About Natural Medicine

Natural Medicine is a system of healing that uses a multi-faceted approach to treatment. It encompasses a number of therapies including Acupuncture, Herbology, Dietetics, Exercise and Acupressure, etc.

In addition to its effectiveness in the treatment of acute and chronic disease, Natural Medicine offers great value to those individuals who seek to increase their quality of health and vitality. Natural Medicine is preventative medicine, with practitioners seeking to correct minor imbalances in energy before they develop into major health problems.

Natural Medicine views the body as a system with defined pathways of energy running throughout. When there is energy imbalance, the result is pain or illness.

Western Medicine and Natural Medicine have distinctly different approaches to treatment and diagnosis. Whereas Western Medicine concentrates largely on relieving the symptoms of disease, Natural Medicine primarily addresses the cause underlying the symptoms. Modern Western Medicine is highly analytical. Its practitioners usually tend to reduce the body to its component parts, concentrating on treating a specific part of the body. Natural Medicine, on the other hand, does not conceive of the body in parts. It considers the organ a part of the whole, and disease a deterioration of the entire body system.

The ability of Natural Medicine to recognize the underlying cause of an ailment is an integral part of its treatment.

The system involves the ability to diagnose imbalances using the classic theory of Yin and Yang. This is an ancient philosophical concept used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Yin and Yang are two essential opposites which find their physiological roots in the complementary action of the adrenal glands. Each individual has a certain unique balance of Yin and Yang, and disease is seen by Natural Medicine as a reflection of imbalance. In the process of diagnosis, one looks for Yin-like or Yang-like conditions in both the basic constitution of the person and in the nature of the ailment.

Along with the Yin Yang theory, the theory of Meridians (channels and collaterals) is also used in Natural Medicine as a means of diagnosis. The body is divided into twelve primary channels or meridians. Each cannel has its own specific course and organ to which it pertains. Chi which is electromagnetic energy, circulates throughout the body via these meridian pathways.

The Meridian Energy Flow Test is the major diagnostic tool used at the Natural Medicine Institute. A volume-controlled micro electric current is used to test the source point of each meridian. These results are then entered on a meridian analysis chart. The reasons for functional and organic disturbances are clearly highlighted through unbalanced readings. This diagnostic tool yields a very accurate picture of the patient's body condition and is used in conjunction with traditional tongue and pulse diagnoses.

The tongue is observed in terms of its texture, color, coating and substance and this inspection provides very important information about the patient's condition. Various pulse pouts may be checked for frequency, rhythm, fullness, smoothness, and strength when assessing a patient.

In addition to these techniques, the complexion of the patient is observed to assist in rounding out the diagnosis. The practitioner of Natural Medicine is also trained to ask very specific key questions of the patient, in order to obtain information that would assist in diagnosis.