Diagnostics Archives - Mend Acupuncture

Shen: It’s in the Eyes

Image by Nika Akin from Pixabay Mind, Body and Shen “Mind, body, and spirit” – in these three parts of overall human health, there’s an understanding of what good mental and physical wellness looks like. Spiritual health, on the other hand, can be a bit more ambiguous for us Westerners. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), “spirit” is known as shen. One can think of it as the light within. Encapsulating our presence, soul and consciousness, shen helps us connect with the outside world and is what makes us truly “human.” In fact, in Chinese, shen is one of three [...]

Why Do Acupuncturists Ask SO MANY Questions?!

By Alexandra|2024-04-11T10:44:10-04:00June 1st, 2021|Categories: Diagnostics|Tags: Chinese medicine, diagnostics, pulse-reading, TCM|

You may have noticed, particularly on your first visit, when you come in for acupuncture you are bombarded with a plethora of Q’s from your acupuncturist. It may seem as though we are quite nosey, asking all sorts of questions from the minutiae of your bowel movements to quantity and quality of your sleep. So…..WHY? Why the multitude of queries? The short answer: it helps us figure out how to treat you. The long answer: in Traditional Chinese Medicine, instead of making a “diagnosis” like in Western Medicine, an acupuncturist is taking all of those questions, along with taking [...]