Medicine 101: Reading List
If you are looking for inspiration or are curious about the ideas that inform our perspective, I cannot recommend these books and resources enough.
Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching, A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way
Translated by Ursula Le Guin
This 2,500 year old classic is required reading in acupuncture school. I have explored a handful of translations, and this rendering, one of few by a female author, reads like poetry, honors the narrative’s humor and mystery, and is a well of clarity in my life.
The Way to Start a Day
Byrd Baylor
This is an illustrated children’s book that reads like a Taoist guidebook for starting your day. If you’ve ever forgotten the way a sunrise makes everything feel possible, take a peak. Then, go outside and greet the sun.
Taking Charge of Your Fertility
Toni Weschler
This should be required reading at puberty (for both men and women!) and part of every sex education curriculum. Our clients have used the teachings in this book to finally understand their reproductive cycles, come off birth control, and learn natural ways to avoid pregnancy and/or conceive.
Yoga of Perfect Sight
R.S. Agarwal
In 2018, I participated in a 4 hour workshop where I learned and practiced some of the exercises in this book. After leaving, my blurry-since-age-10-vision corrected itself, and I no longer need an eyeglasses prescription. In mainstream culture, we have come to believe that our eyesight is fixed, static, and can only get worse. This book’s thesis is that vision is changeable. I continue to use the exercises to keep my eyes healthy and relieve screen fatigue.
Proposals for the Feminine Economy
Jennifer Armbrus
A manifesto for uprooting sexism and patriarchy out of business and life, this short booklet is a bucket of yin for our cultural wildfire of yang. I continue to explore and feel inspired by these ideas in the ways I work with myself and with others.
Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists
Thomas Myers
The acupuncture meridians flow through fascia, an interconnected system of connective tissue providing structural and functional integrity for the viscera and musculoskeletal system. This text is a good introduction to the external fascia.