Robert Keller, L.Ac.

Classical Chinese Medicine

Articles

Intuitive Aspects of Acupuncture and Dry Needling

It is commonly discussed amongst acupuncturists that “an acupuncture point does not appear until you need it.” What does this mean? The most common explanation offered is that you only treat points that are necessary; they present with tightness or blockage of some sort. This is valid, but there is a more subtle and nuanced […]
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Dry Needling Training, Practice and Licensure

I have written previously about the relation between dry needling and acupuncture. My intention in this article is to point out the differences in training and application. Why? Because I’ve often found that when new patients call or come to my office for dry needling, they think they’ve already received dry needling treatment in the […]
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Why Dry Needling Makes Sense Within the Framework of Chinese Medicine

When I entered my program in 1989, there were only three acupuncture schools on the East Coast of the United States. Acupuncture had been a recognized profession in the U.S. for only nine years then, and licensure in New Jersey had begun in 1983. At the time, the predominant style of acupuncture taught in the […]
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Chinese Medicine and Self-Care in the Treatment of COVID-19

Recently I was asked about suggestions for deep breathing exercises to help with breathing difficulties and anxiousness resulting from COVID-19 symptoms. This question brings up some important topics related to diagnosis and treatment according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. The predominant pathological factor related to COVID-19 from the perspective of Chinese medicine is damp phlegm.  This […]
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Chinese Antiviral Herbs in the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19

With a vaccine now available for COVID-19 (this article is being published in January 2021), patients have been inquiring again about recommendations for prevention of the disease as they are uncertain as to what direction to follow. For the past year I have been dispensing variations of a formula I named Blue Heron, after the […]
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Is It My Allergies or is It a Cold, Part 2

I am writing this short article on October 9, 2009. 75% of the people I have seen yesterday and today have come in with exactly the same symptoms (regardless of what other condition was bringing them in for treatment) – congestion, runny nose with clear, thin mucus, scratchy throat, cough, and a gravely voice. And […]
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About the Flu

I have been receiving questions about my feelings on the flu and vaccinations for several weeks now. I am happy to give a more detailed response in person to anyone who asks me. The important thing to say here is that we all have an immune system that works, if we give it half a […]
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How to Stay Well in Winter

Things To Do This Fall-Winter (To Help You Stay Well) • Stay at home. • Get more sleep. • Slow down and stop running around. • Eat more meals at home. • Drink warm beverages and eat more soup. • Stay home if you are sick. • Practice Qi Gong. • Use herbs to strengthen […]
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Fall-Winter Do’s and Don’ts

The theme of this newsletter is obviously taking care of yourself this fall and winter season. It is my impression that poor diet and lifestyle habits are primarily what fuel so many people being sick so often. It is fall and winter, not spring and summer. If you want to stay well, you have to […]
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About Acupuncture Needles

Although acupuncture needles are obviously the main tool for acupuncture, they are rarely discussed. I insert approximately 70,000 needles each year, and so spend a great deal of time with needles either in my hands or between my fingers. I am fascinated by these needles. When I first got my hands on some acupuncture needles […]
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Fruits and Vegetables

This article is a response to two topics. The first is the perpetuation of sayings such as “Eat five a day”. The second is the routine reassurance by my patients that they eat “a lot of fruit” (typically grouped with “a lot of chicken and a lot of fish”). My thoughts on this are as […]
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Energy Transfers in Acupuncture

I am very often asked about how acupuncture works, and about what is happening when the needles are placed in the body. I have written briefly on this subject in How to Choose an Acupuncture Point. This article is about energy transfers. I am choosing this topic for two reasons. First, I find the notion […]
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The Similarity of Herbs

There is a branch of Chinese herbology referred to as “dui yao”, which has to do with the combining of herbs. Part of this topic includes herbs which have complementary, or synergistic, functions. I remember learning a long time ago, that once you understood herbal medicine you could come across an herb or a plant […]
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The Proper Position for Sleep

In Chinese medicine it is believed that lying on the right side, with the knees slightly bent, the left arm and hand on the left thigh, and the right arm bent with the hand by the head, is the correct physiological position for sleep. There are two simple reasons for this. The first is that […]
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Don’t Scratch the Itch

Silly as it seems, it comes up all the time. A great number of people develop an itch on their nose as soon as the needles begin to go in. Many more worry about getting an itch sometime during the treatment. “What do I do?” is the question I get asked. The answer is simple […]
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It’s Not Just One Thing

The idea for this article came to me while I was scrubbing small pieces of dill, coated with some olive oil, out of the grooves of my Mr. Bento soup container (I’ll come back to Mr. Bento later). I remembered some basic chemistry and physics, and noticed that there were at least five observable factors […]
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Don’t Miss the Big Picture

This article is a response to the question, “Are there any foods I can eat or exercises I can practice to help my condition?” The answer to this question is always “yes and yes”, but there is a bigger picture which generally is overlooked. It is assumed in Chinese medicine that people will care for […]
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Three Important Rules For Injury

I am endlessly fascinated by the similarity of response people have to a given situation. Psychologically, we may each show up in our own unique way. But in terms of the end result, I observe the same patterns take place day after day in my practice. This is a very brief article about acute injuries […]
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Endeavor and Destiny

Endeavor and Destiny is the name of a chapter from the 4th century A.D. Taoist text The Book of Lieh-tzu (the most well known work of this genre is the Tao Te Ching from the 3rd century B.C.). This chapter is a commentary, told through stories and parables, on the issue of what comes through […]
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Why Bother

When people make dietary changes and see results, they are apt to continue with them. But when progress is not immediately apparent, the question arises “why bother”. The question is a fair one. There are 3 primary reasons why people make dietary changes. The first is for health reasons – we want to get rid […]
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The Importance of Properly Treating Acute Symptoms

The majority of people who seek treatment with Chinese medicine (or any other form of alternative medicine for that matter) are generally concerned either with an acute pain or with some chronic condition which has not responded favorably to conventional treatments. Most people do not know, at least at first, that Chinese medicine can treat […]
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Moderation

The awakened view of moderation is finding balance in one’s own life and choices. The unconscious view of moderation is that whatever we do is moderate, and whatever everyone else does is extreme.
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No One Else Has This

It is a natural human belief that we are individually unique, and in so many ways we are. But there is little that any one person has or experiences that others do not as well. I am told by my patients, out of their frustration, that their friends, family, and co-workers seem better able to […]
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25 Minutes

I am often asked if it matters how long acupuncture needles are left in the body during a treatment. The overriding answer to this and to all questions pertaining to Chinese medicine is that everything matters. My belief is that the purposefulness of treatment creates order in the body. This occurs through the principle of […]
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Sprouts

Sprouts represent a unique category of food. They are the young seed and shoots of grains, vegetables, herbs, or legumes. Typically eaten raw, they are generally very beneficial to the digestion. The biomedical explanation for this is the high enzymatic activity of these young plants. Chinese medicine considers sprouted foods to be useful for treating […]
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