What is Traditional Chinese Medicine? Traditional Chinese Medicine has used herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and massage for over 3,0000 thousands of years. It is a system of medicine that harnesses the natural energy (qi, pronounced chi) in the body. Illness, pain and stress are often caused by an imbalance in the flow of energy along the body’s energy lines or meridians. Herbal medicines, acupuncture, moxibustion, and Chinese massage (Tuinan) are designed to dispel blockages and to restore the natural flow of body to alleviate pain and induce the flow of energy.

• Herbal medicine: Medicines made from plants have been used in China and throughout Asia for centuries and are now being widely used in Western medicine. The first herbal classic written in China was published in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) called the Agriculture Emperor’s Materia Medica. From plants used for digestive system disorders, herbal medicine have developed for an increasing number of ailments. Every herb has its own properties which include its energy, its flavour, its movement and its related meridians Specific herbs are used to treat fever, sore throat and general heat diseases. Others are used to treat conditions of the limbs. Pungent herbs are generally used to induce perspiration and promote circulation of both blood and Qi. Other herbs are used for nourishment, harmonising with other herbs or reducing toxicity, and relieving pain. Herbs are also used to stop perspiration, stop diarrhea, and treat constipation or hard swellings as in diseases like goiter.

Acupuncture: Is the science of painlessly inserting the finest disposable needles made of stainless steel at various sites in the body. One of the great advantages of acupuncture is that there are none of the side effects so often associated with medical drugs.

• Moxibustion: Moxibustion is a technique used in traditional Chinese medicine in which a stick or cone of burning mugwort, Artemesia vulgaris, is placed over an inflamed or affected area on the body. The cone is placed on an acupuncture point and burned. The cone is removed before burning the skin. The purpose is to stimulate and strengthen blood flow and the life energy, or qi, of the body.

Cupping: Cupping is the science of reducing pressure through a localised vacuum on areas if the body to stimulate both circulation and energy flow.

• Massage: Chinese massage (Tuinan) is a variation of acupuncture by exerting pressure on selected sites of the body to aid the flow of energy and to reduce pain.