The Five Element Acupuncture (FEA) is a result of thousands of years of study and observation. Like western medicine, it is a combination of many different schools of thought and many different influences, in it’s case: Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian thought.
In the West, our approach to life has been to conquer the Earth and assert our will on it. The Eastern approach and Eastern Wisdom see the world from a different perspective. According to TCM (and as introduced by Taoism), there is an order in nature called “Tao” (the path, the way, channel or doctrine) and human body is a part of nature and is subject to same laws and cycles, just like everything else in nature. We are inseparable and we are all part of “one”. According to FEA, when we are in “harmony” with the way, we experience Health. Disease (dis-ease) is a consequence of disharmony with the way we are meant to live.
Studying nature and life over time, eastern philosophers observed cycles that repeat and affect everything: the night and day, the cycle of seasons, our behavior when we’re not well, etc. Based on those observations, they created theories that can guide one in pursuit of the “way” to harmony and health. The main theories of TCM are: the Theory of Life Force (Qi), the Yin and Yang Theory and the Five Element Theory.