What is Chinese Medicine?

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Chinese medicine is an ancient medical system based on thousands of years of observation of the human body and how Qi, or energy, flows through it, affecting one's physical health and emotional state. Mind-body-spirit must all be in harmony and balance and Qi must flow smoothly for optimal health. Although scientific instruments are not currently able to measure or visualize Qi, Chinese medicine practitioners are highly trained to assess the state of your mind-body-spirit's energy and health through the signs and symptoms that it sends to you. 

 

Chinese medicine can be used in conjunction with modern Western medicine to optimize treatment efficacy, or by itself to help address any health condition. Integrative medicine is a new, exciting frontier in which Chinese medicine can help to mitigate side effects of chemo or radiation, drug therapies, speed recovery from surgery, optimize in vitro fertility treatments, address menopausal symptoms from hormone therapy, and so much more.

 

Modalities of Chinese medicine include:

 

• Acupuncture

• Herbal therapy

• Qigong and Taiji (tai chi)

• Tui Na (Chinese massage)

• Cupping, moxa and gua sha

• Medical Qigong (similar to Reiki)

• Eastern Nutrition

• Lifestyle mind-body interventions

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These modalities can all help to quickly, safely, and effectively address any symptoms or issues you might be experiencing. 

 

One key tenet of Chinese medicine is prevention, as much and as early as possible. To this end, Chinese medicine practitioners rigorously observe and address even the smallest signs of imbalance in the body and its organ systems. Chronic, annoying symptoms like pain, headaches, PMS, allergies, hot flashes, even skin rashes or vision issues, are all signs that it's time to realign and harmonize mind-body-spirit.

 

Left untreated and dismissed as simply being part of the modern human condition, these symptoms will eventually progress into conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, major depression, and other diseases. Not to worry; these are but communications from your body to change your life and beliefs. Disease cannot exist when we live in and create the natural state of joy and well-being we came to this earth to experience. 

 

Chinese medicine takes all facets of your health, your life, into consideration when diagnosing and treating conditions. This includes emotional, spiritual, as well as physical health. We look at how your emotional health affects your physical health, and vice versa. Why? Everything interconnected through energy and everything is, at the subatomic level, energy waves. Even modern quantum physics agrees with this basic principle of natural law. The most important thing to remember is that our thoughts and emotions are powerful energetically -- capable of affecting your physical body, which is really an the energetic manifestation of your internal state of being. 

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What is Qi? 

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Qi is energy. Qi is your life-force that connects you back to the Source of all being, the energy of the Universe. Qi runs through a network of channels or acupuncture meridians that are not unlike a subway system. These meridians connect your internal organs to the external environment and nature, relaying what is going on outside to your insides and vice versa - at a rate faster than the speed of light. Your meridians relay this information to your body, for example, to help it adjust to the seasons, the weather, even to a stressful or toxic environment. So Qi is not just energy, but it also is information. 

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Qi relays information to you about your organs and your internal state of balance within your body. For example, if there is an imbalance or low energy in your Lung organ, your Lung meridian will communicate this by causing you to cough or sneeze. Signs and symptoms are not just limited to physical manifestations, however; sometimes the communication comes in the form of emotional symptoms. 

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Last but not least, Qi provides the link between your thoughts, emotions, your spirit and your body, integrating mind-body-spirit. Everything is energy. Qi translates the energy of your thoughts into how you create your physical reality. "Thoughts become things" or "You are what you think" are popular philosophical sayings that emphasize that everything begins with the energy of your beliefs and what you focus your thoughts upon. What you manifest in your body, your life, depends on how much time and focus you spend on various thoughts you have daily.

 

Your emotional and physical guidance system provides a way for you to feel how aligned your thoughts are with your true desires and spirit. If you constantly think about things that don't bring you true joy and happiness, you'll feel it emotionally, instantly, as a negative emotion, or as an uncomfortable physical symptom. Pay attention to how your feel, for your emotions indicate if you're truly happy with the reality you are constantly creating.