The ancient Chinese looked at health holistically. Physical, mental and spiritual health were considered a balanced healthy state. Our physical wellness affects our emotional and mental wellness, and vice versa. Modern medicine contributed to understanding the physical body into ten different systems: the skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and the reproductive system. Ancient Chinese medicine contributed the interconnected networks of meridians, pressure points, body clock and the three energy of vitality: essence, qi and spirit. This philosophy is the backbone of the ancient knife massage. The ancestors were mindful about the microcosmos of the human body, and drew from observation by applying and making connections with the macrocosmos.