Oriental medicine is a multi-faceted medical system that includes acupuncture & moxibustion, Chinese herbal medicine, Eastern dietary therapeutics, qi cultivation techniques, and Asian bodywork techniques.  Within each of these categories there are numerous different modalities or systems of thought.  However, no matter where you learn or practice Oriental medicine, at the root of the practice is the fundamental theory that emerges from China.

Qi is a Chinese concept that has a variety of definitions in the English language.  The most integral definition to Oriental medicine is that of “any of various dynamic phenomena of the body”.  Qi in the body governs such aspects as growth, development, physiological activity, metabolism, warming & defending the body, and the production of blood.  Qi flows through the body in an intricate system of channels, each made up of a variety of individual points.

Although used independent of each other, these two techniques are so deeply wedded to each other in Oriental medicine that the term for this therapy is zhen jiu 镇灸, meaning ‘needle moxibustion’.
Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles into specific points along the channels, as determined by a Oriental medicine pattern diagnosis.  The therapeutic goal of acupuncture is to regulate the qi and blood which flow through the body, its organs and the channel pathways.  When it flows unimpeded, the body is in a state of health.  When some cause interrupts the flow of qi, illness or pain can result.
Moxibustion refers to the burning of the dried and crushed leaves of Chinese mugwort either on or in close proximity to the skin, to affect the movement of qi in the channel.  Additional techniques that might be used with acupuncture and moxibustion include cupping, bleeding, electrical stimulation and cutaneous stimulation.

Herbal medicine has been an integral part of Chinese culture and medical practice for centuries.  The traditional Chinese materia medica includes substances from plants, fungi, animals and minerals.  There are over 5000 substances in the materia medica, although only about 400 are commonly utilized in the US and learned in school.  Oriental medicine typically uses substances in combinations, known as formulas.  A formula may contain many substances in sophisticated combinations to address an imbalance in the body.  Chinese Herbal Medicine is an integral component of the MSAOM program at NYCC.

In addition to the practice of herbal therapy, Oriental medicine addresses health through dietary modification. Common foods are understood in terms of the theoretical constructs of Oriental medicine, including the nature (temperature) of a substance, the flavors, and the organs that a particular food will affect. Recommending accentuation, integration or combination of particular foods can have profound influence on health and wellness.