The Basic Principle of Chinese Medicine

The basic principle of Chinese medicine is that the body is made up of energy and that energy flows through the body in certain patterns that are based on the internal organs. When the energy is out of balance, the body has problems.

The whole purpose of Chinese Medicine is to balance the energy. How the organs work is different in Chinese medicine than in Western. For example, if I say you have a kidney energy imbalance, it may just explain your back pain and not mean that you have impending kidney failure and will need dialysis.

Each organ has a pattern of energy movement that travels in a channel or meridian along the surface of the body. Each organ is associated with different physical functions, in addition to spiritual and emotional components. We use the pulse and tongue to assess which imbalance is playing a part in your physical symptoms. By feeling the pulse, we can tell what is going on with 12 different internal organs; you might imagine that it takes a good deal of practice to be good at it.

When Chinese medicine was invented 5,000 years ago, we did not have microscopes or chemistry labs, so disease was described by how the body behaves in ways that are similar to what we witness in the weather. Certain diseases are cold, damp, hot, windy or dry.

Each of these elements affects the different organs in different ways. A case of strep throat might be described as wind heat in the lungs. Hepatitis is damp heat in the liver. Bells Palsy might be caused by wind cold invading the stomach channel which rules the muscles of the face.

Disease comes from either inside or outside the body. Diseases that come from outside the body would most commonly be an infectious disease from the Western perspective. Ancient texts of Chinese medicine talk about the importance of treating an illness properly as soon as it begins. A cold or flu can invade the body and cause long-term illness. This is why I often suggest a fall tune-up and encourage people to take good care of themselves when they get ill.

Diseases from inside are most often caused by emotional imbalance. For example, a person with migraines might have a liver imbalance – the liver rules the emotion of anger. Thus the migraines might come from deep internal anger. One of the many good things about using acupuncture and herbs to heal is that the emotional component is incorporated into the treatment allowing a person to heal regardless of whether they have therapy for the anger they hold inside.

In the next column I will explain how the various organs work differently than they do in Western medicine.