MoxibustionYou probably have seenmoxibustion (灸 jiǔ, /jyoh/)done inkung fuor martial arts movies. It is thought to be useful for healing injuries and relieving pain. Moxibustion is little practiced in China nowadays.
Moxibustion has a long history,它是一个有趣的和perhaps beneficial healing technique．Here is some information on the theory, method, history, and general acceptance of moxibustion now.
Basic Theory
Practitioners think that aninjuredpart of the body needsmore Yangandqi．It is also especially useful for people with injuries or sickness arising from cold weather or freezing, woman who are having trouble with a pregnancy, old people, and other people with a problem of too muchYinand not enough qi. Thetechnique is similar to acupuncturein that it is meant to stimulate the flow of qi.
How is Moxibustion Performed?
General Method
The common herbmugwortis burned over acupuncture points or at other spots on the body. Little lumps of mugwort may be used to do this, or a long cigar-like roll of it may be used. It may be burned directly on the skin causing a blister or maybe a scar, or it may be burned close to the body.
It is often done inconjunction with acupuncture,and the therapist may even heat acupuncture needles with mugwort to enhance the effect of the needle. Moxibustion is often applied together with acupuncture needles.
Direct and Indirect Methods
MoxibustionFordirect moxibustion, the herb is burned on the skin.Indirect moxibustionis more popular since it is less painful. People can perform the moxibustion on themselves quite easily if they know the proper spot to stimulate. However, it is thought that it is harmful to do moxibustion on a person or body part that already has too much Yang, so it isn't generally recommended for healthy young men.
How Does Moxibustion Work?
It is thought that the heat and smoke of the burning mugwort canexpel the yin in the body, warm meridians, and cause blood and qi to flow more smoothly．It is thought that burning the mugwort can rid a part of the body ofqialso. The mugwort smoke also hasmild hallucinogenic and antibiotic effects, and its known medicinal effect is as anherbal stimulantto increase blood circulation and elevate body temperature. So part of thetherapeutic effectof moxibustion may be due to breathing thepungent mugwort smokeitself.
The History of Moxibustion
Mugwort Herb is Used Around the World
It is interesting that themugwort plant itself is an herbthat has long been used around the world for many of the same conditions that traditional Chinese practitioners practice moxibustion to cure. People in cultures all over the world have long thought that it has similarhealing, heating and stimulating effects．It is used as a female health tonic and for women's fertility. In Europe, it was used for these purposes, as a remedy for cold weather, and to prevent frostbite, and it still is used in herbal remedies, beer, and as an herbal tea.
Moxibustion in East Asia
TheYellow Emperor's Inner Canon 黄帝内经(Huángdì Nèijīng) is the first record of the method of moxibustion applied to acupuncture points. It dates from the Han Dynasty era (206 BC-220 AD) more than 2,000 years ago. This description of the technique seems similar to how moxibustion is performed nowadays, so moxibustion has a recorded history of at least about 2,200 years. The techniques later spread to Korea and Japan, and now the techniques are applied all over the world.
Moxibustion Today
MoxibustionVariousscientific studieshave been performed, but generallyWestern medical societies don't accept it as a viable alternative for Western medicine．然而,西方从业者认为它是a especially effective technique for turning breech babies. The burning mugwort is applied to the outside side of the little toes, and some studies claim a high success rate of the babies then turning themselves to be in the correct position. In China itself, it is rare in many areas of the country.
