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When patients come into our clinic for the first time, our Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to consulting differs from the typical Western medicine approach. This article can help such patients learn the difference between both forms of medicine, so that they can make their own decisions on whether our Traditional Chinese Medicine-based clinics are right for you. For first-timers, patients will know the symptoms and conditions they suffer better than the practitioners. Under a Western approach, a doctor would usually provide a diagnosis with a focus on treating and eliminating symptoms. However, a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) may recognise the body as an interconnected system to our surrounding nature, establishing peace and balance within ourselves. Thus, the approach of TCM can also focus on the prevention of such imbalances through appropriate healing methods such as therapies and herbal medicine. We aim to alleviate sickness based on the five elements theory: that all matters in our common living surroundings come from five elements; water, fire, earth, wood, and metal. This demonstrates how corresponding elements of our human health are inextricably linked with our environment and nature. By recognising this association, we focus on a combination of our patient’s mental, physical, and emotional health to identify any neglected aspects that may have created an imbalance. Taking note of patterns that may have caused such neglect, we can work together with our clients to establish peaceful long-term health through herbal teas or acupuncture and massage. Our method can be thought of as a library, where the doctor is the librarian and the patient is the reader. Consulting with the librarian, the patient will list their symptoms and concerns, similar to the books they typically borrow from a library. These books can be put in different categories, much like the five natural elements. When looking at a patient’s pattern of which category they may tend to borrow most (the patient’s lifestyle patterns), the librarian may identify imbalances. For example, some patients may only focus on two categories but neglect the remaining three. As each element is interlinked with the others, this underload in the final three aspects can create dysfunction towards your body’s harmony.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, patience is a virtue, but also a key aspect of the healing journey. When clients come in, they often ask our practitioners “how long until my pain gets better?” and “how soon until I am cured?”. While these are good questions, it is difficult to answer because conditions can change, and in Traditional Chinese our focus is on improving your health and wellbeing as a whole. In this blog post, we explore the connection between Traditional Chinese Medicine and patience, especially in embracing time as a component of the healing process. When facing health challenges, it is our instant reaction to seek immediate relief by asking our doctors for a concrete timeline in our healing journey, or by finding pharmaceutical drugs that can target our symptoms. However, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the physical, mental, and emotional aspects that balance one’s well-being, are complex, unique, and interconnected. Attempting to catch time and expect quick relief can hinder a long-term healing process, and lead to stress (which can also negatively impact your overall health). As such, it is important that clients attempt to achieve and maintain a patient, calm mindset throughout their journey to better health. Our holistic approach within Traditional Chinese Medicine encourages individuals to cultivate patience within themselves, particularly in their healing journey. If one tries to hurriedly demand the healing process, we may neglect the signs of illness, which may otherwise be possible to prevent. By trying to slow down our mind and bodies, and exercise restraint and patience, we have time to reflect on what our mind and body is telling us, which can be a very beneficial step in becoming self aware. This concept is further explored in our blog post 'Good Questions are an Essential Path to Leading Change'. In TCM there are no quick fixes but support and advice to assist you throughout your health journey, to work towards a healthy and balanced mindset, and lifestyle in the long-term. Health is not about the immediate relief we can gain, but the actual understanding of our health issues so that we may seek to understand our body and mind better, and so that we can prevent future health issues. Rather, TCM is about the wisdom and knowledge you gain along the way to achieving your balanced life. The complexity of the underlying issues of health concerns is also something to recognise. In the quest for quick fixes and solutions, we can often overlook health conditions that have taken years to manifest. Thus, TCM emphasises that we should address our symptoms as a part of the interconnected system that is our body and mind. All aspects of our bodies are interdependent, and if a symptom presents itself, it can often reflect an imbalance in your overall health that should be assessed by a practitioner. This is also because pain or other symptoms can also mean that there are underlying issues at play, like the root of trees that run deep into the soil. By utilising patience, we can have the appropriate amount of time to unravel and address these concerns in a way that will benefit your overall health. In TCM it is also important to recognise that we must not only have patience for our own journeys, but also for the part we play in the health journeys of our friends and families. By having patience with those around you, it can create a productive environment for healing that can support and foster the overall wellbeing of an individual. In the contemporary world we live in, the ancient wisdom associated with TCM can serve as a reminder for us to embrace patience throughout our healing journeys, so that we can navigate the complexities of our health and wellbeing, and not rush the process necessary to recognise any early signs or concerns. Patience is a key material in the tapestry of true healing. Written by Georgia Chen and Lili Henderson-Clark

