Traditional Chinese Medicine
About Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine is an ancient system of health and wellness used by Chinese for thousands of years. Unlike Western medicine, where the focus is only on treating the disease symptoms, TCM focus is on your entire well-being. TCM is based on balance, harmony, and energy.
There are two central ideas behind TCM:
Qi
This is also called life energy or vital energy. The belief is that it runs throughout your body. It’s always on the move and constantly changes. TCM treatments often focus on ways to promote and maintain the flow of qi.
Yin and Yang
These are opposites that describe the qualities of qi.
- Yin: night , dark, cold, feminine, negative
- Yang: day, light, warm , positive, male
The belief is that everything in life has a little bit of its opposite, too, and balance is the key. For example, a drug from your doctor might heal disease. But it’s dangerous if you take too much of it.
According to TCM, these ideas play out in our bodies. When you balance the yin and yang of Qi, you feel healthy and well. If they’re out of balance, you feel sick. TCM aims to create harmony and a healthy flow of Qi.
Acupuncture and TCM
A key component of TCM, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.
Need of the hour
The current need is to empower individuals to take charge of their own health. In the post pandemic era, there is a need to develop confidence and restore trust in our body’s healing abilities. Awareness of these simple tools to heal from within is necessary.
Unique Nature
No two bodies are the same. Each individual has a unique energy/pranic structure and requires different tools for healing. We have to understand our own unique nature and customize the treatment based on our healing needs.
Healing Power
Our focus is not just temporary relief from symptoms, but a march towards vibrant health. Let us remind ourselves of our own healing powers, the awesome ability of the human body and mind to restore its natural state of balance. All the mind and body needs is a little bit of aid during this healing process..
Affordability
Financially too, is it not better to solve the problem at its root ? it is possible to reverse chronic conditions and make it manageable through lifestyle, averting major intervention Journey of life is meant to be comfortable, brimming with energy, and joy.
Five element or five phase theory
The Wu Xing, commonly known as Five Elements of nature are phases of movement or change. The theory outlines the relationship between the different elements in nature ( wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) and the Qi that flows through them. The five elements form the basis of the material world. In TCM, elements are used to understand the individual personality and determine the best and most effective treatment plan.
Metal personality
Meticulous, honest, and responsible. Tend to be melancholic. Body structure is angular and tall. May suffer from constipation, lung and skin issues, or allergies.
Fire personality
Passionate, creative, and authoritative. Impulsive and irritable. May suffer from insomnia, high blood pressure, chest pains, or headaches.
Earth personality
Nurturing, generous, and care-giving. Worrisome and pensive. Body may be round and fleshy. May suffer from abdominal issues or harmone imbalances.
Water personality
Wise, reflective, and private. Indecisive, fearful, and paranoid. Body structure may be puffy and round. May suffer from back pain, knee pain, kidney and bladder infections.
Wood personality
Athletic, energetic, and adventurous. Well-muscled, anxious, and angry. May suffer from orthopedic issues, TMJ, ADD and migraines.
The elements are all connected. Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth creates Metal, Metal holds Water, Water nourishes Wood. Wood roots Earth, Earth dams Water, Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts Metal, and Metal cuts Wood. Each element both controls and is controlled by another element. One element may manifest heavier within us than others. This is where we are the strongest and most vulnerable.
Meridians are invisible rivers of energy that run through the body in channels (similar to Nadis in Yoga). Qi flows along these meridians and when blocked or disrupted, pain, discomfort or illness can occur.
Acupuncture treatment involves transferring energy from one element to another creating balance again/ to recreate balance. There are 12 main meridians in TCM, and each meridian is associated with a different organ. The needles target specific points on specific meridians, restoring proper Qi flow.