The ancient Chinese created a system of medicine thousands of years ago that is still used today. It has evolved over thousands of years and is still used to effectively treat modern diseases. Chinese medicine is only part of a greater concept the ancient Chinese used to live their everyday lives. It is a branch that springs from a larger tree that encompasses all aspects of life. This is why the doctor of Chinese medicine does not only deal with the body or physical aspects of one’s health but the mental, spiritual and daily life of a person. The effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the reason it is still deeply entrenched in their medical system and culture.
Traditional Chinese medicine teaches to live in harmony with the seasons. According to TCM theory there is actually five seasons; winter, spring, summer, late summer, and fall. Each season has many facets which require us to change our habits as the season’s change so that we may create more balance between our bodies and the external environment.
When Chinese medicine was being developed thousands of years ago, people were living in a state of complete harmony with nature. The lives of the people at that time had a flow that changed depending on the time of year. They rose with the sun, ate what grew in each season and were acutely aware of their natural environment as it had a direct effect on every aspect of their lives. Things like what foods were eaten was dependent on what happened to be growing at that particular time and what was available. When to get up, how to dress, and what kinds of activities were engaged in, were important so that people were able to stay healthy throughout the year and had the tools to keep their immune systems and their organs strong so that they could ward off disease.
The principle of harmony between what we eat and the season is based on hundreds of years of practical experience. Chinese nutritional therapy is an important component of Chinese medicine and truly believes that you are what you eat. The food that we consume has a profound effect on the body, affecting our health and wellbeing. Foods become part of the body after being consumed (internal) and the weather and environment have an effect on us externally. Chinese dietary philosophy suggests that you embrace native foods along with eating locally grown, organic and chemical free foods that grow in season. According to TCM the thing about the modern diet which is the most unhealthy is that we are able to eat foods all year round that may be grown unnaturally with the use of pesticides rather than ones grown naturally for only part of the year. This is the way nature intended us to eat. Eating natural foods that grow in season is what our bodies are designed for and prefer. This is one of the main ways that Chinese Medicine guides us on how to remain healthy all year long.
Scientists today are just now beginning to understand what the ancient Chinese have known all along. With the recent research discovering the immense benefits of probiotics to our health and digestive system, they have also begun to research the natural probiotics and healthy bacteria that live naturally on our foods. They have now discovered that the bacteria that is naturally on food and in the environment varies on the fruit or the vegetable depending on their natural growing season. This means that the enzymes and healthy microbes on a squash are specifically designed by nature to support us in the fall and winter months along with the starches and vitamins in the squash itself. In contrast to the microbes and vitamins living in or on a July strawberry are designed to sustain us in the heat and summer sun.
The body wrap and treatment series which is offered seasonally are designed to balance the meridians during their particular season. This is done transdermal through the absorption of vitamins, minerals and essential oils, through our sense of smell with aromatherapy and its effect on the body and nervous system, and energetically through the frequencies of the foods-nutrients-essential oils working in harmony with the meridians.
For each treatment the needs of the meridians for that time of year has been studied in depth. Appropriate foods and supplements have then been combined with the physical and mental needs of the body in mind. It is hoped that the client will not only enjoy the benefits of the treatment but the sensory experience as well. By performing with these treatments with positive intentions and focus, the practitioner will also experience some of the meridian balancing benefits as well.
THE BODY WRAPS AT KIM’S ARE DESIGNED WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL SEASON IN MIND. YOUR HEALTH AND WELLNESS ARE IMPORTANT TO US. WATCH FOR SEASONAL UPDATES TO BE PUBLISHED SOON.