What is Herbal Therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbal medicines, or therapies, are a part of the overall healing and wellness system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The overarching goal is to bring balance to bodily systems, and maintain wellness through our ever-changing lives and surroundings. Many Herbal therapies are also prescribed with dietary changes, to support the healing process. With any health practice, there is a great focus on balance, which we talk briefly about in this article. Types of Taste In TCM, there are five basic tastes, each important to our diet’s constitution which affect how we feel and perceive our surroundings. Typically we associate foods with single tastes, but single food items and meals will often contain most, if not all, of these food tastes. Firstly there are Sweet tastes, which are connected to strength, energy, and a short-term feeling of enrichment. Sweet things will often help give us the energy to complete tasks, and to find the motivation for productive work. However, an overabundance of sweetness in our diets can result in overconsumption of various foods, as we try to chase the energy it can give us. This can lead to weight gain as well as feelings of anxiety. Second is Salt , which is essential to the taste of our foods. Salty foods are connected with feelings of comfort and seething. You may often reach for salty pretzels or popcorn when relaxing to watch a movie or TV show. Too little salt could impact your comfort, and you may feel disconnected from your work or on edge, However too much salt can impact our productivity due to an increase in lethargy and tiredness from consistent feelings of comfort and safety. Up next there’s Spicy tasting food. Despite spicy foods being contentious for or against their hot flavour, they are connected with feelings of excitement and warmth. Depending on how spicy your foods are you may even develop some will-powered endurance to get through the heat. Spicy foods help us to be more aware of our mouths and how we taste and eat. Foods that are too spicy, or an overconsumption of spicy foods can result in stomach imbalances, leading to cramping, pain, sweating, and hot flushes. Then there’s Sour tasting foods, which help us to be alert and aware of our food, its tastes and textures. Sour foods are also good to help regulate our stomach acids, as well as helping to unblock stagnant Qi and Blood flow pathways. Finally there is the Bitter taste which, similar to Sour tastes, helps us to be more alert. However, it is a more whole-body alertness stemming from exciting the heart. Making both us and our body more conscious of what we are eating. In this way, our gut becomes more alert and aware, working harder in conjunction with our liver, pancreas, and kidneys to properly digest, breakdown, and remove wastes and toxins from our body. Bitterness can be difficult to overdo, but an overconsumption of bitter foods can begin clearing out our gut of healthy compounds and microbes. An underconsumption of bitterness may result in stagnant Qi and Blood flow due to a build up of wastes and toxins in the body that aren’t being properly removed. Is Bitter Better? Bitter tasting foods are often left behind as they aren’t appealing to most people. Often causing discomfort as we are accustomed to more enjoyable flavours of sweetness, saltiness, and spiciness. This is often reflected in our daily diets, where bitter tasting plants have been consumed less and less. Although the bitter flavour is not as appetising as other flavours, it is still useful. As many herbal therapies work to produce balance within the body, they are often composed of bitter tasting plants, utilising the effects of the bitter taste as well as the plant’s compounds to assist the gut and digestion. So, although bitter flavours are important and can be beneficial to an individual’s constitution, Herbal therapies are not always bitter, or may be varying degrees of bitter. This is because the goal is to subsidise the lacking elements of your regular diet and constitution, meaning that as your lifestyle, diet, workload, and daily activities change, so will your prescribed herbal therapies. Balance Across Seasons As the seasons change, so does our constitution. Whether this be seasonal activity or workload fluctuations, or changes in our behaviour, diet and lifestyle. Dee Volek, from the Premier Medical Group, wrote a wonderful piece about how we can ground our health and wellbeing in times of seasonal change through exercise and risk management, which you can read more about here. Through the seasons, we may consume more of specific tastes to balance our constitutions in line with the seasonal changes. In Springtime we may consume more sour tastes to be more alert and awake as we move into the Summer. During Summer, we may consume more spicy tastes to embrace excitement, warmth, and motivation from the previous alertness of Spring. As the seasons change into Autumn, we may consume more salty tastes to calm and soothe us unto the colder months ahead. During Winter, we may consume more sweet tastes to give us energy and enrichment through the cold months, where we may be naturally lacking the motivation to get moving. It is important for us to be aware of how our behaviours and diets change through the seasons, or under various circumstances. This allows us to build routines to help us remain grounded in health and wellbeing to promote our own harmonious relationship with our health and the world around us. Written by Harrison Borough

Building Connections between the Patient and Practitioner

Health is Like a Library