Chinese Culture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

It is difficult to talk about TCM without talking about Taoism.  If you want to learn more about TCM and understand it better, then it would be useful to read about taoist philosophy.   The application of taoism is a lifestyle practice that can guide anyone regardless of their religious background.  In TCM, lifestyle modification to improve health means imcorporating taoist ideas into daily life. 

Taoism recommends balance in thought and action.   When we do too much of anything, our health will suffer.  For example, if you are worried about something, then continuing to think about that thing will make us feel worse.  Western thought would say that you are at the mercy of your emotions and that nothing can be done but to suffer.  Taoist thought says that each person has the ultimate decision of what to think about and so in order to preserve your health you can choose to think of something else or distract yourself until you can change your circumstances.  Since excessive emotion is considered to be the ultimate root of most disease, then the incorporation of taoist principles into daily life becomes essential for good health.