Acupuncture
Click on a link below for more specific information on a particular style/modality:
Five Element • TCM • Acutonics® • Cupping • Moxibustion
Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly practiced systems of medicine in the world, originating in China some 3,500 years ago. The fundamental concept in acupuncture is working with and balancing the flow of our vital energy, called Qi (pronounced chee), which creates and fuels our body, mind, and spirit.
In the human body, this energy is conducted through a distribution network of energetic pathways called meridians (sometimes referred to as vessel, channel, or official). Most commonly spoken of are fourteen main meridians running vertically up and down the surface of the body. Out of these, there are twelve organ-associated meridians running as a pair (on each side of the body) and two unpaired meridians that flow up the midline of the front and down the midline of the back connecting at the mouth and perineum to make a circuit.
What are commonly referred to as acupuncture points are precise locations along a meridian where it flows closer to the surface so that the energy within it can be accessed. As a practitioner they can actually be felt as holes or vortexes of energy. Each meridian varies in location, length, depth, direction and number of points. For example, the Heart meridian is one of the shortest meridians, superficially running from the armpit to the end of the pinky and has 9 points versus the Urinary Bladder meridian, the longest meridian, running the full length of the body and has 67 points.
Acupuncture itself is the act of inserting a solid, hair-thin, (most commonly) stainless steel needle into one of these access points and making a connection with the energy. Depending on the specific point chosen, needle technique, and system of acupuncture being practiced dictates what particular effect there will be.