What is Classical Chinese Medicine?

Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) is a natural healing system that has been in use for thousands of years. It is still used today in clinics and hospitals throughout China and most of Asia as a primary medical modality. It adopts a holistic view of each individual and believes that everybody has an innate ability to overcome disease and illness. Treatment methods include acupuncture, herbs, Tuina (massage), cupping, moxibustion, Guasha,  nutrition/dietary consults, Qi gong, and more. Chinese medicine works to restore harmony and energetic balance to the body,  which in turn, stimulates healing and promotes health.

TREATMENT METHODS

Acupuncture

Acupuncture involves the insertion of very fine, sterile needles into specific points on the body, the stimulation of which has been shown to have various positive effects on the body and overall health of the patient. The needles stimulate the body’s Qi, which is the vital life promoting energy that circulates throughout the body. Acupuncture restores normal circulation of Qi, allowing vital nourishment to reach all parts of the body.

Chinese Herbs 

Chinese herbal formulas typically consist of two or more single herbs.  They are specifically chosen to enhance and balance one another while simultaneously targeting the symptoms and the underlying cause(s) of your condition.  Formulas may be administered as raw ingredients to boil into a tea, powders to mix with water, ready made tinctures, capsules or pills.  We will choose a form of herbs that best suits your lifestyle. 

Cupping

A method of acupressure, where a vacuum is created on a patient’s skin to help relieve stagnation. Using a glass cup pressed against the skin a vacuum is created by air heated with fire. As the air cools in the cup, a vacuum forms that pulls up on the skin, stimulating the acupressure effect. Cupping can treat variety of diseases; the most well know are respiratory ailments as well as back, neck and muscular pain.

Gua sha

Gua sha means to scrape or rub. Sha is a 'reddish, elevated, millet-like skin rash' (aka petechiae). Sha is the term used to describe Blood stasis in the subcutaneous tissue before and after it is raised as petechiae. It can removes blood stagnation considered pathogenic, promoting normal circulation and metabolic processes. Gua sha involves repeated pressured strokes over lubricated skin with a smooth edge material. The smooth edge is placed against the oiled skin surface, pressed down firmly, and then moved down the muscles or along the pathway of the acupuncture meridians, along the surface of the skin.

Nutritional / Diet Consultation

According to chinese medicine, food is essence, and all foods have bioenergetic or yin and yang qualities, in part determined by their flavor and innate warming or cooling properties. Emphasizing foods that promote balance in your system can greatly enhance your health and sense of well-being. This is a comprehensive service useful for learning how to select foods based on individual constitutional needs, how to eat seasonally, and facilitate optimal digestion and energy.

Moxibustion

Moxibustion is an alternative therapy that involves burning herbs, which is called Ai Ye or Artemisia argyi and applying the resulting heat to specific points on the body. The heat generated during moxibustion helps increase the flow of vital energy (also known as "Qi" ) throughout the body via certain pathways (known as "meridians"). In CCM, stimulating the flow of Qi is considered essential to achieving health and wellness. In fact, physical and mental health problems are thought to develop (in part) as a result of blockages in the flow of Qi.