What prompted me to write was a degree of aggravation with the excitement anti-aging medicine generates when, in fact, a person can live an extremely long, healthy life following the basic tenets of Chinese Medicine. Diet, exercise, positive mental state ... it's all there. So are the tools - acupuncture, herbs etc ... - to keep all those factors in balance. Although I get a lot of satisfaction from treating people's pressing issues, I'd like nothing more than the opportunity to keep them from getting sick in the first place. Here's the article (font was different in newsletter):
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In many ways, Chinese Medicine seeks to mine the infinite.
Practitioners of this ancient healing art, like myself, enter a dynamic concept of universal energy called “Qi” every time we treat a patient. It’s an amazing force that suffuses our bodies and our natural surroundings. It’s what we’re attempting to balance with needles and herbs, along with doses of exercise, diet and meditation.
It sounds like a medicine of unlimited possibilities for our health. In a sense it is, except that we can’t live forever. These days, a movement toward “Anti-Aging Medicine” is taking hold among alternative physicians, including Western-trained doctors who adopt holistic medicine. That’s great. It should help all of us live longer, healthier lives. But it’s also true that Chinese Medicine has practiced preventative and rejuvenative healing for thousands of years. At the core, it is longevity medicine. You just have to follow the ancient roadmap.
The Anti-Aging/Longevity Medicine movement puts a decidedly modern spin on ancient concepts of clean living. Along with advice on exercise, healthy eating and maintaining a positive mental outlook, it adds an in-depth knowledge of human physiology and supplementation on matters like vitamin use and hormone replacement. You might also find specialized techniques, such as kinesiology, which are designed to energetically measure your mental and physical states of being.
Chinese Medicine, too, has become more modern. Practitioners are embracing science in order to expand their knowledge and ability to treat today’s patient. We test for hormonal and nutritional deficiencies, prescribe supplements and rely on an increasingly large body of research that lends evidence to the profound physiological impact traditional acupuncture and herbs have on the human body.
While putting a price tag on good healthcare is a touchy issue, visiting a Chinese Medicine practitioner can cost much less than a modern Anti-Aging regimen.—even with the lack of insurance coverage for acupuncture.
So, once again, here are the basics of Chinese Medicine or, for our purposes, Chinese Longevity Medicine. Implementing them does take commitment.
Diet
Exercise
Moderation in eating habits, lifestyle and emotions, with an avoidance of overwork
Stress control and meditation
When following these habits proves difficult—as it is for most of us—and we feel less than optimal, acupuncture, herbs and Tuina massage can help bring you back into balance.
Like other licensed acupuncture physicians, I can order all the tests you need and offer many of the supplements to address any deficiencies. I cannot, however, prescribe hormones and pharmaceuticals. That would require the cooperation of a Western-trained physician.
But before you turn to turn to an Anti-Aging/Longevity specialist, consider the simplicity and time-tested values of Chinese Medicine. And the next time a practitioner offers to read your energy on a machine, let someone like me feel your pulse, observe your tongue and read your face first.
It’s an energy that speaks volumes.
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