While acupuncture is an amazing and powerful healing art, it is important to understand that it is actually just one part of Traditional Asian Medicine. Here in the United States, it is by far the most known Traditional Asian Medicine modality. That may be because of how it became popular in movies like The Nutty Professor as something that stuck out literally! Acupuncture also fit in in the United States, because insurance companies figured out how to profit from it and it addresses pain, which is a common complaint, but did you know that acupuncture is actually just one eighth of the Traditional Asian Medical system!
While I completely delighted in having an acupuncture clinic for many years where my patients, mainly black woman could come and lay their burdens down, de-stress and boost their wellness, I am excited to still be of assistance using the other Traditional Asian Medicine modalities. Like it or not, the world has changed and being in improperly ventilated spaces in close contact with other humans, is not safe. And honestly, we don’t know when or if that will ever change. COVID-19 has shown us this and the risk for other such illnesses, especially when not handled correctly from the top down. In any event, here are the additional seven branches in the tree of Traditional Asian Medicine that can help to boost your wellness and meet your health goals.
Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine is an amazing and extremely effective way to reach your health goals. Using the wisdom of the body, a formula or combination of herbs is selected from the thousands and thousands of choices to help bring balance to your body. For instance, if you have more of what we consider to be heat signs, we would select cooling herbs, if you experience feeling tired, we would recommend qi tonics, etc.
Diet & Nutrition
While there are so many way to choose to eat, the wisdom of Eastern Nutrition spans thousands of years. Like herbs, foods are chosen to help balance your particular constitution, which can be understood as your own unique health map. In Eastern Nutrition, we understand each food as having its own energy, that can either bring you closer to or further away from your health goals.
Meditation
Meditation is a powerful tool that can be used to enhance health. In Traditional Asian Medicine, we may use visualizing certain colors, certain organs, meridians, etc. to help further your health goals. There are many, many techniques that exist. Certain meditation styles and based on the end goals (some can vary from wanting to feel more peaceful, to attaining oneness with all) can require quite a bit of training and practice. Personally I believe that in a certain way, we all meditate, meaning that our mental energy goes somewhere. Aligning our mental energy with the health and the outcomes that we’d like to see manifest is key. Furthermore, we say that “Li (intention) precedes Qi”. Which means that our Qi (what can be understood as life force or vital energy) follows our intentions. In this way meditation can be quite a powerful tool towards improving all aspects of health.
Exercises such as Qi Gong and Tai Chi
Keeping our Qi and blood moving is essential to health. It is also one of the key factors in aging. Movements, in particular Qi Gong encourage qi to flow through our meridians or channels. Meridians or channels can be understood as streets and highways across our whole body that conducts our energy flow. Certain movements and postures can help to bring balance to certain areas of health. In Asia, Medical Qi Gong is offered in some hospitals to encourage recovery and promote preventive health care.
Body work like Acupressure
Body work as it pertains to styles used in Traditional Asian Medicine such as Acupressure, Tuina and Shiatsu encourage proper energy movement. Similar to the way acupuncture works, certain points (and there are hundreds!) can help to strengthen where there is weakness, disperse where there is excess and bring balance to the body.
Astrology and Feng Shui
Astrology and Feng Shui are two separate sciences. Astrology is the study of how the positioning of the planets affects what happens on earth. It is used to look at the relationship of the planets to each other when we were born and at any particular time to gain a deeper understanding of health and those factors that can affect health. Feng Shui is a science that looks at how our environment and what and how things are placed in it can affect health. What these two ancient sciences have in common is that there is an understanding that positioning can directly impact our health.
Cosmology
Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that looks at how the universe started and developed. In Traditional Asian Medicine, it looks at a framework of how we understand a higher order that is much bigger than ourselves. Systems like the Ba Gua and I Ching were developed by the ancients to help access and use this higher order wisdom. One example of this is helping someone to align with their life’s purpose. Many times in doing so, this can greatly improve one’s health.
Traditional Asian Medicine is an amazing complete medical system with thousands of years of effectively assisting people with their health. When done properly, negative side effects are non-existent or minimal. Its benefits are vast, can actually get to the root of issues and produce beautiful blossoming evergreen health. The branches of Traditional Asian Medicine offer wisdom that can be customized to help meet health goals and improve wellness, some of which can be done by you in the comfort of your own home. To schedule you virtual consultation where you can receive customized recommendations using this amazing wisdom, click here.
