Episode Details

Improving Mental Health with Chinese Medicine with Nina Cheng

Nina Cheng is the founder of the Chinese medicine company, The Eastern Philosophy, and serves as Communications Officer and board member of The International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine (IASTAM). She is a graduate student in History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Graduate School of Medicine with a research focus on mental health in pre-modern China. She is author of Chinese Medicine for the Mind: A Science-Backed Guide to Improving Mental Health with Traditional Chinese Medicine with contributions from prominent clinicians and historians of Chinese medicine psychology from around the world. Her website is theeasternphilosophy.com.

Nina shares principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and its holistic application to mental health. She discusses the concept of qi as a vital life force and the efficacy of herbal treatments, five element music therapy, and qigong, among other approaches, to harmonize the connection between emotional states and organ systems. Ultimately, she advocates for a shift from the pursuit of happiness to a focus on contentment.

00:00:00 Introduction
00:06:35 Holistic approach of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
00:09:37 Five Element theory
00:17:03 Qi – vital life force
00:21:14 Mental health conditions TCM can help
00:40:22 Stress and anxiety
00:54:58 Depression
00:59:22 Qigong, tai chi, and daoyin
01:04:14 ADHD
01:08:12 Emotions and consciousness
01:12:53 Heart – seat of awareness and governs the mind
01:14:18 Conclusion

Edited subtitles for this video are available in Russian, Portuguese, Italian, German, French, and Spanish.

New Thinking Allowed CoHost, Emmy Vadnais, OTR/L, is an intuitive healer and health coach based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the author of Intuitive Development: How to Trust Your Inner Knowing for Guidance With Relationships, Health, and Spirituality. Her website is https://emmyvadnais.com

(Recorded on May 16, 2025)

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