Anne Biris is a nationally board certified and State of Michigan licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, massage therapist, and practitioner of Chinese Medicine with offices in Ann Arbor and Dearborn Heights. She holds a Master’s degree in Chinese Medicine and has been practicing for 30 years. She also provides acupuncture on a volunteer basis in the poorest areas of India and Sikkim. Biris likes to fly under the radar, but after much prodding (because Anne Biris is a treasure that readers of CWCJ should know about), s
Posts filed under integrative medicine
Psychedelic Medicines in Trauma Recovery
Life is hard and yes, terrible things can and do happen, oftentimes to people who do not deserve it. Denying trauma and trying to inspire people out of its impact, both individually and collectively, has been the go-to method of dealing with trauma for generations.
The Crazy Wisdom Interview with Dr. Amy Saunders on Integrative Medicine and Her Life’s Journey
Dr. Amy Saunders is one of the leading integrative medicine doctors in the area. We had profiled her ten years ago, and we wanted to check back in with her, and see how she had viewed Covid, and hear her current points of view on her medical practice and providing integrative care. We also were hoping to talk with her about the influences which shaped her becoming the attuned, committed and deeply caring physician that she is known to be.
Sustainable Health: Ask for Help!
The weeks and months after my first child was born were some of the most difficult I have ever experienced. I was depleted from blood loss, and it felt like all the nutrients in my bones and muscles were being concentrated into the growing baby and breastmilk. For the first few days, my husband carried me down the stairs. He changed every diaper for the first month. However, the sleep deprivation, the intense emotional changes, and continual nutritional depletion converged to bring me to a point of stress in my system I was unprepared for and had little facility to manage.
A Physician’s Journey: Yoga & Meditation to Holistic Medicine-- Excerpts From a New Book by Dr. Dennis Chernin
Excerpts From Yoga & Meditation to Holistic Medicine: A Physician’s Journey, a new book by Dr. Dennis Chernin.
Healers of Ann Arbor: Greg Knollmeyer Reflexologist and T’ai Chi Instructor
You can try a new type of massage or read a chiropractor’s online reviews, but how do you really know when a healing modality is right for you? Columnist Laura K. Cowan goes in depth with local healers to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what they really do to help people relax and heal.
An Integrative Approach to Women’s Health: An Interview with Holistic Gynecologist Dr. Suman Tewari
A graduate of Wayne State University Medical School, Dr. Suman Tewari is a women’s doctor who has incorporated many aspects of functional medicine and mindset coaching with her allopathic training to bring the best possible care to her patients. I sat down with her at her beautiful office in the Parkway Center to discuss what she means when she says “holistic gynecology” and why women might not feel “empowered to heal.”
Congratulations on Your Diagnosis — Taking Charge of Chronic Illness
Managing any illness is challenging, and conventional medical care—the current “doctors at the top and patients at the bottom” status quo health care (SQHC)— provides diagnosis and treatment of acute life-threatening illnesses such as a heart attack, stroke, or pneumonia with mostly excellent results. Acute illnesses such as these require an immediate, short-term, reactive approach and generally resolve once appropriate treatment is completed.
When Old Becomes New: The Hidden Power of Plants in the Matthaei Medicinal Garden
Upon arrival the Matthaei Botanical Gardens may seem a bit intimidating, with a barrage of rattlesnake warning signs posted along the long winding drive through the wild, prairie-like, bucolic setting. But once you pay for your parking at the self-pay port and enter the arboretum or gardens, you are transported to a happier place from within the deep recesses of your childhood memories. It is altogether beautiful, peaceful, and engaging. There are many display gardens and areas of interest, but this article focuses exclusively on the outdoor Medicinal Garden.
Be Brilliant! How Hospice Saved and Enhanced My Life
The word “hospice” is one of those terms to which each individual has a unique and palpable reaction. For some it brings a sense of fear or uneasiness. In others it arouses tender memories of a past experience as it relates to a family member. For a lucky handful, their faces light up when engaged in a conversation regarding end of life care in the capable and compassionate hands of hospice staff. These blessed few seem filled with peace and joy in the face of this word. As with all of life, we perceive it through our own lenses, which shape how we feel about any given situation. My personal experience and perception of hospice is filtered through many different experiences with friends, family, and from volunteering for a children’s grief program I helped create with Hospice of Asheville, North Carolina, in the early eighties. I’ve had several close friends cared for by their loving hands during end stages of life, and three of my grandparents and my mother-in-law were in hospice care before they passed out of this earthly plane with loved ones by their side. I know what it takes to be a volunteer and how impactful it was to receive comfort and care, both in facilities and in-home
For Want of a Nail: How the U-M’s Innovative Faculty Scholar Program Could Fade Away, or Continue to Thrive
In 2013, Professor Ana Baylin found herself in a professional crisis. After training as an M.D. in Spain, getting her Ph.D. in Nutrition and Epidemiology, and working at the U-M School of Public Health, she found herself wanting to do… something else. A colleague encouraged her to enroll in the Faculty Scholar Program (FSP), a year-long educational group. The faculty in the program study recent research on integrative medicine, such as meditation, yoga, and chiropractic, as applied to cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic pain, and mental health. By exposing professionals to the benefits of other disciplines outside their own, and building bridges based on science between medicine (disease treatment) and health (vitality and well-being), faculty find themselves creating new methods and solutions to patient problems. The program has been innovative and successful, and a key element in the slow but steady growth in the acceptance of integrative medicine at the University of Michigan.
