Traditional Chinese Medicine - as it is referred to for the purposes of study in the West - is not, in its essence, medicine. TCM is a theory of wellness, it is a lifestyle, and it is therapy. In China, Chinese medicine is embedded in the culture and is seen as the balanced process of action and behavior. The elements of nature are in balance, and the energy of life is abundant. There is a way for humans, as beings, to be in tune with the balance of nature and play of life's energy, yet we spend most of our time out of balance, ignorant to the knowledge of the balance, and duly ignorant of the repercussions. There is no blame to be meted out for lost knowledge of energy and balance. Evolution has asked of us to change our habits, to live outside of nature, to walk little, run less, exercise only our fingers on keyboards, and our stomachs on food. But a true path of balance is in us; it is innate; it exists in the passed on knowledge of our ancestors; it breathes in the ancient wisdom of the East; it waits in the forests and the earth, swims in our waters, and in the air around us. To live in balanced harmony is to know the signals of our physical being, to feel when it is time to rest or time to move, to know when we should eat or drink one type of food, or pursue another, to know how the seasons may ask us to dress and what areas of our bodies need remain covered well and kept warm. A loss of balance will create discomfort. Too much time lived with discomfort creates disease (dis-ease). Achieving balance is found in proper action, behaviors and habits, harmony of mind and stomach, and subsequently, the organs. The path to balance lies in our movements, our thoughts, the food we eat, and our community. We are the energy that surrounds us; and the energy we hold within us, the way we choose to live, affects our environments.
In China, Chinese Medicine is a full-bodied, healing therapy. It is an integrated therapy. For a Chinese doctor in China, there is no separation between acupuncture, herbs, bodywork, and the manipulation of energy toward the necessity of balance. If one studies Chinese medicine, the modalities of Chinese medicine come hand-in-hand; they are the therapy. When a patient is seen by a Chinese doctor in China, they do not receive only acupuncture, but may, in turn, also be given an herbal prescription and be treated through some forms of tuina. Here in the West, the modalities have been separated for courses of study, for convenience and personal interests. Indeed, here at ASAOM and most schools across the nation, acupuncture, herbs, and tuina can be pursued as separate programs. Though they are integrated as a full path of study at ASAOM, they are not required to be pursued as such. The concern in separating the modalities is for the treatment. Chinese medicine taken as a whole, holistic therapy, requires each piece of the 'medicine' to be known and addressed. Receiving only one portion, or knowing only one portion of Chinese medicine, is addressing only one piece in the puzzle of balance and health, though each aspect can be honed extensively and achieve amazing results.
Although ASAOM offers each piece, MAc, OM, and AMB, separately, we encourage each student in our program and each patient in our clinic to be open to the possibilities and strengths in each of the pillars of Chinese medicine. They are, only together, a complete therapy resting on the kindling of the mind and energy - the movement and the flow.