T   T’ai Chi (or T’ai Chi Ch’uan) An ancient Chinese exercise involving a series of precise moves of the body. It incorporates meditation, breathing, and sometimes music. T’ai Chi is showing promise in restoring balance following strokes, equilibrium problems, or injuries to the brain. Literally translates as "supreme ultimate," Tai Chi is practiced throughout China. There are many forms of Tai Chi, each consisting of a set of fluid movements that help balance the flow of Qi in the body, calm the Shen or mind, and promote good health. Tannin Active Plant Constituents That Combine With Proteins; Originally Derived From Plants Used For Tanning Leather; Astringent (Q.V.). Tao The flowing course of nature or the ways of nature; a cosmological and philosophical term that denotes the universe as an undifferentiated whole— as everything and no-thing. Stephen Mitchell writes in his translation of the Tao Te Ching: "The Tao can’t be perceived./Smaller than an electron,/it contains uncountable galaxies…" and "The Tao never does anything,/yet through it all things are done." Terpene Complex Active Plant Constituents With A Carbon Ring Structure, Generally Highly Aromatic And Included In Essential Oils (Q.V.). Thrush fungal infection of throat or vagina. Tonic Restoring, Nourishing, And Supporting For The Entire Body. Tonify Strengthen and Restore. Nourish, supplement, augment, build, support, bolster, invigorate. To tonify is to add to the supply of body constituents — Qi, Moisture, Blood—and to promote the proper function of the Organ Networks. Herbs that tonify the body assist the Spleen, Lung, and Kidney in generating Qi, Moisture, Blood, and Essence. Topical Local Administration Of Herbal Remedy, E.G. To The Skin Or Eye; Effect Herb Has In Local Treatment. Trachea windpipe. Traditional Chinese medicine An ancient system of medicine and health care that is based on the concept of balanced qi, or vital energy, that flows throughout the body. Components of traditional Chinese medicine include herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, acupressure, and remedial massage. Transformational Breath® Directed breathing exercises combining Eastern and Western philosophies to promote natural healing and well-being. Transsage® Combines healing methods of deep relaxation, hypnosis, creative visualization, and therapeutic massage. Created by Michael McArdle, LMT, CHT, of Salt Lake City, Utah. Trauma physical injury or wound; disturbing experience which causes emotional or psychological upset. Triple-Burner One of the six Yang channels whose function is subsumed within the Lung, Spleen, and Kidney Organ Networks. The Triple-Burner, along with the Pericardium, is not associated with an anatomical entity. The Triple-Burner corresponds with the three main body cavities—pelvis, abdomen, and chest—and the function of transporting fluids and integrating the activities of all the other Organ Networks. Trituration easily dissolvable. Tsubos A term used in Shiatsu® to describe the points of the body where energy collects. Tui Na [tweenah] The healing massage of China that uses a method of applying strokes to acupoints. A kind of external manipulation employing over a dozen different techniques such as stroking, kneading, rubbing, pressing, knocking, and vibrating, including many of those techniques used in Shiatsu and acupressure massage. Tuina is often used as an alternative to acupuncture. It is based on general TCM theories, including the use of channels and points. Tuina is excellent for both tonifying (strengthening the body's resistance) as well as eliminating pathogenic factors. Turbid Refers to the coarse, unrefined elements of food and fluid as they pass through the organism in the process of ingestion, digestion, assimilation, and elimination. The Small Intestine and the Kidney are primarily responsible for transmitting the impure elements of food and fluid respectively to the Large Intestine and Bladder. Turbid also refers to the pathogenic alteration of clear or pure substances such as mucus, blood, bile, and urine, which become foul-smelling, cloudy, viscous, and dirty in appearances. Type According to Five-Phase thinking, there are five primary configurations that express the innate qualities and tendencies (body and mind) of human individuals. Each of these types—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water—can be further differentiated into an exaggerated or collapsed subtype. Typology A system for classifying individuals according to sets of criteria that distinguish one class of people from another. Thus, there are typologies based on categories of race and ethnicity, composition of blood, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs, personality traits, physical structure, and so on. In the context of Chinese medicine, people can be differentiated into five primary types based on sets of criteria that correspond to the categories of the Five Phases, including physical shape, mental and emotional habits of perception and response, behavioral tendencies, and physiological patterns of activity.