Can You Handle Those Needles?
Do you want to find ways to relax and relieve your tension? Are you interested in building your energy and clearing your mind from stress and tension the unconventional way?
Some, if not all, of these questions may be answered by an old Oriental medical therapy known as acupuncture. Acupuncture is performed by inserting small, solid needles - usually made of stainless steel - into specific body points. This is done in order to relieve pain or improve one's health.
Acupuncture dates back to more than 2,500 years ago. Acupuncture is a product of an ancient Oriental Philosophy which states that man is a microcosmic image of the universe, subject to the same disturbance and pressure as nature itself. The unchallengeable course of nature whom the Chinese called the Tao, was believed to act through two component forces they call the Yin and the Yang. Both these two forces are believed to constantly struggle against each other. The feminine, cold, passive and dark forces are represented by Yin. On the other hand, Yang represents the active, bright and hot male forces. To attain good health, the ancient Chinese thought that there should be a balance between Yin and Yang. Alongside this belief, the ancient Chinese thought that the human body consisted of 12 physiological systems. These are functional systems that are associated with major visceral organs and a meridian from which energy flows in the body. A vital life force termed the chi flows through each meridian circulating in a daily rhythm. It is thought that disharmonies within an individual's natural forces can result to disturbances in the flow of the vital life force. Diseases will result if these disturbances are not corrected. Blockage of the chi will usually result to disease of the organ associated with the meridian from which the blockage occurs. Acupuncture is directed towards the correction of these blockages, imbalance or excesses in the vital life force flow. There are approximately more than 365 points located in the meridian where needle therapy can be applied. The ancient acupuncture technique specifically pointed out exact procedures for needle insertion, manipulation and treatment duration.
All through the years, the acupuncture technique has evolved and a lot of variations on the ancient technique have been developed. These variations include the tapping of needles into place using a guide tube after which an electric current is applied. This is a variation propagated by the Japanese. Chinese practitioners are also combining the ancient method of acupuncture with Western medical techniques specifically for pain prevention associated with surgical procedures. Although the Yin and Yang theory is no longer cited, there are a lot of classical points and newer ones used for acupuncture anesthesia today.
Until now there is no acceptable single explanation about the phenomena related with acupuncture. Japanese practitioners believe that acupuncture affects the autonomic nervous system. On the other hand, the Chinese physicians maintain that nerve impulses are responsible for the healing actions of acupuncture. While Western scientists hypothesized that the effects of acupuncture are caused by such factors as psychological mindset and counter-irritation. Additionally, the anesthetic effect of acupuncture is probably caused by pain control occurring at the higher processes in the brain.
Finally, difference in the theory about how acupuncture works may abound but one thing is certain, this ancient medical practice is helping a lot of people ease their pain and solve some of their health problems.
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