TCM and Health

Principles
The underlying basis of TCM is that all of creation is born from the interdependence of two opposite principles, yin and yang (see the Eight Guiding Principles below). These two opposites are in constant motion, creating a fluctuating balance in the healthy body. Disease results when either yin or yang is in a state of prolonged excess or deficiency.
One of the body constituents is Qi (pronounced "chee"), which is the energy that gives us the ability to move, think, feel, and work. Qi circulates along a system of conduits, the principle ones being channels or meridians. There are twelve principle bilateral channels of Qi, each intimately connected with one of the viscera of the body, and each manifesting its own characteristic Qi (e.g. Liver Qi, Gallbladder Qi, etc.). When the flow of Qi becomes unbalanced through physical, emotional, or environmental insults, illness may result.
TCM practitioners are trained to view the body, mind, and spirit as one system, as opposed to Western medicine practitioners, who are taught to regard each of these elements as separate. Despite TCM's dramatically different approach, Westerners have been drawn to its practice because of its emphasis on healing the whole person and seeking the root cause of illness. However, Westerners do often find it difficult to translate a TCM diagnosis or remedy into the western practice of medicine with which they are familiar. For example, there is no direct translation for how a TCM practitioner might explain a patient's condition as "cool with dampness," or an "imbalance in water," with a need to "tonify the kidneys" or "replenish Qi".
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The Five Element Theory, also called the five-phase theory, holds that everything in the universe, including our health, is governed by five natural elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. This theory underscores the Chinese belief that human beings, both physically and mentally, are intertwined with nature. Although it is difficult for Westerners to relate this philosophy to the Western approach to medicine, it is fundamental to the understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
In the five element theory, each of the five elements has a season and particular organs and senses associated with it, such as taste, color, sound. The wood element, for example, is associated with spring, the liver, and the gall bladder. Similarly, the fire element is associated with early summer, the heart, and small intestines; the earth element corresponds to late summer, the stomach and spleen; metal is associated with autumn, the lungs and large intestine; and water is associated with winter, the kidneys and bladder.
In contrast to Western medicine's teaching of a separation between the mind and body, TCM views each organ as having particular body and mind functions, as illustrated in the belief that the liver is involved in planning, and in the storage of anger, while the gall bladder is the organ of decision-making.
To determine a patient's composition of the five elements, a TCM practitioner asks many detailed questions that will provide clues as to the nature of their imbalances. They may ask about the person's occupation, stress associated with it, what they like to eat, what physical problems they are experiencing, etc. Although a person may be oriented towards a particular element -- a person who is aggressive might be described as having a "wood" personality -- the Chinese believe that aspects of each of the five elements are present in every person at different times.