Nurturing life

​I have re-circulated with permission an interesting article by Trish Tan I thought may be of interest to our group as it goes to the very root of our Taichichuan practice. Trish has also provided a website link if members may be further interested...

By Trish Tan...

​“Nurturing life is the art of Yang Sheng – the art of nourishing Life. It is the foundation of health in Chinese Medicine and the basis of Taoist cultivation. Yang Sheng includes Qigong, diet, sleep, meditation and living in accord with cycles of nature.
 
Qi, Jing, Shen – these are the three levels of cultivation that will promote, health, well-being and longevity.
 
As a practising healer, I am always looking at choices – whether it be my own or others who come to see me for consultations. The art of traditional Chinese medicine is to always treat the Root of the problem and the Branches will reap the benefits of this.
 
Treating the Branches will only result in temporary relief. However, there are many who are only interested in a quick-fix (fixing the branches) and not getting to the root of their problems. Getting to the Root, often involves looking within and confronting emotions and lifestyle choices that are contributing to the health problems.
 
There is also another concept in the Classics that the Heart is the Source of all disease, recognising the pivotal role of emotions in medicine. So in traditional Chinese Medicine, we also have the 3 levels of Heaven, Earth and Man (Humankind).
 
Western Medicine mostly addresses problems on the Human level and Earth level (Qi and Jing), while acknowledging that there are problems on the Heaven level (Shen).
 
Traditional Chinese Medicine through the art of Yang Sheng will treat all three through the use of acupuncture, herbal medicine, diet, meditation, sleep and lifestyle choices.
 
The path of the Tao acknowledges that one can only get to the Root of problems by firstly looking within.
 
Not everyone chooses to follow the Tao –whether it be through ignorance or denial or a lack of insight into oneself.
 
Practising TaiChi Chuan is a way of following the Tao and it is one way that I share with others on how to achieve health, well-being and longevity”.
 
Regards,
Trish
 www.yangsheng.com