Traditional Chinese medicine

[Lori Anne]

I have decided to go back to school.  I only made this decision a few days ago, kind of spur of the moment, but it feels right.  everything feels right, the timing, the direction.  This is the right road for me and probably one I have been heading toward for a long, long time.  I will be taking traditional Chinese medicine.  That's as far as I have decided yet, not sure which school I will be going to or even which province I'll be living in.  But for now, until I make more concrete decisions, I will be researching as much as I can.  I am very excited about this!


From what I have learned already TCM encompases many of the things I am very passionate about, energy, healing, herbology etc.  Also I'll learn accupuncture and many other cool traditional chinese healing arts such as massage.
Kris has already touched upon part of this, Qi-gong.
And the five element theory is also of great interest to me as it closely, but not completley aligns to what I have learned instinctively about healing.

A brief article for anyone who is interested.

Introduction to TCM
 

With a history of 2000 to 3000 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has formed a unique system to diagnose and cure illness. The TCM approach is fundamentally different from that of Western medicine. In TCM, the understanding of the human body is based on the holistic understanding of the universe as described in Daoism, and the treatment of illness is based primarily on the diagnosis and differentiation of syndromes.

The TCM approach treats zang--fu organs as the core of the human body. Tissue and organs are connected through a network of channels and blood vessels inside human body. Qi (or Chi) acts as some kind of carrier of information that is expressed externally through jingluo system. Pathologically, a dysfunction of the zang-fu organs may be reflected on the body surface through the network, and meanwhile, diseases of body surface tissues may also affect their related zang or fu organs. Affected zang or fu organs may also influence each other through internal connections. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment starts with the analysis of the entire system, then focuses on the correction of pathological changes through readjusting the functions of the zang-fu organs.

Evaluation of a syndrome not only includes the cause, mechanism, location, and nature of the disease, but also the confrontation between the pathogenic factor and body resistance. Treatment is not based only on the symptoms, but differentiation of syndromes. Therefore, those with an identical disease may be treated in different ways, and on the other hand, different diseases may result in the same syndrome and are treated in similar ways.

The clinical diagnosis and treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine are mainly based on the yin-yang and five elements theories. These theories apply the phenomena and laws of nature to the study of the physiological activities and pathological changes of the human body and its interrelationships. The typical TCM therapies include acupuncture, herbal medicine, and qigong exercises. With acupuncture, treatment is accomplished by stimulating certain areas of the external body. Herbal medicine acts on zang-fu organs internally, while qigong tries to restore the orderly information flow inside the network through the regulation of Qi. These therapies appear very different in approach yet they all share the same underlying sets of assumptions and insights in the nature of the human body and its place in the universe. Some scientists describe the treatment of diseases through herbal medication, acupuncture, and qigong as an "information therapy".

http://www.tcmpage.com/


Wish me luck!

[Lori Anne]

The Theory of Yin-Yang
 

The philosophical origins of Chinese medicine have grown out of the tenets of Daoism (also known as Taoism). Daoism bases much of its thinking on observing the natural world and manner in which it operates, so it is no surprise to find that the Chinese medical system draws extensively on natural metaphors. In Chinese medicine, the metaphoric views of the human body based on observations of nature are fully articulated in the theory of �Yin-Yang� and the system of �Five Elements�.

The direct meanings of yin and yang in Chinese are bright and dark sides of an object. Chinese philosophy uses yin and yang to represent a wider range of opposite properties in the universe: cold and hot, slow and fast, still and moving, masculine and feminine, lower and upper, etc. In general, anything that is moving, ascending, bright, progressing, hyperactive, including functional disease of the body, pertains to yang. The characteristics of stillness, descending, darkness, degeneration, hypo-activity, including organic disease, pertain to yin.

The function of yin and yang is guided by the law of unity of the opposites. In other words, yin and yang are in conflict but at the same time mutually dependent. The nature of yin and yang is relative, with neither being able to exist in isolation. Without "cold" there would be no "hot"; without "moving" there would be no "still"; without "dark", there would be no "light". The most illustrative example of yin-yang interdependence is the interrelationship between substance and function. Only with ample substance can the human body function in a healthy way; and only when the functional processes are in good condition, can the essential substances be appropriately refreshed.

The opposites in all objects and phenomena are in constant motion and change: The gain, growth and advance of the one mean the loss, decline and retreat of the other. For example, day is yang and night is yin, but morning is understood as being yang within yang, afternoon is yin within yang, evening before midnight is yin within yin and the time after midnight is yang within yin. The seed (Yin) grows into the plan (Yang), which itself dies back to the earth (Yin). This takes place within the changes of the seasons. Winter (Yin) transforms through the Spring into Summer (Yang), which in turn transforms through Autumn into Winter again. Because natural phenomena are balanced in the constant flux of alternating yin and yang, the change and transformation of yin-yang has been taken as a universal law.

