VOL. 68, NO. 2 - AAFI-AFICS, Geneva - UNOG

During your lecture you presented Chinese medicine as a holistic approach to health. Can you
explain what this means and how people everywhere can apply the related principles to their lives for
better health and well-being?
In Chinese medicine, we look at health as an integrated result of our food habits and lifestyles. Hence, our
approach to health extends to eating suitable food and herbs, and incorporating exercises in our daily lives,
to prevent illness, maintain good health, and heal the body from illness. Food and herbs can be classified
into cold, hot, or neutral properties. Through understanding their unique properties and applying these
theories to the food we eat, we can adjust our “Zangfu imbalances” (i.e. imbalances created in some of the
body’s main organs), which in turn helps in disease prevention. Choosing the right exercises, too, can help
adjust our bodies’ imbalances. Traditional forms of healing exercises such as Taichi and Qigong meditation
are not only well known for their healing properties, but are also a good way to relax. That’s probably why
they are still widely practised today in China and in many other countries. If need be, health will be restored
with the help of other remedies, including the practice of acupuncture.
Could you say a few words on the basic theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?
This theory, Zang Fu, is a description of the main vital organs in the body. Each Zang Fu in the body has an
individual meridian which can be found along the hand or the foot.
Each meridian can be further classified under Yin or Yang (which represent opposite properties such as
cold/hot, deficiency/excess or interior/exterior). Well-being depends on balancing Yin and Yang at all times.
There are twelve regular meridians separated into three groups. Each group is further divided into two
subgroups, each consisting of a pair of meridians. All the meridians have an individual series of acupoints
which can be found at different very specific locations in the body. The first group, Tai Yin, consists of the
Lung Meridian on the hand and the Spleen Meridian on the foot. Yang Ming consists of the Large Intestine
Meridian on the hand and the Stomach Meridian on the foot. This group often relates to infectious diseases
of the digestive system and to environmental or weather-related syndromes.
The second group, Shao Yin, consists of the Heart Meridian on the hand and the Kidney Meridian on the
foot. Tai Yang consists of the Small Intestine Meridian on the hand and the Urinary Bladder Meridian on the
foot. This group often relates to circulation, the nervous system, and the reproductive system. The third
group, Jue Yin, consists of the Pericardium Meridian on the hand and the Liver Meridian on the foot. Shao
Yang consists of the San Jiao Meridian on the hand and the Gall Bladder Meridian on the foot. This group
often relates to the lymphatic system, immunity, the body’s defense system, and to vital systems for
detoxification.
When there is a symptom, with TCM you often treat another organ (for example, in the case of a
trigeminal pain for a patient, you treat the kidney). Can you explain why?
When a person suffers from illness or presents a series of symptoms, it can be due to an imbalance of a
particular Zang Fu/organ within the body. The treatment can be done on the respective meridian or another
location away from the affected area.
For example, in the case of trigeminal neuralgia, treatments can be made on the Shao Yang Gall Bladder
Meridian, where the acupoints are located on the facial region, or acupoints in Shaoyang San Jiao Meridian,
accompanied by the acupoints on Shao Yin Kidney Meridian such as Taixi (K3). The kidney, as a Zang Fu,
controls the nerves in the entire body.
What are the ECIWO biology and the bio-holographic law of nature?
ECIWO, or Embryo Containing Information of the Whole Organism, is a biological theory which can be
applied to all living organisms. For example, each seed consists of the information equivalent to an embryo
along with the “Life Force” of the plant. The quantity of seeds would reflect the life force of the fruit. In
practice, between a kiwi and an orange, the kiwi will have more life force as it contains more seeds than the
orange. By consuming the fruit, a person introduces more life force into his body and will absorb the benefits
of the fruit. Similarly, this theory can be applied to the human body for diagnostic and treatment purposes, for
example, to the Acupoints located on the Long Bones System or Metacarpal Bones System.
There are many ways to determine the life force of a human body, such as a person’s voice. In ancient
China, before modern technology was available, a gentleman’s family would appoint a matchmaker to
observe the number of siblings an ideal future daughter-in-law had, to determine the life force and fertility of
the lady. Between a leaf with many edges and a leaf that is rounded nicely, the many edges are the many
life forces it contains. Bio-holographic law explains the complete biological records found in any natural
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