In TCM, disease is an expression of the whole person – body, mind and spirit – in relation to the environment. Chinese medicine doesn’t just treat isolated symptoms in isolated body parts. It gently encourages an awareness of the self as a whole, which in turn promotes strength and healing. As a result, I’ve tried to organize this book using the same holistic principles, instead of dividing it into discussions of separate body parts and medical conditions. I begin the book with a brief introduction to the basic principles of TCM – the concept of Yin and Yang, Qi, the Zang-Fu Organs and the Five Phases. To distinguish between what Western medicine means by certain organs and fluids and the TCM versions, I’ve capitalized the references to the Chinese organs and fluids. Please bear with me here – these concepts may be new to you and difficult perhaps to take in, but having some knowledge of them is necessary to understand Chinese medicine. Don’t worry if you don’t grasp it all at once; the concepts will become clearer as you read the following chapters, and you can always return to Part 1 for reference. Elsewhere in the book, I’ve tried to keep my theoretical explanations rooted in stories drawn from my own life and the experiences of my patients.
The book follows the natural narrative of a woman’s life as it evolves from puberty, through pregnancy and childbirth, towards menopause and onwards. I’ve used traditional Chinese terms for these, which are poetic and nature-based. So, Part Two, on menstruation, is called “Heavenly Water,” and Part Five, on pregnancy, is entitled “Ripening the Fruit.” The time after childbirth is known as “Golden Month” (Part Six). Menopause (Part Seven) is referred to as “Second Spring.” I’ve also included a section, called “Lotus Blossoms” (Part Three), devoted to breast health, which is so problematic in the West – one in nine women will experience breast cancer – and so intimately connected with each stage of the female cycles. Part Four, “Clouds and Rain,” is about sexuality, and explores how we can deepen and direct our sexual energies throughout life. I hope that this framework will help give readers a sense of the uniquely integrated approach of TCM.
The title,
Reflections of the Moon on Water, evokes the archetypal aspects of the feminine that we each embody. In TCM, both the moon and water have been symbolically connected with Yin, the feminine, and many cultures compare women’s evolution from young woman to mother to matriarch with the transformation of the moon in her phases. The title is also meant to suggest the transformational possibilities that arise when we share ourselves with others. Just as I have shared my knowledge and experience of Chinese medicine with my patients, the wonderful women I’ve met in Canada have shown themselves to me, and in so doing have illuminated parts of myself that were previously hidden – like the dark side of the moon. The luminous light of our wholeness is reflected in each of us, for all of us to see. It is my hope that by sharing my understanding and experience of Traditional Chinese Medicine and offering stories from my life and the lives of my wise and courageous patients, you will be equipped with knowledge and practices to help you in your transitions. Also, it is my heartfelt wish that this book can help us reconnect to what is authentic within us, in a healing journey towards wholeness.
Copyright © 2006 by Xiaolan Zhao. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
