The Art of Prevention

When we think of healthcare, we typically think of everything that happens to us after we get sick. But what about before our body is sending the red flags? How do we understand our bodies in a dynamic, functional way that we can apply at different times depending on how we feel? At the heart of East Asian medicine is prevention, there is an old saying….

“the wise doctor treats before”

It is very easy to see the outward symptoms that sickness brings, but it takes skill to observe the tell-tale signs of transition, either towards or away from wellbeing. Learning to pay attention to the simple things, like how we feel after we eat certain flavors, or when we make time at night to prepare ourselves for sleep. These simple practices can go a very long way in ensuring a healthy life.

Chinese medicine offers a lens through which a practitioner can offer a patient a fresh perspective that has perhaps gone unnoticed through the mainstream healthcare field. It places an emphasis on the small, gradual, yet permanent progress that comes through seeing health as a dynamic balance rather than a fixed state. After all, if we are always striving, we are never finding.

In each of us is the capacity to recognize the benefit of a simple, healthful meal, a walk in nature, or the benefits of an acupuncture session before or during a stressful week. This is why acupuncture and Chinese medicine continues to grow in the west, because of an emphasis on simple yet overlooked options available to people before, during, and after illness.

David Bonilla LA.c