Opinion Poll: The Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2009

Seven Forms of Superior Medicine

According to ancient Chinese thought, it was held that the most superior forms of medicine to least were as follows:

1) Right Thinking
2) Qi Gong
3) Nutrition
4) Tai Q/movement arts
5) Herbalism
6) Acupuncture
7) Surgery

In other words, according to ancient Chinese medical thinking, if the doctor wanted to do surgery for the patient, he first asked,"Have you tried acupuncture?" and if the doctor wanted to do acupuncture, she first asked, ' Have you tried herbs?" and so forth until even if the doctor wanted to perform qi gong, he first asked, "Have you tried correct thinking?"

What does all this mean? Translated into meldern terms, they would be:

The Eight Forms of Superior Medicine for Modern Times

1) Meditation/Prayer/Contempalative Life/ Good (ie:proper) Attitude, right thinking
2) Subtle Energy Cultivation
3) Nutrition based on local organically grown fresh vital food prepared with love and eaten peaceably
4) Excercise done wisely and sustainabley/subtle energy medical arts
5) Botanical medicine
6) Alternative, complimentary, natural therapies
7) Pharmaceuticals
8) Surgery

So why does modern medicine get this hierarchy so skewed?
Well, what do you think............?

Michele Salinas LAc, Dipl CH RN-BSN MSOM

The Driving Cost of Health Care

Here is an excellent article about the driving cost of health care, a good angle to the health care debate. I of course think that a part of the consumer driven health care should be alternative and complimentary care, obviously Oriental Medicine too. I think all my patients would like to see this, as well as the many thousands of Americans who use Acupuncture and Oriental medicine in some aspect of their lives.

--Michele Salinas