Our bodies as weather systems: Pathogenic influences in Chinese medicine

Unlike the systems of modern medicine, Chinese medicine acknowledges that our bodies are reflections of the world around us, microcosoms of the universe.  This is why we talk about pathogenic influences or disease in terms that sounds like weather: hot, cold, dampness, dryness, and wind.  Each of these terms describes an experience that we can have in our bodies, which reflects an experience of the world around us.  By framing illness in this context, we can then adjust our own personal landscapes to protect us from the weather, in the same way we take a raincoat when the forecast predicts a cloudy day.
Check out the rest of our blog to learn more about dampness, wind, cold, heat and dryness as pathogenic factors.  If you want to know more about which are particular to you, ask your practitioner at your next appointment!