by Andres Vergara and Michele Vergara
As of November 1st, Andres and Michele will be moving their office from the Naturopathic Health Clinic (2522 Reynolda Rd.) to a few doors down at 2594B Reynolda Rd. As many of you may know, Andres and Michele have been practicing at the Naturopathic Health Clinic in Winston Salem, Michele for the past eight years and Andres for nearly three years. It has been a wonderful home for us, but we are ready a little more space. It is an exciting expansion for us both and has given us the opportunity to redefine our practice and the way we will work together. As an expression of our partnership, we have a new name, 4 Branches Chinese Medicine Center and a new website. In this article, we want to introduce you to our name, our logo and our understanding of the practice of Chinese medicine. Please stay posted as we will be offering some new exciting things such as qi gong classes and a small raw, organic herb pharmacy on site (in addition to continuing to offer consults and treatments in the areas of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and medical qi gong).
Chinese Medicine is a comprehensive system developed over thousands of years in both ancient and relatively modern China. Fundamental to the practice of Chinese medicine is the understanding of an intricate energy body that feeds and connects the physical body. By keeping the energy body healthy, the physical body also becomes healthy. To this end Chinese Medicine uses a descriptive theory of meridians that have been found to correlate with an aspect of the nervous system known as merkel c fibers. There are many effective ways to influence the organ systems and body functions that are connected with these meridians and other deeper channels.
The four branches of Chinese medicine – acupuncture, herbal medicine and food/diet, medical qi gong, and bodywork – represent the best and most commonly acknowledged methods by which to accomplish deep healing of the physical and energetic body. Acupuncture, herbal medicine, Medical Qi Gong, and bodywork are highly effective ways of bringing the body back into balance. At 4 Branches Chinese Medicine Center we use one or more of these methods in order to achieve optimal health as quickly as possible. Another way of understanding the four branches is through the concept of jing, qi and shen. Jing refers to the substances or physical matter of the body, qi refers to the aforementioned energetic substructure of the body and shen refers to the spiritual energies that govern the body. These are known as the three treasures. The four branches allow us as practitioners to nudge the various systems of the human body back into health so that dis-ease may be overcome and radiant health achieved.
We, as practitioners, have found that sometimes it is preferable to use more than one of the branches at a time. This can be understood by referring to the jing, qi, shen or the three treasures. Herbs are substantive and solid and can to some extent be understood biochemically in their actions on the body (although most herbal formulas are far too complex for science to fully understand in terms of their biochemisty). Herbs are therefore considered to be acting more on the jing or jing qi level of the body. Acupuncture is focused on moving the qi (which is what the meridians carry). Therefore it acts on the qi level in the body. Medical qi gong is complex and powerful enough to act on the levels of jing, qi and shen levels of the body. Eastern types of body work are usually also acting mostly on the qi level by using manipulations to rectify the qi. Therefore by using at least herbs and medical qi gong you are reaching a complete system of health that covers the three treasures and complement each other to help send a complex message of health and well being to your body.
In Chinese medicine all of the organs are very important to health and well being. Perhaps the most important are the heart and the kidneys. In Chinese medicine the heart is considered the emperor/empress of your internal kingdom, and using the metaphors of ancient Chinese civilizations, it is imperative that the emperor/empress be happy and healthy for the kingdom to thrive. This is one reason why we use the character of the heart which consists of four branches as our logo. The other important reason we do this is because the four branches of the heart character represent the spiritual ideal of an empty heart unencumbered by imbalanced emotions. When the heart is free of worry, sadness, anxiety, anger, fear, etc… it is believed that the five innate virtues – order and unconditional love (heart/fire), integrity and courage (lungs/metal), deep trust (spleen/earth), compassion and kindness (liver/wood), and wisdom and inner peace (kidneys/water) – can then rest within the heart allowing for a happy, balanced and healthy life. When you come in for an appointment we will figure out how to best support your various organ systems to optimize your health and well being. We invite you to make an appointment with us so that we can help you balance the three treasures of the body by using the wisdom of Chinese medicine and the four branches to help you achieve your optimal health and well being. You can now schedule online with either Michele or Andres. But never forget that Michele still really loves the old fashioned way of scheduling with email – michele@spiritrisingherbs.com – or a phone call – 336-624-6727. You can schedule with Andres directly at andrefvergara@gmail.com or 336-508-1121.
