Zen Shiatsu Tucson

This "Blog" is not likely to be very consistent freeform writing, at least not early on. The intention of this page is to address topics of interest that we feel are pertinent to our field of work. With this in mind, here is the first installment, a fascinating interview conducted in May of this year with Alex Holland.  Enjoy, and feel free to discuss any topics in our new Forum section, "Articles and Miscellaneous Interests."

The following interview was conducted on May 15th, 2009.  Though posted here, the interview is for private use only, and may not be reproduced in part or full without the express written consent of the interviewer or party interviewed.  If you wish to obtain a copy for your private use, please send an email to Shenbodyworks@gmail.com, stating your name, reason and interest in having a copy, and your profession.  

Alex Holland is the President, Co-founder, as well as a faculty member at the Asian Institute of Medical Studies. He also serves as a preceptor for the Arizona Center of Integrative Health, a Commissioner for ACAOM, and is author of the book, Voices of Qi.

Patrick Heacock: What does Health mean to you?

Alex Holland: To me, health is not primarily the absence of disease. It is not necessarily feeling good, and not being in pain?things like that are essential for being healthy, but I think being healthy involves a state of mind, a state of consciousness?a state of balance. So basically it is Not the absence of disease, but it is being in touch with your mind, being in touch with your heart, being in touch with your body, and working optimally as best as you can manage under a given situation. So, it is a sense of well being and equanimity, emotional equanimity.

PH: Can you define equanimity in that context?

AH: Equanimity means not necessarily being rattled by life?s situations, but taking things in stride and making the most of any given situation, and not being thrown emotionally. Being able to take something in with an even, clear state of presence and work with it such that you can move forward without being thrown; being really worried or being really depressed. Basically, assessing things from an even-keel state of mind and emotion.

PH: A kind of wu-wei, then? A sense of non-action, or non-ado?

AH: Yes, that makes sense; a sense of well being. It is sort of like tai-chi, where you respond to a situation rather than create resistance to it. Because if you create resistance to any given situation it can build the intensity, the level of the energy. If you move with it, and work with it, basically as I perceive that, you are going with the flow and that makes the real difference in establishing a state of equanimity and also being able to move with life in a healthier, balanced manner.

PH: Why is that healthy?

AH: I think it is healthy because it allows people to be truly present. And I think when people are truly present they are more in touch with what is going on, not only within themselves, but also within their family, community, their nation. When you?re in that state of mind it is not something that you?re going to be thinking about yourself all of the time, but thinking about how you can contribute to the evolution, for lack of a better word, of yourself within and for your community. So, more than anything, you get into a state of consciousness where you are being of service. The community?society, needs people to be of service. If you are in a good state of mind, and if you?re healthy, and you understand balance in your relationship to the greater community and society, then you are able to work with it in a way that is not contradictory, but helps to make things better and move society forward in a positive direction.

PH: How do you see that in the healthcare field? This is kind of like a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, more holistic?Where is the healthcare field not doing that, not moving forward positively and with community and balance in mind?

AH: One of the problems with the current healthcare situation is that many times it has been run by economics. It is not that that has necessarily shifted, but I think that there is a move on in our culture now to be more community oriented. Talking with people at banks, with people at hospitals, the new mode is reaching out and communicating with people in the community. When they do that, their orientation will slowly begin to shift from strictly economic to ?how can we be of service to community.? The economics need to be brought in, of course, but not as the major dynamic that is has been in the past. That is how I see medicine changing in this country. I think the integrated medical perspective is really important, where you view the body as a unit of energy, physicality, emotion, and psycho-spiritual [components]; everything is connected together. And so you shouldn?t necessarily disregard some aspects of who someone is, in favor of other aspects, because there is this integration. It is slowly dawning on western medicine that there is this integration, and so that integration is mind/body/spirit within the human being, but that also translates into human beings integrated into society. So if you have integration on one level, [the human,] it spills over and bleeds into the different aspects of what it means to live in a city, what it means to live in a neighborhood, what it means to live in your little community. Chinese medicine is really good about that, because it takes that perspective and fuses it into a medical perspective, the philosophy and how it views treating the whole human being. It?s the whole experience, treating the whole person; that is what integrative medicine is striving to do. So there is a lot that integrative medicine can learn from the philosophy and perspective of Chinese medicine, and I hope it tunes into that particular orientation.

