7 Essential Concepts of Traditional Chinese Alternative Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine - Alternative Medicine or Ancient Wisdom?

Traditional Chinese Medicine (also called TCM) is the term given to a wide variety of treatments from various locations across Asia. While considered an alternative therapy in Western countries, it's a long-standing and widely accepted medical practice in many Asian countries. But what exactly is TCM?

The Simplest Definition

Traditional Chinese Medicine is all about balance. It's likewise a comprehensive approach, treating the psyche, body and soul as interlaced. Any one part of a complete organism that gets out of balance - in both the physical and meta-physical sense - and illness will occur.

It gets it's roots in the yinyang theory (which has been absorbed by Taoism). Yinyang theory is again all about balance. It states that all phenomena in the universe can be divided into two opposite yet complementary parts. Some familiar examples might be female/male, cold/hot, moon/sun, light/dark and so forth. In the strictest sense, neither is good or bad, but instead both are parts of the whole. Traditional Chinese Medicine is meant to maintain balance and maintain health in the process.

So What Kinds of Treatments Can I Expect from Chinese Medicine?

As a holistic therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine includes a surprising array of treatments. Here are just a few:

Herbal medicine- This includes the use of herbs, roots, mushrooms and other natural products for their medicinal value. There are home grown medications to treat for all intents and purposes sickness and condition known to therapeutic science, and even some that aren't.

Acupuncture- This is the practice of inserting needles - very thin ones - into certain points along the body. Customary needle therapy takes after the meridian lines specified before, yet present day experts are adding their own particular turn to their techniques. Acupuncture is commonly used for chronic pain, psychological disorders, or other nervous-system disorders. It's more devout supporters will recommend it for just about anything else, too.

Cupping- Cupping is an unusual form of massage/detoxification. This requires special glass cups which have the air inside heated by a flame or smoke. While still warm inside, they are placed on the back where they then suck up the skin into the cup. Some of the more modern clinic also use cups with pumps installed. Meant to cleanse the body of toxins, it's not recommended if you plan to go to the beach: it leaves great big red circles all down your back!

Gua sha- Another unusual treatment, gua sha is the process of rubbing the skin with smooth bits of jade, stone, bone or tusk. It's not a gentle treatment, often resulting in painful bruising or red marks on the skin. It's believed therapeutic use is quite broad, however, as it is be used for everything from hot weather to cholera. Not a treatment for those with a low pain threshold!

Physical and Breathing exercises - Traditional Chinese Medicine also encourages its practitioners/patients to engage in healthy exercise. For the flow and balance of qi, however, only the right exercises will do. Taichi, qigong, yoga, meditation and martial arts are all considered excellent exercises within Traditional Chinese Medicine, as is meditation and various breathing exercises.

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Is Traditional Chinese Medicine Safe?

Traditional Chinese Medicine is... medicine. That means that if used correctly, it can have great therapeutic value. But like any medicine used incorrectly, it can be dangerous. Always consult health care professionals before starting any new treatment.

Traditional Chinese Medicine has the additional hazard of being less regulated. Scams and con artists abound, so it's as important to check credentials as carefully as any other healthcare professional you see. Also, this lack of regulation means that many Chinese medical practices are largely untested by the scientific community. This means that the therapies can range from beneficial, to useless, or even to harmful. Again, care and common sense should be your guide.

Is Traditional Chinese Medicine for Me?

Put simply: maybe. Between drug recalls, doctor errors, and skyrocketing medical costs, many people are turning to alternative therapies. They can benefit a patient in many ways. For some people, however, it may not be the best choice. For those with serious conditions such as cancer or acute conditions like appendicitis, Western medicine still has a better track record. However, it doesn't mean these treatments can't be supplemented with Traditional Chinese Medicine for even greater effect. Ultimately, the choice is up to you and your healthcare plan.

7 Essential Concepts of Traditional Chinese Alternative Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine is the foundation for which homeopathic medicine around the world is based. While Western modern medicines have helped heal disease, traditional Chinese medicine goes a step further, working to analyze the whole body and whole person to prevent disease before it occurs.

Alternative Asian medicine has seven basic concepts which outline its practice. I'll explore them in basic detail give you a better understanding of these concepts and how they work to promote overall health and well-being.

Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang works on an idea of opposing energies and the different gradations between them.  A relative concept, something is always yin or yang to something else. Yin and Yang forces are seen at work throughout the world as well as within the human body. Take, for example, the idea of hot and cold. Hot and cold weather are extremes of one another, and the varying temperatures in between are various levels of hot and cold.

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Qi/Chi - Our Vital Force

Qi (articulated and regularly composed as chi) alludes to the key power of the body. It's often mis-understood to mean "spirit" or "soul" when it fact, it's more like an energetic blood that flows through the body. It courses through the body along the meridian lines, and through different channels.

Qi energy is potential energy that is within all living things, including plants, insects and humans. Qi quality in an individual decides our vivacity and is the impetus for every single real process. It's Qi energy that moves the blood, which in turn nourishes our organs that in turn produce more Qi. Guarding and nourishing your Qi energy is the most significant step you can take to protect your health.

The details of qi alone can be a lifetime study, and it's far beyond the scope of this article. All you truly need to know is this: qii s a vitality that moves through the body and it's vital to Chinese prescription.

Blood and 3 Treasures: Jing, Qi & Shen

Moist, nourishing and fluid, blood represents the cooling processes in the body that work with Qi energy to maintain optimal fitness and well being. "Jing" essence is the energy we're born with, and it works with Qi energy to determine our basic constitution. Shen (Mind or Spirit) resides within our Heart and imbalances within the Heart lead to problems such as anxiety, restlessness or confusion.

Twelve Organs

All of our organs possess a specific set of functions which keep us in tip-top shape. In traditional Chinese Medicine, each organ possesses even more than those specific functions; they all have certain meridians, areas of the body they control and acupuncture points along those specifically designated meridians.

There are four types of organs in Chinese herbal medicine. Fu, or hollow organs, are the small and large intestines, the stomach, the bladder and the gall bladder. Zang organs are solid organs, and they include the heart, liver, spleen, kidneys and lungs. The Triple Heater or San Jiao controls the distribution of heat and water in the body, and the Pericardium protects the outer layer of the Heart.

The Five Elements: Fire, Earth, Metal, Wood, Water

The Five Elements simply provide an alternative means of describing natural energies, and are used to describe the body as well as our environment. Each element has control over a particular body function, and is associated with a flavor, color, direction, season, direction and plenty of other aspects. They can even be attached to body and personality types.

The Eight Principles

The Eight Principles or Eight Conditions are a medical concept which expand upon the Yin - Yang system, and further allows things a clearer definition. Composed of four sets of opposites  - hot/cold, full/empty, interior/exterior, yin/yang - symptoms of medical conditions can be defined using one or more pairs of these properties.

Dampness

Dampness is one of the main causes of disharmony in traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Dampness happens when fluids within our body aren't properly managed. Just like water can flood a basement and create flood damage, fluid leakages in the body can also create turmoil. Dampness in the body, like Phlegm, becomes thick and stagnant, which causes blockage and buildup in our lungs, further worsening the illness.

Fast Effective Weight Loss and Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine is exceptionally helpful in balancing problems in the body modern medicine cannot. Of these, obesity is one of the most well-known ailments people use Chinese herbal remedies to cure.