“Many Westerners think Chinese medicine sounds too complicated or too esoteric. They find discussions of yin and yang, or the life energy known as qi, intimidating. In fact, Chinese medicine is very simple and accessible. Many of the herbs we use are ordinary ones. Sometimes, I might treat a patient’s sinus condition with eucalyptus or other familiar herbs, and she’ll say, ‘Oh that smells just like what my grandmother used to give me.’ So much of Chinese medicine is based on intuition and common sense. Although the history behind TCM is 5,000 years old — 4,500 years older than our scientific traditions — it is knowledge open to anyone.”
—Dr. Xiaolan Zhao