The Five Elements of Self-Healing: Using Chinese Medicine for Maximum Immunity, Wellness, and Health

The Five Elements of Self-Healing grows out of herbalist and acupuncturist Jason Elias's conviction that the nature of the illnesses that he has encountered in his patients has changed dramatically since he started practicing complementary medicine twenty-five years ago. Every week he sees patients with disorders that were much less common fifteen or twenty years ago: chronic allergies, adult-onset diabetes, eczema, chronic fatigue syndrome, environmental illness, irritable bowel syndrome, lupus, and many different kinds of cancer.

Reflecting on the health crises now facing us and on the connection between the rise in chronic immune disorders and toxic environmental and lifestyle patterns, Elias and collaborator Katherine Ketcham looked to the 5,000-year-old account of Chinese medicine, The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine, to seek the clues for restoring the balance of body and mind and finding the pathway to health and harmony. The result is The Five Elements of Self-Healing, which shows readers how to use the preventive strategies and gentle, supportive remedies of traditional Chinese medicine to heal contemporary chronic illnesses and bolster immunity, wellness, and mind-body harmony.

The Five Elements of Self-Healing explores the Five Element System, the unique classification and diagnostic system that is the basis of traditional Chinese medicine. The first part of the book teaches readers how to identify which of the five elements--Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water--most directly influences their physical, emotional, and spiritual beings, and which imbalances in these energies can lead to particular physical, emotional, and spiritual disorders. The authors give detailed suggestions for restoring mind-body harmony and maintaining immunity and wellness, including stress- reduction techniques, dietary and exercise regimens, and the use of Chinese and Western herbs, nutritional supplements, and acupressure.

In the second part of the book, the authors outline the causes, symptoms, and treatments of the most common immune system disorders, from the relatively benign colds and flus to the more chronic and distressing problems of allergies, asthma, and chronic fatigue syndrome and the life-threatening diseases of diabetes and cancer.

With step-by-step instructions for self-treatment, inspiring case studies of Elias's patients' recoveries, and engaging stories from diverse folk traditions, The Five Elements of Self-Healing creates a system of medicine that honors the whole person: body and mind and spirit. Shining the light of ancient wisdom into the shadows of modern disease, this book guides readers toward a broader understanding of the art of self-healing.