Chinese medicine is the oldest continuous system of medicine in the world, and serves as both a system of primary care as well as adjunctive or integrative care alongside allopathic medicine in the United States and Europe. It includes an expansive body of theory and treatment honed through human usage and empirical observation for anywhere between 2,500-5,000 years. Chinese medicine is a form of indigenous medicine, and makes up a significant share of what in the U.S. we know as alternative or holistic medicine.
About Chinese and Alternative Medicine:
What is Chinese Medicine?
Chinese medicine is an umbrella term and represents a wide range of modalities including but not limited to: acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition, exercise/healing movement, breathing exercises/qi gong, medical massage, and mindfulness/meditation/intention practices. All of these modalities rely on the innate human capacity to self heal, and the overarching goal of therapy is ultimately prevention once acute or chronic symptoms have been resolved through treatment.
Approach and Worldview of Chinese Medicine
Diagnosis in Chinese medicine furthermore takes a systems approach—always seeking the root and complex causes of a disorder as no person exists separate from their environment, families, culture, society, personal habits and traumas. From this perspective no aspect of health or illness exists in isolation from these other systems, and balance must be restored in one’s body, mind, and spirit in order to thoroughly resolve illness. Through the restoration of balance in these domains, we can experience vibrancy in health and proceed in fulfilling our individual life path.
Our Role as Your Practitioner
In Chinese medicine, practitioners are seen as guides and facilitators, as educators who help patients live in alignment with the natural changes of the seasons, environment, one’s stage in the life process, and one’s spiritual calling. We focus on the entirety of an individual, not simply treating symptoms. Practitioners moreover support patients to develop awareness and tools to meet the demands of their life, moment to moment. In this vein, in addition to primary and specialized care for the acute and chronic health conditions of modern life, we also offer education, preventative care, health maintenance, and physical and mental performance enhancement.