Your Road to Health,
Using Traditional Chinese Medicine...
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a comprehensive medical system which focuses on balancing the whole body to obtain harmonious mental, physical, and emotional well being. This system treats a multitude of conditions using a variety of modalities to assess, treat, and provide prognosis. Such techniques include acupuncture, herbal medicine, dietary therapy, and asian bodywork therapy.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture can be described as the art of inserting needles into certain points on the body in order to restore balance. There are pathways, within the body, of vital energy or ‘qi’ that are associated with their own organs and systems. Inserting the fine sterile filiform needles act as a conduit by restoring the natural flow of energy within these pathways, therefore, enabling the patient’s own healing abilities.
Herbs
Within Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is an extensive pharmacopoeia of herbs and natural substances derived from plants, trees, leaves, flowers, seeds, or vegetables, that are designed and prepared to treat specific health conditions or to correct imbalances within the body. Herbal therapy tends to have a slower and more gentle effect on the body than pharmaceutical grade drugs. These properties enable the practitioner to prescribe a tailored formula based on the condition that the patient presents with, their overall constitution, and the patient's lifestyle. There are various methods in which herbs are prescribed, such as raw herbs, pills, granules, and tinctures.
Dietary Therapy
In TCM, the foods we eat are an extremely powerful tool used in restoring and maintaining a harmonious balance within the body. Dietary therapy is used in conjunction with acupuncture and herbal therapy to treat imbalances and disharmonies within the body systems. In addition to the nutritional components of food, TCM looks at other properties, such as color, temperature, taste, and texture. Food should be prepared and eaten within the property guidelines, as well as, according to the individual's body constitution, presenting condition, and lifestyle. Some foods, such as rice, ginger, onions, seeds, etc. are used as herbal therapy, as well!
Asian Bodywork Therapy
Bodywork therapy can involve some form of touching, energetic work, hot/cold therapies, or physical manipulation, such as active and passive stretching of the body. Some examples of Asian Bodywork are Tui Na and Shiatsu. Therapies, such as these, are used to restore and maintain balance within the body by stimulating certain points and areas on the body, in accordance with the individual's body constitution, presenting condition, and lifestyle. Used in conjunction with the other modalities that encompass TCM, as mentioned above, is extremely beneficial to the individual's healing process and their personal development.
Cupping, Gua Sha, and Moxibustion
These therapies can be used in conjunction with the TCM modalities listed above, to treat imbalances and disharmonies within the body systems according to the individual's body constitution, presenting condition, and lifestyle.
Cupping
Cupping is a method, within TCM, that uses cups (glass, bamboo, or plastic) to remove stagnation from the body, by creating a vacuum next to the skin. The suction that is created allows the stagnation to be released and facilitates the free flow of 'qi.' This method can produce markings on the body that typically fade within several days. It is an excellent way to treat musculoskeletal pain, such as neck, shoulder, or back pain. In addition to relieving muscular pain, cupping also addresses respiratory ailments, such as the common cold, bronchitis, and pneumonia.
Gua Sha
Gua Sha is a method which stimulates the skin and circulation, by using an smooth surfaced object, such as a chinese soup spoon, and stroking it against the skin. This stroking method can produce small red spots, called sha, that often fade within several days. Similarly to cupping, gua sha is used to treat a variety of disorders, such as musculoskeletal pain, respiratory ailments, fatigue, decreased circulation and much more.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is method which uses mugwort herb, artemsia vulgaris, to treat a variety of conditions. Moxa is a way of applying heat directly or indirectly to areas of the body to promote blood circulation, increase warmth, and to enable the free flow of 'qi.' This method is particularly good for chronic conditions, weaknesses, treating the elderly, women's disorders, arthritis, etc.
