The lifestyle that most people have today can at times be described as unhealthy and with it comes the 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.
What is acupuncture? The common image that comes to mind when acupuncture is mentioned is that of the Chinese sticking needles in their skins. Acupuncture originated in ancient China and is usually clumped 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:
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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 specific points, also known as meridians, in the body are where life energy (qi) flows are situated.
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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 helpful in treating a range of health problems.
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Because acupuncture therapy hails from the Chinese and lacks anatomical or histological basis for its medical claims, it has undeniably received mounting criticism from Western scientists and doctors. Some consider it as a mere myth; however, several studies have shown that it is indeed an effective treatment of some health conditions.
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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 in the body. 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,
, thus making it a intriguing healing art. Some initially considered it as a mere myth (and some may still find it as such) but, over the years, it has been scientifically researched. In fact, acupuncture therapy has been efficient in the treatment of several health conditions in the Western world.
