Open Flow Acupuncture - Highland Park

01/30/2026

Think you're getting sick? Try this simple and powerful recipe from Chinese medicine! Link to recipe and research: https://www.openflowacupuncture.com/opening-flow-blog/2026/1/21/getting-sick-ginger-scallion-tea-to-the-rescue

01/22/2026

https://www.openflowacupuncture.com/opening-flow-blog/2026/1/21/getting-sick-ginger-scallion-tea-to-the-rescue

Ginger and scallion when taken early on can stop a viral upper respiratory infection in its tracks. Feel a cold coming on? Run to your kitchen instead of a pharmacy!

12/17/2025

Now through the end of the year, help someone find their way to Chinese medicine! (Or treat yourself 😁) Pick a resolution that sticks 👏

12/15/2025

Treating neck pain with tingling sensations that go down through the shoulder blade into the upper arm with a combination of acupuncture, sliding fire cupping, and static fire cupping.

The immediate source of the problem is tension and compression in the tissues around C7 and T1 on the left, but the chronic root of the problem is severe tension and adhesions throughout the fascia and musculature of the mid and low back.

09/11/2025

Welcome to Herbal Thursdays where medicine is art!

This is a modification of 半夏厚朴湯 – Ban Xia Hou Po Tang – Pinellia and Magnolia Decoction, a formula commonly used when strong emotions are held in rather than expressed resulting in the sensation of something stuck in the throat. In Chinese medicine we refer to this as “plumb pi qi”, which forms when the qi constrained by held in emotions causes fluids to stagnate and turn into phlegm-dampness in the tissues of the throat, creating the sensation of something stuck in the throat while nothing can be seen on inspection. In this case, the patient was suffering from anxiety, depression, and emotional constraint, and while they did not have the classic plumb pit qi feeling, there was plenty of evidence in the rest of the patient's pattern to suggest qi constraint and fluids congealing into phlegm, and there was significant stinging pain in the throat without any visualized inflammation upon inspection.

The bottom 5 ingredients make up Ban Xia Hou Pou Tang: 半夏 – ban xia – prepared pinellia rhizome, 厚朴 – hou po – magnolia bark, 茯苓 – fu ling – poria, 生薑 – sheng jiang – fresh ginger rhizome, and 紫蘇葉 – zi su ye – perilla leaf. These herbs warm and transform congested fluids, unblock the throat, and descend the qi to drain the pathological fluid out through the urine. The top two herbs 玄參 – xuan shen – scrophularia root and 桔梗 – jie geng – balloon flower root soothe the throat, clear heat, and nourish fluids. Altogether this formula addresses acute manifestations of qi constrained by held in emotions and then replenishes the affected area (throat) with healthy fluids.

Fun fact! Zi su ye – perilla leaf use to be served with sushi because is counteracts seafood poisoning (as does fresh ginger) before it got replaced by green plastic grass… 😒

09/04/2025

Welcome to Herbal Thursdays where medicine is art!

This is a modification of a formula we posted about on 7/31/25 for a case of insomnia along with OCD, IBS with diarrhea, and the inability to lose weight despite changes to diet and exercise. In Chinese medicine, even the substitution of one ingredient can make a formula appropriate for a patient’s specific circumstances.

In this case, the root pattern was determined to be the same (disharmony between the Stomach and Gallbladder with phlegm heat obstructing the qi dynamic), although the patient had recently traveled, contracted an upper respiratory infection, and was dealing with a lingering phlegmy cough.

To adjust for this particular branch symptom, 酸棗仁 - Suan Zao Ren – sour jujube was removed because its rich, blood nourishing quality could worsen the obvious phlegm accumulation in the chest; it was replaced by 瓜蔞 - Gua Lou – trichosanthes fruit, which has the ability to both break up turbid phlegm and unbind the chest.

08/28/2025

Welcome to Herbal Thursdays where medicine is art!

This is a custom herbal formula built from scratch. The bottom 6 herbs make up the classical formula 當歸芍藥散 – Dang Gui Shao Yao San – Chinese Angelica and Peony Decoction, used in cases of where there is blood deficiency, blood stasis, and accumulation of dampness. This can manifest in many ways symptomatically, and is a common pattern to see in women, particularly those who are still menstruating.

This formula was written for a patient suffering from severe post-partum insomnia and sleep-anxiety. She had previously dealt with undersupply of breastmilk, and once she had stopped nursing, the sleep-anxiety and insomnia had somewhat improved but not abated.

The ingredients in this version of Dang Gui Shao Yao San are 當歸 – Dang Gui – Chinese angelica root, 白芍 – Bai Shao – white peony root, 川芎 – Chuan Xiong – chuanxiong rhizome, 白朮 – Bai Zhu – white atractylodes rhizome, 茯苓 – Fu Ling – poria, and 澤瀉 – Ze Xie – water plantain rhizome. Dang Gui nourishes and moves the blood, which is assisted by Bai Shao that nourishes the blood and softens the Liver while Chuan Xiong moves the blood. Bai Zhu strengthens the Spleen and dries up dampness, and is assisted by Fu Ling and Ze Xie which both drain pathogenic dampness out of the body via urination.

