Applied Channel Theory in Chinese Medicine Wang Ju-Yi's Lectures on Channel Therapeutics

I have a strong background in pure TCM from my school, and this book is so much more interesting and usable than Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine is. He even has a couple gems on herbalism interspersed in this book too. It has a lot of depth on Chinese Physiology yet is a pretty easy read (for a practitioner or upper-year student). I am not even near finished yet but I appreciate how it is layed out so far. It seems like TCM is a conglomerate of disjointed empirical points that merely skims over the channels and wider connections within the body. This book on the other hand doesn't have a spleen chapter and a lung chapter, it has a Tai Yin chapter that breaks itself down into Lung and Spleen. It gives you so much info on how they are related that TCM doesn't delve into. It does go in microscopically and has some pretty nice speculations thrown in about Western Medical parallels which I found useful. But its the fact that it backs up and sees the interrelations that are system wide and more trully holistic that really helps me see the big picture, both literally and figuretively. It does not contradict my TCM training but only a few times from what I've read so far, yet it helps me apply the classics more and deepens my understanding. My intent seems to be sharper during treatments form just the little that I have read. I highly recommend this book to Acupuncturists of ALL styles.

If the title doesn't suggest the seriousness of the topic, the casual reader should first be warned that this is actually a textbook on classical Chinese acupuncture written in a relatively lively and unconventional manner. It is not for casual reading and it is very heavy on authentic TCM theories which are often not applied when practising acupuncture in the West. Though a lot of points are mentioned and even a bit of point location technique is featured, this is not an atlas of meridians and their acupuncture points. For serious students of authentic Chinese acupucnture, it's simply one of the best and most detailed English-language books on the meridian or channel theory. In a style similar to Huangdi Neijing, the book features "conversations" between master and apprentice. There are also snippets on interesting encounters inside and outside clinical practice in China, giving the reader some social and cultural insights into the country where TCM originated. The book covers basic TCM principles from an acupuncturist's perspective. Instead of covering the zang and fu organs on their own, the book, pairs organs according to channels and discusses them together. For example, taiyin channels and their related organs, lung and spleen are covered under the one chapter. The shaoyin organs (heart, kidneys), jueyin organs (liver, pericardium), taiyang organs (bladder, small intestine), shaoyang (gall bladder, triple burner)and yangming (large intestine, stomach) channels are likewise paired and discussed together. This offers a unique perspective to our understanding of organ and channel "physiology". The book also goes into details on channel "physiology", transport points, point selection, needling techniques etc. The most distinguishing feature is the use of channel palpation to identify nodules and other abnormalities along a channel to pinpoint the organ involved. This emphasis on organ differentiation technique sets this book apart from most other TCM books which dwell on 8-principle differentiation based soley on observation, smelling, asking and pulse taking. It takes a lot of time and re-reading to digest the material here, but once the reader has grasped the principles, it will greatly improve his/her understanding of the complex theory behind acupucnture.

I have to say a big thank you to the authors of this book for so painstakingly putting their hearts into making Classical Channel Theory so accessible and practical. There are many books out there with great information on Chinese Theory but few offer the same depth of clarity on to how to integrate that information into practice. There is not one Chinese Medical textbook on my shelf that I have read cover to cover like I did this one; the writing is engaging, succinct and sometimes very moving. Coming from a background of classical acupuncture, channel theory was left out in our training and everyone was scrambling to take continuing education classes on this topic from classically trained practitioners after they graduated. Not having the funds or the time to take these classes I felt like I was missing out on a very important aspect of Chinese Medicine. After reading this book I can honestly say I feel like I have a firm foundation of Channel Theory to integrate into my practice. I have already seen dramatic changes in the outcome of my treatments and love the fact that I use much fewer needles to accomplish this. It is hard to express in words without sounding trite how valuable this book has been to me. I highly recommend this book to any practitioner of Chinese Medicine or anyone interested in a very accessible explanation of Chinese Medical theory.

Dans la compréhension de la théorie des canaux selon les classiques, selon les recherches modernes sur les tissus conjonctifs et les fluides interstitiels, selon la palpation des canaux (zone des 5 points antiques +RM et DM), qui est le coeur de l'ouvrage, et selon enfin la clinique, avec les "paires de points" qui sont autant de prescriptions simple au effets profonds. J'ai fait un séminaire avec J.Robertson grâce à e-lotus, et le livre complète et poursuit à merveille ses exemples de diagnostiques et de traitement acupuncturale. Un gros pavé, dense, avancé, passionnant, à avoir et à compiler. SURTOUT, PALPEZ LES CANAUX = méthode diagnostique et relation profonde avec le système organique de vos patients.

Es un libro maravilloso, muy recomendable para profundizar en la medicina China y comprenderla desde otro lugar. La única pega el transporte que me llegó abollado y a mí me gusta tener los libros bien cuidados.

If I had to keep only 1 book of Chinese medicine, it would be this one.

This is one of the best books on TCM I have read. Very clear, very thorough, well written - the list goes on. It should be a core text in all schools of TCM. Cannot praise it highly enough. Nothing more to say really.

Love this book. Think it is a great resource and read it like its a novel.