Hi, my name is Kim Christensen. I'm a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner. This presentation is going to give you an introduction to East Asian medicine. So that you have a better context to understand the system that you'll be learning. So East Asian medicine is a comprehensive medical system that is over 3000 years old. This is something that has a very rich written and oral history and a lot of these traditions have been passed down through a wide range of classical texts. Through family traditions that have been practiced over a very long period of time and traditions that have spread across geographical regions. So one of the reasons that we're using the term East Asian medicine in this presentation is to really encompass the wide range of practice. That currently exists across East Asia that originally came from China. Some of the core concepts that we will be exploring in this presentation are that of holism Yin and Yang theory, five element theory. And the idea of Qi, all of these are very foundational to the philosophy as well as the practice of East Asian medicine. This is a quote from Zhuang Zhou, he is a 4th century roughly. Taoist philosopher who was very influential in the development of Taoism at the time heaven, Earth, and I are living together and all things and I form an inseparable unity. I think that this quote really beautifully touches on the heart of holism that is really key to the philosophies behind this medicine. The body is viewed as a complex ecosystem of parts that are inseparable from the whole. Just as man is viewed as an inseparable part of the complex ecosystem of the universe. So the core idea here is that we are all entirely related and that we have what we can think of as a macrocosm in nature. And a microcosm in humans that form this complex universe. So in a way we can think about some of the features that we observe in nature like landmasses, rivers and waterways, clouds and wind and various weather patterns. Seasonal shifts as things in the human body like organs, body fluids, energy that we can think of in the way that it powers are vital life function, various life phases. All of these things relate to each other and create sort of a mirror that touches on the fact that there is a common force behind all of this. And that is one of Yin and Yang, the five elements and cheap. Yin and Yang are the laws of heaven and earth. The great framework of everything. The parents have changed the route and beginning of life and death. This is a quote from the Huan Di Nei Jing Su Wen, which is one of the classic texts of Chinese medicine. It's a great book that we sort of consider to be like one of the key sources of information for philosophy of how we do our practice. But you can see from this quote that Yin and Yang are foundational to the theory of how we view the universe. So all things can be reduced to Yin and Yang, both in nature and in our bodies. Yin and Yang theory describe how things function in relationship to each other. These are complementary opposites, not force is not material entities. But words that are used to describe how things in our bodies in nature and in the universe function in relationship to each other. It's not that Yin and Yang are mutually consuming, meaning that they are in a constant state of dynamic balance and the relative level of Yin and Yang are in constant adjustment. So when one becomes out of balance, the other adjusts its proportion to achieve a new balance. It's also thought that Yin and Yang are inter transformational, so each contains the seat of the other within itself and they transform at certain times. You might be familiar with the image that is on the right of the slide that is known as the Tai Qi symbol. And you'll see that there are white and black sections with a circle of the opposite color within itself. This represents that inter transformational nature, you'll also see that on the left of the slide, there are some of the characteristics that we traditionally ascribe to Yin and Yang. So some of these refer to various states of being to temperature to directionality or movement. There's a lot of different ways that we can perceive the phenomena that are happening within and outside of us through this framework. So from a medical point of view we use it to analyze the patient's anatomy, the physiological processes and symptoms. And this assessment allows us to guide a diagnosis and a treatment strategy with the aim of bringing Yin and Yang into a state of relative balance to promote health and well being. Another concept that is key to how we view the on goings of the body and the universe is that of five element theory. So everything in the universe can correspond to one of the five elements. This is a younger concept than Yin Yang theory. But it was really formed in response to observations made by Chinese people in their lives and in their work and in nature. So you can see in the graphic that's on the right of the slide, there's five elements. And there's a circle of arrows on the outside that refers to the creation cycle, meaning that would creates fire, fire creates earth and so forth. You'll also see that inside their arrows that actually make a star. This refers to the destruction cycle, meaning water destroys fire, fire destroys metal like it melts it. So you can see that they're related to each other in that way and in order for things to function efficiently in nature. The balance between these elements needs to be appropriate so that things can both be created and controlled. So in medicine we view this in a few ways we can view five element through physiology, pathology, diagnosis, treatment and dietary and herbal therapy. So there's different relationships to the organ systems, to different points have a specific elemental relationship. Different treatment strategies might relate more to one element than the other. So depending on what we see diagnostically as the balance in the patient's body, we can use the appropriate elemental influences to reinforce our treatment strategy. Key is the dynamic motive force behind all actions. So Qi is something that manifests on a physical and spiritual level. It is in a constant state of flux and aggregation. Qi is something that can take various forms in the body and each different type of key fulfills a different type of function. To perform our various bodily functions that are necessary for us to be alive, for us to move for us to digest our food to power thought all of it. The idea is that a free flow of Qi is necessary for proper function and that when the key is obstructed in its flow. It can result in pain, physical dysfunction, disease and poor physical and mental health. It's not that the Qi in the body moves through a complex meridian system and that if there's blockages in the meridian for any reason such as physical trauma injury overuse. It disrupts the flow of Qi this Chinese proverb really sums it up perfectly where there is pain, there is no circulation, where there is circulation, there is no pain. So the focus of East Asian medicine is really on addressing the energetic health of the organs and the tissues by regulating the flow of Qi. Encouraging the body to utilize the innate self healing mechanisms that it has to function more efficiently. One of the things I want to point out is that we understand from an East Asian medicine context, the internal organs a little bit differently than biomedicine. So please know that when we're referring to an organ or a meridian that has the name of an organ that we are also familiar with within biomedicine. We're really referring more to the energetic function as opposed to the physical form. One of the ways that we differentiate this in writing is by using capitalist letters, like when we're referring to heart with a capital H as opposed to lower case heart. When we're referring to the anatomical organ in a biomedical context. Maintaining and restoring a state of homeostasis is really at the core of East Asian medicine treatment. And this is something that you will all be learning about as we explore some of the different protocols and approaches through the term.
