Sections:

Sometimes it's difficult for us to understand the school of Chinese medicine because we generally view religion and science as being completely polarized. However, in traditional Chinese medicine, the mind, body and universe are all connected and disturbances in the body are seen as manifestations of imbalance. Maybe we're not taking time out to meditate and relax, or we're ingesting all sorts of toxins into the body, or perhaps we've had too much or too little change in our lives that sends our bodies out of harmony.

Many Americans don't realize that traditional Chinese medicines date back nearly 5,000 years, passed down by oral tradition until about 3,000 years ago when people began writing down their findings in ancient texts like "Basic Questions of Internal Medicine" and "A Treatise On Cold Damage." In the 1930s, the Nationalist government forbade doctors from practicing what was then called classic Chinese medicine because they feared missing out on scientific progress.

However, thirty years later, Mao Zedong chose ten highly respected doctors to create a traditional but standardized practice called Traditional Chinese Medicine. Today TCM is taught in all Chinese schools and has even made its way around the world, opening schools in England, the US and Russia.

One of the basic principles of TMC is the Taoist idea of "Yin and Yang." The term is used by the school of Chinese medicine to describe a series of opposites; for example, hot and cold, dark and light or moving and still. Just like the changing of the seasons or the fading of day into night, the body goes through constant motion as well. If the cycle of equilibrium is disrupted and there's an excess of something or deficiency of something, then the body naturally breaks down.

In traditional Chinese medicine, Qigong studies the regulation of movement and breathing. This practice can be performed by anyone, but is most commonly associated with Martial Artists and Buddhists. Progress toward the ultimate goal of cultivating virtue and knowing oneself is achieved through deep relaxation, which acts as a cleansing agent to allow truth, light, joy and healing into the body. In the process, it is believed that one is tapping into a universal energy, according to the school of Chinese medicine. Even people who don't get into the philosophical meanderings of TCM observe a noticeable calming effect and overall fitness improvement.

Traditional Chinese medicine has several more "scientific" procedures. After all, it's not all breathing and thinking! Chinese acupuncture is one of these procedures. People suffering from fibromyalgia, sciatica, tendonitis, headaches, carpal tunnel or other pains can be treated. While having a long needle stuck into certain acupuncture points may not sound desirable, patients say that it doesn't physically hurt more than the usual ache. The more balanced you get over time, the less you feel the needles at all, in fact!

Technorati Tags: Chinese Medicine, Principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine