Traditional Chinese Formulas: A Guide for Practitioners
Chinese Herbal Medicine is one of the most sophisticated herbal medical systems in the world. However, mastering this medicine can easily be a lifelong endeavor. Imagine if you had the ability to take a patient’s pulse and within seconds be able to identify a broad range of Traditional Chinese Medicine syndromes and Western biomedical conditions.
What is Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine?
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an ancient medical system based in China and now practiced all over the world which considers health to be highly oxygenated, highly nutritious blood coursing through the body through blood vessels that are neither constricted nor blocked and powered by a healthy pump known as the Heart.
TCM considers the topic of health and longevity to be based on how well Blood (Xue), nutrient (Ying), and Qi (Vital Air – Oxygen) flow in the vessels (Shu Jing Luo Sun Mai) of a patient.
TCM is a highly effective, complete medical system with its own diagnoses and its own treatment modalities.
Chinese herbal medicine uses herbs to improve health. Similar to Western prescriptions but different in that Western prescriptions treat symptoms not the entire human being, including their patterns of symptoms.
Chinese herbal formulas can be seen as :
- Granules or easy-to-digest capsules.
- Teas, liquid extracts and powders.
- A custom formula that a practitioner creates which is what we teach at Doane Online Education.
What most practitioners get wrong about herbalism
Most practitioners are guessing which herbal formulas to prescribe their patients. Their guesses are based on what the patient tells them is wrong with them.
In TCM this is considered the lowest level of practice. Because the patient often doesn’t holistically know what’s wrong with them. They can explain symptoms and pain, but they aren’t viewing their body as a whole. They’ll want to explain their diseases based what they’ve heard with their primary care physician or external symptoms are saying, and while that’s incredibly helpful to know, most practitioners aren’t considering their own methods enough. What we say, master the art of pulse diagnosis.
The 6 step guide to prescribe formulas with ease and confidence
As a TCM practitioner, to start effectively prescribing and creating customizable formulas for your patients start by mastering these 6 pulses.
At Doane Online Education, we teach all our practitioners what we call Medical Pulse Diagnosis® (MPD®). We consider this the most comprehensive, logical, easy to use method of pulse diagnosis. Using MPD you will immediately know what is wrong with the patient, what herbs to give, and a clear idea of how long it will take to resolve those health problems. This will not only improve your patients health but the success of your clinical practice and management.
Right Cun
Reveals a multitude of health complaints about the upper sinuses and diseases of the Large Intestine
Right Guan
Reveals major problems that can occur in the Stomach, Pancreas, and Middle Jiao.
Right Chi
An immediate look into major problems that can occur in the kidney, bladder, shoulders, neck and upper back
Left Cun
The true window into Heart Blood Stasis, Heart Blood Deficiency, Heart Yin and Yang Deficiency and Damp Heat Harassing the Heart.
Left Guan
The home of the function of the Liver and Gallbladder
Left Chi
This portion of the left pulse provides insight into hormonal problems of the patient, gynecological problems, such as PCOS, endometriosis, etc. The position can also reveal knee, hip, ankle and lower back dysfunction.
With time and practice, you’ll take the guesswork out of herbs
With Medical Pulse Diagnosis practitioners are learning how to create formulas that work in today’s modern world, and not just what looks elegant in theory. Our 6 part course on Herbalism 101 is a great place to start! Sign up to our newsletter and receive the latest webinar and programs updates. You can also check out the recording in our shop or sign up for one of our monthly membership passes to gain full access and knowledge.