The Oriental View of Health
Most of us think of our health only when we are
sick. Then we want to fight off the sickness so we can get on with our life as
before. Oriental medicine says that we must think of our health every day --
health is not just a static state but a dynamic balance. Health includes one’s
physical, emotional, and spiritual functions. It includes our relationship with
our self, with our families, with society at large, and with our environment.
Yin-Yang Theory
The Chinese use yin-yang theory to explain the world
and its phenomena. Yin-yang is not only a description of how things function in
relation to each other, but it is also a way of thinking - all things are seen
as a part of the whole; nothing is seen in isolation or as absolute. Yin
represents that which is dark, cold, at rest, passive, interior, inward,
decreasing, hidden. Yang represents that which is light, hot, active, exterior,
outward, increasing and visible. A phenomenon is described as yin or as yang
only in relationship to some other phenomenon. For example, cold is yin and hot
is yang, but cool is yang in relation to freezing cold (yin) and warm is yin in
relation to burning hot (yang).
Yin and yang create each other, define each
other, control each other, and transform into each other. They are not absolute,
but relative concepts. Each yin or yang can continually be further subdivided
into yin and yang.
The ideal is that yin and yang are in balance.
When yin and yang are in balance, the person is healthy, and all systems
function well. When yin and yang become unbalanced, signs and symptoms of
discomfort or disease may appear.
The Whole
In Oriental Medicine, the body, mind, and spirit are not separated -- physical
trauma may cause mental discord; mental unrest may cause physical symptoms. The
person is looked at as a whole being. For example, if someone has a neck
problem, the person would be questioned and observed for clues as to what has
caused the neck problem, but information about their whole life, including
digestion, sleep, work, play, elimination, reproduction etc. would also be
necessary to get a picture of the other factors that contribute to the problem.
Treatment would be directed locally to the neck itself, but also distally to the
arms, back, and legs. In addition, self-care measures would be given. These may
include exercises, dietary recommendations, relaxation, work, or postural
changes.
The Healthy Whole
Health is a dynamic state of well-being of the body and of the mind and of the
spirit. It encompasses one’s relationship with self, family, society and the environment.
The Make-up of the
Body-Mind-Spirit, Jing, Shen, Ki, Blood, and Fluids
The ‘filters’ of Oriental Medicine are different from those of Western
medicine. Western medicine describes the body and its functioning in terms of
muscles, bones, chemicals, hormones etc. The fundamental substances of Oriental
Medicine are jing (essence), shen (spirit), and Ki (vital energy), Blood, and
Fluids. (By convention, words that are capitalized indicate that the term in
Oriental Medicine has a different meaning to that of Western medicine.) Body
functioning is not ascribed to discreet parts of the body, but to the amount of
and movement of substances in the body-mind.
Organs and Meridians
The Organs in Oriental Medicine are not the same as the Western anatomical
organs. The Western heart is essentially a pump that circulates blood. The Heart
in Oriental Medicine describes the physical and psychological functions of the
body-mind as it relates to the fundamental substances. Heart functioning
includes the circulation of Blood, housing the mind, the storage of shen
(spirit), the adaptation of the external world to one’s internal environment,
the capacity to feel joy, and the creative impulse.
There are 12 Organs which are grouped into six
Yin/Yang pairs. Their names
and basic physical and psychological functions can be summarized briefly: Lung-Large
Intestine (respiration and elimination, the capacity for change); Stomach-Spleen
(digestion of food and thoughts, the capacity for contemplation); Heart-Small
Intestine (circulation of blood, adaptation from the external to internal,
assimilation of food and thoughts, capacity for joy and creativity);
Bladder-Kidney (purification and endocrine
function; storage of vital essence, purification of blood, willpower, the
capacity to do); Heart Constrictor-Triple Heater (circulation of blood to the
peripheries, immune function and protection through the lymphatic system, the capacity for social
intercourse); Gall Bladder-Liver (storage of blood, distribution of vital
energy, distribution of nutrients and hormones, the capacity for moral
decisions).
Meridians are the pathways along which Ki
circulates throughout the body so that the Organ can perform its functions.
Healthy functioning means that all systems are functioning well, and that we
express the appropriate emotions and have a sense of joy in life.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis in Oriental Medicine follows the same general outline as in Western
medicine (observations, questioning, listening and smelling, and palpation) but
uses the information in different ways. The diagnosis will vary depending on
what specific treatment modality is used (e.g. moxa heat, needles, pressure,
etc.) Generally, the functional state of Jing, Shen, Ki, Blood, Fluids, each
Organ pair, and the meridians is evaluated.
The aim of Oriental Medicine is to diagnose the
nature of imbalance in the person, to discern the "pattern of
disharmony", not to diagnose the name of a disease.
A typical diagnosis by a herbalist might be
"Dampness of the Spleen." Symptoms might include lack of appetite and taste,
nausea, and fullness in the chest. Herbal treatment would be directed towards
eliminating the dampness by prescribing herbs.
A typical diagnosis by a shiatsu therapist might
be "Deficiency of the Spleen Ki." Symptoms might include lack of appetite, no
desire to exercise, continual worrying, and heaviness after eating. Shiatsu
treatment would be directed towards toning or strengthening the Ki of the Spleen
through the application of pressure to the body.
Treatment Diagnosis is the determination of the
‘pattern of disharmony’. The aim of treatment is to help to restore harmony
and balance to body-mind functions through the application of heat, needles,
pressure, herbs, etc. Treatment is directed at restoring balance to the
body-mind, not at getting rid of the disease. When balance is restored, signs
and symptoms of discomfort and illness usually disappear. Oriental Medicine is
usually not a quick fix - often the main complaint seems not to change much
though other aspects such as sleep and digestion may show changes. Usually the
therapist is able to detect changes in the person’s condition, though symptoms
may remain. A person is considered healthy when there are no signs of disharmony
or imbalance.
Therapies in Oriental
Medicine
The major therapies in Oriental medicine are as follows:
Shiatsu
Japanese finger-pressure treatment - the application of comfortable, holding
pressure with fingers, palms, and elbows to the body to balance Ki.
Tui-na
Chinese massage therapy - the application of moving pressure with the hands to
the body to balance Ki.
Acupuncture
The insertion of needles to adjust Ki
Herbal medicine
The prescription of herbal remedies to normalize Organ functions and
substances in the body (Ki, Jing, Blood, Fluids).
Diet
Food
recommendations to balance fundamental substances and Organ functions.
Remedial exercise
Self-exercises to move Ki, Blood, etc.
Illness is Goodness
In Oriental medicine, there is a saying "illness is goodness". Illness
tells us that something is wrong - that something is not balanced in the body.
Illness makes us STOP, rest, and take steps to recover to regain that inner
balance. For example, when you get a cold, you stay at home and rest until you
recover. As you rest with your illness, you think about why you got sick - are
you working too much? are you neglecting to play? are you eating poor quality
food? Illness gives us a chance to think about what needs to be changed, and it
gives us the chance to change, to modify the things that are causing the
imbalance.
Illness also shows us that the body is working to
regain its balance. So, the next time you get sick, pay attention to what your
body-mind-spirit is telling you. Think about what needs to be changed in your
life and what you are able to change. Health is a balance - illness is a signal
of imbalance and of the body’s actions to regain that balance.
Copyright Shiatsu School of Canada 1996