Chinese Medicine stresses balance as a key to health. When you are ill, there is a disharmony going on within you. Identifying the cause of the disharmony is important because you can learn how to avoid it, prevent it, or correct it. If you don’t treat the cause of the disease, it is like ”pouring water into a container with a leaky bottom”.
Good health is based on a balance of nutrition, sleep/rest, and exercise. When you are out of balance, you may start to exhibit symptoms in different organs, in your energy level, in your emotional state. Climatic conditions can also cause a disease if there is a relative imbalance between the body’s Qi and an exterior pathogen.
In Western medicine there is emphasis on the external aspect of a disease, such as bacteria and viruses. In Chinese medicine, the emphasis is more on finding out what is out of balance and causing the problem and getting you to return to a state of balance.
So how do you keep from getting sick?
In Chinese Medicine, good health is all about having a balance between exercise, nutrition, and sleep. Diseases may be caused by a weak constitution (what you were born with), or being overworked, or a lack of (or even excessive) exercise. It can also be due to excessive sexual activity (think Charlie Sheen). It can also be related to your diet (of course). In addition, disease can be caused by trauma, poisons & parasites, drugs, and having been given the wrong treatment (woops!). All of these factors can make a person be out of balance and as a result, impact their health.
So when you find your self not feeling well and you are starting to have symptoms, it is your alert that something is out of balance and you can start to look at how to get back in balance. Is my diet out of whack and I have eaten too much fast foods? If so, have a meal filled with nutrients, especially something like soup or warm cooked foods. Is your Qi stagnated? if so, engage in some stretches, exercise, Tai Chi, or Yoga and get the Qi and blood circulating so the nutrients can help combat that new symptom.
Did you know that pain is considered to be a sign of Qi stagnation? It usually says that something is not flowing how and where it should and as a result, fluids are stagnating and are stuck. As a result it hurts. So how do you get unstuck? Acupuncture helps as does movement.
A sore throat can be your alert that your defensive Qi (or defensive mechanism) is weak and you may be inadvertently allowing pathogens into your body. If so, make sure you are drinking enough warm fluids and getting rest You may even decide to take some herbs to help stimulate more of your defensive Qi to be created or get to where it is needed to defend your body.
Chinese medicine looks at everything going on in your life and environment to help assess what imay be out of balance and what needs to be treated or fine tuned. The goal is always to get you back in balance and keep you there.
What I find so fascinating in Chinese medicine is that you can be out of balance in one area and it can show up in unrelated area or organ of your body. For example, if you have unresolved grief, it can show up in your lungs. LUNGS??? Yep. You get symptoms like shortness of breath or even a dry hacking cough if you don't resolve your grief. And if you are a worrier, it knots your Qi and you can have symptoms like fatigue, abdominal distention, constipation, or diarrhea, and even sighing, just from worrying!
Chinese medicine can be pretty interesting.
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