ABOUT ORIENTAL MEDICINE

The science of medicine in ancient China sought to discover what causes longevity and good health. Interestingly ancient medical texts show that the Chinese were aware of infectious disease long before the West. However they were intrigued by the fact that though several people may be exposed to the same germs (an attack of ‘evil qi’) not all of the people got sick. Seeking to understand why some would get sick and others would not led to the development of a very sophisticated medical model of how qi is produced and transformed in the body through the functioning of the various organs and channels through which the qi flows. They discovered that health is promoted when the energies of the various organs and channels are in balance with each other and when the body responds appropriately to environmental factors. The methods used in Oriental Medicine, such as acupuncture, tui-na, cupping, moxibustion, herbs, and the rest; are designed to affect the qi, yin or yang in the body to bring about the balance and free flow of qi that is necessary for good health.

WHAT IS YIN, YANG AND QI?

Yin and yang are the names given to the basic duality that we perceive in life. Everything in the world can be divided into yin or yang: up is yang, down is yin, out is yang, in is yin, hot is yang, cold is yin, movement is yang, stillness is yin. Thus we, and the world, are made of yin and yang. Yin transforms into yang and yang transforms into yin. There are times when yin is more abundant and times when yang is more abundant in the body, but they should always balance one another and the transition is best when it is smooth.

Qi has been loosely defined as energy, but it is actually the interaction of yin and yang. It is the process through which transformation is made and it is the potential for transformation. As such qi is not truly definable, but we see how it functions in the body. Qi functions in many different ways because transformations occur in many different ways. Thus in the Oriental medical model qi has different names according to how it is functioning. There is defensive qi that protects us from the influences in the environment that would cause harm. There is gu qi that is the qi derived from food and da qi which is derived from the air we breath. There are various organ qi and channel qi. But it is all qi. Just like the ocean, a pond, a river and a cloud are all water. We know how a river flows into the ocean or how a pond may evaporate to become a cloud. Oriental Medicine discerns the transformation of one kind of qi to another and how that transformation changes the balance of yin and yang. Much like water, qi runs in channels throughout the body. Each channel is associated with a particular organ which aids the organ to perform its function in the transformative process of yin to yang and yang to yin that is life.

In simple terms, the various modalities of treatment used in Oriental Medicine affect the qi, yin or yang to bring the body back into balance to promote good health. To learn more about how each particular modality works and what it can do for you see the separate pages (About Acupuncture, About Tui-Na Massage, About Herbs, About Cupping, About Moxibustion, About Gua Sha, About Auricular Acupuncture, About Lifestyle, Diet and Qigong).