Nyon Acupuncture | Traditional Chinese Medicine

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June 25, 2026

Arteriovenous Anastomoses, Extremity Acupoints and Heat Regulation: A Dialogue Between Modern Physiology & Classical TCM

Introduction In contemporary physiology, we know that the hand-and-foot glabrous skin (palms, soles, nail-beds) houses a rich network of arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs) — direct connections between small arterioles and venules that allow large volumes of blood to be shunted to the surface and radiated as heat. (PMC) In the realm of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM),… Continue reading Arteriovenous Anastomoses, Extremity Acupoints and Heat Regulation: A Dialogue Between Modern Physiology & Classical TCM

June 25, 2026

Blood donation after acupuncture

A patient was recently deferred from donating blood immediately following an acupuncture session at our clinic. Because modern clinical practice utilizes sterile, single-use needles—rendering the historical risk of bloodborne infection effectively obsolete—patients are often surprised by this restriction. However, the twenty-four-hour waiting period enforced by organizations like the Red Cross is not based on infection… Continue reading Blood donation after acupuncture

page image of the wu xing, 5 phases as interrelated through the nervous system's mini brains

May 18, 2026

The Minds Within: Organ-Intrinsic Nervous Systems and the Five Shen

Today, we’re looking deeper into the physical body to explore another one of TCM’s concepts through the lens of groundbreaking modern neuroscience. For centuries, students of Traditional Chinese Medicine have wrestled with the concept of the Wu Shen, or the “Five Spirits.” Classical texts like the Huangdi Neijing assert that consciousness is not confined to… Continue reading The Minds Within: Organ-Intrinsic Nervous Systems and the Five Shen

May 18, 2026

The Predictive Body: Chinese Medicine Through the Lens of Active Inference

In this post we will continue to bridge the classical frameworks of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CM) with the cutting-edge neuroscience of the Free Energy Principle (FEP) and Active Inference. For thousands of years, Chinese Medicine has utilized a highly sophisticated, systems-based language to describe human health and disease. Today, modern theoretical biology and cognitive neuroscience… Continue reading The Predictive Body: Chinese Medicine Through the Lens of Active Inference

Illustration of the connection between de qi sensation, theta waves, and hypnogogia

December 17, 2025

The Somatic Gateway: De Qi, Theta Oscillations, and the Hypnagogic Threshold

1. Introduction: The Enigma of the “Arrival of Qi” The practice of acupuncture, a cornerstone of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), rests on a fundamental yet elusive physiological phenomenon: the sensation of De Qi. Historically described in classical texts such as the Biao You Fu as the “arrival of vital energy,” De Qi is not merely… Continue reading The Somatic Gateway: De Qi, Theta Oscillations, and the Hypnagogic Threshold