EastsidegentleAcupuncture

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves the burning of the dried leaves of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), a small, spongy herb, to facilitate healing. It might be rolled into a stick or placed on the end of the needles. What it does is basically warming up the acupuncture points and meridians (channels) to stimulate the points. It is widely used for cold conditions like menstrual problems, joint pains which get worse during cold weather, or even to encourage the fetus to turn in fetal malposition in pregnant women.

Moxibustion has been used throughout Asia for thousands of years; in fact, the actual Chinese character for acupuncture, translated literally, means “acupuncture-moxibustion. If you want to do moxa at home be very careful because it gets really hot and pay attention not to burn yourself.