A Series on Ginseng

Ginseng is the most widely used and most respected herb in the Orient. It is a short, perennial plant that grows on the slopes of ravines and shady, well drained mountainous hardwood forests.  It has five compound leaves on a single stalk with a gray bloom that turns into a cluster of crimson fruit from which the ginseng seed is extracted. The Chinese have been using the ginseng root for over 5000 years. The name means "Man Plant". Its' botanical name is Panax derived from the Greek for All Healing or Cure All. There is a variety of ginseng native to the North Americans continent that was used by the native peoples for healing. In this series we will cover the properties of ginseng.

Introduction to Chinese Herbal Medicine

Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) use herbs derived from plant, animal, and mineral substances. Plant derived herbs are the most common, such as ginseng and ginger. Minerals and animal parts such as oyster shells, deer antlers and bear gall bladder are also used in China.

Herbs have four basic qualities and properties: nature, taste, affinity, and primary action.
An herb's nature is described as cooling or heating, moistening, relaxing or energizing. The herb's taste is categorized by five tastes. These are sour, bitter, sweet, bland, spicy, and salty.  Affinity is the connection the herb has to a particular organ network. Primary action refers to the effect of an herb to move, restrain, expel or strengthen.

The 7 Mountains Story

I am often asked how I came to call my acupuncture practice 7 Mountains. Of course there is a story in the answer.

When I was in acupuncture school I was also a father of three young girls, a husband, and a respiratory therapist. Often the best time for uninterrupted study was about 4:00 am to 6:00 am. Over time I noticed that as the sun came up it would illuminate, one by one, seven large mountain tops around our home in the Colorado foothills.

Fast forward to 2004 and Beijing China where I was studying herbal medicine. One day one of my herbal teachers asked me about Colorado and my home town.  I showed him a picture of our house with ice-icicles hanging off the roof. Then I shared the story of the seven mountains being illuminated by the sun.  At my Chinese herbal graduation I was presented with my diploma. It actually had two names hand printed on it - my English name, Bruce Ayers, and in Chinese characters was written "The Man From 7 Mountains."

When I returned home to Colorado and started my acupuncture and herbal practice, 7 Mountains seemed like the perfect name.