Chinese Medicine Information
Chinese medical practices began in antiquity. Modern Chinese medical practices are the result of millenia of study that focuses on manipulation of the chi. The chi, or qi, is the life force present in all living things. Most Chinese medical techniques are based on treating a chi that is either too hot or too cold or treating a chi blockage on one of your body's meridians, or the paths through which the chi flows. The goal of Chinese medicine is to bring the balance between yin and yang back to the chi.
Acupuncture and Acupressure
The Chinese medical technique best known in the west is acupuncture and its acupressure variant. Acupuncture is the practice of manipulating the flow of chi energy along the body's meridians. Acupuncture can be used to treat a variety of conditions caused by chi blockages on those meridians. By carefully placing a fine needle in the skin on one of the meridians, a chi blockage can be removed or chi energy can be re-routed on a different meridian to help heal a particular condition. Although there are nine acupuncture needles, only six are in common use today. The needles are different lengths and widths and have different-shaped points. Each needle is designed to have a different effect on the chi.
Acupressure achieves similar results without the use of needles. By either increasing or relieving pressure at a particular point on a meridian, acupressure can help to achieve a healthy balance in your chi.
Herbs
The origins of Chinese herbal medicine are reputed to date back to the mythical Yellow Emperor. Although herbs also focus on achieving a balance in the heat of your chi, there are several classifications of herbs specifically thought to be nourishing, create a correct constitution and be good for ridding the body of disease. These herbs are referred to as Superior, Middle and Lower herbs, respectively.
Gua Sha
A traditional Chinese therapy that is still not well known in the west is gua sha. In Chinese, gua means to scrape or scratch. Sha refers to a reddish patch of skin. Gua sha frees the flow of blocked chi in the body, and is often done over acupuncture points and along meridians. A gua sha treatment was traditionally done by scraping a jade scraper across the skin until the capillaries burst, thus releasing toxins that affect the flow of chi in the body. Although a few practitioners still use jade, most modern practitioners use a scraper made from cow horn or bamboo. The skin being scraped is lubricated with a medicinal oil. In places where there are no problems, the skin remains unchanged. In areas with minor problems, the skin turns red. In areas with high levels of toxins or major chi blockages, the skin appears purplish and bruised.
Cupping
Cupping is, in some ways, similar to gua sha. Both practices involve the movement and release of blood. With modern cupping treatments, a cupping jar is placed over an trouble area of the chi, usually an acupuncture point or a meridian. A partial vacuum is created in the jar, usually using heat, which draws the skin and flesh under the cup upward. Blood is under the cup. The skin turns color. In cases of mild problems, the skin is red. In cases of extreme problems or high toxin levels, the skin can turn purple like a bruise.
Dietary Medicine
Chinese dietary medicine is a way of helping improve chi flow along meridians by balancing a chi that is too hot or too cold. If you have a chi that is too hot, it can affect liver function and thus contribute to a number of conditions, including indigestion and stomach trouble. Upon a diagnosis of a hot chi, a Chinese doctor will recommend foods that will cool the chi, and recommend avoiding certain foods that warm the chi. If you have a chi that is too cold, the doctor will recommend the opposite. In some cases, a doctor may prescribe herbs that are to be cooked slowly with a chicken. The herbs bind with the chicken fat, and are thought to absorb better into the body.
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