For the ‘insiders’, this is now common knowledge and appears to be a normal situation: the ancient Eastern traditions bring with them a cultural and medical background that often brilliantly surpasses Western knowledge based on complex scientific research

The strength lies in the in-depth knowledge of the human being, who is not merely represented by a physical body, but by pure ‘energy’ that underlies all the laws of the Universe.

Once these are understood, in fact, it is much easier to understand the cause/effect mechanisms that arise in the case of pathologies.

In fact, true wisdom lies precisely in knowing how to prevent diseases before they manifest themselves, intrinsically reading between the signals that our mind and body send us.

In practice, the East has always had a vast knowledge of the Universe and its mechanisms; it locates man within a much broader system.

It cannot therefore dwell on the individual functions of organs or psyche without first knowing the entire structure.

It is a bit like saying that we study the cells that live inside our bodies, but we do not realise that we ourselves are cells within a further body called Gaia.

It too, in turn, lives within another body, called the solar system and so on.

It could be said that for Oriental medicine, Giordano Bruno’s words: ‘We live in Infinite Worlds’ were far from heretical but well understood.

Every disease, according to Chinese medicine, is simply the result of an energy imbalance, due to a defect in the assimilation or production of Qi (energy).

It is produced through our organs and assimilated through our viscera, circulating through what in Chinese medicine are called meridians.

Qi can also be modified through the food we eat or the air we breathe, bearing in mind that each of us has a ‘natural’ Qi (the Jing), the one that is ‘given’ to us by our parents at conception.

According to experts, the Western approach does not take these factors into account and can be said to be exactly the opposite of the Eastern approach. This is because ‘Western medicine studies above all the matter, that is, the structure, the organ, and starts from them to understand its function and therefore its energy. Oriental medicine, on the other hand, initially perceives the Qi and, from its study, arrives at the function and finally the organ’.

Such wisdom here was not so unknown at one time, especially in the philosophical sphere, when Thales similarly claimed that matter was animate and that the spirit was embodied in it.

Speaking of wellbeing, from an Eastern perspective, one could say that by knowing the laws of the cosmos (Dao) we can learn to prevent illnesses before they even occur, or at least we can maintain an optimal state of health.

Among the many techniques, there are two traditional arts that can be performed by anyone and bring numerous benefits both mentally and physically.

These are Qi Gong and Taijiquan. Both techniques are a kind of very slow gymnastics with harmonious and sinuous movements that promote health through the stimulation of energy meridians. They, too, are based on a knowledge of nature and the human body that astounds anyone who tends to delve into its mechanisms.
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