Connection to the whole: the role of Tong in engaging qi
Item
Title
Connection to the whole: the role of Tong in engaging qi
Description
Lantern (2018), Charles Chace
Source
Abstract
We and our colleagues have been working for quite a few years on a set of concepts and palpatory techniques we call Engaging Vitality (EV) in which we demonstrate how some osteopathic ideas can inform the practice of Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM). Our experience has shown that this perspective can not only improve our clinical abilities, but also deepen our understanding of TEAM concepts. Palpitation of almost any sort, including that done under the umbrella of EV, works against what we consider to be two of the major issues with TEAM today: the tendency to do things based on mere convention, and the tendency to pretend that TEAM is based on abstract concepts rather than the concrete human organism. For example, it is common to think of qi, yin-yang, five phase and zangfu theories, the fundamental principles of our discipline, as being somewhat abstracted from the actual physical body. Similarly, we may describe what we do in terms of the regulation of qi, blood and fluids within the human body without thinking that all of these substances are really there and are palpable. Our conceptual understanding of the nature of this regulation influences what we do in the clinic and that can change quite dramatically once we have a sense of what balanced qi, turbid dampness, etc. actually feels like.
Creator
Language
English
Date
Subject
volume
15
issue
1
page start
4
page end
11
Alternative Title
Lantern
issn
1449-2717