"Early Autumn," Qian Xuan, 13th century
The Wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine is amazing! It is one of the longest practicing health care systems in the world because it is holistic, effective, and has relatively few side effects. Different from biomedicine, traditional Chinese medicine doesn't separate you into small, isolated parts. It takes into account what makes you Y O U-- your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual sides. The goal of traditional Chinese medicine is to correct maladjustments and promote your body's self-healing capacity.
When working with someone who practices traditional Chinese medicine, we are not just dealing with the relationship between you and your disease. We are dealing with the relationship between you and your world. If you're feeling disheartened, know that traditional Chinese medicine can help in a big way.
There are four key principles that show the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine:
You can't separate the physical from the energetic
Every part of your body is necessary for the whole. Your body includes your structures, your thoughts, and your emotions. That means we can't separate your low back pain from your fear or your stress from your insomnia. Now I'm not saying that every single physical symptom you have stems from unresolved emotions. Sometimes a sprained ankle is just a sprained ankle. But when your concerns linger and never completely resolve, it is beneficial to address the mental and emotional components to the physical issue. Luckily, acupuncture can promote physical and emotional health without the anguish of talking about your parents!
Weather patterns are reflected in the body
The old practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine observed that weather patterns also showed up in the body. This is why you could have a diagnosis with Wind, Damp, Heat, or Cold. And just like there are different climates, our bodies also have unique climates. You might love the heat, thrive on a plant-based diet, and feel best doing yoga while your friend enjoys the coolness of autumn, feels strongest eating high fat/low carb, and loves high intensity interval training. Both work! And traditional Chinese medicine takes your individual, internal climate into account when coming up with a treatment plan to get your health balanced out.
I also said something else that's super important in traditional Chinese medicine. I said weather patterns. You might feel like you are completely falling apart-- you can't sleep, you start the day tired, you don't digest food very well, you get headaches, and you have a short temper. While it might seem that these are lots of separate issues, in traditional Chinese medicine, these symptoms fit an underlying pattern with a clear method of treatment to get your body back into health.
You were born with a self-healing ability
Our bodies have an incredible capacity to heal itself! Just as nature regenerates, so do we. Most of the time, we do not need any assistance filtering blood, fighting infections, stopping bleeding, or any of the other ways our body protects itself. And the body can heal much more effectively when the process is facilitated by traditional Chinese medicine.
Traditional Chinese medicine will work for everyone, but it's not made for everyone, nor every situation. It will always work when you are able to get the correct number of treatments in the appropriate time frame. It takes patience and persistence for your body to naturally heal itself with the help of traditional Chinese medicine.
Prevention is the best medicine
Your body is constantly talking to you, whether you realize it or not. It sends you messages when something is out of whack. Physical pain, for example, is telling us that our body is being damaged and we need to make an adjustment to heal and prevent it from coming back. Traditional Chinese medicine teaches you to be more aware of your body so that you can be proactive when it calls for your attention.
When working with someone who practices traditional Chinese medicine, we are not just dealing with the relationship between you and your disease. We are dealing with the relationship between you and your world. If you're feeling disheartened, know that traditional Chinese medicine can help in a big way.
There are four key principles that show the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine:
You can't separate the physical from the energetic
Every part of your body is necessary for the whole. Your body includes your structures, your thoughts, and your emotions. That means we can't separate your low back pain from your fear or your stress from your insomnia. Now I'm not saying that every single physical symptom you have stems from unresolved emotions. Sometimes a sprained ankle is just a sprained ankle. But when your concerns linger and never completely resolve, it is beneficial to address the mental and emotional components to the physical issue. Luckily, acupuncture can promote physical and emotional health without the anguish of talking about your parents!
Weather patterns are reflected in the body
The old practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine observed that weather patterns also showed up in the body. This is why you could have a diagnosis with Wind, Damp, Heat, or Cold. And just like there are different climates, our bodies also have unique climates. You might love the heat, thrive on a plant-based diet, and feel best doing yoga while your friend enjoys the coolness of autumn, feels strongest eating high fat/low carb, and loves high intensity interval training. Both work! And traditional Chinese medicine takes your individual, internal climate into account when coming up with a treatment plan to get your health balanced out.
I also said something else that's super important in traditional Chinese medicine. I said weather patterns. You might feel like you are completely falling apart-- you can't sleep, you start the day tired, you don't digest food very well, you get headaches, and you have a short temper. While it might seem that these are lots of separate issues, in traditional Chinese medicine, these symptoms fit an underlying pattern with a clear method of treatment to get your body back into health.
You were born with a self-healing ability
Our bodies have an incredible capacity to heal itself! Just as nature regenerates, so do we. Most of the time, we do not need any assistance filtering blood, fighting infections, stopping bleeding, or any of the other ways our body protects itself. And the body can heal much more effectively when the process is facilitated by traditional Chinese medicine.
Traditional Chinese medicine will work for everyone, but it's not made for everyone, nor every situation. It will always work when you are able to get the correct number of treatments in the appropriate time frame. It takes patience and persistence for your body to naturally heal itself with the help of traditional Chinese medicine.
Prevention is the best medicine
Your body is constantly talking to you, whether you realize it or not. It sends you messages when something is out of whack. Physical pain, for example, is telling us that our body is being damaged and we need to make an adjustment to heal and prevent it from coming back. Traditional Chinese medicine teaches you to be more aware of your body so that you can be proactive when it calls for your attention.
