Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action.
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the neck, wrist, at the groin, behind the knee, near the ankle joint, and on foot. Pulse is equivalent to measuring the heart rate. The heart rate can also be measured by listening to the heart beat by auscultation, traditionally using a stethoscope and counting it for a minute. The radial pulse is commonly measured using three fingers. This has a reason: the finger closest to the heart is used to occlude the pulse pressure, the middle finger is used get a crude estimate of the blood pressure, and the finger most distal to the heart is used to nullify the effect of the ulnar pulse as the two arteries are connected via the palmar arches. The study of the pulse is known as sphygmology.
Ayurveda is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayurveda is pseudoscientific.
Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health (MVAH) is a form of alternative medicine founded in the mid-1980s by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who developed the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM). Distinct from traditional ayurveda, it emphasizes the role of consciousness, and gives importance to positive emotions. Maharishi Ayur-Veda has been variously characterized as emerging from, and consistently reflecting, the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, representing the entirety of the ayurvedic tradition.
Charaka was one of the principal contributors to Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in ancient India. He is known as a physician who edited the medical treatise entitled Charaka Samhita, one of the foundational texts of classical Indian medicine and Ayurveda, included under Brhat-Trayi.
San Jiao is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture. It is the sixth organ of Fu, which is the hollow space inside the trunk of the body. In TCM, there are five solid organs and each solid organ has its counterpart in a hollow organ. For instance, the heart is considered a solid organ, and the small intestine its hollow counterpart, or Fu organ. San Jiao is believed to be a body cavity of some kind which has the ability to influence other organs, and overall health, mainly through the free movement of Qi, the fundamental energy or life force on the microcosm and on the macrocosm it is associated with the interactions between The Heavens, humans and earth.
The zangfu organs are functional entities stipulated by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). These classifications are not based in physiology or science. They constitute the technological centrepiece of TCM's general concept of how the human body works. The term zang refers to the organs considered to be "solid" yin in nature – Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney – while fu refers to the "hollow" yang organs – Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Gall Bladder, Urinary Bladder, Stomach and San Jiao.
Dantian is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine loosely translated as "elixir field", "sea of qi", or simply "energy center". Dantian are the "qi focus flow centers", important focal points for meditative and exercise techniques such as qigong, martial arts such as tai chi, and in traditional Chinese medicine.
Dosha is a central term in Ayurveda originating from Sanskrit, which can be translated as "that which can cause problems", and which refers to three categories or types of substances that are believed to be present conceptually in a person's body and mind. These Dosha are assigned specific qualities and functions. These qualities and functions are affected by external and internal stimuli received by the body. Beginning with twentieth-century Ayurvedic literature, the "three-dosha theory" has described how the quantities and qualities of three fundamental types of substances called wind, bile, and phlegm fluctuate in the body according to the seasons, time of day, process of digestion, and several other factors and thereby determine changing conditions of growth, aging, health, and disease.
The etiquette of Indian dining and socializing varies with the region in India.
Spermatorrhea is a condition of excessive, involuntary seminal discharge. In several cultures, this referred to ejaculation outside of certain approved sexual practices and was thus a subjective term. A more modern medical definition is the excessive release of semen with no accompanying erection or orgasm.
Agni in Samskrita means "fire", and according to Ayurveda, Agni happens to be the entity that is responsible for all digestive and metabolic processes in the human beings.
The Bi-Digital O-Ring Test (BDORT), characterized as a form of applied kinesiology, is a patented alternative medicine diagnostic procedure in which a patient forms an 'O' with his or her fingers, and the diagnostician subjectively evaluates the patient's health according to the patient's finger strength as the diagnostician tries to pry them apart.
Blood stasis (BS) is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), described as a slowing or pooling of the blood due to a disruption of heart qi. Blood stasis is also described by practitioners of TCM in terms of yin deficiency, qi deficiency and qi stagnation. For non-practitioners of TCM it is sometimes explained in terms of hematological disorders such as hemorrhage, congestion, thrombosis or local ischemia, and in terms of tissue changes. TCM practitioners believe it is an important underlying pathology of many disease processes despite the fact that objective, consistent methods for measuring the presence of blood stasis syndrome are not readily available. Blood stasis is associated with justifications for acupuncture and herbal treatments.
Brahmamuhurta is a 48-minute period (muhurta) that begins one hour and 36 minutes before sunrise, and ends 48 minutes before sunrise. It is traditionally the penultimate phase or muhurta of the night, and is considered an auspicious time for all practices of yoga and most appropriate for meditation, worship or any other religious practice. Spiritual activities performed early in the morning are said to have a greater effect than in any other part of the day.
In the Japanese medical tradition and in Japanese martial arts traditions, the word Hara is used as a technical term for a specific area (physical/anatomical) or energy field (physiological/energetic) of the body. An alternative Japanese reading of the character is Fuku, the Chinese reading is Fu.
Abhyanga is a form of Ayurvedic therapy that involves massage of the entire body from the head to the toe with Dosha-specific warm herb-infused oil. The oil is commonly pre-mixed with herbs for specific conditions. Traditionally, the base oil used is sesame but, Ayurveda Professionals base the oil section on the Dosha type & a mixture of base oils can be used to process Dosha apporpriate herbs for Abhyanga.
Pancha Bhuta or Pancha Maha-Bhuta, five great elements, also five physical elements, is a group of five basic elements, which, according to Hinduism, is the basis of all cosmic creation. These elements are: Prithvi/Bhumi, Apas/Varuna/Jala, Agni, Vayu, Akasha/Dyaus. These elements have different characteristics and these also account for different faculties of human experience. In ayurveda and Indian philosophy, the human body is considered to be made of these five elements. However, Cārvāka did not accept Akasha as basic element as it is not tangible and according to them, there are only four basic elements. Hinduism influenced Buddhism, which accepts only four Mahābhūtas, viewing Akasha as a derived (upādā) element. These five elements of Indian cosmological system are similar but not identical to five element theory used in East Asia.
Chinese ophthalmology is part of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Diseases of the eyes are treated with Chinese herbs, acupuncture/moxibustion, tuina, Chinese dietary therapy as well as qigong and taijiquan.
Tongue diagnosis in Chinese Medicine is a method of diagnosing disease and disease patterns by visual inspection of the tongue and its various features. It is one of the major diagnostic methods in Chinese Medicine since the time of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic. It is considered a part of the “Inspection” method within the four methods of diagnosis. Practitioners claim that the tongue provides important clues reflecting the conditions of the internal organs. Like other diagnostic methods in Traditional Chinese Medicine, tongue diagnosis is based on the “outer reflects the inner” principle, which is that external structures often reflect the conditions of the internal structures and can give us important indications of internal disharmony.
