Page 24 - Sphere No.15 (Nov 2005)

F YOU HAD BEEN living in the
West 10 years ago and told a friend
that you were being treated by a
practitioner of Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM) the response
might have included a raised eye-
brow or two. Back then, main-
stream western society frowned on
traditional medicine, regarding it with deep scepti-
cism. How times have changed.
Acupuncture, herbal treatments, reflexology and
other forms of traditional medicine have all established
great credibility in Europe and the United States. In the
UK alone, there are more than 1,500 qualified
acupuncturists and herbalists, with four universities
offering degree programmes in TCM.
Among those spreading the word is author and
teacher Jeremy Ross, who has practised and taught
acupuncture and herbal medicine in both England
and the United States since 1977. He is not only an
expert clinician but also trains practitioners in how
to create balanced herb combinations that are
both effective and safe.
“What we have now is where the integrative
ideas of modern physics, the integrative ideas
of modern ecology, and the integrative
ideas of Qi theory (a key element of TCM)
are now slowly entering modern medi-
cine so that it begins to take in these
philosophies,” he said. “Medicine is
slowly beginning to understand it is
from within the patient himself that
the disease originates. Yes, there are
external environmental factors, but
until you support the vital energy, the
Qi, medicine won’t change. I think
one of the important contributions of
Chinese medicine is to bring this to
the knowledge of western doctors.”
TCM is moving out of Chinatown
and into the High Street of cities in the
UK. This process has been accelerated
by support from bodies as illustrious as
the World Health Organisation, which
has this to say about acupuncture: “The
effectiveness
of acupunc-
ture analgesia
has already been
established in con-
trolled clinical stud-
ies. Its effective rate in
the treatment of chron-
I
Left: Sen means “forest”
in Chinese, a perfect
metaphor for the
human body. Facing page:
New outlets are open-
ing in London; lotus
plants used in the
herbal preparations.
R E T A I L
PHOTO LEFT: GETTY IMAGES/ANDREW SHENNAN; FACING PAGE TOP: RINGO YAU