About Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine is a form of healthcare with a several thousand year history. Chinese medicine uses the theory of Yin and Yang and the theory of Wu Xing to explain the mechanism of balancing the function of the body. While the direct meanings of yin and yang in Chinese are positive and brightness versus negative and darkness, Chinese philosophy uses yin and yang to represent a wider range of opposite forces that are complementary and contradictory that cannot exist without each other. Together, the yin and yang make up the life energy, called “Qi”. Qi is a type of energy that flows through the body through invisible sets of pathways called meridians. The theory of Yin and Yang is fundamental to the practice of TCM, where the most ba
There are 8 limbs or branches that comprise the medicine. They represent areas that one should focus on to achieve and maintain physical, spiritual and emotional health. The limbs are listed hierarchically to emphasize their importance to our daily lives. They are: meditation & mindful breathing, diet, exercise, feng shui, astrology, body work, acupuncture, and herbs.
In addition to acupuncture, my treatments involve dietary advice, exercise, body work, as well as offer suggestions on meditation and mindful breathing and discuss the impact that one’s physical and social surrounding (Feng Shui) can have. Rooted in Daoist philosophy and observations of nature, Chinese medicine provides an ancient outlook on today's modern problems.
How Does Acupuncture Work?
Illness is not an isolated event, but a symptom of dysfunction within the whole person. Each of your 37 trillion cells are hardwired to perform specific functions and to communicate with the environment around it. The meridian system communicates with every cell in your body. Acupuncture is the insertion of thin, metal needles to stimulate specific points of the body that reach meridians. These stimulation points are called acupuncture points or acupoints. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that there are 365 commonly used acupuncture points on 20 meridians on the human body. Typically, it takes 15 to 30 minutes of manipulating the needles in these acupuncture points and 30 to 60 minutes of retaining the needles. By doing so, it regulates the flow of Qi throughout the body and restore health to the mind and body, thus balancing the yin and yang. The insertions of needles are manipulated either by the hand or by electrical stimulation, called electro-acupuncture.
Needles inserted during an acupuncture treatment should be painless. Every patient experience is different; patients may experience bruising, bleeding, needle site pain and sensation. However, these symptoms may be expected (minimal bleeding) and desired (tingle, tight sensation - "de qi response"). Patients should inform the practitioner if any discomfort arises.
