Some time
ago, I wrote about acupuncture in my blog. Acupuncture is effective in treating
certain syndromes, but not everyone is comfortable to prick needles into
his/her skin. There is an alternative: moxibustion (艾灸).
Moxibustion
works in the same principle as acupuncture, except that it uses heat instead of
needle. There is subtle difference, though. Traditional Chinese Medicine is
based on the principle of yin and yang. Moxibustion is most suited for treating
syndromes caused by deficiency of yang, e.g. menstrual pain. As for whether it
can used to treat syndromes caused by too much yang, e.g. fever, the books I
read seem to give different views. In such situations, it is advisable to
consult qualified TCM doctors.
In Malaysia,
you can buy ‘moxa rolls’ from Beijing Tongrengtang (北京同仁堂).
The moxa rolls produced a lot of smoke, and not everybody likes it. There are
also some ‘smokeless moxa rolls’ sold in China. I intend to order them online.
something new to me, and i have not heard about this kind of treatment before..
ReplyDeleteso instead of pricking the fine needle on the 穴道, we near the moxa rolls to the 穴道 and let the heat and smoke do the "pricking"??
ReplyDeletehave not done any acupuncture before, but i heard the pricking is not really painful just like stung by mosquitoes??
ReplyDeleteSK
ReplyDeleteYes, we place the moxa roll near the points.
As for acupuncture, pricking is not painful if done fast. But that requires a bit of practice.
Never tried either, but why not?
ReplyDeleteInteresting. The roll/smoke will have to go very near to the body part then? I suppose it must be a challenging exercise. How long does one session usually last?
ReplyDeleteOh! I think I prefer acupressure (tui na) which use fingers to press on the meridian points. Scared of needles pricking the body for acupuncture and heat near the body for moxibustion haha!
ReplyDeletehappysurfer
ReplyDeleteJust place the moxa roll 2 or 3cm from the skin. Each acupoint 10-20 min.
foongpc
Tui na - nice if people do it for you. It's tiring if you do it for yourself.
wow u're back!!!
ReplyDeletei havent tried any acupuncture or any tcm treatments b4. guess i should go for one one day. am all for a holistic approach instead of relying on chemical medications! ;)
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ReplyDeleteI really don't prefer smoke... my nose can't bear it
ReplyDeleteStopping by to say hello. You must be very busy, KS. Still having Padini?
ReplyDelete