Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Traditional Chinese Medicine, abbreviated to TCM, has been practiced in China and Chinese communities for more than 5,000 years. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is not a single modality, in fact there are several modalities wrapped up in this combined discipline of healing.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) includes individual modalities or techniques like acupuncture, maxabustion, massage, herbal remedies, animal extract remedies, exercise and diet. Each of these can be viewed as a different sub-modality of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and many of these require years of dedicated study before a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner will become proficient.

Many of the modalities that make up the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) discipline  have been accepted by the West over the last century and this rate of acceptance is constantly increasing. Acupuncture, Gigong classes, and T'ai Chi classes and groups can be found around the world and is accepted by a wide cosmopolitan population.

A common thread though all of these Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) modalities is the underlying objective of making the body, mind and spirit work in harmony. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) every symptom is viewed as part of the whole process and every ailment is related to the whole of body, mind and spirit. Each Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment, medicine or exercise is aimed at restoring this harmony and balance in the person as a whole.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (which, as pointed out before, encompasses all their modalities and techniques) believes that once this equilibrium, harmony or balance has been restored that the body will heal itself.