Cliffnotes Version:

TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) is all about balance, flow, and harmony.  It's been around for thousands of years and over a 1/4 of the world's population use it!

TCM believes that the human body is a miniature version of the larger, surrounding universe. that harmony between two opposing yet complementary forces, called yin and yang, supports health, and disease results from an imbalance between these forces.

The five elements—fire, earth, wood, metal, and water—symbolically represent all phenomena, including the stages of human life, and explain the functioning of the body and how it changes during disease.

Last but certainly not least, Qi (or chi), a vital energy that flows through the body, performs multiple functions in maintaining health.

The 5 Elements

The five elements are all about keepin' the flow with harmony and balance.  It organizes all natural phenomena into five master groups or patterns in nature.

Each of the five groups Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water include categories such as a season, a direction, climate, stage of growth and development, internal organ, body tissue, emotion, aspect of the soul, taste, color, sound . . . the categories are seemingly limitless.

The Five Elements reflect a deep understanding of natural law, the Universal order underlying all things in our world.

4 Principles:

1. Your body is an integrated whole. 

You are fantastic! Each and every structure in your body is an integral and necessary part of the whole. Along with your mind, emotions, and spirit, your physical body structures form a miraculously complex, interrelated system that is powered by life force, or energy. Everything you need to heal yourself exists within your being!

2. You are completely connected to nature. 

Changes in nature are always reflected in your body meaning the season, geographical location, time of day, as well as your age, genetics, and the condition of your body when looking at your health issues.

3. You were born with a natural self-healing ability. 

Your body is a microcosm that reflects the macrocosm. Think about it: nature has a regenerative capacity, and so do you.

4. Prevention is the best cure. 

TCM teaches you to be aware of your body and how if feels if it in unbalanced.

Chi

The concept of chi, which means something like "life force" or "energy," is an invisible energy force that flows freely in a healthy person, but is weakened or blocked when a person is ill. Specifically, the illness is a result of the blockage, rather than the blockage being the result of the illness. How does your chi flow?

Yin & Yang

Everything contains Yin and Yang. They are two opposite yet complementary energies. Although they are totally different; opposite in their individual qualities and nature, they are interdependent. Yin and Yang cannot exist without the other; they are never separate. For example, night and day form a Yin-Yang pair. (Night is Yin and day is Yang.) Night looks and is very different from day, yet it is impossible to have one without the other. Both create a totality, a complete whole.

It seems as though everyone could benefit from a little balance and harmony!