Traditional Chinese medicine holds that human life is a physiological process in constant motion and change. Under normal conditions, the waxing and waning of yin and yang are kept within certain bounds, reflecting a dynamic equilibrium of the physiological processes. When the balance is broken, disease occurs. Typical cases of disease-related imbalance include excess of yin, excess of yang, deficiency of yin, and deficiency of yang.

http://www.tcmpage.com/yin-yang.html

[Echo of paws]

I went to a Chinese Doctor last year. There is so much to learn here too and I think it is a good subject. I approached as a patient, rather than as someone who wanted to be a student. I thought it would be worth while and of interest to go and get a diognostic from the doctor on my own health. What he did was ask a long set of questions and take different pulses in different parts of my forearms. The pulses related to the organs of my body. He highlighted 2 of my organs that could do with strengthening and suggested working on the 1st and then after some times working on the second one. I mentioned some of my own interests and that I actively meditate. He strongly encouraged me to continue with my meditation practices.

I'm not sure if you have a Doctor near to you that practices it, but it might be interesting to go along as a patient to see a) what he/ she diognoses and b) the process.

[songbird]

We do have a doc nearby, yes.  And actually one of the prerequisites of the program I am looking at is to get a clean bill of health from a TCM practitioner ( I think a reg doc would do as well). I think you are right, it would be interesting and beneficial to my studies and just in general.  I love this stuff, it's ll so exciting and totally what I am passionate about.  Herbs, energy, healing etc.  I think Kris has some (extensive?) knowledge on this subject.  perhaps he would be willing to share some time.

[Echo of paws]

When I was visiting the Doc he told me that I should work on my Kidneys. I have been getting some powdered mix of various dry plants that he makes up for me. It isn't so cheap so i do it only when I can. He sad that after this has been reveiwed he would lke me to do the same for my liver. These were the pulses he read from me that were weakest.

[songbird]

Dan,
there are many many herbs that you can buy yourself and take, either as teas or tinctures that will support both kidneys and liver.  Dried herbs from the herbal store are usually fairly cheap. Do  you have an herbal store near you?  Maybe I can help you get something useful for not much money.

[songbird]

Just off the top of my head (though I am planning to check my book for you) I know that celery and pumpkin seeds are very good for kidneys.  As are parsely and/or cilantro.

[Lori Anne]

*Point Location Index
For reference, the body parts referred to when a specific point location is mentioned in healing:


· ST 36 – on the outside of the shin, 4 finger-breadths below the lower border of the kneecap
· SP 6 – immediately behind the shin bone, 4 finger-breadths above the tip of the inner ankle bone (malleolus)
· PC 6 – in the centre of the inner forearm, 2.5 finger-breadths from the wrist crease
· CV 12 – on the midline of the abdomen, midway between the umbilicus and the lower border of the breastbone
· LI 4 – on the back of the hand, in the thick, tender flesh between the thumb and the forefinger
· Yin Tang – above the nose, in between the eyebrows
· LI 11 – on the outside edge of the elbow crease when the arm is bent as in a sling
· LU 5 – on the elbow crease, immediately to the outside of the prominent tendon that appears when the arm is flexed
· SP 10 – on the thigh, approximately 2.5 finger-breadths above the top, inner corner of the kneecap
· LU 9 – on the inner forearm, on the end of the wrist crease at the base of the thumb
· LU 10 – on the palm of the hand, on the fat pad of the thumb, adjacent to the hand bone of the thumb

[Lori Anne]

Lung Meridian Index

Lung 1, 2,  3, 4,  5,  6, 7, 8,  9, 10,  11


Large Intestine Meridian Index



The rest are found here:
http://acupuncture.com/education/points/index.htm

[Zamurito]

I miss the study of Meridians...I'll need to get my notes out.  We had them all memorized at one time...but if you don't use it, you lose it.

z

[Lori Anne]

I miss the study of Meridians...I'll need to get my notes out.  We had them all memorized at one time...but if you don't use it, you lose it.

z

Ooooh, if you have notes in a form that could be shared somehow I would love it!
This fascinates me!

[Zamurito]

Ok.

Trouble with this is that I have my chicken scratch all over the curiculum

As I'm an Alum, I can go back to school and see if I can get you clean copies.

z

[songbird]

Ok.

Trouble with this is that I have my chicken scratch all over the curiculum

As I'm an Alum, I can go back to school and see if I can get you clean copies.

z

I'd love you forever!
 

[Sano Mor]

juniper berry...parsley...uva ursi...dandelion root...milk thistle...
bitter herbs and herbs high in silica like horsetail
magnolia herb extract
looking forward to all those yummy chinese herb lists Lori !
i love the descriptions they give the combinations
saw one the other day that went something like....8 combination for man with black hair and weak pecker
err...sommit like that...i'll look it up...ahem

[Lori Anne]

juniper berry...parsley...uva ursi...dandelion root...milk thistle...
bitter herbs and herbs high in silica like horsetail
magnolia herb extract
looking forward to all those yummy chinese herb lists Lori !
i love the descriptions they give the combinations
saw one the other day that went something like....8 combination for man with black hair and weak pecker
err...sommit like that...i'll look it up...ahem

That is very interesting.  I wonder, who wrote the 'weak pecker' scale?