Anathi Rajamoorthi

Ananthi Rajamoorthi, within six weeks time, explored the diverse ethnicities and traditional medical practices of the Yunnan province in southeastern China. She visited Tibetan monasteries, orphanages, stone forests, the grassy hilltops of Shangri-La, farming villages, rice patty fields, small medical clinics, and the most respected Traditional Chinese Medical hospitals in the region. As short as these “visits” may have been, they gave Ananthi immeasurable opportunities in observing how Chinese society has beautifully integrated both traditional and western practices of medicine. She respected and admired how bed-side manner included not only the objectiveness necessary for physicians to clinically understand illnesses, but the personal, compassionate touch essential in healing both the body and mind, thereby emphasizing the significance of preventative medicine. Ananthi observed, practiced, and even performed various TCM methods such as acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and massage. She cherished the hours and days she spent with the children at the Tibetan orphanage and at the Pediatric unit of the Yunnan Traditional Hospital in Kunming city. “Children are the crux of society,” Lina, a blind female TCM therapist, said to Ananthi, just a few days before her departure. “Their hearts are pure and nonjudgmental, giving them a better perspective of the world. That is how we should strive to live.” Lina’s words ring strong and clear in Ananthi’s mind. As a global citizen, Ananthi is determined to view the world with such open perspectives, and as a future physician, will hopefully strive to incorporate both traditional and western aspects of medicine, increasing the importance of prevention and holistic healing in her medical practice.