Chinese Medicine Net

Burning mugwort in moxibustion heat therapy is one of the oldest forms of Chinese traditional medicine and is used to stimulate the flow of qi and maintain general health. It especially dispels cold and dampness.

By focusing heat on acupressure points, it can treat aches and pains and is even known to relieve menstrual cramps.

Traditionally it meant burning moxa - mugwort and other herbs - directly on the skin over acupressure points. Because of pain, burning and even scarring, this method is seldom used. Sometimes the burning moxa can be placed on a piece of ginger, salt or other compound - carefully, by a skilled practitioner, so that it heats but does not burn.

Today, indirect moxibustion involves burning a moxa stick an inch or more above the skin, or combining moxibustion with acupuncture. In this method, an acupuncture needle is inserted and heated by burning moxa - thus the heat is conducted through the needle into the body.

All moxibustion involves burning mugwort (artemesia vulgaris), a small, spongy herb, compounded with other herbs, depending on requirements. Mugwort, the herbal essence of moxibustion, is fabled worldwide for warding off the evil eye and maintaining health.

Moxibustion dates back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-770BC). The Chinese characters for acupuncture zhen jiu, which translated literally means “acupuncture-moxibustion.”

Since the two therapies share a similar purpose, improving the flow of energy, they were often used in pairs. However, moxibustion has its own special benefits.

“Both acupuncture and moxibustion aim to unblock the energy channels and thus stimulate the energy flow, yet moxibustion is more effective in dispelling coldness and dampness while warming the meridians. This is due to the characteristics of mugwort, the raw material of moxa,” says Cao Yinyan, the chairman of Yinyan Indirect Moxibustion Health Resort.

She used to be a plastic surgeon, but turned to the study and practice of TCM and moxibustion about 10 years ago when she found Western medicine inadequate as a holistic approach. She now operates three moxibustion health resorts and a moxibustion training school.

“The human body is just like a running machine. Dampness will rust it while coldness will freeze it,” says Cao. “Therefore, apart from adding oil to help it run again, we should also help it get rid of the unfriendly damp and cold environment. And that’s what moxibustion does.”

There are three common types of moxibustion: direct moxibustion with a moxa cone, moxa needle (acupuncture) therapy, and indirect moxibustion with a moxa stick.

In moxibustion with a moxa cone, a small, cone-shaped piece of moxa is placed on top of an acupuncture point and burned. It can be placed directly on the skin or placed on a piece of ginger, aconite herbal cake, or salt.
source: http://www.tcmadvisory.com/