Jupiter, Volcana AP World History Period 6 9/9/11

Ayurvedic Medicine Vs. Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine was based upon Ayurvedic Medicine. They remain the most ancient yet living traditions today. Ayurvedic Medicine came before Traditional Chinese Medicine and when China was established, the Chinese traders brought the idea of Ayurvedic Medicine to China. China then established their own successful medicine practice with some concepts from Ayurvedic Medicine, but the two medicines are different. Ayurvedic Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine were both created during the classical period of their time. Both systems promote the idea that health is balance between mind, body, and spirit. They believe that being unhealthy is an imbalance of disharmony of the natural body energy. They promote that the body has an invisible energy that affects your health, if not balanced. They encourage physical activity, diets that go along with your energy. This information is found from researchers studies, reports, The Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor, and Caraka Samhita. The Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor is an ancient text on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Caraka Samhita is an ancient text on Ayurvedic Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine believe in relaxing your body and decreasing stress at all times. They say that mood affects your health greatly, because they believe that when you are sad, this emotion puts your energy out of balance,

which according to them can make you sick. For medicine they both use herbal remedies and medicines and they believe that the body is made of elements. But though they have many similarities, they have different definitions on what concepts define the energy of life. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the balance of yin and yang helps diagnosis a patient, because if a patients organ is unhealthy the practitioner first checks to see if the organs yin and yang are in balance. In Ayurvedic Medicine, everyone has three doshas: kapha, pitta, and vata that govern all life processes and each dosha can help diagnosis a patient. Because each doshas represents an emotion, elements, and activities, which help practitioners, find which doshas are out of balance. The elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine exist at all scales of life. Traditional Chinese Medicine considers that the human sprit or soul is at the center of the universe. With Traditional Chinese Medicine the body has earthly elements: water, earth, metal, wood, and fire. Ayurvedic Medicine considers that the universe consists of elements which are: ether, air, fire, water, and earth. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the elements pertain to a type of organ, for example liver equals wood. But in Ayurvedic Medicine, elements pertain to the doshas, for example the kapha dosha equals water and earth. To most people in the, United States of America, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine they are considered the same or very alike. And most people dont even realize that they are very different. But even though they have the some of the same concepts theyre very different medical practices. These two medicines may be from ancient times but they are the most popular medicines of today in the world.