Please enjoy our story about the Yin and Yang and its influence in Ancient Chinese Medicine. You may click on any of the underlined text for links to more information and educational videos. Thank you.
In the Chinese lunar calendar, there are 24 divisions in a year and six solar terms in each season of spring, summer, fall, and winter. These terms have been very useful for farmers along the Yellow River in China for thousands of years. They tell farmers when to plow the fields and plant different crops, etc. Over centuries, as farmers studied the changes of the seasons, they learned that the amount of specific energies, known as Yin and Yang also changes in regards to the changes in seasons and climates. These farmers then discovered that fluctuations in the Yin and Yang energies during seasonal climate changes directly and profoundly effects the human body. This is how Traditional Chinese Medicine became what it is today.
Over time, it was understood that keeping Yin and Yang (Yin Qi/Yin Chi/Yin Energy and Yang Qi/Yang Chi/Yang Energy) in balance each season was (and is) crucial to maintaining one's health. In the summer, when plants are lush, Yang is at its most active point in the human body. When winter comes (a time of Yin), plants shed their leaves and the body stores away its Yang in order to rest more. The concept of Yin and Yang is that Yin (the black side of the Yin Yang) represents all of the unseen in the universe and Yang (the white side) represents all that is seen in the universe. This ancient Chinese medicine is rooted in the core belief that adjusting your lifestyle according to the phases of the lunar calendar is effective in preventing and curing diseases and chronic health issues, while nurturing and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Ancient Chinese Medicine recognizes that our bodies function in accordance with the cycles of nature and that a life that harmonizes with nature will harmonize all aspects of the body. This core concept of healthy living is to promote and maintain harmony with natural Qi/Chi (or universal energy) and our our inner physiological cycles. A life that harmonizes with natural energy will enhance one's flow of Chi and harmonize the functional activities of all the organs.
Our bodies are like trees. Just like the buds of spring, our bodies are also using the stored Yang energy of winter to rejuvenate our bodies and just like the activities in summer, the body is also at its highest level of Yang Chi, requiring lighter foods. In the fall, leaves begin to fall, as energy moves back down to the roots and we also begin to slow down and look inwards and reflect. In the winter, the tree's energy is stored in the roots. This is a time when Yin is at its peak so, like the trees, we too must conserve our Yang energy.
A great resource to learn more about living a healthy lifestyle in harmony with these ancient Chinese medicinal philosophies is a book titled, The Yellow Emporer. It serves as a reference guide as it discusses the importance of living and eating within the seasons. Today, many of us do not mirror these simple practices. We have strayed from them with our eating habits, preservatives and negligence of local foods. Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches you how to rethink your diet and lifestyle to achieve harmony with nature's changes. It helps you to reflect and rethink things. For instance, when or if you experience illness or lack of energy, considering the Yin and Yang energies at work and the potential imbalances will help you understand how to restore the Yin/Yang balance in your life. Idealogically, in a perfect Yin/Yang balanced world, we would not only feel better, but we would also be better aligned to prevent illnesses and live longer.
The main focus of Traditional Chinese Medicine is health cultivation with its core principles centered on nourishing a healthy center or core and maintaining a balanced mentality or Yang Xin (Yang Zin), meaning balanced thoughts, ideas, emotions and mental states. The goal of Yang Xin is to maintain our thoughts and feelings (or mind) at the best psychological states of awareness. The most important aspect of nourishing your center or core is to adjust or balance the seven basic emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire. Unbalanced emotions disturb your center or core and disturbs and disrupts the normal operations of your body's main meridian system or main energy centers and energy meridians. Health cultivation through Yang Xin promotes our body's natural ability to heal itself and prevent future illness.
Acupuncture is a vital component to removing energy blocks within the body, as the fine needles rests at a calculated point within your body's meridian system and next to a particular nerve to remove any enegy blocks and restore the body's natural balances in energy flow. An added benefit to the placement of the needle in specific energy centers is that it releases endorphines and helps the mind and body maintain a positive state to promote optimal healing. This also serves to relax the mind, body and spirit. This is one reason (of many) why acupuncture is so effective in treating the core causes of so many health issues, such as depression and anxiety, infertility, pain, and much more.
In conjunction with the acupuncture, we also provide authentic Chinese herbal remedies brought over personally and directly from our frequent visits to China. We do this to ensure you receive the highest quality and freshest herbs available in the market for our industry. Both the herbs and acupuncture are vital elements in the holistic healing process. They must be used together to allow for optimal results and the most positive healing experience. As we discussed earlier, the body is always changing and adapting with the seasons. This means that the body requires different herbs and treatments at different times throughout the lunar calendar to maintain its natural balance. Based off of this theory, we adhere to a treatment plan that is designed specifically for you and your body's needs, as no one person is the same. Our treatments and plans are as rich and diverse as our history and culture. Our mission is to bring this richness and diversity into your personal treatment plan.
