Lafayette Oriental Holistic Approach|Chinese Medicine|Tui Na and Shiatsu
Western medicine seeks to identify the organic cause of any health problem and to treat those parts of the body that are affected.
Chinese medicine pays little regard to the physiological causes of ill-health. Instead, it focuses on the need to identify patterns of disharmony relating to the body’s intrinsic energies called Qi – pronounced ‘Chi’. Treatments aim at restoring balance and harmony. The Chinese view is that any imbalance of Qi within and between the main organs spells pain and sickness. It affects not only the physical body but also the mind and emotions. Correcting Qi flow so that balance and harmony are restored, provides the right conditions for the body to heal itself. For the Western doctor the body is the sum of its individual parts but for the TCM doctor it is a single functioning whole. The four types of bodywork in this article are all truly holistic in their application and the benefits they bestow.
Tui Na and Shiatsu achieve this by following the guide-lines provided by the complex underlying theory. A practitioner of Thai or Indonesian massage lacks this type of theoretical background but nevertheless seems to possess an almost intuitive awareness of it.
Oriental massage maintains good health and can also treat a wide spectrum of health conditions. The four systems that are under discussion here differ widely in their techniques and methods of application and each one excels in the treatment of particular types of condition.