Many people I have talked to that have visited Beijing to study Chinese Medicine often say that all the classical lineages and treatment methods are no longer practiced in mainland China. This could not be further from the truth. I would agree that the last hundred and fifty years of invasions, civil wars and revolutions have greatly hurt traditional healing methods and Chinese Culture as a whole. That does not mean it no longer exists. Their are plenty of sweet spots all over Beijing and all over mainland China. You just need to know where to look.
In two thousand and eleven I met my teacher. He is a third generation tuina master. Tuina is another name for Chinese massage. At the hospital he is the doctor that get results with patients that have tried every other doctor. His tuina is very different from other tuina methods that I have seen being taught in America. It is not a protocol based system like most TCM style therapies are. He treats your main complaint as well as strengthening your overall body condition. By this I mean he will not just treat your back pain but he will also treat your insomnia, digestive troubles or whatever other complaints you have as well. One interesting case I saw while there was him treating a patient with Shingles. After two treatments she was 80% better.
I spent half of my time in Beijing this summer with my teacher at the hospital. I would get to the hospital at 7:00 and we would see patients until 4:30. After that we would go back to his house for dinner and my wife would come by to aid in translating/explaining anything that I was not unable to understand during the day. My teacher would see about forty patients a day and most of them received both acupuncture and tuina. I observed him treating every patient and helped with some needling, cupping, and massage. I gave full tuina sessions to some patients.
My dream has finally come true. I met a teacher with a pure heart and he is willing to share his families treatment methods with me without holding back. Even though he is willing to share his knowledge with me I still need to work extremely hard to fully understand what he is teaching me. I was studying intensely with him for almost twelve hours a day and sometime not eating dinner until 9:00 at night. He works for twelve hours a day and he is expecting me to use all my efforts to work as hard as he is.
I learned something very important from this man. Your technical skills as a doctor are not as important as the purity of your heart and the strength of your character. Being a doctor should not be a way to get rich or to live a glamorous life. A good doctor sacrifices themselves for their patients.
– Enjoy
