What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture originated in China and has been used throughout history for more than 2000 years. Understanding acupuncture requires knowing a little about the philosophies and ideas that are the foundation of Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture has been scientifically proven to work for a wide variety of health conditions and problems. In fact, new instrumentation has recently been used that has measured “energy” that is over known acupuncture points and it has also been proven that more energy exists at these places on the body than on other parts of the body. Many find this to be strange, but the idea that energy can be manipulated and changed for the over all benefit of the organism isnt very strange.
The first thing that will help one to understand acupuncture is knowing how energy affects the body. Our cars run off of one primary source of energy – gasoline. This energy has different expressions in the car, such as mechanical and electrical energy. The energy that is used to power the engine is different than the energy that is used to power the batter than ultimately provides light to your dashboard. The expression of energy in the car is different, but ultimately the root of the energy can be traced back to one thing. It is not a stretch to say that our bodies are like a car and they run off of energy and this energy is expressed many different ways in the body. The base energy for the body is food. Food is converted by the body into energy. This energy is divided and used in many different ways to support healthy body function.
In Chinese Medicine, the body has channels or meridians of where the energy flows in the body. This energy is controllable, able to be manipulated and can be strengthened among other things. For example, if something clogs the fuel line in your car, you are going to feel a noticeable different in performance. Likewise, if something is causing an energetic disturbance in the body and the energy in a specific channel is stuck or stagnant and is not moving, the expression of this is a symptom such as a headache. Acupuncture is simply a way to tap into the energy in the body, to manipulate, change or free it, so that balance can be restored. In this case, it would be bringing relief to the headache.
At the base of every one of our cells are atoms and atoms are composed of positive and negative energy. We are just pure expressions of energy. It really is not that much of a stretch to think that our bodies energy can be altered to balance out health.
Twelve major channels of energy exist relating to the various organs of the body. For example, you have the heart channel. The heart channel starts near the underside of the armpit and runs towards the hand and ends in the radial side of the pinky finger. In traditional Chinese Medicine, the heart commands all of the organs, houses the spirit, and controls the emotions. Heart – 7 for example is the considered the most important point on the channel and it has an effect on a wide variety of health conditions in the body. This point is food for balancing out the emotions for depression and mania. When combined with other points it can be good for backache in men, asthma, tremors, eye issues, and sexual function issues.
Acupuncture involves using very thin needles that when inserted into the body help to work with the body’s energy in that channel so as to bring about the known desired result that has been seen typically for thousands of years. Many times, when the needle is inserted into the skin and then is stimulated by the practitioner, you can literally feel the energy arriving to that point in the body. The insertion of most needles is barely even felt by the patient. Once the needles are inserted into the body, they are typically left in the body for 15-30 minutes depending upon the type of treatment being given.
Other important channels exist in the body as well and overall the body has more than 350 points. Miraculous things have been experienced by many people that have gone through a series of acupuncture treatments. It is even useful for things such as taking care things from hiccups to supporting the most serious diseases including cancer, heart disease and brain diseases. It truly is an amazing way to help balance out the body and to help heal the body of almost any issue or problem.
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