The Balance Method was developed by Dr. Tan as a fast and effective method to treat problems at their root. Balance Method comprises of many treatment methods such as Local Balance, Global Balance, Seasonal Balance, Five Element Balance and Constitutional (Ba Zi) Balance.

Local Balance treats and targets specific areas of complaints such as local pain, tension, stiffness, injury, numbness or localized pathology. The affected area is not needled, making balance method one of the safest types of acupuncture. Instead, distal areas are used to cause the body to send more blood, oxygen and nutrients to the target area allowing for an easy assessment of reducing and eliminating pain, discomfort and pathology in the target area.

Global Balance treats the whole body for chronic internal issues such as digestive complaints such as IBS, liver problems, acid reflux, skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, hormone balance issues, energy issues such as feeling wired but tired, adrenal fatigue, The major acupuncture points on the extremities of the arms and legs which are the most powerful points on the body are used in a yin-yang pattern along four to eight channels. These sets of points work in unison to target specific organ patterns and systems according to the diagnosis and bring them into harmony.

Seasonal Balance balances the body in accordance with the seasons of the year and the hours of the day. The ancient masters of acupuncture divided the year into five seasons according the the five elements: Spring is Wood season, Summer is Fire season, Fall is Metal season, and Winter is Water season. Earth season is the two week transitional period between these four seasons. Some people find they have symptoms which re-occur in the same season every year, for example seasonal allergies in the spring. In this type of case, Seasonal Acupuncture may be balancing the elements such as Wood that are aggravating the symptoms in the patient.

Seasonal acupuncture also works with the time of day. The ancient acupuncture masters divided the day into twelve blocks of time, two hours for each of the twelve organ systems. When a person has a recurring pattern of symptoms at the same time of day or night, for example, fatigue at 4pm or hot flashes at 12am its important to look at the TCM organ clock and then balance the organ and element of that time period. Fatigue at 4pm is the Bladder hour (3-5pm) is common as the Bladder belongs to the Water element which tends to be weak in modern people because of the fast-paced lifestyle (Water element is strengthened by slower movement as in Tai Chi), and many other factors such as too much coffee (caffeine belongs to the Fire element and Water has to work hard to put out excess Fire). Strengthening the Water element will with acupuncture and lifestyle changes can put an end to this afternoon fatigue.

Five Element Balance works when there is a clear imbalance in one of the five elements. This system using the trigrams of the I Ching to select the acupuncture points that will re-establish the weak element or reduce the excessive element. For example, when a person has a lot of redness in the skin, red is a sign of heat or excess Fire. If this sign is consistent with other signs and symptoms, Five Element Acupuncture can be used to select points that will reduce this Fire on any channel that is being treated. Another example is a person with weak Earth element signs such as bloating, gas, inability to extract nutrients from foods, sallow complexion, and sweet cravings. In this case the trigrams associated with Earth are used to determine the acupuncture points that will support Earth element on any channel being treated.

Constitutional (Ba Zi) Balance, also known as the four pillars of destiny, is based on the order of the universe. It reads the balance of the five elements at your time of birth to capture one’s general characteristics, energy dynamics and the elements that will be beneficial to you for your health, physical, emotional, mental well-being according to your birth chart.

The acupuncture points chosen are then based on supporting your constitution, also taking into account the Ba Zi chart of the current day, month, or year as it relates to your personal Ba Zi chart. The goal is to increase the elements that are most supportive of your body-mind and reduce elements that are hindering.

Ba Zi can read the days, months, and years that will be more favourable or challenging and give advice on how to navigate those periods to support ones health and balance. Through understanding how the five elements are expressed in the world, we can learn to make suitable choices with foods, medicines, environments, social contacts, types of work, exercise, clothing, hobbies and every area of life.