What is Acupuncture? Know the ABCs

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Friday, May 8th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

A lot of people nowadays have an unhealthy lifestyle which can lead to inevitable health problems. Medical breakthroughs have been steady over the years, but people, especially Westerners, are now opening their minds, as well as bodies, to what can be considered non-Western health or therapy ideas. One popular alternative medicine is acupuncture therapy.

Acupuncture therapy, what exactly is it? The common image that comes to mind when acupuncture is mentioned is that of the Chinese sticking needles in their skins. Acupuncture, as a therapeutic method, traces its origin to ancient China which is why it is normally placed under traditional Chinese medicine.

Acupuncture Therapy 101

Acupuncture therapy is often times considered by some people as an ineffective healing method simply because it does not make sense to them. So, to shed light on the perennial question of what is acupuncture to the uninformed, here are a few basics to know about acupuncture:

Acupuncture therapy utilizes fine filiform needles being inserted into specific points in the body, either for general healing purposes or specific for pain relief. These meridians are specific points in the body where life energy (qi) flows are situated.
Acupuncture points, most of the times, are located in the twelve main meridians that correspond to vital body organs like the kidney, liver or lungs. Acupuncture can be useful in treating a range of health conditions.
Due to the its Oriental roots as well as lack of anatomical or histological basis for its medical claims, acupuncture therapy it has been receiving staunch criticism from Western scientists and doctors. Some people still think of it as a simple myth but several studies show that it is truly an effective treatment of some health conditions.
Acupuncture therapy places an emphasis on the free flow of blood and qi. Qi is difficult to translate in the English language but it can be viewed as a form of life energy. When certain body parts experience excessive or deficient levels of qi, sometimes there is stagnation of qi in the body. Acupuncture therapy is used as a technique to balance the qi excess or deficiency by promoting its free flow and either draining it if there is an excess or replenishing it if there is a deficiency.

Traditional Chinese medicine looks at health as a symbiosis of yin and yang in the body. Yin and yang, which are contrasting forces that work together, can be compared to dark and light, male and female, or high and low. Acupuncture therapy in the Western world then becomes a blending of the East and the West, yin and yang, thus making it an intriguing healing art. Upon its introduciton in the West, some people thought of it as a mere myth however, through the years, it has been well researched. In fact, acupuncture therapy has been efficient in the treatment of several health conditions in the Western world.

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