Greg Bantick - Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic

22/01/2026

Xia Chongxin - Guang An Men Hospital, Spring .82.

A hardly warm sun was shining through the clinic windows.
On our first meeting Dr Xia got up and came towards me.
He said, in Chinese, "I understand you have been practicing and teaching for some time? "
I answered "yes".
He said "come over and needle St 36 on me".
Sitting on a table with his leg extended he pulled up his trouser and his long underwear.
Nurse Mei gave me a tray of needles and swabs.
All eyes in the clinic had turned my way.
I did my best with hand inserting a 1.5 inch, 30 gauge needle, as we knew them then. He asked me to get de qi.
After this, he got up and said, "now I know where to start. My name is Dr Xia."
None of my history, experience, being part of a team setting up a college entered initial training with him. What can you do?
Along with my roommate and clinic partner Marco Negri a med student from Switzerland we then spent 3 months, 6 mornings a week in his clinic.
I felt seen.
Not what I had done, a title, a degree, a reputation, an age, but what I could or couldn't do to help others.
He was kind, patient and generous with his time and attention.
We were involved in all cases, interview, pulse, tongue treatment plan and treatment.
Over time we were asked to carry all these under his close supervision.
He spoke quietly. Was perceptive about how we used our hands, bodies and minds. He corrected us directly and explained himself. He responded to all our questions, often with following up later using early texts to clarify.
There were no secrets, no holding back.
And he had a good sense of humour.
He was a gem.

He shared the clinic with Dr Niu. Amongst other skills she was good at plum blossom hammer and ear acupuncture.
Also a kindly and generous teacher.
She was good at what she did and it was deeply informed by early texts.
Su Zhihong helped with interpretation.
She remains a good friend.
Recently visiting Brisbane she won medals in sprints at age 80.
Mei was our nurse and help with many things.
Showing us around the hospital and how many things were done.
She won my heart with her friendliness and smile.

17/12/2025

Time for a short break. Duke and I will be out of clinic for a few days.
Last day in clinic Tuesday 23 Dec.
First day back, Tuesday 6 Jan.

We wish you all a restful, relaxing holiday season.
May your health be good, and your capacity to care for yourself and others grow.
May your insight and peace of mind develop.
Thanks for your support of our clinic through the year.
We look forward to doing whatever we can to help you realise your health goals in the new year.

Duke is our clinic puppy.

17/12/2025

A short time ago we shared our day long retreat with friends from Japan.
Nagai Jinen Roshi and several of his students joined our local group.
Sitting quietly through a rainy morning.
Sharing silently our breakfast and lunch.
More quiet sitting through the afternoon.
Roshi gave a short talk toward the end.
Shingon, Soto and Rinzai unsui and women and men lay folks, practicing zazen, cooking, eating and cleaning up together.

One of Roshi's senior Aust students passed recently.
Bryson Tendo Keenan.
He had a rich and varied life including time on battlefields.
He sought answers, respite in Zen.
The nightmares calmed and his smile became more frequent.
His son, moved by the changes in his Dad, travelled a few hours to meet some of his Dad's Japanese friends.
Tea and tears together.

Many of us went to dinner afterwards.
Sitting at one end of a long table talking with Jinen.
Looking down the table together at people who mostly didn't know each other at the beginning of the day, now talking, laughing, and sharing food together.
Women, men, lay, ordained, Shingon, Soto, Rinzai, non-Buddhist, Japanese, Australian, old, young, all just attributions, mere labels.
Quiet sitting, taking care of each other, bias seen through.

Photos by Shuhei Ito

12/10/2025

I will be out of clinic for a short break.
Last day in clinic - Saturday October 18
First day back - Thursday November 6

Will spend a few days in Tokyo resting and visiting friends.
Then Kyoto for a 10 day sesshin 接心 (せっしん) literally "to touch the heart-mind". It is a chance for intensive meditation in a Zen hermitage.
Then a few days seeing friends and visiting some local mountain temples, hopefully to see some early fall colours.

These retreats offer me a chance to deeply calm down, to listen inside, and clarify what 'this' is. Meeting others on this path as many of my Japanese friends are, is inspiring. Be they pursuing community care, art, calligraphy, pottery and other arts, many use their work as a reflective practice.

The clinic will be open to help you, and you can get refills of your herbal prescriptions.
I hope you find ways to calm and refresh too.

09/10/2025

A different way to exercise and to develop balance, coordination, strength, ease, concentration, grace, and more, than what you might be taught in a gym, or by most 'western' based exercise approaches. Perhaps these arts are not well described by the word exercise as they a more a way of cultivation of a more skilful life.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CdrZ9tbJ9/

An old Taijiquan saying goes: "Taijiquan is the art of spiralling. Without understanding this, one does not understand the art." There are two kinds of "spiralling method", involving Orbital Revolution (Gongzhuan公转) and Axial Rotation (Zizhuan自转). The integration of both enables one to experience the subtle state of “energy moving like drawing silk”, and to develop the jin of Taijiquan.