PH: Do you see that (perspective) being picked up from other fields, from other influences and viewpoints; Ayurvedic, to Sufism, etcetera?

AH: I can?t really speak to other kinds of medicine outside of Traditional Chinese Medicine because it is my home, so to speak. But I do know that a lot of other medicines, like Ayurvedic medicine from India, have that holistic perspective as well, and different types of medicines from different Asian countries and cultures have that perspective as well. And, it also comes into play-like you mentioned Sufism-it comes into play in their spiritual and religious traditions as well. They are more open to other possibilities; they are more open to the experience of a greater perspective, rather than a narrow dichotomy such as has ruled this country and the western mind.

PH: Consider a moment the western mind?s influence on Chinese Medicine. Through [Chairman] Mao kind of taking away the spiritual aspect [of that medical approach], Chinese Medicine has made some interesting advances. I know you have talked about in the last fifty years, there being great advances, possibly because the spiritual part of it has been. I would say the spiritual aspect had been ?sidelined,? because it is obviously there, continually; one cannot ignore its presence. Looking at it as a westerner, talking about medicine that speaks to the whole person, including spiritual and emotional, how do you convey to the westerner that Chinese medicine still works that whole person even though recent history shows that those other aspects have been removed from the study?

AH: I think the thing that is interesting, even though [the spiritual aspect and practice] has been removed by the Communist Party and the People?s Republic of China, there is still a very strong element of talking about qi, which is the vital force of the body, and the vital force behind the emotions, and the vital force behind the mind. That is still a major component of the medicine. So, the emotions are still brought into the therapeutic picture, as much as the body, and as much as the thinking. In that regard, the mind/body continuum is still intact. The higher, more refined frequencies of what you would determine and regard as spirituality, has basically sort of been sequestered out. Now, what is going on in the west is that western scholars, in places like Australia, Europe, the United States, are retranslating many of the classics. And in doing so, these scholars are reconstituting the spiritual component of the medicine back into the practice and perspective. So it is interesting because in the west we are seeing ancient Chinese medicine being reconstituted, where it was shifted when communism took over the medicine. We are seeing it being shifted back to a perspective and philosophy that it was initially two-thousand years ago. From my perspective, Traditional Chinese Medicine can be viewed as a spiritual path, because it is so all encompassing. It incorporates such a wide view of reality, and such a dynamic view of what a human being actually is. That is not something that western medicine has quite gotten a hold of yet, although I can see that that is coming.

PH: Where can you see that that is coming in? What steps in the evolution of health care are being taken to incorporate that? I think the big argument from many in my field, the body-worker community, has been about their coming to bodywork and alternative approaches to allopathic medicine because of the popular phrase that, ?western medicine has failed me.? But perhaps, the failure is only in the delivery and lack of holistic approach that one is looking to receive, and perhaps the economics of the system. Do you see steps being taken, even something as simple as doctor?s being schooled to take more time with their clients and patients?

AH: I see that slowly shifting. I think that a majority of the current medical education systems in the West are still living an older paradigm. They are still doing it like they have done it for the last 25, 60, 150 years. There are seeds and pockets, however, of holistic mentality and mindfulness that are being infused into different schoolings, such that there is a slow shift and turning of that perspective from; ?This is the way that we?ve always done it, and are going to continue doing it this way. We?re just going to add technology to make it more interesting and more dynamic in terms of diagnostics?? To; ?What do you need as a human being, and what can I do to serve you in that way?? When you do something like that, it doesn?t necessarily negate all of the technology. It doesn?t negate a lot of the amazing, helpful benefits of western medicine. What it does, is that it adds onto it and helps it become a more complete system. And so, I see that through Andrew Weil?s program, for instance, and many of the people that he?s graduated through his Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, that those people have a much, much greater understanding of what it means to be human in the interactions with relying on the technology. You don?t have to leave the technology behind. You can still have the technology, but being more present with your client and listening to them, giving them credence because it is their body, they know what is going on. Listening to that is important. I think that there are schools that are slowly learning that that is an integral part of the education process, and are slowly incorporating it into their curriculum. But it is slow going. Andrew Weil?s program is way ahead of the game. The physicians who come back that have been out practicing and go through the program, they have the experience of what it?s like to be a physician in this culture, and they see the need for change. They come back and take the program because they also see what needs to shift. Now if that shift could take place in the medical schools, that would be a real boon. But I don?t see that happening at a fast rate.

