Breath theory between medicine and spirituality, in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Abstract

In ancient Chinese philosophy, cosmic order is reflected and reproduced by human body, even in different forms. Similarly to what happens in nature, in the organism nothing is separate and separable, everything is connected in a dense and inextricable network of relationships. The division that Western med icine operates between different organs and body systems or between body and psyche, it is completely foreign to Chinese medicine. Therefore, the notion of breathing becomes something that goes beyond the simple description of a physical function, rather it opens to the understanding and perception of a world in which the breath represents the vital breath par excellence, the main mediator of connections and both physical and spiritual transformations.