“Orbital Revolution” refers to the overall movement of the body in which the waist and hips serve as the central axis, leading the arms and legs to trace arcs through space. The limbs move in coordination, driven by the rotation of the torso. It emphasises whole body movement - ensuring that all parts of the body move in sync, rather than operating independently.

"Axial Rotation" refers to localised, spiral movements within individual limbs, most typically in the clockwise and anticlockwise twisting of the hands and arms. Even in the most simple lifting movements, the arm subtly "rotate," like wringing a towel. The principle also applies to the lower limbs. "Reeling silk energy" (缠丝劲) is generated in this way.

Many practitioners focus solely on "orbital revolution" in their training while neglecting "axial rotation." As a result power gets stuck at the shoulders. In practice, "orbital revolution" and "axial rotation" work together - like the earth orbiting the sun while spinning on its axis. Without rotation, one cannot receive, nor redirect and neutralise an incoming force. Without revolution, rotation loses its foundational axis, and limb movements become ungrounded and weak.

Clarifying the relationship between orbital revolution and axial rotation in different parts of the body is primarily to achieve overall coordination, avoid superfluous movements, and prevent internal contradictions in one's power. Any movement that is unnecessary, excessive, or irrational is considered superfluous. By eliminating such movements the body move as one integrated unit, generate "unified energy," and avoid the pitfalls of dispersed force, excessive rigidity, as well as the errors of yielding too much or resisting too hard in practice.

These concepts are rooted in Daoist philosophy and Chinese martial arts principles, where the body is seen as a dynamic system of interconnected rotations. They highlight the importance of integration (whole-body movement) and differentiation (localised spirals) in achieving martial efficiency and health benefits.

07/10/2025

Three ways we misunderstand our experience as happening to, or coming from some kind of imagined fixed self, are as witness, agency, or narrative.

This new book, based on Chinese philosophy, tackles the idea of any individual agency. I haven't read it yet, just a review and a sample. Sounds like the traditional Chinese medicine view of us influenced by and influencing all.

"In All Things Act, Mercedes Valmisa argues that there is no such thing as an individual action and that all actions are constituted and performed by a diverse array of entities. Examining the collective character of action, this book rejects the view of agency as a capacity--especially one limited to humans--and redefines agency as an umbrella term for the concrete sociomaterial processes that emerge from the collaborative efforts of multiple entities acting together. Agency is not the faculty of an individual entity or self; it is always the function of a network or assembly of actors. The book also considers the significant role of nonhuman actors in these processes--things without intentions, will, or even awareness. This relational and collective approach shifts the focus away from mental states, emphasizing instead how humans and nonhumans alike participate in, contribute to, and shape the unfolding of events."

In , Mercedes Valmisa argues that there is no such thing as an individual action and that all actions are constituted and performed by a diverse array of entities. Examining the collective character of action, this book rejects the view of agency as a capacity--especially one limited to humans-...

06/10/2025

I am going to give this new site a try. Read the intro by Pierce and see it might work for you too.

From Pierce "If you are a professional scholar, or have a graduate degree, or are currently working toward that goal, or are involved in academic work such as translation, or are teaching/admin in higher ed, or are a department or association, you are welcome to join ProfBook.net, a dedicated social media platform designed specifically for scholarly networking, exchange, and community-building.
This platform is called ProfBook because it is essentially a dupe of Facebook Groups — you might even say it’s “Facebook Groups without the Facebook.” You create a profile, join interest groups to connect with colleagues, and you can post updates of various types (events, media, text, links, etc.) there. Like Facebook, it works in any browser and also via a smartphone app.
What’s different between ProfBook and other social media? Here are some of the main points of distinction:
· There are no ads, tracking, incognito collection of information, or data monetization of any kind. None. Period.
· The platform is designed by an academic for academics, with no profit margins to pursue or shareholders to satisfy.
· There is no algorithm choosing what you see on ProfBook. You see what you want, everything you want, and only what you want.
· There is no spam. This is a “gated community” only open to fellow academics.
· There’s no personal feed. Unlike conventional social media that focuses on drawing attention and followers to you as an individual, ProfBook is about creating community through sharing information with groups of colleagues.
· There is a fee for use. ProfBook membership will cost $1 per month. Early adopters will get a free trial period for 6 months, and then the monthly fee kicks in. I’m floating the platform at my own expense for the first little while, and then once it’s established, the monthly fees are going to pay for ProfBook to stay completely ad free forever.
Here’s the thing, though. In order for a new social media platform to work, we need everyone join the platform en masse. It won’t work if it’s just a few people. We need a movement. So, come and check it out, and let’s build something new together that works for us. I hope you’ll join me in making this new community.
👍️ Please like, comment, and share this post to boost visibility. Thanks! 👍️"

Do you love the ability to connect with fellow scholars to share resources, ask questions, announce conferences and books, and build collaborative networks? Are you tired of the existing social media options that feed you constant ads, invade your privacy, and monetize your data? ProfBook combines t...

01/10/2025

An insightful comment by Justin and interesting article.

Liver injury, a common pathophysiological basis of various liver diseases, is associated with inflammation. Hepatic nerves regulate inflammation. However, the specific signals that trigger inflammation and methods to treat inflammation by targeting nerves remain unknown.