An Overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) consists of four main branches: Acupuncture, Herbology (which also includes Food Therapy), Qigong (or exercise and meditation for health), and massage. It is a time-tested, 3,000+ year-old comprehensive system for the assessment, treatment, and prevention of acute and chronic diseases. TCM represents a combination of ideas, discoveries, and methods from earlier times coupled with findings from modern research which uses chemical and pharmacological analysis along with clinical trials and case studies done here in the United States and around the world.
The TCM view of the human body
Traditional Chinese Medicine views the body in three levels - spirit, energy, and matter. Traditionally, these are called the "Three Treasures" and are knows as Shen (Spirit), Qi (Energy), and Jing (Essence).
The goal of Chinese medicine is to acheive balance and harmony between these three treasures. From the Chinese medical point of view it is essential to nurture, protect, and sustain these treasures in order to achieve and maintain optimal health and to ward off disease when it does arise. What this means is that the concept of a unified body, mind, and spirit is woven into the very fabric of the Chinese medical system. This ensures that, when used properly, Chinese medicine is always about healing the spiritual and emotional aspects of a disease, not just treating the symptoms.
TCM and everyday life
The beauty of TCM is that it provides a preventive and treatment technology based on this simple premise: All life is energy, and we as humans can learn how to harmonize ourselves with this vast sea of energy in order to achieve health and happiness. In this way, the principles of Chinese medicine can be integrated into our daily lives in terms of what we eat, how we interact with other people, how we move our bodies, and how we deal with emotions and thoughts. All of these factors can be taken into account when prescribing an Acupuncture treatment, an Herbal prescription, or a Medical Qigong session. As patients, we can learn to perform exercises and meditations to enhance our well-being and improve our recovery process. This empowers the patient and places the doctor in the role of teacher and mentor as opposed to technician or director.
The experience of TCM
TCM medical treatment is about more than just the symptoms you have today. It is about you as an integrated spirit, mind, and body. What aspects are out of balance? How did these aspects come to this state of imbalance? What therapies, meditations, and interventions can we use to restore balance and harmony? These are the questions that TCM presents to us when we are forming your treatment plan. And, the answer to these questions is integrated into the comprehensive system that TCM provides. With the guidance of a skilled practitioner, you will recieve the appropriate advice and treatments that will initiate, suppport, and sustain your healing process.
The TCM view of the human body
Traditional Chinese Medicine views the body in three levels - spirit, energy, and matter. Traditionally, these are called the "Three Treasures" and are knows as Shen (Spirit), Qi (Energy), and Jing (Essence).
- Shen (Spirit) is the sum total of the mental/emotional aspects of a person. The most refined aspect of Shen is the eternal spirit or soul.
- Qi (Energy) is the sum total of all the life processes and functions of the body and its organs, including transformation of food into energy, circulation of blood, elimination of wastes, synthesis of proteins and hormones.
- Jing is the substance itself, all of the various refined chemicals such as hormones, proteins, enzymes, cellular fluids, and other various vital substances.
The goal of Chinese medicine is to acheive balance and harmony between these three treasures. From the Chinese medical point of view it is essential to nurture, protect, and sustain these treasures in order to achieve and maintain optimal health and to ward off disease when it does arise. What this means is that the concept of a unified body, mind, and spirit is woven into the very fabric of the Chinese medical system. This ensures that, when used properly, Chinese medicine is always about healing the spiritual and emotional aspects of a disease, not just treating the symptoms.
TCM and everyday life
The beauty of TCM is that it provides a preventive and treatment technology based on this simple premise: All life is energy, and we as humans can learn how to harmonize ourselves with this vast sea of energy in order to achieve health and happiness. In this way, the principles of Chinese medicine can be integrated into our daily lives in terms of what we eat, how we interact with other people, how we move our bodies, and how we deal with emotions and thoughts. All of these factors can be taken into account when prescribing an Acupuncture treatment, an Herbal prescription, or a Medical Qigong session. As patients, we can learn to perform exercises and meditations to enhance our well-being and improve our recovery process. This empowers the patient and places the doctor in the role of teacher and mentor as opposed to technician or director.
The experience of TCM
TCM medical treatment is about more than just the symptoms you have today. It is about you as an integrated spirit, mind, and body. What aspects are out of balance? How did these aspects come to this state of imbalance? What therapies, meditations, and interventions can we use to restore balance and harmony? These are the questions that TCM presents to us when we are forming your treatment plan. And, the answer to these questions is integrated into the comprehensive system that TCM provides. With the guidance of a skilled practitioner, you will recieve the appropriate advice and treatments that will initiate, suppport, and sustain your healing process.
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