Starting My TCM Journey: Why I Chose Traditional Chinese Medicine

There’s a quiet moment that comes before a big decision. And after, a mixture of complete peace when it is aligning with who and what you envision to be. Mine came one winter morning, the kind of morning where the air feels still but full of possibility. I remember sitting with my tea, feeling like there had to be a way to heal that made more sense than what I’d been taught all of my life. Something that spoke to the body and the spirit, and to the seasons of our lives.

For years, I carried my own struggles — anxiety that sat heavy in my chest, emotions that felt like they had no place to land, and a body that often felt out of balance with itself; mood swings, sicknesses, fatigue. I tried all the usual things. They helped, sometimes. But nothing ever really felt permanently healed.

When I discovered Traditional Chinese Medicine, it felt like opening a door I’d been walking past my whole life. The idea that the body already holds the wisdom it needs, and that healing comes from learning to listen to your body, made sense to me in a way nothing else ever had.

So here I am, in my first year of study. Learning to see health not as something to chase or a quick fix, but as something to cultivate and nourish. Learning how the Earth, the seasons, and our emotions all play their part, influencing our cells. Learning how to trust the body again.

This path isn’t linear. It’s not always easy. But it feels clear to me and something I am finally aligned with.

I started KIRIKA as a way to document this journey, to share what I’m learning, and maybe to help someone else feel less alone in their own healing. I hope these words, and the ones to come, can be a small reminder that you, too, can find your way back to balance wholly.

Thank you for being here.

— Mikkenzie