resources & thought-provoking ideas for flexible folk

In a recent Two Hearts Wellness blog post I wrote a companion piece to this one. Titled “A Short Dictionary of Terms: The Language of Chinese Medicine,” I shared thoughts on the changing meanings of English-language vocabulary related to Chinese medicine. I’ll link a section of it below, but the full essay considered these…

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos folks are, each and every one, unique. It’s never a surprise to have a patient with HSD/hEDS plus MCAS and/or POTS or other manifestations of dysautonomia. As a practitioner of Chinese medicine who has been treating such patients for over a decade now, I am constantly on the lookout for non-invasive treatments…

AI slop has come for the chronic illness online community. Unsurprisingly, it’s derivative and easy to identify. What is surprising? It truly is stunning how quickly AI has wedged its way into chronic illness online spaces. These online communities to date have been meaningful and valuable. That is all changing, and not for the…

Have you ever had someone say something obnoxious to you and you, instead of coming back with a clever riposte, just sit there like a turnip? Then, later, all the smart remarks you could have made come to you but it’s too late. The person has moved on with their life and probably doesn’t…

The spleen is a little guy, only about the size of a fist or an avocado. As far as biomedicine is concerned, it’s not a vital organ necessary for survival and can be removed if there are problems. Chinese medicine does not see things this way. We are big fans of the Spleen (as…

Can you have EDS and an autoimmune disease? Both at the same time? Does a bear leave bowel movements in the woods? Yes. And yes, you most certainly can have EDS and an autoimmune disease. EDS is a gift that just keeps on giving, and for some of us, that means both an HCTD…

There are rumblings in the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes community. Change is coming. Big change: the EDS Society is publishing updated diagnostic criteria for all versions of EDS in December of 2026. This also includes shifts to how hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) and hEDS are assessed and categorized. Early in 2027, the EDS Society’s update will be…

Most of the posts on this blog start with hEDS as the baseline and expand outward to include MCAS and/or dysautonomia. In this one, I’m centering MCAS. Spring season brings its challenges for everyone, but when you’re a mastie? Spring can be particularly and specifically extra difficult for those of us with MCAS. This…

Did you expect to feel moved when you read The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros only to find that the main character, one Violet Sorrengail, lives with her book world’s version of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome? Would you be more interested in Rin, the protagonist of The Poppy Wars series if you discovered that she,…

The word paresis is of Greek origin and it indicates letting go of or weakening or slackness of muscle. It refers to partial paralysis rather than a complete stopping of movement (paralysis). When this word describes what’s going on with a person’s digestive system, it is a problem indeed. Gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying)…