It was sunny today and your humble bulletin editor was able to ride his Harley to Rotary. This put him in a very pleasant frame of mind, so when it came time to announce the visiting Rotarians, he was more than pleased that Assistant District Governor Nancy Rhodes was here – not only in her official capacity, but as a visiting Rotarian. This certainly counts as a “two-for-one” and should be recorded as such. 

Among items of “happy news” it was noted that former Wauwatosa Rotarian, Maurie Sullivan, was elected mayor of Oconomowoc by a slim margin of 27 votes. 

Rob Deflieze introduced the main event of the day, a presentation from Dr. Guan-Yuan Jin, a licensed acupuncturist in Milwaukee.  Dr. Jin spoke about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which includes three main components:  Acupuncture, Herbology, and Qi (Chi).  Chinese medicine using these three elements has been around for more than two millennia.  It is grounded in a basic understanding of life consisting of a balance between Yin and Yang.  Yin is characterized as night, the moon, woman, the abdomen, and deficiency. Yang is thought of in terms of day, sun, man, the back, and excess.  Healthy living comes from a proper balance between these as they together contribute to Qi, or positive energy flow. 

Acupuncture uses very fine needles to stimulate certain nerves along the 14 meridians.  There are many different approaches to acupuncture, but it is used primarily for pain management. It can also be used for regulation of bodily functions and for rehabilitation if employed shortly after the pain or injury. 

Chinese herbology is different from the Western use of herbs. The Chinese tend to use multiple combinations of herbs in order to balance and offset any side effects. 

Finally, Qigong (of which Tai Chi is one form) is a set of physical movements, postures, or positions which enable the individual to regulate mind, breath, and body. 

Dr. Jin, along with his wife, operates a busy Acupuncture clinic at 84^th and Capitol (Ace Acupuncture). We thank him for giving us a most “pointed” presentation.