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Acupuncturist Lisa Wang
Providing Natural Options for Treating Pain and Illness

By Laurie Bailey

Baby pictures decorate the walls of acupuncturist, Lisa Wang’s office at Spa Harmony in the Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center of the Washington Hospital. They aren’t her own children, though. These youngsters belong to the many patients she’s helped who were dealing with infertility and opted to pursue acupuncture along with in vitro fertilization (IVF).
“New research has shown that acupuncture can increase the effectiveness of IVF by about 40%. This is promising,” says Mrs. Wang. A widely accepted key component of traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, acupuncture is becoming increasingly popular. Ten years ago, when Mrs. Wang moved to western Pennsylvania from California, she admits, “people thought it was strange.”
Now, she sees patients regularly at her offices at Spa Harmony and at her own practice, the Chinese Acupuncture Wellness Center, in Bridgeville. Her acupuncture treatments are easing the pain of a number of ailments including migraines, asthma, arthritis, fibromyalgia, insomnia, endometriosis, back pain and reflux.
“Many doctors recommend it because it doesn’t interfere with prescription medicine,” she says. She has also helped patients who are not good candidates for surgery. The procedure is painless and uses needles that are thick as a human hair. A holistic, natural approach to healing, acupuncture is based on the idea that the body contains 14 major meridians, or pathways, that carry the energy to keep us healthy.
When these pathways are stimulated, censors next to the nerves send signals to the brain, releasing endorphins that help the body heal itself, explains Mrs. Wang. The pathways connect and are associated with the internal organs. For example, to help a patient with diverticulitis, she would focus on a few of the 20 points of the “large intestine meridian” and some acupuncture points of the “stomach meridian.”
“We evaluate the patient’s whole body and focus on the actual point of pain as well,” says Mrs. Wang. Ever since she was a young girl in Beijing suffering from stomach issues, Mrs. Wang has been interested in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). She has been in practice since her graduation from the Chinese Medical School of Beijing United University in 1986. She has been in the United States since 1997.
Her practice also incorporates the hundreds of Chinese herbal formulas in the healing process. “I never use single herbs – not like in this country,” she explains. For example, chrysanthemum, along with a combination of about 12 different herbs, is the prominent ingredient in relieving symptoms of “summer flu” or to help lower blood pressure. Angelica is the main ingredient for taking the edge off menopause symptoms.
“I really like to help people,” says Mrs. Wang whose patients range in age from 6 to over 65. She admits a special fondness toward her older patients who come to her for relief from pain. And with about 60 to 70 percent of her patient population over the age of 60, she adds that she believes Medicare, and other insurances should cover acupuncture.
Otherwise, Mrs. Wang is encouraged by the increasing use of acupuncture at several Western Pennsylvania health facilities. “With conventional medicine combined with alternative medicine, we can work together to provide a very good medical benefit to our patients,” she says.
To make an appointment with Lisa Wang, OMD, call Spa Harmony at (724) 250-5238 or The Chinese Acupuncture Wellness Center at (412) 221-2773.

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Healing Cancer With T’ai Chi and Qigong

By David Clippinger, Ph.D.

Tree branches clog the paths at Boyce Park – wreckage from the blast of February snow – slowing hikers to a crawl.  The same problem plagues the creek that runs through the park.  Fallen branches had severely slowed the flow of the current, and all of the detritus – trash, scum, and branches of all sizes – continues to accumulate creating even more blockage.
Such scenes are extremely insightful illustrations of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective of cancer.  The circulation of the body resembles a series of connecting paths (called meridians and channels), and under normal, healthy conditions, the entire system is clear and movement is easy to sustain.  But if there is a blockage, it is like the tree across a path or stream:  circulation is either impeded or stopped entirely, which distresses the balance of the body and can manifest as a tumor or a cyst.
This theory parallels Western science’s understanding of the circulatory system, which delivers the necessary oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells while simultaneously removing toxins and waste products.  Any blockage increases the potential for damage to the organs and cells of the body.  For example, a blocked artery increases the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke.
Qigong and T’ai Chi are designed to correct and maintain the circulation of the body through a series of movements that use the muscles and deep diaphragmatic breathing as pumps.  The movement coupled with breath stimulates the channels and organs through a series of bending, stretching, and internal massage.  This principle is the gist of all medical Qigong as well as the core of such famous cancer sets as Soaring Crane Qigong (developed by Master Zhao Jin-Xiang) and the Anti-Cancer Qigong Walk (developed by Master Guo-Lin) – both of which have been used alongside traditional chemo and radiation therapy in Chinese hospitals for many years. 
“Bending the Bow,” a move commonly used in Breast and Lung Cancer treatment, may help to illustrate these principles.  To do the exercise, begin with the feet shoulder width apart in either a sitting or standing position, and reach the hands palms out and extended away from the body at shoulder height.  Inhale as the hands are drawn back toward the shoulders to form loose fists; then exhale as the hands return to the starting position.  The movement of the arms forward and backwards expands and contracts the chest and lungs (bending and stretching).  The breath in conjunction with the arms creates an internal pressure – a “massage” – that increases the circulation to the lungs and breasts. 
To target a specific spot, the angle of the arms and hands are altered in order to focus of the move.  “Bending the Bow” also massages a key lymph node located approximately one inch above the nipple – a common site for cysts.  By increasing the circulation of the lymph, the potential for the formation of a cyst is minimized, or in terms of treatment, these exercises spark the healing process.
Nevertheless, people should not forgo Western medical treatment for cancer, but as numerous medical studies document, Qigong and T’ai Chi are powerful adjuncts that facilitate the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation and minimize the side-effects of the treatments.  Many hospitals in the Western Pennsylvania region recognize Qigong and T’ai Chi as valuable preventatives against disease and as catalysts for the healing process.
T’ai Chi and Qigong are the foundations of complete physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.   The balance and harmony of mind, body, and spirit that these exercises provide helps to stave off disease while providing the individual the means to continue to heal him or her self. 
Dr. David Clippinger, Director of Still Mountain T’ai Chi and Chi Kung, LLC, frequently teaches Cancer and other medical Qigong forms through workshops and private consultations and has presented at the National Ovarian Cancer Symposium, UPMC Cancer Caring Center, Gilda’s Club, Magee Hospital and other facilities. The next Cancer workshop is June 12th, and more information is available at www.stillmountaintaichi.com or directly at  dwc8@comcast.net or (412) 480-9177.