Tailoring this formula to the case at hand required the addition of 酸棗仁 – Suan Zao Ren – sour jujube seed, 黃蓮 – Huang Lian – coptis rhizome, 龍骨 – Long Gu – fossilized “dragon” bone, and 牡蠣 – Mu Li – oyster shell. The Suan Zao Ren addresses the blood deficiency root of the problem by nourishing the blood to calm the spirit, while Long Gu and Mu Li are heavy settling medicinals that anchor the spirit and calm anxiety. Huang Lian is added to the formula in a very small amount to encourage the drying of dampness in the pattern, but also to clear a small amount of heat that is just starting to develop.

08/14/2025

Welcome to Herbal Thursdays where medicine is art!

This custom formulation of 酸棗仁湯 - Suan Zao Ren Tang - Sour Jujube Decoction is a great example of the power of Chinese herbal medicine to shift with the presenting symptoms of a patient over the (sometimes long) course of care.

This is for the same case of insomnia we posted about on Thursday 8/7/25, though at the time that formula was made there were notable leg cramps while trying to sleep at night. At the time this formula was made (5 months later), the leg cramping had abated and the patient was experiencing an increased intensity of the insomnia along with lower abdominal pressure leading to frequent urination. As a result, the blood nourishing / regulating and Liver softening additions of 白芍 - Bai Shao - white peony root, 當歸 - Dang Gui - Chinese angelica root, and 木瓜 - Mu Gua - Chinese quince fruit were removed, while 梔子 - Zhi Zi - gardenia seed pods and 車前子 - Che Qian Zi - plantago seeds were added to clear heat and guide it out through the urine to simultaneously reduce the intensity of the insomnia and relieve pressure in the lower abdomen leading to frequent urination.

The overall base of the formula remained the same in terms of composition and relative proportions: 酸棗仁 - Suan Zao Ren - sour jujube, 知母 - Zhi Mu - anemarrhena rhizome, 川芎 - Chuan Xiong - chuanxiong root, and 甘草 - Gan Cao - licorice root.

08/07/2025

Welcome to Herbal Thursdays where medicine is art! This is a custom Chinese herbal medicine granule formula built from scratch.

The bottom five ingredients (酸棗仁 - Suan Zao Ren - sour jujube, 茯苓 - Fu Ling - poria, 知母 - anemarrhena rhizome, 川芎 - Chuan Xiong - chuanxiong root, 甘草 - gan cao - licorice root) compose the classic formula 酸棗仁湯 - Suan Zao Ren Tang - Sour Jujube Decoction. The top three ingredients (白芍 - Bai Shao - white peony root , 當歸 - Dang Gui - Chinese angelica root, 木瓜 - Mu Gua - Chinese quince fruit) are modifications.

Suan Zao Ren Tang contains herbs that both nourish and move Liver blood, clear heat while nourishing fluids, and drain pathogenic dampness from the body. This is a complex pattern where deficiency of Liver blood gives rise to heat, and pathogenic dampness assumes the vacuity left by the lack of blood. This pattern of disharmony frequently causes insomnia with symptoms of dryness, irritability, and a paradoxical thirst with very little or no desire to consume fluids.

This formula was made for a patient in their 70s suffering from secondary insomnia that developed while recovering from shoulder surgery, but never went away. Ambien was used to manage the insomnia, but without it the patient had extreme difficulty falling asleep, would wake in the night multiple times (sometimes not being able to return to sleep), and would then wake very early in the morning and not be able to return to sleep. In addition, this patient also suffered from painful leg cramps while sleeping (this was addressed by additional modifications to help soften the Liver, further mobilize fluids, nourish and move blood, and supplement Liver yin).

08/06/2025

Thank you to everyone that attended the Park Illinois Chamber of Commerce First Wednesdays event this morning in the lovely Sunset Woods Park! Practicing qigong outside and appreciating the natural world we live in with others was an amazing way to start the day. Movement is the foundation of stillness, and from stillness we can see ourselves and the world with clarity.

07/31/2025

Welcome to Herbal Thursdays where medicine is art!

This is a modification of the classical formula 溫膽湯 - Wen Dan Tang - Warm Gallbladder Decoction. No, this formula does not contain warm gallbladders... It is frequently used in cases of insomnia (or sleep with extremely vivid and disturbing dreams) and anxiety due to a disharmony between the Stomach and Gallbladder with phlegm heat obstructing the qi dynamic.

This patient suffers from insomnia along with OCD, IBS with diarrhea, and inability to lose weight despite changes to diet and exercise.

You can see Wen Dan Tang on the bottom with lots of mods added to it above. The 龍骨 - Long Gu - "dragon" bone and 牡蠣 - Mu Li - oyster shell are heavy settling agents to anchor and calm the spirit (this helps with getting to sleep in the first place), the 酸棗仁 - Suan Zao Ren - sour jujube seed nourishes the blood and yin (helps with staying asleep), while the 合歡皮 - He Huan Pi - albizzia bark assists with calming the spirit but also keeps the blood moving to prevent cloying from the sour jujube and works opening up the constrained qi. Since this patient has digestive and fluid metabolism issues with strong levels of heat (shown in the bright red tongue tip), 黃蓮 - Huang Lian - coptis rhizome is combined with 生薑 - Sheng Jiang - fresh ginger to transform dampness, circulate fluids, and clear heat from the Stomach and Heart.