Reality...I woke up this morning, and after some Qi Kung practice, found myself being very awake for the start of class. 14 hours later, I'm very tired and in need of rest. I have to get up at 7:15 tomorrow to make it to the next class.
The classes today were deceptively easy except one which is the Theory class which I expect will be very challenging. We have this professor for two classes and she is pure genius. I will tremendously enjoy every single one of her lectures I'm sure. She also happens to live two houses down from us. :)
Tomorrow's Medical Chinese Terminology, and Point Location class will no doubt complete my understanding of why the first year is as difficult as it is.
While feeling very gratified to be in the program, reality of the fact that studying this for the next four years has started to set in today. My walk to school, my walk back for lunch, and my walks back to school and home again were accompanied with the scenery I will be seeing, the temperature I will be feeling, and the community I will be living in for the next four years.
A certain reality for the predictable future has me feeling the gravity of my decision to become immersed in this. My former ways of life are not those of a student. Adjustment will be interesting. After being immersed in work for so long, and not having a mental vacation for a while, I feel the weight of this more heavily than I thought I would.
I don't feel healthy - I need to start my acupuncture treatment to get me back to the energy level and fortitude of spirit I will need to sustain myself at the level this trimester will require.
Today confirmed that I have the background that makes a lot of these concepts very at home for me. The next four years will fill in the depth I have wanted. Others in the class are seeing this fresh, and are as yet unaware of the depth that I know will be coming based on my interaction with acupuncturists on these topics, and my personal private study of Oriental Medicine and Herbology which foreshadows the immersion to come. In many ways it feels daunting because my brain seems full from work-related concerns.
Five Element Theory v.s. The 8 Principles...Today, through questioning my professor I got to understand the nature of various schools of acupuncture - most notably, the distinction between TCM and Five Element Theory schools. I have intuitively known that the Five Element School is the subtle art which I wanted to pursue. The 8 Principles method aka Traditional Chinese Medicine, on the other hand is the Yang to the Yin of the Five Element School.
TCM & The 8 Principles...The Principles are primarily concerned with:
- Yang & Yin
- Hot & Cold
- Excess & Deficiency
- Exterior & Interior
In this school, we go in depth with the 8 Principles, while schools like Tai Sophia go in depth with the Five Elements which are primarily concerned with the Generative & Control cycles of:
I do not regret my decision, because I now understand the implications and merits of each.
The Application of the Two Schools...As confirmed by the prior article I found on Stir-fry v.s. Sushi, the analogy is contiguous. Japanese Traditional Acupuncture is Five Element based, but not as concerned with the depth of the Five Element School. Japanese Traditional Acupuncture is primarily concerned with excess and deficiency in each of the 5 phases, but does not contain the subtleties of the Five Element School which deal with Reduction/Control cycles - its schooling is different, and as yet not fully understood to me. I've been exposed to Five Element acupuncture with Tai Sophia, however.
Five Element School is more elegant in its approach and gets to the source of an elemental imbalance in the body - seeking to correct the imbalance. Once balance is restored, disease is eradicated. This school of thought is also best equipped to handle psycho-emotional conditions are is extremely effective at this level of healing.
The TCM school is more like a sledge hammer and is most effective in musculoskeletal disorders and deals with specific remedies based on the theories of the 8 Principles. While TCM will be able to address your back problems, for example, Five Element School will not be as effective. You will find tremendous healing with the Five Element School, but your back problems may persist for a decade without the specific approaches which lend themselves to immediate resolution with the TCM school.
The two schools are the specific concentrations of study into the same medical knowledge. There is a teacher here who also integrates a lot of the Five Element theory, but I will have to go to an intensive program or supplement my education with another degree program if I'm to get a well rounded education in Oriental Medicine. This seems to be analogous to why TCM schools offer a Masters of Science degree whereas Five Element schools offer Masters of Arts.
My understanding of these differences is cursory, and I'm sure once I've had a year under my belt, I will be able to speak more intelligently on the differences.
Regardless, this field offers so much to learn, that a lifetime will not be enough to attain mastery of these topics. At best, I will have to be aware and receptive to discover what my path in this field will be. The best metaphor for this from western medicine is one of a Doctor who works within a Speciality and becomes an '-ologist' of one type or another.
