Asian therapies are ways of working with the body’s energy or chi. They include Asian bodywork, acupuncture, nutritional guidelines, lifestyle practices, and movement exercises. All therapies are based on the philosophy and teachings of Chinese medicine.
While we’re still in the womb, our internal and external environments arein perfect balance. Once we’re born, we begin to experience physical and emotional stress, leading to imbalance in the body’s energy system. Physical stress includes injuries, illnesses, poor eating habits, and insufficient or inappropriate exercise. Emotional stress includes anger, depression, worry, sadness, frustration, anxiety, and dissatisfaction with one’s work or relationships.
Babies and young children are still so close to their original state of balance that they respond rapidly and readily to energy work. The same is true of animals if their lives have been free of stress and trauma.
Although the body is always in the process of returning to a state of balance, the process becomes more difficult when we’re continuously subjected to the stresses of life. As we age, our imbalances can become fixed patterns. We develop physical symptoms such as muscle tension, fatigue, headaches, digestive disturbances, and menstrual problems. Our symptoms are clues indicating where we are out of balance. The goal of Asian therapies is to restore and maintain our original and innate state of balance and health.
We are affected by everything in our environment and lifestyle — the air we breathe, the food we eat, the movement of our bodies, the stillness of our minds. Asian therapies are based on an integrated understanding of how human beings relate to their environment. We find balance by living in harmony with the natural world.
There is a great deal of information available on Asian therapies that can help you balance your energy and maintain your health. On this website you’ll find information on Asian nutrition, movement exercises, and practices such as Chinese medicine balls and skin brushing.
One advantage of using Asian therapies is the general absence of side effects. Unlike pharmaceutical medications — which are designed to have the same effect on all individuals — balancing energy taps into the body’s innate wisdom, enhancing our ability to heal ourselves.
Some conditions may respond rapidly to Asian therapies, for example, conditions that are primarily related to the foods you eat. Others may require patience. If you would like to receive assistance in balancing your energy, you can avail yourself of one of the many forms of Asian bodywork.