Qi, Inc.

12/28/2023

Merry Magical Winter season.
The element of water, the emotion of fear, the organs of the Urinary Bladder and the Kidney, the color of white snow.

Tis' the season of mystery and darkness. These often get a bad rap but it is our opportunity to explore death in all ways. How we respond to death both figuratively and the absolute reality of death and letting go. What do we fear? How does this fear obstruct us from our true awakening? Fear can lead to paralysis and a kind of "sleep walking" through life. When we have the courage and support to face our fears we can truly come ALIVE. We can embrace the deep waters and the dark nights.

I invite you to explore this frontier. Walk in the cold. Feel your inhibitions without judgment. Find a deep place of trust within you. Invite all emotions with curiosity and exploration. Take the time to be still and watch the snowflakes fall. Their dance is quite magical.

Take note of the color of the white snow reflecting in the moonlight. Hear the sound of snow crunching under your feet. See the sunset in the pink light of loving kindness.

10/04/2023

The Vagal Nerve theory and research helps us all to understand how trauma affects our body, mind, and spirit.

Feel more balanced and freer in your body and mind!

09/26/2023

AUTUMN

Seasonal adaptation is a significant aspect of cultivating good health and Strong qi. In oriental medicine theory we hold a beautiful metaphorical philosophy of Body, Mind, & Spirit, hand in hand with nature and her teachings; living Harmoniously with the chaNGING SEASONS.

I love the metaphors that the earth shares with us during this dramatic season. The leaves fall from the trees so that the tree can preserve and send all it's energy to the trunk and the root. This way she can survive the winter, and new growth can come in the spring. We prune the trees and plants for the same reasons. This intuitive cycle allows for survival during the cold & dark months of winter. There is grief during this cycle as we watch the color fade and the blossoms die. We plant bulbs with trust that they will burst from the earth in the spring. It is a season of letting go but also acknowledging the harvest and bounty that grew during the summer.

How do these skills apply to your life? What do you need to prune this autumn so that new growth will come in the spring? What do you need to let go of? What grief do you need to acknowledge? What wants to be revealed? How can you transform this grief into inspiration and knowledge?
This release includes forgiveness & surrender, the ineluctable ingredients of personal spiritual growth. Autumn is the time of acknowledging and harvesting. It is not the time to plant, but to put the soil to rest and mulch in order to protect from the cold. Slow down, admire the purple sunsets. Retire a little earlier and sleep deeply in the cool nights & arise with the dawn. This is the time to gather one’s spirit and energy as a storing up for the winter. Slow down and release. A willingness to feel all the you are feeling is calling you. This process can be the end that makes way for the beginning. Letting go creates freedom and space.

If we are mindful of these lessons of nature in our own life, we will go into winter with trust and peace.

Element: Metal
Color: White
Nature: Yin
Organs: Lung and Large Intestine
Taste: Spicy and Sour
Emotion: Grief (Letting go); concern with the right way of living

Your diet should include:
Apples, banana, all root vegetables, cabbage, broccoli, bok choy, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cranberry, figs, garlic, ginger, grapes, pears, plums, pomegranate, leeks, pumpkin, red cabbage, spinach, horseradish, cinnamon, sage thyme, horseradish, whole grains, wild rice, sauerkraut, olives, pickles, aduki beans, lemons, bone broth, porridge or congee.

Exhale Release and Let Go

05/25/2023

I am very happy to announce that I have completed the TCM Academy's "Specialist in Oncology Acupuncture" program. It is something I have wanted to do for years. This program adds to my 27 years of clinical experience in working with people diagnosed with cancer and going through Western Medicine treatment. It was a terrific program and it was great to connect with colleagues in this field of medicine.

"Specialist in Oncology Acupuncture
Graduates of TCM Academy’s Oncology Acupuncture Program are equipped with the specialist skills necessary to support cancer survivors at all stages of their cancer journey. They have a fundamental understanding of cancer from western and Chinese medical perspectives and the ability to support patients undergoing western treatments and cancer survivors.

Earners of this badge have completed 50 hours of learning western medicine concepts of cancer development, diagnosis and treatment, and Chinese Medicine’s view and treatment of cancer. They are also familiar with the latest research in the field. Qualifying graduates of this program have demonstrated a thorough understanding of Oncology Acupuncture. Submitted assessments included a research review and patient case study.

Graduates of the TCM Academy’s program include Western medical doctors, TCM practitioners and student practitioners of TCM*"

The teachers in the program include
Dr Yair Maimon PhD
Dr Julia Hartung MD
Dr Noah Samuels MD
and others

Skills

Build safe, effective treatment plans
Reduce side effects of conventional cancer care
Improve patients’ quality of life
Communicate effectively with cancer patients and medical staff
The Oncology Acupuncture Program in brief:

16 hours of live lectures
20 hours of pre-recorded lectures
16 hours of homework
8 Hours Western Medicine
5 hours of research

04/06/2023

With her permission, I am posting a photo of my client with her husband.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer this year. She had surgery and radiation not long ago and she is out on the slopes!

With the right team, the right attitude, the right effort and a lot of patience, healing does happen.

LIVE your LIFE!

03/15/2023

I am in the process of taking a year long intensive course on Integrative Oncology. Although I have been working with patients going through various cancer treatments for many years, I am always amazed by the latest research and studies on the power of Integrative Medicine modalities and the treatment of cancer and various the side effects of allopathic therapies.

I prescribe this, well studied and proven, herbal supplement in my practice. It is a remarkable formula.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer and are undergoing therapies, you should consider exploring Integrative Medicine.

