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What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a method of treating injury or illness that involves inserting
fine needles into specific acupuncture points on the body. These points are
located on a system of channels called “meridians” that circulate Qi
(energy) throughout our body. The circulation of Qi in the meridians is
similar to the way in which blood circulates in our blood vessels. The
acupuncture points are areas in which the flow of Qi can be acted on either
to increase or decrease its flow to various systems in the body. Therefore,
systems that are out of balance can be brought back into balance and the
body’s natural ability to heal itself can be reinforced. Needles represent
only one way in which the Qi is affected. Acupuncturists learn many other treatment methods.
What is Qi?
Qi is a concept that is central to Oriental Medicine, but it goes much
farther than that. In ancient China, Taoist philosophers and monks who
were very interested in the natural world and man’s relationship to it
found that behind all natural phenomenon there were unseen forces at
work. Even though these forces could not be observed, their effect on the
natural world could. The Taoists called this unseen force Qi. It is often
translated as energy but the true concept of Qi is more than energy. The
Chinese character for Qi is a stylized drawing of a pot of rice with steam
coming out. Qi is believed to exist in all things and is both the energy that
gives rise to the substance as well as the substance itself. Interestingly,
as western science has advanced in the study of quantum physics, it
seems that this paradoxical combination of energy and matter may well
be the foundation of the physical world that we know. In oriental
medicine, we focus on the function of Qi in the human body to make the
changes necessary to bring the body back into a healthy
balance.
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