PH: You mentioned the movement of tai-chi being a response. Can you talk about using that as a practitioner of Chinese medicine?

AH: It is interesting because the whole philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine came from the perspective of Taoism in Chinese culture. That perspective is basically that human beings are a microcosm imbedded within a macrocosm, which is the universe and life on this planet. When you are in tune with the Tao, or just the presence of existence, you move with it and there is no resistance. So, one of the things about TCM is that it takes that particular perspective, and when you go into a treatment room, or you do acupuncture, or you give herbs, or you interview a client, or you do tuina, or you recommend dietary solutions?what you are doing is helping to bring a person back into what you perceive as a balance that they need. Now, the thing to carry with you as a practitioner is to not hold preconceived ideas of what you believe that they need. You have to be receptive, you have to listen, and not enforce your intentions upon them. You have to [use your diagnostic toolset and] take their pulse, look at their tongue, palpate their abdomen. You have to listen to the sound of their voice, to look at their skin, things like this. As the practitioner you are receptive to how they are presenting to you. And keeping your preconceived ideas out of the way can be a chore, because all of us want to make an assessment maybe quickly, which can lead to conclusions that may not be correct. So, in the process of doing an interview and diagnostic workup you need to receptive and open. You need to move with the client?s qi rather than impose your qi upon them. In that regard, it is like the dance of tai-chi. You are not trying to overbear upon their energy, you are moving with their energy. And when you do that you get a sense of what their energy is, and who they are, and where the imbalances are.

PH: Speaking on this sense of holistic therapy, what importance do you see in conveying the notion of a client-based treatment; that it is not about disease oriented treatment, that it is not the idea that, ?we?ve tested these drugs, and the eradicate this disease.? It is what, instead?

AH: Right, what it is, is looking for the causes of the imbalance that the person presents with, individually. That can be anything from not sleeping well-so you give the person dietary recommendations and things to help them sleep-to irregular menstruation, to gastrointestinal disorder. What is it? Is it the diet?is it stress? So basically, instead of giving drugs to try and mask the signs and symptoms, we try to get to the root of the imbalance. Why is this imbalance showing up in this individual, and at this particular time? What?s going on in their life, in their relationships? What?s going on in their heart, in their diet? Are they sleeping well? All of these different things come into play, and we weigh those kinds of things to determine where the root of the imbalance is that Is presenting in the signs and symptoms that they are presenting. We work on trying to create a balance and stabilization within that root, and what happens is that the signs and symptoms will naturally disappear. If you make correct diagnosis and determine what the core cause of the problems is, these things will subside. That is where health becomes rooted, that is the foundation of health.

PH: For a different angle on what it is to have health, you are considering that health, as you said is not the absence of disease but is actually about sleeping well, digesting well, and having enough energy to get up and do things during the day; and the ability to then rest when it is necessary, to care for oneself with balance.

AH: Yes, yes. Health is being able to fulfill your destiny as a human being in the most positive way that you can. It is actualizing your potential. That is health, mind, body, and spirit.

PH: What do you think will be the main factor in helping to get Chinese medicine into the daily practices of health care? How is Chinese medicine going to become more main-stream in the west, to be valued and sought after as a preventative, daily health care rather than alternative in the thinking of the westerner?

