Si Jin Bao: Traditional Chinese Herbaceuticals

Thirty years ago, I entered professional practice carrying the point of a sword. I did not understand it that way at the time.

Looking back, I can now see three decades of medicine through the three sections of the Chinese straight sword, the Jiàn (劍).

The first decade was the point. Formal training met actual practice, and the blade entered the surface of the pattern.

The second was the body. Support in the East and rebuke in the West became the two edges that demanded greater accuracy.

The third has been the handle. This is where intention enters and where experience can finally be placed into another person’s hands.

The seasons move through the same progression. So do the three physician brothers of Bian Que. The most famous brother treated illness after it had become severe. The most skilled treated it before anyone else could see that it existed.

In the newest edition of The Lotus Letter, I reflect upon what three decades, three brothers, and three Solar Terms has taught me about refinement.

The Seasons, the Solar Terms, and the Sword

https://drkamalpolite.substack.com/p/the-seasons-the-solar-terms-and-the

What could an herbal bath, a blue box, an extraordinarily long scarf, and the kung-fu death touch possibly have in common?

Time.

In the newest edition of The Lotus Letter, I return to the martial-arts films and science-fiction stories that first shaped my understanding of timing, transformation, and renewal.

Long before I studied chronopuncture formally, these stories were already teaching me that the body does not simply move through time. Time moves through the body.

The point is not simply where.
The point is also when.

Read “Chronopuncture, Kronos, and a Big Ball of Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey Stuff”

See you for our next conversation.

Dr. Kamal

https://drkamalpolite.substack.com/p/chronopuncture-kronos-and-a-big-ball

Join us tonight, August 21st, at 6:00 PM ET, for Firey Fridays!

Every Friday evening we gather around the Zoom fire to talk.
This is for you, your family, and anyone in the household trying to make sense of what their body is doing. You bring the questions and I answer live, one person at a time, through the lens of classical Chinese Medicine. Real questions and real answers you can act on.

Firey Fridays
Friday, August 21st • 6:00–7:00 PM ET

Live on Zoom

See you there!!!

Dr. Kamal

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Firey Fridays. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Every Friday evening, we gather around the digital fire to talk about Chinese Medicine, answer your questions, and spend time together as a community. How was your week? How did it make you feel? What's on your heart? Whether you have a question, want to learn more about Chinese Medicine, or simply....

Before I knew the language of Chinese Medicine, comic books were already teaching me about force.

The Silver Surfer showed me hands that could destroy or heal. The Human Torch showed me fire that could consume or illuminate. Karnak showed me precision. Black Bolt showed me that power without restraint could become destruction.

Years later, martial arts, acupuncture, Qìgōng, and the Crushing Palm gave those childhood images another language.

My latest Lotus Letter is an origin story about comic books, culture, prejudice, healing, and what happens when power learns to change direction.

See you next time,

Dr. Kamal

Comics, Culture, and the Crushing Palm

https://drkamalpolite.substack.com/p/comics-culture-and-the-crushing-palm

Join us tonight, August 14th, at 6:00 PM ET, for Firey Fridays!

Every Friday evening we gather around the Zoom fire to talk.

This is for you, your family, and anyone in the household trying to make sense of what their body is doing. You bring the questions and I answer live, one person at a time, through the lens of classical Chinese Medicine. Real questions and real answers you can act on.

Tonight we continue with Lì Qiū, Start of Autumn.

Firey Fridays
Friday, August 14th • 6:00–7:00 PM ET
Live on Zoom

See you there!!!

Dr. Kamal

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/I0gTBJUdRz-NX8cd9a9Rig #/registration

Western society has spent centuries pursuing the bodies of Adonis and Aphrodite.

Who imagined a Gila monster would become part of the journey?

In my latest Lotus Letter, I explore the unexpected relationship between modern GLP-1 medications, a venomous desert lizard, Apollo’s golden bow, Chinese Medicine, and the physiology already operating within the human body.

Until next time,

Dr. Kamal

Read Modern GLPs: Comedy, Tragedy, and the Gila Monster:

https://drkamalpolite.substack.com/p/modern-glps-comedy-tragedy-and-the