Ancient Medicine for a Modern World
Oriental medicine is thousands of years old, yet every bit as applicable and effective today. Oriental medicine approaches the human as a whole. It is more than medicine, as medicine denotes that something is wrong. Chinese medicine promotes a lifestyle that is in harmony with nature on all levels: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. When Yin and Yang in the body are in balance, health is predominant. When the Yin and Yang are out of balance, disease occurs. We are constantly striving to stay in balance or to return to a state of harmony.
Lifestyle and diet become increasingly important in order to achieve this equilibrium. In Asia, tai chi and qigong continue to be traditional rituals of daily life. According to the Mayo Clinic, the health benefits from practicing tai chi “include stress reduction, greater balance and increased flexibility.” After doing qigong for even just a short time the practitioner will experience a relaxed body, quiet mind and general feeling of well-being.
The precepts of Oriental medicine come from thousands of years of observing nature, the Universe and the repeating patterns there within. The theory of Yin/Yang and the Five Elements (water, wood, earth, metal, fire) are reflections of the patterns within nature. Just as we notice patterns in nature, “Oriental medicine physicians look at the symptoms, along with other diagnostic methods, to identify patterns of disharmony.” Consider the image of a stagnant pond being like stagnant Qi (energy) in the body. Just as a stagnant pond is unclear and smelly, a person with stagnant Qi is sluggish and unhappy. Many times we even reflect the environment in which we live. That’s why arts such as Feng Shui, which also come from Chinese philosophy, can have such a huge impact on our health and well-being. If a person lives in a cluttered, dusty house they might feel chaotic and stale inside their body, as well. While a person who lives in a simple and comfortable home has less that their body has to deal with and is probably more at peace in their body and spirit.
According to the Yin/Yang theory, everything is related, interdependent, and in opposition with each other. Without dark, there’s no light. Just as without sickness, there is no health. Our bodies need to process dis-ease. This is part of how our organism survives and becomes stronger. We have to rest in order to have energy to be active. According to the Five Elements theory everything is related: colors, emotions, flavors, senses, climates, body parts, and organs. This is one of the precepts for diagnosis in Oriental medicine. Unlike in Western science which uses laboratories and testing techniques requiring biopsy or surgery, the Oriental medicine practitioner can tell from simple observation what is going on inside. “If a patient has a green hue to his complexion, a sour taste in his mouth, and his eyes are bothersome to him in some way, we would look more closely at the Wood element (Liver and Gallbladder).”
Disease can be caused by internal or external factors. External factors, again, are usually related to nature: wind, heat, damp. Internal factors are usually caused by emotions. “Emotions may have an effect on the organ it corresponds with or, conversely, may be an expression of the disease it is a manifestation of. Emotional factors CAN create illness!” This continues to support the Oriental philosophy that everything is related. One cannot separate the physical from the emotional. Emotions even have specific organs to which they are most closely related. The one I find most interesting is that the Lungs are related to grief. I personally feel that in the autumn (the season of the lungs) I often feel sad. Part of it is grieving the end of the warm, activity filled summer, and the beginning of longer and darker days. The rest I cannot explain, it is just part of the cycle. Without sadness, there can be no happiness. So, I try not to let it completely overtake me, but just be with the feeling.
Oriental medicine is timeless, yet ever-evolving. Acupuncturists and Oriental medicine practitioners understand the ebb of the Universe and therefore the constant flow within their patients. There is not a single pill that “cures” everyone with hypertension, for example. Not only will you get a unique treatment from that of other patients with “similar” symptoms, but you will get a different treatment each time you get acupuncture because you’ve changed since your last appointment even if you still have “similar” symptoms. And although you may notice incredible improvement after just one treatment, you will most likely be advised to return for more treatments especially if your symptoms have been chronic. Remember, the goal of Oriental medicine is to return to a state of harmony and wholeness, not to “fix” a problem.
At our school of acupuncture in Austin, Texas, you can study to become an Oriental medicine practitioner. AOMA welcomes applicants demonstrating a high level of personal integrity, an aptitude for graduate level education, and a passion for life-long learning. To answer this call is to enter a holistic, integrative, healthcare professoin. To choose this path is to practice effective, ancient medicine at our school of acupuncture. To study Chinese medicine is to engage yourself in the transformative experience of becoming a healer.