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| Barry Disch at work in Beijing: "I do more than just ask about the physical symptoms. I ask them about their life - are they happy?" he says. (Source: China Daily / Wang Jing ) |
By Todd Balazovic
BEIJING, Dec. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- After nearly 10 years in Beijing, a TCM doctor shares his experience with Californians. Todd Balazovic reports.
With a dexterous flick of a finger Barry Disch skewers a needle directly into the center of a patient's forehead.
"Relax," he says in a low soothing voice as he prepares to repeat the process on another vital limb.
Several pinpricks later the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor, maintaining his calming speech as he applies the ancient art of acupuncture, is diagnosing his patient, identifying the problems with not only the body - but with the spirit as well.
"If you don't first treat the spirit, the patient can never fully recover," Disch says.
The 54-year-old California native has spent a majority of the past three decades traveling back and forth between China and the US, practicing in Beijing and touting the mysteries of TCM to curious Americans in search of nonconventional medical treatments.
With an increasing number in the US turning away from the largely pharmaceutical-based Western medical practices, Disch says TCM, which focuses largely on natural cures such as therapeutic massage, herbal remedies and acupuncture, has seen a surge of popularity.
"It's a good time to be doing TCM in the US right now as it's becoming increasingly popular as an alternative medicine, while in China it seems to be growing less popular," Disch says.
But decades before TCM became a recognized form of treatment in the US, Disch was pioneering the field in California, studying with Chinese masters and looking after the wholistic health of the terminally ill.
