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Traditional Chinese Medicine

TCM is a complete medical system that diagnoses, treats, and prevents illnesses. In a general sense, TCM can remedy disease states, alter states of mind and soul, enhance the body’s ability to heal itself and enhance it’s capacity for creativity. The basis of Chinese Medicine assumes that all creation is a result of the dynamic coupling of 2 opposite forces called Yin and Yang; mind and body, heaven and earth, wet and dry, night and day, inner and outer, etc. (Yin and yang are discussed further in our Understanding Chinese Medicine and Traditional Acupuncture Therapy sections). Put simply, the harmonious balance of Yin and Yang results in good health, good seasonal weather and prosperity, while disharmony results in disease, disaster, and misfortune.

Within nature, there is air, land and sea. Comparatively, the human body contains moisture, blood and Qi. Our bodies are viewed as a microcosm or a micrrepresentation of not only the nature of the environment around us, but also of the universe. Thus, the same forces that lead to environmental changes and cause havoc in various parts of the earth can also derail the harmonious balance that keeps us healthy and feeling healthy.

Excessive / Disruptive Forces	Influence in Nature (e.g)	Influence in Body (e.g)
Wind	oscillate trees & branches, shake leaves, ripple water	trembling, dizziness, vertigo, unsteady movement
Dampness	excessive hydration giving way to swamp lands, flooding	excess phlegm, swelling
Dryness	withering of vegetation leading to non-fertile, dry land	thirst, chapping, compromised & cracking of mucous membranes
Cold	freezing prevents flowing of water	poor circulation of blood & Qi, slowing of metabolism
Heat	fire scorching / burning of vegatation and earth	Inflammation of tissue

The above table is incomplete and simplified, but one may begin to appreciate how similar we are to the world around us. Basically, illness is seen as an imbalance of one or more of these forces at the expense of another. For example, muscles may become overly strained and inflamed due to insufficient rest and inadequate circulation (ie. excessive Yang at the expense of Yin).

The goal of Traditional Chinese Medicine is to balance and harmonize Yin and Yang: drain excessive dampness, soften hardness, open congestion, tonify and strengthen weak organs, moisten dryness etc. Traditionally, this is done by utilizing one or more of the following therapeutic modalities:

• Herbal Therapy
  • plant therapy or phytotherapy
• Moxibustion
  • heating or burning of specific body areas with the prepared leaves of the moxa
    plant (Artemesia Vulgaris)
• Acupuncture
  (acus = needle, punctura = to penetrate)
  • penetrating specific body points with fine needles
• Exercise
  • static and moving remedial exercises, most notably Qigong and Taiqi
• Surgery
  • used only as a last resort
  • traditionally, surgery was used to treat war injuries. etc.

Individually, these modalities may seem very different in approach but they all share the same goals by attempting to address the imbalances and disharmonies that underlie disease states.

The proper application of TCM is safe, inexpensive, time tested and pragmatic. Over thousands of years, treatment protocols have been developed to accommodate the wide variety of signs and symptoms presented clinically. These protocols are then further refined in response to the changing conditions unique to that patient. It is important to note that TCM is not folk medicine. It is a thoroughly developed, recorded, systemic and peer reviewed form of medicine that continues to evolve. Traditional Chinese Medicine not only has massive amounts of real world data to validate its application, but thousands of years worth of human trials that have refined its techniques.