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Rethinking Traditional Chinese
Medicine
by mable Cheung
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a
unique system of health care with a history of over 5,000 years in China
and other Asian countries. By honouring the relationship between the
human body and the external environment in order to improve, maintain
and restore health, TCM has formed a system fundamentally different from
that of Western Medicine. This art has been continuously refined through
the clinical experiences of some 200 generations of practitioners. As
well, the ability of TCM to facilitate healing in many diseases and the
effectiveness of its medical treatments is recognized and acknowledge by
the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO believes that TCM and all its
disciplines “[to] be taken seriously as a clinical procedure of
considerable value.”
Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on a
dynamic and holistic understanding of the universe and its energy and
flow. The practice of TCM is based on a paradigm of the body that
focuses mainly on the concept of “Qi”, loosely interpreted or defined as
the vital energy within oneself and its effects on ones physiological
function and health. There are seven types of Qi that exist and it is
the balance of them which keeps our bodies at their optimal health.
Congenital Qi – that which is from
our parents, given to us at birth.
Grain Qi – that which is received
from the foods we eat.
Natural Qi – that which is from the
air we breathe.
Organ Qi – that which functions and
supports organs within our bodies.
Meridian Qi – that which flows
along the channels in the body.
Defensive Qi – that which protects
our body from external disease.
Aggregative Qi – that which
nourishes the lung and heart.
It is important that we all must live in a
way which nourishes our Qi. However, in a busy North American society;
this becomes somewhat difficult. Qi becomes weak and insufficient due to
our daily lifestyles and in turn, is depleted. The depletion of this
vital energy is the root cause of all chronic conditions due to the
exhaustion of the body’s resources over time. Therefore, it is
imperative that Qi be properly nourished so that one may have the energy
to fully participate and find joy in their life.
Traditional Chinese Medicine maintains
health by balancing both internal and external environments. This is to
ensure that Qi and other fundamental substances can flow freely and
nourish one another within our systems. Its broad scope offers healing
methods in a wide range of areas with the help of different disciplines
within TCM. Included are acupuncture, tuina massage, Chinese herbal
therapy, Feng Shui and therapeutic exercises such as tai chi or qi gong.
Understanding Acupuncture
Acupuncture is not, nor has it ever been,
a complete system of medicine in its own right. Acupuncture is one of
the key modalities in the system of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the
“left hand” of a true Chinese Medical Doctor. Over 25 years ago, the
World Health Organization drew up a list of over 40 diseases for which
acupuncture is appropriate therapy. This list consists of diseases
ranging from depression to tinnitus, infertility to stroke, as well as
immune system tonification and addiction cessation.
According to TCM, the inner workings of
our bodies are seen as a delicate balance by the Chinese philosophical
concepts of yin and yang – two opposing, yet inseparable forces. This
concept is best compared to our understanding of day and night, one
continually becoming the other, depending on the other for definition.
Nighttime grows out of daytime and slowly overtakes it. Then, as daytime
approaches, the power of nighttime lessens until daytime takes over the
night. This continuous and inevitable cycle is the same as the yin and
yang phenomena of TCM. Health is achieved by maintaining harmony between
opposing forces in the natural world, therefore, by keeping body in a
“balanced state.” Any disturbance of this natural equilibrium results in
blockage to the flow of Qi and the onset of disease.
The Chinese believe that the practice of
acupuncture began during the Stone Age where stone knives or other sharp
edged tools, described by the Chinese character “Bian”, were used to
puncture and drain abscesses. The modern Chinese character “Bi”, which
represents a disease or pain, is almost certainly derived from the use
of “Bian” stones for the treatment of painful complaints. Throughout
time, these “Bian” stones were refined and replaced with metal needles.
Dating back to 113 BC, these metal needles took the form of the
“Classical Nine Needles”, comprising of an arrowhead needle for
superficial pricking, a round needle for massaging, a blunt needle for
palpating, a three edged needle for puncturing, a sword-like needle for
draining abscesses, a sharp needle for rapid pricking and the most
common one used today – the filliform needle for puncturing acupuncture
points or painful areas of the body.
Initially, there were no “acupuncture
points” on the body. Acupuncture points are without doubt, the end
product of millions of detailed clinical experiences and observations.
The uses of these specific points on the body have shown exceptional
value in treating particular diseases. Over time, acupuncture points
were grouped into a system of channels also referred to as meridians.
Meridian, a word borrowed from geography which indicates a thin line
joining a series of ordered points, is used by the Chinese as channels
in which vital energy circulates throughout the body. There are 12 main
meridians in the body, one assigned to each of the five major organs –
the lung, liver, kidney, heart and stomach, the six bowels – the
gallbladder, small intestine, large intestine, bladder, san jiao and the
heart protector.
Though the meridians cannot be seen with
the human eye, research by Western doctors and scientists have verified
that these channels, ranging from 20-50 millimicrons in diameter, carry
an electro-magnetic field. When needles or pressure is applied to
specific areas, they act as conductors from the external environment
which replenish the body’s energy that has been depleted by disease or
injury.
It is clear that the Chinese have
developed a highly complex and sophisticated system of healing.
Treatments are tailored specifically for the individual and through
diagnostic principles and systems of Chinese Medicine, practitioners are
able to evaluate the root of the imbalance and work to bring the body
back to a harmonious state. Unlike Western medicine, which shuns disease
by treating the symptoms at hand, the aspect which makes Traditional
Chinese Medicine so powerful and successful is that it focuses on the
healing the root and actual cause of the disease. With over 5,000 years
of experience, it is no wonder that Traditional Chinese Medicine has
been adopted within both Western and Eastern cultures to such a degree.
Dr. Mable Cheung is a licensed and
practicing Medical Acupuncturist in Windsor and Detroit. Combine her
expertise in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture for Cosmetic,
Cellulite & Weight Loss Acupuncture. She can be reached at
(519) 252-9228.
http://www.cheungstrading.com/index.php?main_page=index
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