AH: Well in this country, Chinese medicine is alternative, just as in China western medicine is the alternative. Western medicine in China is becoming more main-stream, just as Chinese medicine in this country is becoming more main-stream. Now the concern that I have as a practitioner of TCM, as an educator of TCM, is that as we become more main-stream you have to fit into a particular paradigm, and that paradigm currently is not healthy. There needs to be a shift in the paradigm in order for Traditional Chinese medicine to fit more easily and be involved in the paradigm. Where it works well is outside the paradigm with private practitioners, because the private practitioner, as an alternative medical person, can do anything they want within the scope of practice. They don?t have to take insurance. They don?t have to do a lot of things that need to be done in order to work in a hospital these days, including the methods of record keeping and OSHEA requirement. Those types of things are very different in hospitals than they are in private clinics. So I think what is occurring is that hospitals are generally being used for more emergency and severe imbalances, and the general population is tending to go toward private clinics and practitioners, which is where the true paradigm of TCM can be practiced in its traditional manner without being compromised. My concern is that as TCM moves into the hospital, it would become compromised. I can see where that might be appropriate in a future transition phase, but eventually I see TCM practitioners working in hospitals doing their full medicine with compromise. It may take 15 years, but I think it will happen. There is a hospital in Minnesota where they have a number of TCM practitioners working in the hospital doing specific things, but what they have found is that the patients are recovering more quickly. They are able to leave the hospital faster; their recovery rate is quicker, so the hospital actually saves money. through the economics of the situation and through people in our society using Traditional Chinese Medicine and other forms of medicine outside of hospitals, that that will create a new paradigm and a new field that will carry over into the hospitals. Then, the hospitals will need to start infusing that new paradigm if they are going to survive.

PH: Do you see hospitals turning into clinics rather than emergency stations?

AH: It is going to be awhile. I think hospitals are going to be emergency stations where you get surgeries done and things like that. But a lot of things that are done in hospitals do not need to be done there. They are understaffed, overburdened, and many times are unable to work with their clients to the degree that would be optimal for safety. How many people die in hospitals every year due to mistakes? How many people die in private clinics due to mistakes? Not nearly as many, and I think that is because of the time, the energy, the communication, and one on one relationships that occur in private clinics. Yes, it is not as severe in the clinics, but we are talking about the mistakes that are made and mistakes are not made in those kinds of settings as often.

PH: I know you have mentioned the treatment of strokes with Traditional Chinese Medicine being a big thing you think will shift the perspective of paradigms. Can you talk about that a moment?

AH: Yeah, when I was in China in 1985, I worked on a number of stroke victims. They would have their stroke and become stabilized, and these were people with hemiplegia-meaning half of their body was paralyzed. After they became stabilized and were able to go back home, they would come back to the hospital where I was working and get acupuncture three to four times per week. Their recovery rate from hemiplegia was astounding. There was one example where two brothers carried their father from a remote village into the city where I was at, Chung Ching. They carried him on a stretcher and he had had a stroke, which paralyzed half his body and he was unable to speak, things like this. He walked out of the hospital one month later, and he was still having a little bit of a speech problem, but he was very different. He walked out of the hospital. He was getting acupuncture a couple times a day, five or six days a week for that month. Acupuncture works incredibly well for stroke victims, but in the west that is not well known, whereas I?ve had the personal experience and have seen the results. Once western medicine sees the benefits for stroke victims with hemiplegia using acupuncture, that could be something that catches the public?s attention.

PH: Twice a day, six days a week, for a month. What are the economics of that? How do you see that being possible here?

AH: In China, that whole thing for the entire month of treatment would cost about 60 cents. This was back in 1985, so maybe with inflation it would be something like three dollars now. So, how would that work? Obviously the health insurance system would have to shift. Obviously our desire to make a lot of money has to shift; the greed factor has to shift. Look as some of the medical structures in Europe. Socialism, I know that is a nasty word, but it really works very well for the people. And those that are the physicians don?t seem to be having any trouble with it at all. Making 150,000 dollars a year gives you everything you need. You don?t need to have seven houses, right? And so I think the greed factor along with how the health delivery system does its business with the insurance industry will have to shift. And, there are also very benevolent TCM practitioners out there who will work for free, because the look at it as service. I have done so many acupuncture treatments for free. I know people who have done hundreds and hundreds of acupuncture treatments for free, because they see the health benefits. They see how it is going to help people. It is service. They feel good about themselves; they may not need the money so just provide the service. If a hospital could provide a situation where they would allow Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners to go in and work on stroke victims, I?m sure you would have practitioners volunteering all the time to do it to give the example of what Chinese medicine can do, and to help shift the paradigm from one that is totally about economics to one of some economics with a sense of service and without the greed factor.

