OUR LEGACY
The medical revolution is at hand. And perhaps the most active rebels will be you and me, those of us looking for a better way to wellness. As we evaluate our own desires, examine our beliefs, we will uncover the healing powers stored within our bodies. Many—from all over the globe—will walk beside us on this journey. Even Western practitioners, who once thought that the Western way was the only way, will join us as we discover an elegant route to wellness—a route that integrates the natural, the spiritual, the personal, with the technological advances of our modern world. Through integrative medicine, we begin our journey together. This is the legacy we will leave for future generations.
"I had been feeling unhappy. I was offered a trial of Prozac by my medical doctor. I compared the cost of Prozac (100% out-of-pocket) and that of psychotherapy and acupuncture (receiving 40% and 75% reimbursement respectively) and though it's about half the cost to use Prozac, I decided I wanted human contact and an opportunity to be coached and educated into how to grasp my struggles in life better. Also, I quit my job... for one that is much less stressful. I feel less depressed and a whole lot smarter. I care about the people I work with, too."
—Male, 21-30 age group, survey respondent
WESTERN MEDICINE'S FIRSTS
1796 Edward Jenner first inoculates against smallpox.
1847 The American Medical Association is formed.
1892 The American Medicinal Plants is compiled. It is the first American-based herbal medicinal, containing information on the healing properties of 180 plants.
1928 The first antibiotic is discovered by Alexander Fleming.
1938 The first cardiac catheterization is performed in New York by George Peter Robb and Israel Steinberg.
1953 DNA's double-helix structure is discovered by Francis Crick and James Watson.
1955 There is a major public health effort to inoculate children with the polio vaccine discovered by Jonas Salk.
1957 Oral polio vaccine is formulated by Jonas Salk.
1957 Fiber optic endoscopy is pioneered by Basil Hirschowtiz at the University of Michigan.
1967 The first human heart transplant is carried out by Christiaan Barnard.
1972 Computed tomography, CAT scans, are devised by British engineers.
1978 First test-tube baby is born in England.
1979 The World Health Organization declares that smallpox has been eradicated.
1981 The Centers for Disease Control is alerted to the first reported cases of AIDS, occurring in Los Angeles and New York.
1981 The MRI scanner is developed by scientists at Nottingham University and Thorn-EMI Laboratories in England.
1985 The first PET scanner is developed by researchers at the University of California, a technique that enables organ functioning to be studied in color.
EASTERN MEDICINE'S FIRSTS
2700 B.C. The legendary emperor Shen-nung is credited with writing the first recorded history of medicinal herbs and plants. This pharmacopoeia has been called the PenTsao. As legend has it, Shen-nung tasted all the herbs to test their value and use. He lived for 123 years.
2600 B.C. The first written presentation of comprehensive medical theory is produced, The Nei Ching Su Wen or The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine.
300 B.C. The first anesthetic powder is developed for surgical procedures such as laparotomies and wound expansions by Hua Tuo, Chinese physician.
1066-22 5 B.C. Environmental hygiene, personal hygiene, boiling water, and the elimination of rats and rabid dogs to prevent disease are espoused by Zhou dynasty, China.
1000-221 B.C. The first integrated system of medicinal classification (for herbs) is created in China.
320 A.D. The first study of pharmaceutical chemistry is developed by Ge Hong, a Chinese physician in the Jin dynasty.
Eleventh Century People are inoculated with the serum of human smallpox in China.
618-1279 Medicine is divided into branches in China relating to the treatment of diseases and bodily functions—orthopedics, laryngology, wounds, acupuncture, gynecology, ophthalmology, and stomatology.
1247 The first book of forensic medicine is written by Song Ci in China.
1949 After the 1949 revolution, the People's Republic of China brings Chinese medicine back into prominence, establishing organized training for practitioners.
1971 New York Times reporter James Reston is taken to Chinese hospital for emergency appendectomy. He later writes of the benefits of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.
1976 Chinese gynecologists develop chorionic villus sampling, an aid to early diagnosis of genetic disorders.
TWO
Blending East and West:
Searching for Your Garden
"Taoists see man as a microcosm of the universe and the body as a reflection of one's attunement of the cycles, rhythms, and patterns of the larger universe."
—Tricia Yu, The T'ai-Chi Center, Madison, Wisconsin
Our bodies, much like gardens, need love, nourishment, tending, and rest, to flourish. We flow through the seasons year after year, winter to spring, summer to autumn, rarely giving thought to the natural course of things. The balance of the heavens, clouds, mountains, rains, and rivers are all part of nature's giving and taking, coming and going; much like the flow of blood, energy, and cell regeneration in our bodies. Our physical bodies, just as our lives, cycle through their own seasons. And with each new season comes a little dying, resting, rebirth, and growth. As a child, did you ever skin your knee and watch in wonder as the wound magically went through its healing cycle? Even more amazing was the seed that pushed its way through the moistened earth and turned into a tomato, or the tadpole that turned into a frog. It's all part of living, growing, and tending in nature's time and cycles. Rivers overflow their banks, sun bakes the ground dry, locusts or gypsy moths destroy the rich green leaves that form the brilliance of the tree's sturdy frame. In the natural world, disasters throw things out of balance, just like cancer, arthritis, or pneumonia can wreak havoc on our bodies. Did you ever notice how nature begins healing? It's much like when as children we watched in amazement as our skinned knee repaired itself. Healing is part of nature's design, and, although outside help sometimes moves the healing along, nature finds a way of regenerating life. Our bodies are much like this. It is our own inner ability to heal that does all the work, and we should look on practitioners, whether Eastern, Western, or a blended combination, as guides along the path, whether we are getting things back in balance so healing can take place, trying to improve our lifestyle, ridding our bodies of toxins, or resparking our internal energy. In the end, no matter what the approach, it is our individual healing ability that does the repair, the re-creating, and the healing.
THE EASTERN MODEL: YOUR BODY AS A LANDSCAPE
Twelve beautiful rivers flow along distinct meridians in the human body. Nourished by sun, wind, rain, earth, and fire, the seasons unfold as your lush internal landscape transforms with your seasonal changes. A cosmos of the two energies, yin and yang, dance the divine dance of night and day, heat and cold. And whether Traditional Chinese medicine, Five Element Chinese medicine, or Ayurveda, the healing of the body requires the rebalancing of the life force, taking into account a person's entire life—body, mind, and spirit.
The