Traditional Chinese Medicine

Today we travelled to the Chinese Traditional Medicine Hospital to learn about phytotherapy, accupuncture, massage, and general traditional chinese medicine (TCM) practices.  Dr. Kampirapap provided a lecture that explained how ying, yang, qi, and the 5 chinese elements played into their stance on healthcare.  Yin, or vital essence, is a more feminine energy, and represents passive, cooling whereas yang is described as vital energy, and represents warm, masculine, and dynamic energy. Each organ is generally thought of to be attributed to one of the energies, and can be connected via meridians and collaterals. TCM targets these energy (qi) hotspots to restore the balance between yin and yang energies through things like acupuncture, where a stainless steel needle is inserted a few millimeters into the skin and moved around in order to stimulate a blocked meridian.  Reesha, one of our classmates, volunteered to have one needle placed a few inches above her ankle in a spot where 3 meridians typically intersect. She described it as painless, but definitely felt a short shock when her "qi returned to the spot and circulated the areas again".

Another method to call qi to an area is through cupping.  This involves creating a negative pressure inside of a jar (typically via flame) and then firmly placing the cup against the skin for several minutes. In that time, the skin would raise up underneath the cup, which appeared very painful, but the classmates that tried it out said it did not hurt at all.  In fact, it was described more so as a tickling feeling! I'm not sure I personally could endure cupping, but it was interesting to learn about.

Another way to enhance accupuncture was through moxibustion. This is when a packet of traditional chinese herbs are rolled into a little cylinder, lit on fire, and then placed on top of an accupuncture needle. The packet is shown below.

Lastly, I was able to experience laying over steaming herbs in a special bed (pictured below). Typically, patients lay on the steaming beds for 20 minutes before their massage appointment as to loosen muscles and prepare the body for all the twist and chiropractic like turns they would soon expeirence. It was overall a very pleasant experience. It was nice and toasty warm, smelled great, and loosened up my back muscles. Unfortunately though, I wasn't able to see the demonstrations of other TCM techniques, since I was laying down for 20 minutes. But, I did feel fantastic afterwards, so I was very happy to be there!

After our educational morning, we decided to take a break at a cat cafe.  The cats were cute, but very tired. Pictures below!

Lastly, we had dinner at the Siam Tea House.  It had delicious thai cuisine with a more modern style. It seemed like everyone loved their dinners! Pictures of my dinner and those around me are pictured below. I had a soup called "grandmas secret recipe" - yum!!