a series of treatments over time.  And because of this I often hear that "acupuncture doesn't work."

J@TVC: What's a better way of looking at it?

AL: I'm of the opinion that it is physically impossible for acupuncture not to "work"---if one puts an object into one's skin, something is going to happen physiologically--therefore the acupuncture had an effect, it "worked".  So, what would be more accurate is to say that "Acupuncture didn't help my chronic arthritis of 20 years after 2 visits."  That can be a completely accurate statement, and could be solvable!  It's possible that Acupuncture wasn't the most appropriate therapy, or that the practitioner didn't have a good understanding of the condition, or that the frequency of treatment wasn't enough to promote healing, or any number of things that could have not been working about the situation, but none of these things is the "fault" of the acupuncture itself. When I hear that "Acupuncture doesn't work" from someone, I understand them to mean something more like "I don't understand how acupuncture is supposed to work". 

J@TVC: But what is your miracle-of-acupuncture story?

AL: (Laughing) Well, the first time I went to Nepal with the Acupuncture Relief Project, there was a woman who had had a stroke 10 years prior and lost the functioning of her right arm and leg, as well as her speech.  She and her husband came in daily or every other day for 4 weeks while I was there (and I'm sure for some time after), and I had the joy of seeing her begin to be able to speak again.  It was a few small simple words, but it was a delight to her and her husband.  When I left they gave me a couple of felted flowers, which are currently in our restroom at The Vital Compass.

J@TVC: That's awesome! Is that what you like treating?

AL: I like helping to get to the bottom of complex conditions, so I'm drawn to autoimmune disease as well as digestive problems, symptomatic hormonal imbalance, and chronic headaches.  Often there are multiple layers to work with, peel through and discover, and I like being part of that process for someone.  It also takes a particularly dedicated person to do the work to resolve their chronic problem, and I really admire that in the people I get to work with.  It's so inspiring. 

J@TVC: What do you dream about?

AL: I dream about all kinds of things, sometimes kind of gross and sometimes beautiful.  The quality of all my dreams though is like I'm watching a movie, I usually feel pretty detached from what I'm seeing.  Recently I've been listening to a track that has Delta sound waves embedded in it which is supposed to help you dream lucidly.  So far, no dice, but I'm starting to be aware of when I'm dreaming though, so I think that's a good start! 

J@TVC: How about when you're not asleep?

AL: I am really excited about buying a house in the next few years.  I love to garden and can't wait to put every inch of my yard to good use growing food and herbs!  Professionally, I'm looking forward to growing The Vital Compass and sharing its Cooperative model so that other acupuncturists can use it for a viable business model of their own.

J@TVC: This was great. Thanks, Ali!

AL: You're most welcome!

Women's Health: Turning a Deadline into a Lifeline

Many people think of Chinese Medicine as a "feel good" therapy—providing better sleep, more energy, relief from discomfort and stress—but many may be unaware of how powerful this medicine can be. In my clinical practice I've had to work against a ticking clock a few times, a deadline that a patient's doctor has imposed under the threat of more extreme measures—often surgery—
for that patient. Here are three of my success stories which illustrate a small slice of this medicine's potential.

CASE #1: A 25-year-old woman woman came to me, having already had one entire ovary removed because of large and painful cysts. After the surgery she was put on the pill to keep her hormones—and therefore the cysts—in check. But the side effects were bad, so bad that she decided to go off of them after a couple of years. As soon as she did, however, the cysts returned on her one remaining ovary, blowing up to the size of a grapefruit. Her physician recommended that she go back on the pill, which she did; but when the cysts didn't go away, her doc gave me three months to reduce the ovarian cysts or they were going to operate. For this patient, though, surgery wasn't an option as she was young and wanted to get pregnant one day. In Chinese medicine, her cysts were due to cold and phlegm stagnation, and herbal supplementation and weekly acupuncture with moxibustion were prescribed. Moxibustion is a form of heat therapy used in Chinese Medicine to warm areas or acupuncture points with the goal of dispelling this cold stagnation. After 2 months we began to see some changes in the size of the lump in her abdomen, and then the rest happened very quickly. The patient was given a clean bill of health at her 3-month evaluation, and sent on her way with no need to return.

CASE #2: A 45-year-old woman with hard breast lump was about to undergo a biopsy (tissue sample) just to be sure nothing alarming was going on. This was a calcification and didn't appear to be a cancerous tumor, but calcifications can become cancerous if not treated—or at least watched closely—and biopsies are often done to get a baseline. But any kind of surgery can be painful and invasive, and this woman didn't want to go through that unless absolutely necessary. More than that, though, a breast lump is a form of stagnation that requires "breaking" and blood "moving" agents, but surgery by nature is going to create even more stagnation from the scar tissue. Again, a three-month deadline was given. The nice thing about acupuncture is that it automatically increases proper circulation of the blood. Add to that the help of herbal therapy to help dissolve the lump, and she was given an "all clear" after three months.

CASE #3: Some women come to me with a skipped period and a single acupuncture treatment gets them right back on track. But this one was a more difficult case. She was a 30-year-old woman who hadn't had a period in nine months. The typical course of treatment given by a Western doctor is to prescribe oral contraception to regulate the cycle, since amenorrhea is diagnosed after three months of having no period. In Chinese Medicine, however, the pill forces your body to do what it doesn't have the capacity for. And in this patient's case, her blood was weak and therefore had no extra to give during her period, and she wanted to get at the root of the problem. After two months of blood-nourishing herbs, she felt a twinge during ovulation and felt premenstrual, but no bleeding came. But at her third month, she had a full period which became regular thereafter. She was also given dietary recommendations to enrich her blood, and did not need to return for treatment.

FINAL THOUGHTS: For women's health it is often considered standard practice to allow three months (generally three cycles) to see a change in a patient's condition. But depending on the strength of that woman's constitution, her condition may resolve more quickly, but it may also take longer than three months, especially if she's been dealing with it for her whole life. Make an appointment today for a consultation and treatment and find out what's possible for you. The Vital Compass has practitioners seeing patients seven days a week!

John Servilio is one of the newest member at The Vital Compass, and is on the clinical faculty at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. His specialties include painful and chronic, difficult-to-treat conditions due to any number of causes, and ranging from auto accidents to autoimmune conditions.