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Traditional Treatments Find a Niche in Modern Times: Victoria Mogilner describes how Traditional Chinese Medicine can heal many health issues.

Mar 28, 2017 05:03PM ● By Victoria Mogilner

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) consists of cupping, acupuncture, massage, tai chi and qigong. When a TCM practitioner deals with the cause of an illness, instead of just the symptoms, the patient will start to recover and change their lives. With the current state of allopathic (Western) medicine portrayed as impersonal and formulaic, people are investigating a return to the old ways. Five-element acupuncture, for example, requires four years of training.

TCM works on an emotional, spiritual and physical level. Each meridian is connected to an emotion and a season and time of day. The emotion of the kidney and bladder is connected to fear. The season is winter and the kidney controls the back, brain, knees, ears and teeth. If we crave salt, this is connected to the bladder and kidney.

The liver and gall bladder are connected to anger, and the eyes control eyesight, hormones and allergies. The season is the springtime. Craving sour food is connected to the liver and gallbladder. Dizziness is connected to the gallbladder

The heart and small intestine are connected to the emotion of joy or lack of joy. Breathing and melancholy can be connected to lack of joy. The season is summer and each person should have an hour of joy a day. Craving bitter food is a symptom of the fire imbalance.

Late summer is connected to the spleen and stomach, and the emotion is worry or anxiety. Problems with our mother, holding on to the past and not letting go are connected to Indian Summer. Symptoms of belching, digestive disorders and craving sweets are connected to the stomach and spleen.

The colon and lungs are connected to the fall, and the emotion is grief. If we have problems with our father or holding onto the past, diarrhea or constipation, this can lead to problems with the colon or lungs. Problems with asthma or breathing are also connected to the lungs. Craving pungent food is a symptom of colon or lung problems.

Asking a patient what was happening in their lives and when their body began to break down will give a clue as to where to start with a client. Depending upon what season they were born in will tell us our strength or weakness.

A TCM practitioner gets to the cause by listening to the sound of our voice, looking at our body structure and taking an individual’s pulses. We have 12 pulses and 50 characteristics for each pulse; looking at our tongue because all of our organs are on our tongue, and looking at our ear because all our organs are in our ear. Look for heat and dampness on the tongue, teeth marks and size of the tongue and whether it quivers.

Victoria Mogilner is a traditionally trained TCM practitioner. For more information, call 480-560-1454 or visit VictoriaMogilner.com.