One of the most fascinating aspects of TCM is how the ancient healers used nature and the cyclical nature of time as their main sources in developing the treatment modalities we, as TCM practitioners, use today. That’s right, the fundamentals aspects to our lives are used in treating the body. I’M sure this sounds foreign to m any of my Western clinical colleagues.

For instance, many TCM practitioners will use the seasons as a guide to create their treatment plans or even to alter them. Many practitioners will prescribe a different food plan or alter the ingredients of their herbal formula based on what season it is; this is even when their underlying diagnosis hasn’t changed.

This is very different than a Western clinician’s method of treating. Their treatment plans rarely consider the seasonal patterns. They prescribe the same medicines regardless off the season.

The TCM practitioner will use the patient’s birth date as a prime source to indicate to him the constitutional characteristics of that person. In Chinese Medicine, this is based on the season, time and the month that the person was born in. Why is this important? The ancient healers believed that in order for a person to be fully healed, his very constitution or Essence needs to be realigned. Thus, they created methods of treatment that are specific to times of the seasons.

Now, I’m not saying this is all inclusive, Obviously, TCM practitioners also treat acute cases, such as pain, that are not cyclical in nature; they just happen. I continue to treat these cases with my standard protocols. I rarely consider seasonal factors in determining my treatment plan.

However, for the chronic internal cases, I still very much factor in the cyclical nature of time in treating. The very least this discussion should do is to provide you with some insight regarding the true depth to the healing practices in TCM.