Chinese medicine has evolved over thousands of years as an empirically based healthcare system grounded in careful observation of the natural world and human experience. Illness is understood as imbalanced functioning among the organs, substances, and regions of the human body.
Early physicians recognized how seemingly unrelated symptoms could form a holistic picture of a patient's physical and mental health. Treatments were designed to: ~ Help patients recover from current illness ~ Prevent future recurrence whenever possible
FoundationalTexts
The foundational principles of Chinese medicine were recorded during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) in the first authoritative texts. Traditional medical practices that had previously existed as separate family lineages of folk medicine were codified and written down at this time. These classics (jing) form the core canon of Chinese medicine and are essential sources for guiding practitioners today.
The Central Role of Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine has always been a central pillar of Chinese medicine. Among the important texts mentioned above are the Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Farmer's Classic of Materia Medica) and the Shanghan Zabing Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage and Complex Disorders). These works provide clinicians with a definitive standard for prescribing herbs. Chinese herbal formula medicine carries a long history of clinical testing, refinement, and evidence-based efficacy.
Pattern-Based Healthcare
Practitioners of Chinese medicine focus on identifying patterns of disharmony within the patient's body-mind. Assessments draw upon a of a wide range of signs -- body temperature, sleep, digestion, aches and pains, emotional tendencies, and more. The cornerstone of this assessment is palpation of the pulse, which is something that requires decades of dedicated practice under the guidance of an experienced teacher. Fortunately, a system of Canonical Chinese Medicine® has been preserved through both formal classroom education and direct teacher-to-student transmission. Within this clinic-based lineage, classical Chinese herbal formulas are studied and prescribed according to the principles laid out in the classics.
How This Guides Our Practice
At Great Nature Oriental Medicine, this careful and precise application of millennia of clinical insights guides all herbal treatments, ensuring that each formula is tailored to support one's healing and long-term wellness.