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"Chinese Medicine is a system of preserving health and curing
disease that treats the mind, body, and spirit as a whole. It's goal
is to maintain or restore harmony and balance in all parts of the
human being and also between the whole human being and the
surrounding environment.....It gives one the opportunity to live in
harmony and to maintain wholeness......It is designed to be
integrated into everyday life." -Dr. Misha Ruth Cohen
The Foundation of theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is
grounded in several concepts, one however stands out above the rest.
The theory of Yin/Yang is said to be the basis for all TCM
physiology, pathology, and treatment. The theory of Yin/Yang as well
as that of Qi energy have been at the root of TCM for thousands of
years. Yin and Yang are represented as a symbol that may be
equated by many to balance. Traditionally Yin/Yang have more
significance than just balance. In TCM Yin/Yang is as fundamentally
important as blood and bones. It is an entity, force, magnetism, a
deep seated quality that lives within the body as Qi energy
(pronounced "Chee")- the life force. Allopathic Medicine,
Chiropractic Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine all have names for this
energy: vix medicatrix naturae, innate intelligence, and Prana
consecutively. Qi gives us vitality, health, and quality of life.
With no Qi we die, with deficient or imbalanced Qi we are ill,
diseased, or functioning less than perfectly. With balanced Qi we
are maximally functional and likewise maximally healthy. TCM
offers noninvasive, safe treatment for a wide variety of illnesses.
Acupuncture alone has been shown to cure or treat more than 300
diseases according to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.
Chronicle No. 34, 1980). Other modalities in TCM increase that
number dramatically. |
