Team

TCM: health through balance

by Team | 1212,Mar, 2014 | Traditional chinese medicine

Overall balance is the key to health

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a centuries-old form of medicine rooted in Taoist philosophy. According to this tradition, human beings are part of Nature and obey its cycles, like all beings and phenomena. Therefore, to be healthy, humans must live in harmony with Nature and respect its laws. In other words, they must seek balance and harmony in all areas of life.

7 pillars to maintain health

Maintaining health and longevity has been for thousands of years the quest of ancient Taoists. To achieve this they recommended following the “Seven Pillars to Preserve Health” which invite to know how to:

- eat
- move
- breathe
- rest
- make love
- manage our emotions
- respect the laws of nature
These 7 pillars are more relevant than ever. Chinese medicine is a holistic medicine. Staying in good health requires treating the physical body with respect through healthy food, exercise and rest … But it also requires knowing how to control one’s mind and emotions, emotional disorders being considered a major source of imbalance, and therefore diseases. Environmental factors such as climate and place of residence also have a major impact on health. This is why the art of Feng Shui is also considered as one of the tools of Chinese medicine.

Man between Heaven and Earth

According to Taoist tradition, man is a microcosm of Nature, a miniature universe. Man represents the link between Heaven and Earth.

To be balanced, he must accept his dual nature, material (symbolized by the Earth) and spiritual (symbolized by Heaven or the Cosmos). He must nourish both his material and spiritual needs.

This duality is the basis of the Yin/Yang theory, symbolized by the famous Tai Chi sign. Yin is the principle relating to the Earth and the material world, while Yang relates to Heaven and the subtle or immaterial aspect of life.

The Tai Chi sign represents how the complementary yin and yang principles transform and evolve in a perpetual search for balance. All manifestations of life in the Universe obey this rule.

Life is movement

“Everything observable by the senses is subject to change and therefore in motion… we cannot command the winds and waves to cease, but we can learn to navigate dangerous currents by behaving in harmony with the ongoing energies of transformation, and therefore in the storms of life,” says the famous book of the I Ching, also known as the Classic of Changes. Living in harmony with Nature requires humans to adapt and follow the flow of life. It is futile to try to control Nature, or simply to ignore it.

To represent these perpetual transformations in Nature, Chinese Medicine created the theory of the five elements. The five elements or five movements are: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each element represents a specific movement and quality of qi (or life energy). These five movements or elements are linked by different types of cycles within a harmonious and balanced system.

According to TCM, yin and yang must be in balance, as must the five elements. When imbalances appear, health is affected.

Chinese medicine uses these principles and models to perform its diagnosis. It then employs various tools to restore balance so that the body can find its own path to self-healing. These tools include: diet, herbal remedies, acupuncture, cupping and moxa, tuina massage, and qigong.

Thu Tran Hoang

by Team | 77,Jun, 2013 | Life paths

A model of will

Thu Tran Hoang was an assistant at Essence of Health for five years in Vietnam, then for three years in Cambodia.

Thu was born in Hoi An, in central Vietnam. Her family faced many painful experiences related to the war: exile and dispossession of their property. These events left deep scars on her family and had repercussions on the psyche of the young child, who was born just after the war.

Before she was three, Thu’s family moved south of Saigon, where she spent her entire childhood in the countryside, living a very simple life where they grew rice and shared whatever food they had with their neighbors. There was no money at the time.

When we met her, she was working at the Victoria, a French resort in Hoi An, where she had managed to rise to the position of chef de partie in the kitchen. A cheerful and dynamic young woman, she had acquired excellent cooking skills. She learned Western cuisine, among other things, from her successive chefs. And unlike many colleagues, who don’t even want to taste what they cook, Thu’s curious nature leads her to taste and appreciate this cuisine.

Alongside her career, she also worked hard to study English.
And it’s as a translator that we meet her, because her husband’s grandfather is a traditional healer. At nearly 80 years old, he harvests his own plants and grinds them every day in a huge mortar with an energy that many would envy. Dominique uses his healing powers, and the old man doesn’t speak English, so he summons his granddaughter so he can communicate with us.

We hit it off, and Thu invites us to share lunch with her family for the Tet festivities. We then lose sight of her for a while. And when we met her again, we offered to help us settle in Hoi An, as it was very difficult to get by without speaking Vietnamese. This would be the beginning of an eight-year friendship and collaboration.

Due to her family environment and the simple life she led, Thu has always been interested in natural medicine and the healing power of plants. Furthermore, she demonstrated an innate ability for spiritual activities such as meditation, yoga, etc. In this context, she received instruction in hatha yoga, meditation, tai chi, qi gong, and reiki. She would become a Reiki master.

In Phnom Penh, she rediscovered a hobby she had enjoyed as a child: making paper flowers. She was gifted with her hands, and we encouraged her to develop this talent. She perfected and developed her flowers, using other materials such as fabric. She then created her own creative business: “Eternal Flowers” in Phnom Penh.

Thu Tran Hoang will return to live in Vietnam permanently in 2017.