Traditional Chinese Medicine
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People are a part of nature. They are like gardens. Doctors are then the gardeners who cultivate life. This is what is believed in traditional Chinese medicine.
People are like excellent, hardworking machines. Doctors are then mechanics who work only on the sick parts and do occasional routine check ups. This is what is understood in conventional Western medicine. |
Something you should know before reading about TCM: The people in China today, now practice a variety of health therapies, including conventional 'Western' medical treatments. In many places of China, both Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicines are available to choose from. I will only be discussing what is known as Traditional Chinese Medicine below, according to what I learned in my college course (aka the very basics). Even though how Traditional Medicines are explained may not be proven by science or well understood in Western culture, or may not even be 100% correct (who knows for sure anyway?), by using these explanations this medicine does often times have the desired effect on the individual's health. This ancient form of healing is still used today by people and animals all over the world, because it is successful in many places that modern medicine is not. Despite our lack of understanding, we should be open-minded (although not falsely over enthusiastic either) and respectful of other's traditions. No single form of treatment is right for everyone or every type of disease; we should embrace the options and different, as well as possibly complementary, treatments.
Basic Principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM):
-Qi: This the life force, energy, or animating force, that runs through the body and around the body. When qi is in harmony, the body is healthy and strong. Disease is then seen as disharmony in the flow of this life force.
There are five main functions of qi in the body according to TCM practitioners: 1. It is the source of all movement in the body and accompanies the movement (ex. blood flow and moving joints). 2. Qi protects the body (wei qi is defensive qi). 3. It is the source of harmonious transformation (ex. food transformed into nutrients). 4. Qi ensures stability (provides support) and governs retention (without qi, things prolapse or leak out). 5. Qi warms the body.
Qi will be discussed more later, as it is a major concept to how TCM is believed to work.
-Meridians: These are the invisible pathways that qi flows throughout the body and where acupuncturists will place their needles. There are 12 MAJOR meridians in the body (six of them are yin and six are yang. I will write the yin first in each pair grouping). These include the Lung & Large Intestine (arm channels), Spleen & Stomach (leg channels), Heart & Small Intestine (arm channels), Kidney & Urinary Bladder (leg channels), Pericardium & Triple Burner/Heater (which is just a region in the body. Those are both arm channels), and Liver & Gallbladder (leg channels).
https://theory.yinyanghouse.com/acupuncturepoints/locations_theory_and_clinical_applications This is an excellent resource for info and studies on acupuncture, as well as to discover what each point does and where it is located.
-Yin & Yang: Everything can be divided into either yin and yang (infinite times) and cannot exist without the other. Yin literally means the dark side of the slope, while yang is the sunny side. Yin represents female, dark, cold, full, fruit, water, rest, and deep (in relation to its yang counterpart). Yang represents male, light, heat, emptiness, fire, activity, and the surface. Now having said this, nothing is completely yin or completely yang. For example, an apple is said to be a yin food because it is a fruit, but the color red or yellow is a yang color, and the seed inside the apple is yang. The nutrients of the apple is yin, but the delivery of those nutrients into the body is yang. The inside of the apple can always be further divided into the deepest part always being more yin than the shallower parts. They are always in relation to each other. So hey! What does this have to do with TCM? According to TCM, these interactions of polar opposites are what keep everything in balance. Cycling between yin and yang is a normal process, but being chronically stuck in too much of one or the other leads to disease. Death is seen as the complete separation of yin and yang.
-Blood according to TCM: Blood is seen as the densest form of qi, and qi from the food we eat mixed with the air we breathe then creates blood. Practitioners would say you can nourish the blood, by toning the qi (this will be discussed further later). Blood is responsible for moistening and nourishing the body (especially the hair, tendons, and eyes).
-Essence (Jing): This is what distinguishes life from inorganic matter (and no I don't mean you Carbon). Essence is what is responsible for reproduction (passing on your genes) and longevity. It is mainly passed on from your parents at conception, but you can also get it from the food you eat and air you breathe.
-Spirit (Shen): This is the spirit. TCM breaks this down into 5 parts (animals have some of the parts, but only humans have all 5 parts). Spirit transcends time and space; it is immaterial. Usually, to treat the spirit, TCM would treat the heart, but other types of spirit lies in other parts of the body as well.
-Qi: This the life force, energy, or animating force, that runs through the body and around the body. When qi is in harmony, the body is healthy and strong. Disease is then seen as disharmony in the flow of this life force.
There are five main functions of qi in the body according to TCM practitioners: 1. It is the source of all movement in the body and accompanies the movement (ex. blood flow and moving joints). 2. Qi protects the body (wei qi is defensive qi). 3. It is the source of harmonious transformation (ex. food transformed into nutrients). 4. Qi ensures stability (provides support) and governs retention (without qi, things prolapse or leak out). 5. Qi warms the body.
Qi will be discussed more later, as it is a major concept to how TCM is believed to work.
-Meridians: These are the invisible pathways that qi flows throughout the body and where acupuncturists will place their needles. There are 12 MAJOR meridians in the body (six of them are yin and six are yang. I will write the yin first in each pair grouping). These include the Lung & Large Intestine (arm channels), Spleen & Stomach (leg channels), Heart & Small Intestine (arm channels), Kidney & Urinary Bladder (leg channels), Pericardium & Triple Burner/Heater (which is just a region in the body. Those are both arm channels), and Liver & Gallbladder (leg channels).
https://theory.yinyanghouse.com/acupuncturepoints/locations_theory_and_clinical_applications This is an excellent resource for info and studies on acupuncture, as well as to discover what each point does and where it is located.
-Yin & Yang: Everything can be divided into either yin and yang (infinite times) and cannot exist without the other. Yin literally means the dark side of the slope, while yang is the sunny side. Yin represents female, dark, cold, full, fruit, water, rest, and deep (in relation to its yang counterpart). Yang represents male, light, heat, emptiness, fire, activity, and the surface. Now having said this, nothing is completely yin or completely yang. For example, an apple is said to be a yin food because it is a fruit, but the color red or yellow is a yang color, and the seed inside the apple is yang. The nutrients of the apple is yin, but the delivery of those nutrients into the body is yang. The inside of the apple can always be further divided into the deepest part always being more yin than the shallower parts. They are always in relation to each other. So hey! What does this have to do with TCM? According to TCM, these interactions of polar opposites are what keep everything in balance. Cycling between yin and yang is a normal process, but being chronically stuck in too much of one or the other leads to disease. Death is seen as the complete separation of yin and yang.
-Blood according to TCM: Blood is seen as the densest form of qi, and qi from the food we eat mixed with the air we breathe then creates blood. Practitioners would say you can nourish the blood, by toning the qi (this will be discussed further later). Blood is responsible for moistening and nourishing the body (especially the hair, tendons, and eyes).
-Essence (Jing): This is what distinguishes life from inorganic matter (and no I don't mean you Carbon). Essence is what is responsible for reproduction (passing on your genes) and longevity. It is mainly passed on from your parents at conception, but you can also get it from the food you eat and air you breathe.
-Spirit (Shen): This is the spirit. TCM breaks this down into 5 parts (animals have some of the parts, but only humans have all 5 parts). Spirit transcends time and space; it is immaterial. Usually, to treat the spirit, TCM would treat the heart, but other types of spirit lies in other parts of the body as well.