Supplements can play an important role in cancer care by helping to reduce treatment side effects, support the immune system, provide important nutrition, potentially prevent cancer, and improve overall quality of life. Let's take a closer look at each of these aspects.

02/08/2023

This short piece about the treatment of d Autonomic Nervous System issues caused by Long COVID, mentions acupuncture.

I have been treating people in my clinic with Long COVID and autonomic nervous system imbalances. They are often neglected by Western Medicine in the treatment of these symptoms. Traditional Chinese Medicine has been working with the autonomic nervous system for hundreds of years. Acupuncture helps to balance your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. I also utilize deep breathing and mindfulness exercises to help your vagus nerve and nervous system come back to balance.

If you are suffering from long COVID know that are acupuncture treatments to help you heal.

ABC News' Becky Worley shares tips to nurture yourself after having COVID or other illnesses that can affect your nervous system and change how you feel or react to different situations.

12/20/2022

Tomorrow is Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. On December 21st time will standstill as the sun reaches what we hope it is most distant point in the southern sky. For six days the during solstice, the sun rises and sets in the same location. It will pause there before starting its slow journey back north until it burns the brightest and longest day of the year on Summer Solstice.

Start the night by watching the first sunset of winter, and then light a fire or candles. Sitting in silence embrace the darkness. Acknowledge your fears and with deep exhales let go. Bring in trust and peace of mind. Inhale and exhale.

On the eve of SOLSTICE, my favorite night of the year I leave you with this blessing. I do not know the author but I love these words.

"May the longest night of the year and the shortest day, being rest to your mind and soul, I pray.
May you find guidance and may you find peace, as the cycle of the light will slowly increase.
Embrace the magic that the darkness bears, breath deep in the chill and shift in the air.
May you always be blessed with the light from within,
And may well-being be yours as the new cycle begins."

Merry Solstice!

10/18/2022

This is a wonderful article which articulates everything I have said for years.
Meditation and mindfulness will lead to a better, healthier, and more content life. The key is to do what this author calls, "meditation in motion". I love this description!
We can bring mindfulness into our daily activities, and in fact when we do, time slows down and our experience of life is deepened.

It is the little things that will bring you most joy and inner happiness. "Appreciating the fall leaves, listening to the crunch under your feet as you walk on the winter snow..."

Enjoy this moment for four deep breaths.

When we practice present-moment awareness, we can get in touch with the fundamental wonder of being alive.

09/22/2022

Welcome Autumn

Seasonal adaptation is a significant aspect of cultivating good health and QI. In Chinese Medicine Five Element Theory we hold a beautiful, metaphorical philosophy of body, mind and spirit, hand in hand with nature and her teachings. This theory provides profound teachings on how to live in balance with the changing seasons.

Autumn is the element of METAL. The organs most associated with Metal are LUNG and LARGE INTESTINE. The emotional qualities are GRIEF and LETTING GO. As we witness the changing colors, the falling leaves, and the lengthening of the night sky, it may seem as if it all is dying. In some ways it is but trees and perennial plants are wisely letting go of new growth and color so that they can move their QI downward into their roots. This intuitive cycle allows for survival during the cold dark winter months, thus helping the plants to sprout new growth in the spring. There is grief in watching this cycle. Our gardens no longer blossom. The green is fading away. The light is dimming. Grief is a natural emotion during this time.

This teaching reminds us that we too must let go of what is dead and what is weighing us down or holding us back from new growth. Autumn is the season of pruning. What needs to be pruned from your life? What needs to be acknowledged and grieved? What conversation needs to be shared? What wants to be revealed? How can you turn grief into inspiration?

This process of letting go and grieving requires trust and the strength to embrace loss and transformation. It requires surrender and forgiveness. A willingness to feel all that you are feeling is calling you. This process can be the end that makes way for the beginning. Letting go creates space and freedom. Sit quietly and reflect on your personal harvest, and acknowledge your need for stillness and space.

Reap the autumn harvest. Shift into slowing down. Go to bed a bit earlier. Enjoy the autumn purple sunsets and the cool crisp mornings.

Eat with the season. Warm foods for cool weather:

Apple, Banana, Beets, Bell pepper, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Carrot, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Figs, Garlic, Ginger, Grapes, Horseradish, Leeks, Pears, Plums, Pomegranate, Pumpkin, Red cabbage, Rosemary, Sage, Spinach, Thyme, Whole grains, Wild rice, Winter squash, Yam. Bone Broth. Porridge or congee for breakfast.

08/15/2022

Thank you Santa Fe for voting for me in the BEST of SANTA FE!
I am in my 28th year of serving my community and I am honored to have your confidence.

Alix Bjorklund, DOM

As quoted in the Best of SF issue:

#3. for Best Acupuncturist

“Everything, including one’s self, that exists in the Universe is a manifestation of energy. This energy is called Qi. Qi is the invisible force that gives life to all living matter.” What a way to open up a website mission statement. Through acupuncture (and other offerings) Bjorklund’s mission is to “bring this natural balance of qi, yin and yang, back to your body.”

2019 Galisteo St., Ste. N-4, (505) 982-5156

#3. for Best Alternative Healing

Alix Bjorklund, DOM

Bjorklund’s philosophy is rooted in deep studies of mindfulness, psychology, meditation, Taoism and Buddhism. As far as we are concerned, that’s the bedrock cat’s pajamas for alternative healing. The list of conditions and ailments Bjorklund’s treatments can heal is far too long for this space. Just get in there, and get better.

2019 Galisteo St., Ste. N-4, (505) 982-5156

06/22/2022

Happy Summer Solstice.

May you be at ease. May you be well. May you be healed. May you be happy. As you offer this lovingkindness to yourself, imagine you can fill yourself with the light of your loving awareness. Visit