what is tcm?

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an ancestral medicine originated in China in the 1400 b.c. which has not only survived but also evolved throughout history. During the second half of XX century, TCM has been introduced in the West and gained a great acceptance. Just an example, a Chinese doctor Tu Youyou, become the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize in 2015, for her work in helping to create an anti-malaria medicine. Similarly, and back in 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the positive effects of acupuncture in a number of health conditions.

Western end users have found in TCM a different, harmless and preventive approach to medicine able to produce positive results in an effective and quick manner. Chinese medicine takes a holistic approach to medicine as it understands that there are no diseases, but patients. It does consider not only what happens in the affected organ, but also what happens throughout the organism, the way of manifesting itself as it responds to the external influences and the stimuli of the environment.

The basic pillars of Chinese medicine are Yin and Yang Theory and Five Element Theory. The principles and premises of Chinese medicine are drawn directly from traditional Taoist philosophy, China's oldest and most unique school of thought. The major premise of Chinese medical theory is that every form of life in the universe is animated by a vital energy called "Qi." The "Qi", fundamental substance of the organism and the universe, permeates and penetrates the whole of the cosmos. Digestion, for example, extracts "Qi" from food and drink and transports it throughout the body, breathing extracts "Qi" from the air into the lungs and so on.

When these forms of "Qi" meet in the blood, the "Qi" circulates as vital energy through the meridians or energy channels.

Chinese medicine uses several healing techniques of treatment, which are applied per the pathology of the patient. These include: acupuncture, tuina, herbology, suction cups, moxibustion and auriculotherapy among others. One of the main characteristics of these treatments, in addition to their effectiveness, is that they lack side effects, so frequent in conventional drugs.