Acupuncture essay

Acupuncture Acupuncture is a traditional Eastern therapeutic technique that uses fine needles, inserted into specific points on the body along the meridians in proper speed to achieve a specific therapeutic goal. Acupuncture originated in prehistoric China, and it is based on such theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine as treating blockages of Qi, yin-yang balancing, five elements theory and pulse diagnosis. The functional system of channels and organs uses concepts of yin-yang balancing. Nowadays, acupuncture has become commonly used in many Western countries as well. Around 200 B.C., the Yellow Emperor’s textbook of physical medicine called Huang Di Nei Jing described the essential metaphysics of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The ancient Chinese doctors saw man as an integral part of nature and all things both in Yin and Yang around him were related to him, and things in Yin and Yang should be in balance. The original meaning of Yin is the shady side of the hill, and Yang is the sunny side of the hill. The opposites complement each other in a dynamic process. Thus, Yin and Yang cannot exist without the other, and the two forces always combine to make up the whole. “This polar system of Yin and Yang has an important role in medicine and in the description of life processes in the human body and of their pathologic disturbances.” (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p88) Qi is the vital energy or life force, and it is omnipresent in nature and is apparent in all life in the form of change and movement. The action and movement of Qi expresses in every life process and every organic function. “In the body, Qi accumulates in the organs and flows in channels or meridians that are called Jing and Luo in Chinese.” (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p.88) The general theory of acupuncture is based on the premise that there are Qi. The fluent flow of Qi throughout the body is essential for optimal health. Blockage of this