What is acupuncture?
Just as you have arteries that deliver nutrients to all parts of your body, you also have meridians or channels that spread vital ‘Qi’ around the body along particular routes. Qi may be described as ‘energy’ or ‘electricity’ and plays a major role in TCM physiology.
Qi is perhaps the major difference between Traditional Chinese Medicine and orthordox Western medicine in the sense that Western medicine does not recognise that ‘electricity’ flows in the traditional paths described by TCM, although Western medicine will speak of electrical charges travelling between cells and along nerves.
When Qi meridians are blocked you often experience pain, and the organs connected to these meridians may not function optimally. For this reason the stimulation of acupuncture points may be used to unblock areas of stagnation and to balance the functions of the organs.
Acupuncture always tries to work with your individual body pattern as a starting point, no matter what imbalance or problem you may have. You may be relatively healthy and simply want to optimise your health.
Read more: Is acupuncture painful?
©SandraCattich