Everything is One in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been practiced in Asia for over 4,000 years is officially promoted and supported by the Chinese government through continuing education and government-funded research. Drawing on the foundations of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, Chinese medicine is based on the beliefs that all living things are interconnected and share life force energy, and that energy imbalances are the cause of illness. Today Chinese medicine is practiced throughout Asia, Europe, and the former Soviet Union, and is finding its way into the United States.

Holistic and Preventative
The main tenet of TCM is that a balanced body results in good health and prevents disease. To achieve that balance, TCM often recommends the practice of moderation as it relates to diet and alcohol consumption, and asks patients to include both physical and mental tasks in daily routines. It used to be that the Chinese upper class saw doctors when they were well and paid for that preventative care; if they happened to become sick, the doctors couldn't collect their fees.

Like other forms of holistic medicine, TCM practitioners expect patients to be active participants in the healing process and maintaining balance in their lives by engaging in meditation and forms of exercise believed to cultivate the proper flow of chi or life force energy, and by eating a healthy diet.

TCM practitioners aim first to identify where in the body chi is disrupted or blocked and then use that knowledge to determine the best course of treatment to heal the specific illness. TCM practitioners may use one more healing methods suited to the condition, including manual manipulation, acupuncture and acupressure, topical herbs and herbal medicines.

Yin and Yang
Above all, TCM operates according to the belief that the human body is a balance of yin and yang, energy qualities that are polar opposites but cannot exist without the presence of the other. Your state of health is defined by the balance or imbalance of yin and yang.

The balance between yin and yang are always changing according to mood, time of day or the seasons. It's when imbalance becomes fixed that disease is thought to result. Yin represents qualities that are watery, quiet and related to nighttime while Yang represents fire and heat, activity and daytime. According to TCM, the body's internal organs are also associated with the properties of yin and yang; so are the foods we eat, the ways in which we physically move our bodies and the environment around us.

The Five Elements
TCM also associates a person's physical and emotional health with their relationship to the earth and earth's qualities. Basic personality, emotions, physiological symptoms and overall characteristics of health are classified according to the earth's natural elements of which there are five: water, wood, fire, earth and metal. If one element is imbalanced-for example, you're showing signs that you have too much wood-the remedies prescribed will relate to the element or elements that best counter the effects of wood.

Each of these five elements also corresponds to specifics parts of and organs in the body, all of the body's sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and mouth), emotions, colors, sounds, seasons and weather. This whole-body, whole-person, whole-world view of yin and yang is what makes TCM holistic. A TCM practitioner will look for imbalances within and outside the physical body and every area of your life.

Shen
In TCM, shen represents our mental faculties and the expression of how vital (or not) the spirit is by how consciousness is expressed and activities are managed. When shen is abundant, the body will be strong and all its systems function in harmony. When shen is weak, the body's systems are impaired. Shen is also used to evaluate one's emotional state. The stronger your shen, the more quickly and easily you're though to recover from illness.

Visiting a TCM Practitioner
A visit to a TCM practitioner usually involves a long list of questions, a tongue examination and a pulse evaluation. In addition to discussing your specific complaints, symptoms or ailments, you'll also discuss your diet and exercise habits, sleep patterns, bowel function and energy levels.

The TCM practitioner may also spend time examining your skin and smelling your breath. Together, all of this information and physical data contributes to identifying where your energy is imbalanced and which healing method is best suited to bring your body back into a balance state. Common methods of healing include herbal remedies, changes in diet and exercise, engaging in meditation and, of course, acupuncture.

TCM and Acupuncture
The Chinese believe that our life force energy flows along 12 meridian lines or channels in the body, where each meridian corresponds to a different organ system. If your chi is blocked or restricted, there's imbalance in the body. That imbalance is believed to be the cause of disease, which, according to the Chinese is similar to what we think of in the West, as symptoms (fatigue, upset stomach or constipation, for example).

The practice of acupuncture is designed to balance the flow of chi by applying pressure to specific points along the meridians. This pressure may be applied in several ways, but is most commonly performed with tiny, slender needles. The needles-or forms of pressure-stimulate nerve endings to redirect the flow of chi throughout the body. In the West, acupuncture is most commonly known for relieving chronic pain, which it does by helping the body produce and sustain endorphins that provide natural pain relief.