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What is Kundalini Yoga?

By Heather Ferri

Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan is a 5,000 year old sacred system of yoga exercises and meditation that promotes health, happiness, and awareness. Combining breathing, movement, stretching and sound, Kundalini Yoga is a safe , comprehensive technology that can be practiced by anyone. You can begin a yoga practice at any age, in any physical condition, and any where you can take a long deep breath!
Practicing Kundalini Yoga keeps the body in shape, increases vitality, and trains the mind to be strong and flexible in the face of stress and change. In the process of learning many chants and meditations it is important for students to understand we have 84 meridians in the mouth that stimulate different glands in the brain when the tongue is placed in the correct position. For Example, my cancer patients who have tumors in their brain need to use chants and meditations that work on the lobes / hemispheres that are affected. I have seen reduction in tumors from all my cancer patients through giving them specific work to do on an everyday basis.
Through Kundalini Yoga people have healed themselves of the pain of physical illness, mental pressure, drug and alcohol addictions, and more. Because Kundalini Yoga develops the total person, practitioners also become more intuitive and more sensitive within the shortest time.
The magic of Kundalini Yoga is in the complexity of breath patterns. In my teachings I have discovered that very few people breath well enough for normal health. Once a new student is able to conquer deep breathing, fire breath, and panting they notice a huge shift in their health, mood, and energy level. When we feel happier we attract better life circumstances.
Kundalini Yoga is much more that a system of physical exercise. The technology of Kundalini Yoga is aimed at the spirit that has no boundaries. Therefore, it is universal and nondenominational. No matter what religious path a person follows, Kundalini Yoga helps practitioners experience what they believe.

Heather Ferri Certified Kundalini Yoga Practioner, master trained, motivational speaker, and life coach. You can purchase one of Heather's yoga DVD's online at www.heatherferri.com. Heather teaches classes for corporations, privates located in Greentree, and she also travels to clients homes. To register for a lesson you can reach Heather at (412) 276-2466.

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Depression and Kundalini Yoga

By Heather Ferri

First, do you sit in a chair everyday for hours? How does your spine feel by the end of the day? Bad posture creates a lack of oxygen supply to the brain. Sitting with a straight spine requires encaging the abdominals and breathing from the diaphragm. In Kundalini Yoga we have a spinal flex series that addresses posture; and with sitting well comes a feeling of having more energy.
Second, when people breath from the mouth it only supplies the upper part of the lungs with air, which leads to a shallow breath. In Kundalini Yoga many of the exercises require using the nostrils for breathing. Nostril breathing is vital for helping depression. It is common to watch students leaving a Kundalini Yoga class looking "high on life" because of the breathing work.
Third, our minds can be described as a computer chip that logs our past experiences and thoughts. How do we clean that computer chip? In Kundalini Yoga we use all types of mantras to assist in re-programming how we think. If a person is used to saying to themselves, "I am stupid", in a matter of time that is programmed into the brain and stored. Depression is losing sight of your true self and believing false statements from the past. In doing meditation work it not only cleans your computer chip, but also teaches the brain to be present.
Last, depression can become a habit of life. By doing active scientific yoga movement you are forced to get out of your head and into the body. In my many years of teaching I have discovered that the mind can easily lie, but our bodies will always lead us back to the truth.
Heather Ferri Certified Kundalini Yoga Practioner, master trained, motivational speaker, and life coach.  You can purchase one of Heather's yoga DVD's online at www.heatherferri.com. Heather teaches classes for corporations, privates located in Greentree, and she also travels to clients homes.  To register for a lesson you can reach Heather at (412) 276-2466.

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For more articles, download the Spring '10 issue (PDF)