PH: Well said. I know that this thinking leads to a discussion you may not want to have, only because it can be a thorn in the side for you, about service to self in place of service to others. And this discussion is a planetary thing really. Can you speak to this?

AH: Yes, it is a planetary thing. Here, this planet-from my perspective-is pretty much service to self. In order for this planet to truly survive in a holistic, harmonious manner, there has to be much more imbedded into the service to others camp. This is vitally important if we are going to survive as a species, because we can not continue doing what we are doing, obviously.

PH: So, speaking about 'service to self' and speaking about healthcare, socially we can be much healthier. For instance, the idea you raised of a TCM practitioner going into the hospital to work on patients, and volunteering their work because of the service of it, and the exposure it will provide for the field of medicine, and for the health of their fellow human. Do you see a means for shifting consciousness toward this line of thinking?

AH: I think there are two primary means that provide fodder for shifts of consciousness. One, there is an internal drive for spiritual evolution and connecting to community. There is a desire, a will and a want for these things; you see the need and you go for it. The people in this camp are everyday people to Mother Theresa and the like, people who are drawn toward this sense of serving others. The other camp is, being forced to do it because there are no other options. My concern is that the latter camp, of being forced to shift, is the way that most people are going to have to figure it out.

PH: Do you think that one?s individual health is a catalyst for this shift in thinking and acting?

AH: Yes I do. I think that there are different aspects to consciousness, and when you are conscious of the perspective that you are responsible for yourself, that you need to take the initiative for your own health and to do those things in your life that foster health and appropriate growth and harmony, this understanding really helps to connect people with a greater community. If you don?t take responsibility for your actions, your health, your diet, your activity level, you then require other people to fix you or to take care of you. This is a way to become dependent upon society, and I don?t think that is the best mode of life. Maintaining a holistic or integrative perspective, a perspective that life is balance, you naturally take responsibility. That is my experience. And if you don?t have that view point, many times you just don?t take that responsibility and want other people to take responsibility for you?again, two camps. One camp where you do take responsibility means you do the jobs of growing your own food and harvesting your own water. You then take responsibility for your neighbor when they need help (and vice versa). In the other camp, you go to the store and buy the water and food that you need. You go to the hospital and expect them to take care of your diabetes, for example. And it is this second mindset that has basically brought us to where we are in this society. That needs to shift. So, I think that the more balanced perspective is influencing the standard or imbalanced perspective. And this just takes time and energy?so, we?ll just see how it goes.

PH: It sounds like education, as well.

AH: EDUCATION is the key. Teaching people how to eat?people don?t know how to eat. (PH: It is a sad state of affairs. AH: I think it is.) I think that Coca-cola should be a controlled substance, and cigarettes should be a controlled substance. These things are addictive and destroy peoples? lives. And yet, you can get them anywhere. Something is very, very wrong in our current setup.

PH: Being that we are sitting in an education institute, your school, let?s move to considering what challenges a school like AIMS faces. You provide a number of community services at this school, educating the public and providing health care. From your student clinics, which include Traditional Chinese acupuncture, to Five Element acupuncture, Japanese acupuncture, an Herbal clinic, to qi-gong and food classes, a shiatsu program on the horizon, and continuing education opportunities, you are providing an education that is more vast than people might think available at an acupuncture school. So what challenges do you see in informing the public about what you actually do here? What challenges do you face in being able to educate your students? What challenges rise economically in the running of the school, gaining more students, gaining more exposure? And what solutions are you attempting to perform?

