Traditional Chinese Medicine
A Brief Overview

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) began almost 5,000 years ago and offers a different approach to health than Western Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine looks at the body as a whole; every function connects to every other function, and no part or organ works independently. TCM looks at our bodies as part of a larger dynamic or energy influenced by the world around us. Their focus is on maintaining balance in our energy, life, and bodies. This thought basis comes from the philosophy of Taoism. This life force energy, known as chi or qi, travels through the body via meridian pathways. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine are presented alongside each other in Chinese hospitals. Traditional Chinese Medicine is also widely used in the USA through acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

The Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine

• Yin-yang

  Yin and Yang are the two opposing yet complementary forces. The bright and dark sides of an object shape everything around us and in our lives. Everything is in constant motion and forever changing. Yin and yang are the ideas of an interrelationship or balance, that one can not exist without the other. Where there is light, there is darkness. Yin and yang need each other to complete themselves. The healthy human body needs both yin and yang working to be at its optimum. When this relationship between yin and yang is not in balance, there is too little, too much, or stagnating chi, and disease sets in. Yin (feminine) generally refers to the darkness or degeneration, while yang (masculine) refers to the light or progression.
  

• Five Elements

  The Five Elements explain how the body works in relation to the world around us. Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal are the five elements. These five elements are also constantly moving and changing and rely on each other to function correctly. The properties of these five elements refer to the seasons or cycles in nature and the organs and tissues in our bodies. These properties interact with each other, creating complex dynamic links. The five elements have a process in how they function. Each element mutually promotes and restrains the functions of another element. For example, wood generates fire yet controls the earth. You can not develop or promote without controlling or restraining. The movement of all things exists within this relationship. The five elements represent the following within nature and our body:
  

Chinese Herbal Medicine

The Chinese have a pharmacology reference book that is used by practitioners. It contains thousands of different medicinal substances, mostly obtained from plants. The substances within this book are classified by their warming or cooling effects on the body and their taste.

An herb is classified by temperature as hot, warm, cold, neutral, or aromatic and also by its taste: salty, sour, bitter, sweet, or spicy.

The majority of Chinese herbal remedies are combinations of many herbs designed to achieve certain actions throughout the body to influence the yin and yang patterns as well as the controlling and generating patterns of the five elements.

Nature's Sunshine offers Traditional Chinese Medicine Yin Packs (negative) and Yang Packs (positive). Remember, when yang is stronger, the body is hot, and it is easier for those to endure winter. When yin is more vital, the body is cold, making it easier to endure summer. It is when yin is more vital that one knows he is sick.

Remember, yin and yang, as well as the five elements of nature, should remain in balance and work together harmoniously. Ayurvedic Medicine also focuses on balancing systems in their practices.It is the balance of everything that makes us complete; that is why the SOQI Products are so effective. They combine motion energy, thermal energy, and electrical energy to promote balance and the flow of chi. Using the Chi Machine, SOQI Ceramic FIR Dome, E-Power Machine, and Advanced Electro Reflex Energizer.

Written by Mara Gerke CA, CNHP, All Rights Reserved.