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One of the more interesting things about Chinese herbalism is all the different forms that
we may actually use to ingest, or even use the herbs topically. So, one of the most common
ways and the most powerful ways in order to use the herbs is the raw herbs, such as these,
with astragalus and rishi mushroom, Dang Shen Codonopsis, and even Lotus seeds and Chrysanthemum
flower. These types of things are oftentimes put into a pot, and they're boiled up until
it's a fairly strong soup or brew, that we drink as a decoction. We can also use things
like the Chrysanthemum flower as an ongoing tea. Some people aren't able to handle the
stronger tastes and flavors that are a little bit foreign to the American palette. So we,
for them, have things like capsules, that might be a single herb in there. We may have
tablets, that you'll actually taste a little bit of the herb, but are easy to swallow.
And what's really famous in Chinese herbalism is the Chinese tea pill, which we oftentimes,
since they're so small, take a large number of. The tea pills are neat, because we use
the number eight as our standard dosage that we take three times a day. And Chinese culture
has a little bit of numerology that's fun in that. So with these, they oftentimes take
eight because of the similarity of the word eight (ba) and the word for health (fa). We
also do things such as syrups, such as these which are snake gallbladder liquids that are
infused in honey that we may drink, and actually are surprisingly tasty. And we can even use
some topical things that are actually herbal, that people will oftentimes wear outside of
the treatment. We'll cut off a small portion of this and place on an area of pain. So,
oftentimes, are very aromatic. So, make sure you talk with your practitioner about the
type of herbal remedy that's best for you. And, of course, we have Maksa, which is always
used over the top of points, and is actually the burning of an herb. So, please use your
herbal formulas to the best of your ability, which works best for you.