AH: I would say that the major challenge for the school is being able to provide our students with financial aid, seriously. We were being able to do that to a certain degree with the loan company Sallie Mae, and Sallie Mae has withdrawn their offer to many schools across the country to provide education loans that are not federally funded (meaning that the school is federally supported). Basically, if we were to offer financial aid, especially federal financial aid, we would be able to provide much more services to the community and our students. We would be able to have more influence, because we would have more students. Those students would graduate and go out into the community and do the service of Traditional Chinese Medicine. So, it is economics basically. If we had any kind of assistance with that, we would be able to greatly expand what we do in terms of the community. We in the process of gaining federal financial aid [, which is tedious and expensive,] and may actually get to do that in the not too distant future. One of the concerns is that, if I could provide free schooling I would, but I am not able to do that at this point. I would love to offer scholarships and have people from the community offer scholarships, but with this current economic climate that is not something most people are willing to do. Scholarships have been cut back at larger schools because of the economic climate, and we are a small school. If an individual wanted to start a bank here and provide loans for students, I?m all for it. Currently, however, federal financial aid is our best option. We get most of our current cash flow through the student clinic and tuition, with the occasional continuing education course. That is what allows this school to function, and with federal financial aid it would to increase the student body by 50-60% easily. I get three to four calls a week from students who would come here if they could get financial aid. (I could retire!)

PH: What was it that Sallie Mae did offer you?

AH: They were allowing students who qualified, and those who applied through our school were all accepted with slight variations, to take out loans for living expenses, tuition and books. That came to an abrupt halt late last year and students can no longer apply for those loans.

PH: Just to clear it up, it is the smaller schools that are not eligible for federal funding that are being affected. Those schools who can afford to pay into the federal program are getting financial aid funding still. What option is there for you?

AH: One of the things that we are doing is attempting to increase our cash flow in different ways, by being proactive and offering more programs. For example, we have started putting together a Shiatsu program. There were two schools in Tucson that provided an education in Shiatsu therapy, and both of those schools stopped their programs for various reasons. So we decided to pick that up because we felt there was a need for people to learn Shiatsu. We developed a one year program, which is in the process of continually developing, and it has helped to supplement our income a little bit here and there while providing the service for those who want to learn the bodywork. We are increasing our public programs beyond this as well. We are not only doing Chinese dietary therapy classes, but have added Traditional Chinese Medicine and qi-gong classes for the community. Different kinds of stresses or challenges will provide us, a school or an individual, means through which to explore different avenues. We have taken advantage of that and done some exploring and expanding as a result. In a sense it is a Tai Chi move of moving with the flow, of making something develop rather than resisting and moving against the flow.

PH: Can you touch more on what you are doing to increase support and funding for students?

AH: Anytime something comes across my desk that talks about student loans, I explore it. There are some loan options that are similar to what Sallie Mae provided, where the companies make loans to students. We are still looking into those traditional options. We are also authorized to provide education under the G.I. bill, for vets. So we are working up marketing for veterans to draw them to receiving and possible studying acupuncture.

PH: Do you see much of that demographic?

AH: We have had a lot of vets come through the clinic with varying kinds of imbalances. Everything from various musculo-skeletal pains to PTSD, and sometimes you can see very positive shifts and recovery; PTSD is difficult to work with. We generally work to help them become more relaxed, less fearful, and more able to cope, which is exciting.

PH: Shifting topics, why Shiatsu, as a modality that you provide, bringing another touch oriented, body therapy into a school considered for its needles?

