Basics of AcupunctureOkay, here are the basics of acupuncture and acupressure. Acupuncture is a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique closely related to Acupressure. It is used to treat ill-health and maintain good health; using fine needles which are inserted into the skin at specific points along pathways of energy called meridians (as in acupressure). Where good health exists, this energy, (called chi or qi) flows freely through these meridian channels but when disease or injury occurs; chi becomes blocked and does not flow. The 14 meridians in the body have along them, 365 points of acupuncture all on the body's surface. The blockage is freed when acupressure or special needles are applied at specific points on the meridian where the "chi" (in Korean "him") is trapped. Take the time to visualize having to remove obstacles that are blocking a river's flow so that it is able to freely flow again. Also used to regulate the speed of the chi flow, acupuncture aids the optimum flow levels, should the chi energy flows too fast or too slow. The needles used were found by archaeologists in the digs of the Shang Dynasty which dates back to 1000 BC. For the past four thousand years the Chinese have been practicing this as a form of medicine. Currently, there are three different types of acupuncture and they consist of Western Acupuncture, Five Elements, Traditional Yin/Yang Theory. Although the methods used in the different kinds of this medicine, both to diagnose as well as to treat, are the same, the approach towards the determination of the basic origin of the ill-health and the treatment vary. Chinese medicine's five element cycle is the basis for the Five Element Acupuncture discipline; the belief here is that ailments are caused by both physical conditions and emotional stress. Following on from this, physical symptoms can only be alleviated when those inner stresses are dealt with. Full recovery is a slow process as the emphasis in the five element process is on finding and treating the cause of the illness. According to the Yin/Yang theory the overall balance of the Yin and Yang has to be maintained for good health. More than one acupuncture energy meridian is stimulated at a given time to trigger more than one element simultaneously. Western acupuncture treatment by nature is short-term and this combines both Eastern and Western approaches. Relating to the medical aspect of acupuncture, there are two different sub-categories, which includes acupuncture which is used in dental and surgical procedures. (Acupressure is usually opted for in the west but the basics of acupressure and acpuncture are basically the same.) Symptomatic or "first aid" is the second sub category; this is used mainly for temporary analgesic pain relieving. Problems like allergies, asthma, arthritis, depression, gynecological problems, and high blood pressure, infertility, and migraine have found effective cures in this line of treatment according to research done. As with healing methods dealing with energy, it effectively heals conditions not treatable with traditional treatment, persistent conditions and disorders and maladies arising from poor lifestyles. CoolHealthSecrets.com |
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