Oriental medicine has been practiced for more than 2,500 years and includes acupuncture, herbal medicine, moxibustion, Oriental massage and Oriental nutrition. It is a system of medicine that categorizes body patterns into specific types of diagnoses with corresponding treatment plans. Oriental medicine is practiced in China, Japan, Korea, Viet Nam, Thailand, Tibet and India. One may be surprised to find that Oriental medical theory and practice has spread to France, England, Spain, Germany, Russia, much of Middle and South America, and Africa. It has gained worldwide acceptance and recognition as effective medical treatment. Due to the sheer weight of evidence, Oriental medicine demands that it be taken seriously as a clinical approach of considerable value. Over 15 million Americans have turned to it, making it the complementary treatment of choice for Americans everywhere.

Oriental medical practitioners use a variety of healthcare therapies. Acupuncture, moxibustion (which is a type of heat therapy using the mugwort plant), and Chinese herbal medicine are the most popular.

Other aspects of Oriental medicine are:

• Electroacupuncture - the use of fine microcurrent technology
• Diet, Lifestyle and Nutritional Counseling
• Cupping - this employs a glass or bamboo cup as a suction device to stimulate blood circulation
• Tai Chi - a form of physical exercise
• Qi Gong - breath exercise
• Meditation
• Various forms of therapeutic massage

The philosophy of Oriental Medicine uses images and metaphors from nature to describe the processes of health and disease. Yin and Yang originally referred to the sunny and shady side of a mountain. The Five Elements (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood), are another important paradigm of health and disease in Oriental Medicine. This system allows for a more detailed description of the cycles of nature and the interaction of different forces. For example, the Fire Element links together such diverse phenomenon as an erupting volcano, the soft glow of a candle flame, the emotions of love and joy, and the human heart. The Earth Element connects the soil that we grow our food in, and the digestive organs that assimilate the nutrients into our body. Oriental Medicine helps us to see that all the different things in our world are really just parts of the same whole.