AH: Yeah, bodywork therapy. One of the things about Traditional Chinese Medicine is that it mostly employs acupuncture and herbs. There is not a lot of touch going on. Tuina is more like physical therapy and bone-setting in China. What we teach here is not like that. What we like about Shiatsu is that the large percentage of the therapy is touch, whereas with acupuncture and herbs that is not the case. Bringing in a touch based therapeutic modality into the school in important for us. Tuina does do some of that, but Shiatsu?s major focus is interaction through touch. I think that when you have people who study Shiatsu, they have well educated hands. They learn to sense things with their hands that even TCM practitioners do not really experience beyond maybe the pulse. I think when you teach people through Shiatsu, you teach them to communicate and relate through touch, which allows the practitioner to expand their understanding in a sense of reality. And it helps the person being treated to be able to receive a therapeutic experience that is designed and geared for them specifically because the practitioner is constantly sensing for what the receiver needs. Body therapies, like Shiatsu, are essential for maintaining health, because we have significantly moved, in our society, away from touch. Shiatsu helps bridge that gap because people are touch starved. (Interviewer?s notes: It is this touch experience, and the experience of being treated as the individuals that we are, attended to in the moment and considered in the entirety of oneself, that supports and allows for a shift in how we think and experience out health. As the interviewee has stated, health is intertwined in the entire experience one has in their life; not what one experiences as in the absence of disease, but what can be experienced in the fullness of living through optimal qualities of air, food, emotions, relationships, and service to one another.)

PH: Reading what Shizuto Masunaga, Kiiko Matsumoto, and Lonny Jarret state in their respective books (Zen Shiatsu, Hara Diagnosis, and Nourishing Destiny) as they discuss Setsu-shin, meaning touch diagnosis, that it is a constant. Being the practitioner, treatment is not about treating but rather assessing. It is a constant assessment, every single moment and different way that the practitioner approaches and touches the body is about listening in on what is going on for the receiver, and that assessment becomes the treatment.

AH: So you are continually modifying the therapeutic approach, as you are doing the treatment. Perfect.

PH: What brought you to Tucson? What brought you to opening AIMS? What brought you to practicing and studying TCM?

AH: My background?I basically started out as a kid being really interested in Asia, and I don?t know where that came from. I was very interested in Asia as a little boy: the language and culture, the calligraphy and art. And as I got grew up I became fascinated with the body and how it works, and as a subsequent field of study, anatomy and physiology as well as cellular and molecular biology. After going to school for a couple of years, I realized that that was not really my passion. So I quit school on the college level and did other things for a number of years (music). In 1972 I bought a set of acupuncture charts and found them fascinating. Then in 1979 I found a tutor that would teach me in Traditional Japanese Medicine. And it was here that I realized I could hybridize my love for Asia into my curiosity with the body, and delve into the realm of Traditional Asian Medicine. I started my formal education in 1982 at the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and graduated there in 1985 with a certificate of acupuncture. I went back and received my masters a few years later and practiced for a number of years as my main livelihood. Also in 1985, ?86, I started teaching, becoming the academic dean at NIAOM in 1992, which lasted through 1996. So at that point, I was teaching, I was the academic dean, and had a small private practice. I had been living in Seattle and moved in 1990 to Port Townsend, Washington where I was living while doing all of this teaching, dean, and private practice work in Seattle. In 1996 I became dis-enamored with being the academic dean and decide to focus more on teaching practice. I also got married in 1996, to Linda, and at that point we were both having trouble with the weather in the northwest. It was a little bit too cold, damp, and grey. In 1999 we made an exploratory drive to the southwest and discovered that Tucson was a place that we felt we could live. In December of 1999 we landed in Arizona, and within six months I had started the Asian Institute of Medical Studies. Since I have been here I was invited to join Andrew Weil?s Program of Integrated Medicine in about 2002, now the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. And about a year and a half ago, I became a commissioner for ACAOM, the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. So I am at the top of my profession and on my way down. (1997, Voices of Qi, copyright 1999)

PH: Why did you start a school?

AH: To me, the influence that I can have on introducing Traditional Chinese Medicine into this country is much greater through educating others than having my own practice. I decided that my love for teaching would best serve in spreading the word on this amazing teaching, and as a result I started this school. We have had twenty-two people graduate, and those people go out and treat people in the community. It spreads that way, and I felt I could be more influential in helping to shift the paradigm in this country though teaching and educating rather than just being a practitioner. That is why I wrote the book as well; education. We talked earlier about education being a primary way for getting people to take responsibility for their own health, so through the book and this school that is my contribution.