52nd TCM Kongress Rothenburg starts online today

11 to 15 May: Advanced and Continuing Education in Traditional Chinese Medicine with Invitations to Join In – Acupuncture – Research

Berlin, 11 May 2021 – Today marks the start of the online TCM Kongress Rothenburg, whose real variant has taken place for more than 50 years in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, drawing 1000 participants from around the world year after year. The coronavirus makes it necessary to conduct the congress online for the second year in a row. From the comfort and safety of their homes, all the speakers and participants can attend and on all five congress days visit more than 40 event series, some of which last all day, in parallel sessions. On offer are courses, seminars, workshops, social events, join-in Taiji, an online cook-along TCM cooking lesson, and an associated exhibition.  

The content is based on the lead subject "Expressions of the Metal Element: Physical and Mental Manifestations of Skin and Respiratory Diseases" with a variety of topics such as hay fever, psoriasis and bronchial asthma and their diagnostics and treatment with methods from TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Other topics include dementia and COVID-19, infertility treatment and pandemic-related sleep disorders. Special theme days will be offered in Paediatrics, Western Herbs, Fertility, Integrative Nutrition and TCM research, which deal with the respective topics in detail from a variety of perspectives.

Top-level advanced and continuing education with internationally renowned speakers

The event manager AGTCM has once again signed up renowned national and international speakers for the congress. "For many of our participants the attraction of the congress is the chance to learn from these speakers, gain new knowledge and hear about their long-term experience and to be able to interact with them," says Congress Chairwoman Julia Stier. Dr. Martina Bögel-Witt, President of AGTCM, added: "For TCM therapists from Germany and many other countries, the congress is an important element in advanced and continuing education in the subject matter. For the congress is certified for the acquisition of continuing education credits by many European TCM and acupuncture associations, the Bund Deutscher Heilpraktiker and the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine." The TCM Kongress Rothenburg is the largest and most renowned congress on Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Western world.  

Join-in courses: Taiji and TCM cooking

Under the title "Medicine from the Cooking Pot", Lecturer for TCM Nutrition Charlotte Sachter of Hamburg will lead a live day-long online cooking lesson during which the participants at home can cook along with her. Dietetics, which is part of the five pillars of TCM, has a long tradition. With personalized nutrition, according to TCM, existing illnesses can be treated and the emergence of other diseases can be prevented. Nutritional recommendations, like all TCM practices, are always tailored to the specific conditions of the person being treated.

The cooking lesson during the congress is concerned with recipes for cold-related illnesses. They were developed on the basis of the two main healing foods of TCM, Congee and herbal soup. Ms. Sachter explains and demonstrates the effects of the foods presented, how they are prepared and how they can be used – with personal adjustments. "It is especially important for me that nutrition advice can be implemented in everyday life," says Ms. Sachter. "Additionally, it is important that the foods taste good and represent abundance, not deprivation. Then eating brings pleasure and enjoyment."

At the daily "Taiji Morning Greeting" congress participants can gather in front of their screens and start the day with Qi Gong Master Lucas Wilkmann. He'll demonstrate the slow, gentle movements from Taiji that ought to provide an energy boost for the congress day. Taiji is a movement art from China that shares roots with the much older Qi Gong – one of the five pillars of TCM – and should bring balance to mind and body. Both serve to cultivate the life force known as “Qi”.

The illness whispers, "I am here" – Acupuncture with Gorô Hasegawa

One of the highlights of last year's congress was the two-day course put on by the Japanese acupuncture specialist Gorô Hasegawa. Among other things, he leads basic and master courses in Osaka and has been engaged for years in the continuing education of therapists in German-speaking areas. Mr. Hasegawa has developed a special acupuncture practice, Shinkyû, which is traditional Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion according to the Hasegawa Method. It is a clearly structured and easy-to-learn method that uses very few needles and moxa cones to bring about maximum healing results in the treatment of pain and chronic diseases. The method includes very precise diagnostics that Hasegawa says makes it possible to perceive the "voice of the body". Mr. Hasegawa writes: "The voice of the body leads me to the physical anomalies, guides me to the method with which I can bring the body back to a normal state and restore body balance. So there is an improvement in the symptoms."

Research Theme Day

Another highlight is the TCM Research Day on Friday under the direction of Dr. Velia Wortman (Medical Director of the congress) and Prof. Dr. Florian Beißner (Hannover). International researchers present their findings from Chinese medicine and naturopathy. Subjects include "Chinese Medicine and Psychotherapy: A synergetic connection" (Florian Beißner); "Tapping Away the Pain - How Tapping Techniques can Alleviate Psychosomatic Symptoms of Trauma Survivors“ (Antonia Pfeiffer); and "Treating infertility in a cohort of ‘unfavorable patients‘ with an integrated approach of Chinese medicine and psychotherapy" (Dr. Annemarie Schweizer-Arau). "Internationally, a great deal of research is being done in TCM," reports Dr. Bögel-Witt. "At the congress we would like to give participants a closer look and show how broad the spectrum of our medicine is."