A way to balance things

At The Acupuncture School in Copenhagen, the teaching consists of equal parts theory and practice. One of the teachers, MD Elsebeth Laegaard, sees no contradictions in the Western and the Chinese conception of illness.

"It's about combining the two concepts and not emphasize the one over the other. In the West we have tended only to focus on the disease while the traditional Chinese medicine includes the whole man and his surroundings. You could say that we here in the west have been concerned to treat specific diseases in the body, but in China they see more of how things influences each other and work to make a balance between different factors - both inside and outside the body," Laegaard said.

Students practise the Chinese needles at The Acupuncture School in Copenhagen of Danmark, Nov. 2 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]