Traditional Chinese Medicine (NYC)
Traditional Chinese medicine is a healing approach that originated in China thousands of years ago. Often referred to as “TCM,” practitioners in NYC use herbs, diet, acupuncture, cupping, and qigong to prevent or treat health problems. Although it is still practiced in many of China’s medical facilities alongside modern medicine, in the United States, traditional Chinese medicine is considered a form of alternative medicine.
The Philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine
TCM is a profound pathway to create the life you truly want to live, the life you were born to live. It can initiate and support change and growth in any and every life dimension: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. TCM has the power to unlock your true potential and help you develop and use your own unique gifts and talents. Its insightful wisdom and ability to understand and address individual health needs empowers each person with a way to unite body, mind, and spirit – the foundation for lasting, authentic health. TCM teaches you how to live a life of balance, wellness, and harmony. Every TCM principle, theory, and healing practice reflects and harmonizes with the relationships that exist within natural law.
Key TCM Principles
1. Your body is an integrated whole. Along with your mind, emotions, and spirit, your physical body structures form a miraculously complex, interrelated system that is powered by life force, or energy.
2. You are completely connected to nature. Changes in nature are always reflected in your body.
3. You were born with a natural self-healing ability. Your body is a microcosm that reflects the macrocosm.
4. Prevention is the best cure. Your body is continually revealing signs about the state of your health.
Benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Lowers inflammation and might offer increased cancer protection. The Journal of Traditional & Complementary Medicine reports that TCM can have positive “antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and autophagic regulatory functions.” This translates to lowered levels of oxidative stress and inflammation, thereby protecting cells, tissues and organs from long-term disease development. Inflammation is at the root of most disease and tied to the majority of common health problems, including cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, cognitive impairment and diabetes.
Reduces chronic pain and headaches. Two of the most popular TCM treatments for managing pain are acupuncture and acupressure. Acupuncture is most often embraced by patients who are looking to alleviate chronic headaches, pain due to arthritis, neck or back pain, plus many other symptoms related to injuries or stress too.
Balances hormones and improves fertility. Research suggests that certain “adaptogen” Chinese herbal medicines contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can change the way the nerves transmit messages to the brain, improving various functions within the endocrine and central nervous systems. This helps to naturally improve the body’s healing abilities and helps balance hormones – including cortisol, insulin, testosterone and estrogen. A 2001 study published in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine showed that acupuncture plays a positive role in hormonal balance and treating infertility. It works by modulating the central and peripheral nervous systems, the neuro-endocrine and endocrine systems, ovarian blood flow and metabolism. Also helps improve uterine blood flow and decrease effects of depression, anxiety and stress on the menstrual cycle.
Improves liver health. Herbal medicine and nutrition are important aspects of TCM, since a poor diet can directly contribute to liver damage – and the liver is one of the focal organs in Eastern medicine. TCM views the liver as the organ that is most affected by excess stress or emotions. Therefore, it draws a link between liver damage and illnesses like obesity, fatigue, indigestion, emotional stress, trouble sleeping and much more. TCM guidelines is one that’s very similar to eating an alkaline diet, helping restore the body’s proper pH and preventing deficiencies of key minerals. Acupressure massage is also used to stimulate the liver, improve blood flow and relieve tension caused by stress.
Protects cognitive health. By way of reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, Chinese herbs can help protect brain health and memory. Cognitive disorders, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, are linked to heightened inflammation, free radical damage, an ability to use glucose properly, vitamin deficiencies, stress and environmental toxins. Therefore, an alkaline diet, herbal supplements, exercise, proper nutrition and reducing stress may help control the body’s immune response and regulate hormones that protect the brain. Medicinal mushrooms have also been shown to help decrease the amount of toxins or heavy metals that can accumulate within the body – promoting higher energy levels, better concentration, improved memory and better-quality sleep.
Helps lower the body’s stress response. Acupressure is beneficial not only for your liver health, but also for reducing stress. Tai chong is believed to stimulate a key point on the liver meridian, located at the top of the foot, that is related to emotional trauma and negative energies, such as resentment, bitterness, worry, anxiety and depression. Acupuncture and tai chi can also be very helpful for managing stress. Tai chi is considered a mind-body practice that combines the principles of martial arts with controlled breathing and focused attention. The focus on turning attention inward and quieting of the mind can help prevent cortisol levels from rising and improve someone’s overall sense of well-being.
Preserves muscle strength, flexibility and balance. Regular tai chai practice can help address several core benefits of exercise: boosting muscle strength, maintaining flexibility, increasing and sustaining balance, and sometimes even providing an aerobic workout that’s important for your heart. Massage therapy/acupressure are also beneficial for improving muscle recovery and helping prevent injuries.
TCM Treatment Methods
Acupuncture – The practice of inserting needles into the superficial skin, subcutaneous tissue, and muscles at particular acupuncture points and manipulating them. It is believed to keep the balance between Yin and Yang, thus allowing for normal flow of Qi throughout the body and restoring health to the mind and body.
Moxibustion – A therapy that involves burning moxa made from dried Artimesia vulgaris to facilitate healing. The purpose of moxibustion is to warm and invigorate the blood, stimulate the flow of Qi, strengthen the kidney Yang, expel wind and disperse cold, and dissolve stagnation.
Tui Na Massage – A combination of massage, acupressure, and other forms of body manipulation. The type of massage delivered by a tui na practitioner can be quite vigorous at times. NYC practitioners may use herbal compresses, ointments, and heat to enhance these techniques. Tui na is best suited for treating chronic pain and musculoskeletal conditions.
Cupping – Cupping is a type of Chinese massage, consisting of placing several glass or plastic cups on the body. TCM practitioners in NYC warm the cups using a cotton ball or other flammable substance, which is then placed inside the cup to remove all the oxygen. The substance is then removed, and the cup is placed against the skin. The air in the cup then cools, creating lower pressure inside the cup, creating a vacuum and allowing the cup to stick to the skin.
Chinese Herbs – The substances TCM practitioners most commonly use can come from different leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds of plants such as cinnamon bark, ginger, ginseng, licorice, and rhubarb. Ginseng is the most broadly used substance for the broadest set of treatments. If a practitioner recommends Chinese herbology as a treatment, the herbs are combined into a formula that is dispensed in the form of a traditional tea, capsule, liquid extract, granule, or powder.
Chinese Nutrition – It’s a mode of dieting rooted in Chinese understandings of the effects of food on the human organism. In Chinese nutrition, a balanced diet is one that includes all 5 tastes – spicy, sour, bitter, sweet, and salty. Foods that have particular taste tend to have particular properties.