East Asian Medicine encompasses a range of traditional medicinal systems.
Whilst it is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is not confined to China in its geographic range. Early forms of East Asian Medicine were shared throughout Central and Eastern Asia over millennia, as they are today.
Ancient East Asian Medicine was systemised by Chinese practitioners and authors over at least a 2500-year period, to the present day, forming what we now know as Chinese Medicine. The term “East Asian Medicine” or “Oriental Medicine” is used now to differentiate it from Chinese Medicine. However, Chinese Medicine heavily informs modern East Asian Medicine, with its shared rich and long history.
East Asian Medicine consists of pulse taking, tongue diagnosis, acupuncture, moxibustion, dietary therapy, herbal therapies, massage/bodywork, gua sha and cupping.
As Shiatsu is a Japanese form of bodywork, we focus on Japanese approaches to the Oriental therapies we teach. For example, Hara diagnosis is a key diagnostic technique in Shiatsu that is rarely used within Chinese Medicine systems.
At the Australian Shiatsu College, we teach moxibustion, gua sha and cupping, and an introduction to dietary therapy. Pulse, tongue and hara diagnoses are taught as part of the diagnostic skill set.
The framework of East Asian Medicine is taught as a part of the Diploma, or can also be studied as a standalone short course.