Get well, keep well – Chinese medicine for promoting optimum health

“To be skilled at nurturing one’s nature is to treat disease before it arises” – Sun Si Miao (pictured), ‘Essential prescription Worth A Thousand Gold’

The idea of ‘treating disease before it arises’ is an important part of Chinese medicine, and always has been. Yet here in the UK we often visit acupuncturists or other kinds of Chinese medicine practitioners to sort out health problems rather than to prevent them.

Don’t get me wrong – there is enormous value to getting some treatment for an illness or health condition… but there is just as much value (or more) in stopping it from happening in the first place.

How often do you go for maintenance or health-promoting treatments? Personally I have some kind of treatment at least once per month – normally acupuncture or some kind of massage or bodywork. I have absolutely no doubt that these sessions help to keep me fit and well in many ways.

For me, it’s about priorities… Having some kind of treatment every month is a commitment of both time and money, but worth every penny and every minute. The cost is easily justified, because I value my health and well-being above all else, and would rather set aside a certain amount every month on that, rather than on ‘luxuries’ or unnecessary consumerism.

As I’m self-employed, it makes perfect financial sense too, as it’s costly for me to have to miss work due to illness, so a small investment in keeping well pays dividends. And similarly for time – I’m as busy as anyone, but it’s always possible to find an couple of hours once a month, and I’ll easily trade an hour or 2 of TV watching for a massage!

And the result? Less stress, stronger immunity, relaxed muscles, better sleep… treasures beyond price!

‘Treating illness before it arises’ means more than just stopping the illness. Chinese medicine is a holistic system that looks at physical, mental and emotional. It works by strengthening and regulating the entire system, improving all aspects of health. It prevents illness by making everything work better, and this makes you feel better. In fact, the various strands of Chinese medicine can and should be used for self-cultivation and self-development – to improve the whole of life, to make life easier and more enjoyable – this is the concept of ‘yang sheng’ or ‘nourishing life’ which I teach in my free Conscious Cultivation course.

This may sound like a big claim, but this is why I do what I do, because I have experienced these effects myself (and still do!) and I see them often in others. It’s also why I’m so passionate about Chinese medicine, and still to this day learning everything I can about it.

So, I invite you to think about your priorities, and what it would mean to be happier, healthier, fitter and less stressed. If you choose to, the different strands of Chinese medicine can help…