Theory becomes practice at the bedside

Everything in this curriculum — yin-yang, the substances, the organs, the channels, the causes and mechanisms, the four examinations, the patterns, the treatments, the herbs and formulas — exists for one moment: the encounter with a real patient. This course is where it all comes together. A consultation follows a clear, repeatable arc.

The arc of a consultation

  1. Gather the information — the four examinations. Looking (complexion, the tongue, the manner), hearing/smelling (the voice, breathing, odours), asking (the ten questions — cold/heat, sweat, sleep, appetite, digestion, thirst, pain, menstruation, energy, emotions), and palpating (the pulse, the channels, the painful areas). You gather without prejudging.

  2. Differentiate the pattern (bian zheng). You sort the findings into a pattern — the disharmony in TCM terms (e.g. "Spleen qi deficiency with damp," "Liver qi constraint," "Kidney yang deficiency"). This is the heart of Chinese diagnosis: not the disease name, but this person's imbalance. Identify the location (which organs/channels), the nature (cold/heat, deficiency/excess, yin/yang), and root vs branch.

  3. Establish the treatment principle (zhi ze). From the pattern follows the principle — the strategy in a phrase: "tonify Spleen qi and drain damp," "soothe the Liver and move qi," "warm the Kidney yang." The principle is the bridge from diagnosis to treatment.

  4. Choose the method and the prescription. Now select the tools: acupuncture points, a herbal formula, moxa, tui na, dietary and lifestyle advice — whichever fit the principle and the patient. Points and herbs are chosen because they enact the principle, not from a symptom list.

  5. Treat, review and adjust. Deliver the treatment, then reassess at the next visit — did the pattern shift? — and modify. Chinese medicine is iterative: the response to treatment is itself diagnostic information.

Root and branch, and priorities

Two ideas guide every plan:

  • Root and branch (ben and biao): treat the underlying pattern (root) and the presenting symptom (branch) in the right proportion. In an acute, severe branch (high fever, acute pain) you may treat the branch first; in chronic disease you address the root.
  • Priorities: when several patterns coexist, decide what is most urgent, most causative, or most treatable first. You rarely treat everything at once.

What the cases will show

The rest of this course walks real, worked cases — common cold, digestive weakness, insomnia, menstrual pain, low-back pain, headache — each following this exact arc from the four examinations to a pattern, a principle, and a treatment with points and a formula. Watch the reasoning, not just the answer.

Gather, differentiate, establish the principle, choose the treatment, review. The pattern is the pivot — everything before it is listening, everything after it is enacting the principle it reveals.