What is traditional Chinese medicine?

TCM is one of the oldest modes of healing treatment which acupuncture and herbal remedies take center stage. The focus of TCM isn’t solely to treat symptoms and ailments, which is how most of us view modern Western medicine. The word medicine itself offers that new-age connotation— we only need it when we are sick.?

However, TCM holds fast to medicinal elements in nature for treating the body and the spirit as a whole. They are for nurturing, fortifying, and averting disease by avoiding and identifying deficiencies and working to maintain optimal health, rather than treating negative symptoms after-the-fact. In this practice, instead of going to the doctor on the rare occasion that something is terribly wrong, one may visit their TCM practitioner more often, or a few times per season to check in and evaluate possibilities of imbalance.

Because of this approach, TCM is centered around the concept of healing, much of which is prevention-based. It’s about tuning into your body, feeling around for the unexpected, and treating ourselves as a radiating, energetic unit rather than a sum of separate parts. This is the ultimate concept of achieving balance, or total harmony, which is how we perceive the modern notion of wellness— TCM arrived there first, holistically.

We Are Holistically Energetic beings

Traditional Chinese Medicine is the very definition of the word holistic. It does this by understanding that the body and all of its organs, systems, fluids, and reactions to lifestyle and outside stimuli are influenced and powered by Qi — which one may see sometimes spelled phonetically like “chi”— otherwise known as our energetic force. This vital energy is responsible for the way we move, operate, function, heal, feel, act, and see the world, and is ultimately depicted in contrasting energies, hence the overarching theme of balance.

YIN YANG

These opposing energies are known as yin and yang. While yin and yang may literally translate into lightness and darkness, it is not so easily defined that way. Were that true, one might conclude that we want more light than dark, assuming that the dark side is negative. This is not so. Through TCM, we strive to achieve an equal balance of both energies for an ideal state of harmonized being.

This is not a comparison of qi preference. While opposite, yin and yang do not exist independently of one another. Day cannot exist without the night, rest cannot exist without a period of wakefulness. These complementary forces pervade not only the human body, but our physical and spiritual realms, as well. We embody both energies at any and all times, however, we can experience a breakdown of our yin and yang equilibrium. This is where TCM comes in.

Five Elements

Another way that TCM understands and breaks down qi in order to draw a direct correlation between us and that of our natural world, is the five element theory. This draws on different elements in nature and the life force that likewise flows through them. While these elements are individual, we embody them all, and that is what creates this earthly balance.

Ancient Chinese philosophers looked to nature to find ways of understanding how we as natural beings are all similar to each other as well as the earth, and it was broken down into these five basic elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. These elements play a vital role in much of Eastern thought, especially TCM, because they can help determine where we are out of balance.?

The 5 elements apply to foods, herbal remedies, and other treatment plans, as they are used to diagnose specific components of imbalance. These elements can correlate to specific organs, or even specific mental states to help dictate a treatment plan that can strengthen a weak element, or sedate an excessive element in order to restore balance in the body, mind, and skin.

While it sounds complex, the basis for Traditional Chinese Medicine is quite simple. It’s about grounding in nature, honoring and embracing what each different season offers us. We don’t let ourselves go, allowing problems to befall us so that we can correct them with medicine and invasive treatment afterwards. We tune inward to connect deeply with our bodies and our energy, and thus, be aware of our lifestyle choices. Prevention is an act of intentional maintenance, a simple act of self love and mindfulness.