Good Hearth Eastern Medical Arts

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Chinese herbs are often used in conjunction with acupuncture for added therapeutic effect. While many cultures have herbal medicine traditions, the sophistication of Chinese herbal medicine is unsurpassed. Chinese herbal medicine has a long history reaching back several thousand years, and the resulting system is now used to treat everything from the common cold to symptoms associated with cancer.

Together we can tailor a course of treatment
to meet your unique health needs.

There are thousands of herbs in the Chinese materia medica, of which about 300 are commonly used. After a comprehensive examination and discussion of your goals, you will receive a mixture of several different herbs in a formula that has been tailored to your condition.

Chinese herbs are extremely effective and normally have only mild side effects. Herbal formulas can be administered as pills, instant teas, as a liquid tincture, or other easy to use methods.  

The natural world is abundant with biologically active compounds.  Even the roots (pun intended) of western pharmacology lie with plants, minerals and animal products.  For millennia before recorded history, people relied directly on their environments to keep them healthy and strong.  Chinese Herbal Medicine uses a sophisticated system of pattern diagnosis and formulation of medicinals.  Much like cooking and the culinary arts, herbal medicine is the legacy of the systematic experimentation and careful observation at the meeting point of people and the natural world, which grew out of the daily routines of pre-historical people. 

Single herbs are rarely prescribed.  Instead, many herbs are combined into well-balanced formulas that are designed to treat multiple related symptoms and their root cause(s) without creating unwanted side effects.  These formulas come in many forms:

• raw herbs that require additional preparation;
• processed herbs for internal use, e.g. pills or granules (like instant coffee), syrups, wines, foods, etc.; and
• processed herbs for topical use, e.g. liniments, ointments, compresses, etc.

Some extra time is often required to determine a working diagnosis and formulate a prescription.  It may also take some time and experimentation, based on your specific reactions, to settle on the correct formula.  Diagnoses and formulations will also change over time as your body responds to treatment.  So, it is important to carefully follow the instructions I give you when I give you herbs.  The most important of these instructions is to focus your awareness on any changes that occur, stop taking them immediately if you notice any unwanted side-effects, and to stay in touch with me so that we can work together to respond as required.

See other non-needle techniques: Sotai Ho / Other Therapies