Posted by Bradley Blalock on Thu, Aug 13, 2009 @ 02:27 PM
Chinese Medicine is simple; it began with observing nature and then
taking these observations and applying them to the human body. This
began with the concept of yin and yang. Anything in relation to
anything else could either be described as being yin or yang: light or
heavy, dark or light, male or female, active or passive. This meant
that all things in nature were necessary to maintain balance and
neither yin nor yang was more powerful. Instead, they were constantly
becoming one another. Hence the yin yang symbol of equal halves of a
circle with full smaller circles of opposite color in side.
The most common shape in nature is a circle, the cells of your body
are circles and healthy DNA spins clockwise. The ancient Chinese also
used circles to explain balance. The element circle looks like this:
Water grows wood, wood grows fire, fire makes ashes or earth, inside of
the earth is metal, and water condenses on metal. The Chinese applied
this cycle and these elements to what they believed to be the organs of
the body. Wood is the liver and gall bladder. Fire is heart and small
intestine. Earth is spleen and stomach. Metal is lung and large
intestine. Water is urinary bladder and kidney. In this way, the body
was seen as being supported by each organ. Blood and energy, or qi,
flowed through the body like water. When one organ became unbalanced
every other organ was affected. When the smooth flowing circulation got
blocked somewhere in the body from an imbalance, disease festered like
a pond of still water growing full of sludge.
In Chinese Medicine there are no divisions of the body like in
Western Medicine. Instead, the whole body is accessed to understand how
an imbalance is affecting the body, mind and spirit. This is achieved
through a series of questions and on examination of the tongue and
pulses. The greatest diagnostic tool of Chinese Medicine is still
observation. The tongue is a map and mirror to the internal body. The
tip of the tongue represents the heart and just behind the lungs. The
center of the tongue reflects the spleen and the stomach. The sides
mirror the liver and gall bladder. The back of the tongue shows the
kidneys and urinary bladder. The size, shape, color and coat tell the
story of how the internal organs are functioning. Three pulses are felt
on both wrists to reflect again the internal organs. The left radial
pulse represents the heart, liver and kidney yin and the right radial
pulse represents the lung, spleen and kidney yang. The pulse is felt
for its depth, speed, and rate. Acupuncturists use descriptive words
like wiry, thready, soggy, slippery or knotted when assessing the
pulses.
Based on the observations of the tongue, pulse and assessment of
questions an Acupuncturist will devise a treatment plan that might
include acupuncture, moxabustion and herbal remedies. Through this
observation “western diseases” are not being treated, instead, the body
is being brought back to balance. Chinese Medicine looks at a “symptom”
like a branch of a tree, and looks deeper to find the root cause. In
this way, the “symptom” is addressed, as well as, what caused the
symptom in the first place. The advantages of this philosophy are the
“side effects.” For example, a patient being treated for back pain
might also report higher energy levels, better sleep, reduction in hot
flashes or heart burn, a more regular and less painful menstrual cycle
and/or improved emotional wellbeing. This means that Chinese Medicine
can treat virtually any condition aiding in bringing the body back to
harmony. While this is true, Chinese Medicine’s true genius is
preventative. Ancient Chinese doctors were responsible for keeping the
community healthy; it was the doctors who had to pay if a patient was
sick.
Chinese Medicine is by no means a quick fix; however it is an
opportunity to impact not only one’s body, but lifestyle as well.
Massage Therapy (tui na), Exercise, Meditation, Feng Shui, and
Nutrition are also key components of this system that can contribute
lasting harmony. Acupuncturists recommend receiving quarterly
treatments as a “tune up” when the energy of the Earth is changing to
maintain wellness.
Sarah Zender, LAc. LMT. is a licensed and nationally certified Massage
Therapist, licensed Acupuncturist in the state of Illinois and a
certified yoga teacher. Sarah also holds an advanced certificate in
Acupuncture from the Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese
Medicine. Sarah teaches at ASIS Massage School.