Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one of the world’s oldest and most influential wellness practices. Eastern Medicine has led to the widespread adoption of therapies such as herbal remedies, acupuncture, and food therapy. TCM emphasizes nutrition, rest, and respect for the body to support its optimal natural state. This means you stop focusing so much on external solutions and instead look inward to identify where you can improve your care.
Chinese Medicine dates back thousands of years. The TCM’s leading publication, The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, was published between the year 260 and 300 B.C. Researchers have found evidence to suggest that the Chinese invented acupuncture more than 2,000 years ago.This reveals they had an intimate knowledge of the human body and physiology, long before the Greeks began their in-depth studies of anatomy and published the Hippocratic Corpus.
Studying TCM can help anyone move toward a greater place of wellness and balance in their lives. As with any type of wellness model, you don’t have to take on every belief or philosophy to benefit from the practice. Instead, TCM helps people focus on establishing greater balance between themselves, their bodies, and the natural world around them. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that the universe’s essence, chi, flows through the body and entire world at all times.Alleviating maladies requires restoring one’s energetic balance, aligning with chi and discovering harmony through natural treatments such as manual therapy, acupuncture, and Chinese herbal remedies.
The Benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine
There are numerous benefits to exploring TCM. Because it respects rather than contests the natural harmony of the body, you can use Traditional Chinese Medicine as a starting point to bridge with other treatments.Let’s explore some of the scientifically backed benefits of TCM to uncover how Eastern Medicine has influenced so much of the Western wellness community’s culture.
Improve Your Quality of Life
Your quality of life is linked to many factors, including your physical health and mental outlook. Because TCM strives to establish harmony between the being and world around them, many people experience a total shift in perspective as they begin to explore its practices.
TCM doctors and therapists use a range of traditional Chinese herbs to make remedies that treat a number of chronic pain conditions. These remedies can help improve patients’ quality of life by alleviating their symptoms without the need to rely on prescription medications.
From a mental health standpoint, Traditional Chinese Medicine adopts a holistic approach. Ancient practitioners viewed the mind and body was one entity, so when a person experienced mental symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, the body was seen as a potential cause — and cure.
A growing number of integrative medicine professionals are looking to TCM for treating mental health disorders. Eastern medicine’s impact on integrative therapies can be seen in techniques such as Emotional Freedom Tapping (EFT).
Better Balance and Stability
Through the practice of tai chi, people can improve their balance. Just like you may turn to yoga for flexibility and Pilates for strength, tai chi is a mind-body practice that has long-lasting physical and emotional impacts.
Many people who practice tai chi love its slow, controlled movements and low impact. This is why many seniors or people with physical health conditions use it to stay active while alleviating pain.
You don’t need to suffer from any chronic illnesses or be elderly to benefit from tai chi, however. This ancient art is accessible to everyone, and it encourages you to focus on your body, breathing, and fluid motions. It sounds simple but mastering a tai chi flow takes patience and concentration.
Manage Back, Neck, and Shoulder Pain
Many people in their 20s and 30s are suffering from chronic back pain. Musculoskeletal problems are more common now as people spend more time sitting at desks for the bulk of their workdays.
Even recreational activities in our modern era tend to be rooted on screens. This puts a great deal of tension on the neck, shoulders, and spin, especially the lower lumbar region.
Acupuncture can naturally target nerve points in these areas to loosen tension, release tightness, and reduce swelling that causes pain.
Improve Sleep Quality
Do you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep? Maybe you’ve gotten used to waking up with back pain or feeling like the night has barely passed. Traditional Chinese Medicine can treat insomnia with herbal teas and remedies designed to naturally induce a peaceful and deeply restorative slumber.
Dried lily bud (huang ha), rose bud (mei gei hua), longan (long yan rou) and the jujube seed (suan zao ren) are believed to balance a person’s energy (qi) and help them rest more thoroughly. Even a cup of freshly brewed chamomile tea is an example of TCM sleep treatment.
Treat Underlying Conditions
Practices like moxibustion have been shown to have strong, positive effects on conditions like kidney disease and ulcerative colitis. Moxibustian is the practice of burning mugwort leaves close to the skin in order to heal specific areas of the body through the heat.
Try It Yourself
The best way to practice any TCM therapy, however,is with a licensed practitioner. There are potential side-effects, especially when it comes to burning leaves or ingesting herbs, that you shouldn’t risk on your own.
Look for a licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner near you to explore your treatment options and get the most empowering results in the safest manner possible.