Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) in my opinion is one of the most sophisticated form of Oriental Medicine in it’s application. The Pharmacopoeia spans a tradition built over many thousands of years. Including many hundreds and even thousands of substances. Herbal Medicine is both practiced and researched in hospitals throughout China, providing insight into health in the modern day.
This eloquent approach of OM seeks to recognise the nature of disharmony (disease) and the environment it is supported in (the condition of the body). CHM aims to balance the patterns of opposing nature’s of Yin and Yang, warmth and coolness, dryness and moistness, movement into the upper and lower body, internal and external, tonifying deficiency and clearing excess.
Hence the traditional saying ‘Same disease different treatment, same treatment different disease’.
When you take CHM there should be no negative side effects, as the practitioner will make or choose a formula taking all your patterns into consideration.
Each herb has a particular thermal nature, flavour, organ system(s) that it influences, and action(s) in the body. Often there is a synergy with another herb prescribed at the same time- i.e. the effect of the combination is greater than the sum of the individual effects.
Within my own practice I firstly consider what can be done with the other aspects of Oriental Medicine – Acupuncture, Nourishment, lifestyle- Meditation and Qi gong. And use herbs if the nature of the disorder or the condition of the body is so out of balance that lifestyle changes alone will not provide enough support.