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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently released its 11th International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which include Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the first time; with a world integration of Chinese medicine into our mainstream health system being one of the best possible outcomes. The opportunity. The significance of this could be a greater acceptance and inclusion for TCM around the world. According to David Cyranoski from Nature (1), this new classification will include diagnostic terms and classification of conditions in TCM, which can be used globally to expand the understanding of our current and emerging health challenges. According to the WHO (2), the ICD is the foundation to identify diseases and health trends around the world, for the purpose of creating statistics for diagnostic classification that serves both clinical and research purposes. This new inclusion of traditional medicines appears in the new chapter 26 (3) in the ICD, which can be accessed here: icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http%3a%2f%2fid.who.int%2ficd%2fentity%2f718687701 One great significance of this inclusion could be a greater understanding of how Chinese medicine works in a mainstream medicine setting, with possible improved research protocols and applications brought into standard medical settings.  The Challenges. There are a number of challenges involved in this new addition. As explained by Cyranoski (2) and Katherine Rushlau from Integrative Practitioner (4), as Chinese medicine becomes more accepted worldwide, it is also in an increased constraint to support its efficacy by means of scientific validation. I personally welcome this challenge as this new ICD addition might lead to better financial support and better accreditation for TCM research worldwide. In addition, another complicated challenge will be to arrive to a clear and practical understanding of the conceptual and complex jargon of Chinese medicine. Bridging this current obstacle could increase the acceptance and proper application of TCM by means of clarification and practicality. These are great news for TCM worldwide, which although come with a responsibility to maintain a high professional standard; also open the door for this great and beautiful medical practice to help provide for our modern health needs. References: 1.Cyranoski, D. 2018. Why Chinese medicine is heading for clinics around the world. Nature Magazine Nature, viewed May 15, 2018. <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06782-7> 2.World Health Organisation, 2019. ICD Classifications. WHO, viewed May 15, 2018. <https://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/> 3.World Health Organisation, 2019. 26 Supplementary Chapter Traditional Medicine Conditions. WHO, viewed May 15, 2018. <https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http%3a%2f%2fid.who.int%2ficd%2fentity%2f718687701> 4.Rushlau, K. 2019. WHO Latest ICD Includes Traditional Chinese Medicine. Integrative Practitioner, viewed May 15, 2019. <https://www.integrativepractitioner.com/topics/analysis/who-latest-icd-includes-traditional-chinese-medicine>  I have been asked in the past how to prevent TYick-Borne diseases contraction, which can include Lyme disease. Appropriate guidelines include instruction on how to repel ticks and prevent tick bites, and how to dislodged ticks once a bite has occurred. These two links on prevention refer to the Australian Lyme Disease Association and the Centre for Disease Control in the USA. http://www.lymedisease.org.au/about-lyme-disease/prevention/ http://www.cdc.gov/features/lymedisease/ This video from the Tick Encounter Resource Centre shows how to remove ticks properly with tweezers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wotB38WrRY Image Credit: John Tann from Flickr  Dear friends and patients, I would like to let you know that from the beginning of January I will be changing the location of my practice to the new Vitality Hub clinic at Malvern. The address is as follows: 667 Dandenong Road, Malvern Victoria 3144 Ph. 03 8199 8001 New available dates: Monday and Thursday from 10 am till 5pm Saturday from 9am till 2pm This means that I will no longer be available at the Prahran Vitality Hub clinic or at Zen5 Highpoint. The clinic is very nice and has a lot of space, including a fish pond outside the consultation room!. As usual the staff are very friendly and very professional and there is car park available outside the clinic.   This guide will show you how to achieve a meditative state in 3 steps.
Meditation can help us relax the mind and achieve better mental focus. It can be practiced by anyone and it can be done anytime, whether as a regular practice for wellbeing or to help us prepare for stressing moments such as a work meeting or a stressful busy day. Meditation is a way to learn how to make our mind still and calm by focusing our attention in a single point with the aim to stop our constant chatting thoughts for a short period. Although meditation can be quite an abstract subject to explain in a few words, it can be simply summarized as being a mental exercise on focus and concentration; and although it might come across as a mystical practice, in reality it is quite simple and down to earth. I recommend you to practice it on daily basis to achieve its full potential and to get a hang of it. This is particularly important during the beginning as it might take some time to learn deep relaxation. During the beginning of your practice start in a quiet setting free of distractions. After some time you should be able to repeat this exercise wherever you want to. You can keep your eyes closed or open. Also, make sure that the tip of your tongue is in contact with the roof of your mouth. Step 1: Sit down with your back up right and ensure that you are comfortable. You can sit with your legs crossed or in a chair. You can also place a couple of pillows behind your back or rest your back against a wall. Ensure that you are comfortable and remember to keep your back upright. Step 2: Take slow deep breaths and relax your body down from head to toes. Proper relaxation is the key to deep meditation. Focus your breathing on areas of tension during your breathing in and release this tension during your breathing out, gradually working your way down. Take your time and remember that you will keep getting better at this as you progress with time. Step 3: Focus on your breath coming in and out of your nose. Focus is the key. Aim at keeping your attention on your nose at all times and observe the breath going in and out, that’s all! You will notice at this point that your attention will try to go back into your thoughts. When this happens, disengage your attention from your thoughts and bring it back to your nose. The trick here is not to place attention on your thoughts. Remember that practice is essential. Be consistent and try to meditate on daily basis until you learn how to do it properly. Aim for periods of 10 minutes at the beginning and gradually work your way up for as long as you want. My personal recommendation is to aim for 30 minutes to 1 hour every day. Finally, I recommend reading Mindfulness in Plain English by Venerable Banthe Henepola Gunaratana as it answers in a simple manner the questions that can arise during your practice and gives you a clear idea of what meditation is. Photo credit: Mitchell Joyce via Flickr This is a great BBC documentary about the practice of acupuncture and the experience of a scientist while documenting on what it could be used for and how could it possibly work.
This is a great holistic view of exercise that follows quite a similar approach to the eastern mind and body connection perspective. I hope you enjoy it. |
Oscar MorenoPractical health and wellness tips from a holistic, integrative Chinese medicine perspective. Archives
January 2021
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