Chinese Medicine has relied on herbal therapy as a healing modality for thousands of years. During this time, it has identified and classified the essential properties of thousands of herbs, and how they act on the body, mind and spirit. Herbal medicine uses herbs in combinations to have a more powerful effect than the use of a single herb. This allows the formula to work together as a team. The herbal formula can then be tailored to a specific person and their manifestation of an imbalance. In a way, you are designing a special team of herbs to deal with a certain set of symptoms unique to an individual. There are also manufactured formulas known as patents that are designed to help with a certain set of symptoms. Therefore, herbs can be taken as pills, tinctures, patents, or as teas made from the raw herbs.