Classical Chinese Medicine is a vast collection of texts and teachings reaching back at least 2,000 years.
For us in modern times, a huge benefit is the focus on Wholeness.
Each person is seen as whole, and one with Nature.
Classical Chinese Medicine is a deep philosophy and practice of:
- health
- wellbeing; and
- longevity
How did the ancients study life, and what did they discover?
Instead of books and classrooms, the ancients used detailed obervation. They looked outside to Nature, and they looked within.
Looking outside
When they looked outside, they saw the way that the rain and rivers move through the Earth on their way to the sea. They noticed the energies of the Earth as it turned from day to night, and from summer to winter. They saw larger cycles, and smaller cycles within. They even mapped out the constellations in the sky, tones of music, flavours and colours.
Looking within
When they looked within, they noticed how energy moves inside the body and the mind. They observed the breath and the thoughts, and how these change with the physical body. They used their maps of the natural world and saw that the cosmos, on the outside, was a resonating guide for the universe within. They mapped energy points, energy pathways and even developed special abilities.
Longevity
Ancient practitioners aimed to invite the physical body into the lightness and purity of the spirit. In their study and practice, they came up with many instructions for wellbeing and longevity.
How is Classical Chinese Medicine relevant for us today?
The maps that the ancients discovered are detailed and rich, connecting the natural world and the inner world.
As our culture starts discovering new ways that the body and mind are connected, we can look to these ancient maps and see that yes, science is starting to catch up with ancient knowledge. People have been talking about these connections for centuries. We have new scientific language for an ancient practice.
Our science has cut things into little pieces to try to understand the world. Our medical industry has so many narrow specialisations. But Classical Chinese Medicine has always been the study of the Whole. And it’s a detailed set of maps and understandings that help us to navigate what seem like these many parts – while knowing that have never been truly separate.
You are Whole
You’ve always been Whole. Body AND mind AND spirit, all together, all at once.
And you have always been completely WITHIN nature – never separate. Always belonging. This planet Earth, and the heavens above, are as much a part of your wellbeing as your food and your family.
Classical Chinese Medicine can contain this Wholeness, this complexity, and make it simple.
