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How to Use Cupping Therapy and Moxibustion for Natural Healing of Diseases
Moxibustion is a natural treatment method in traditional Chinese medicine that can be used for a variety of diseases, including asthma, common cold and flu, arthritis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and other diseases of the cold type. To perform moxibustion, you need to have moxa wool or moxa cones, or moxa sticks, matches and a tray to hold the ashes.
To make moxa cones, place a small amount of moxa wool on a table. Moxa wool is made from the herb mugwort and can be obtained from herbal stores. Press and make the moxa wool into the shape of a cone with the thumb, index and middle fingers. Moxa cones can be made into three sizes. The smallest can be the same size as a grain of wheat, the medium size is about half an almond, and the largest is the same size as the upper part of the thumb. The two smaller cones are usually used for direct moxibustion, while the largest for indirect moxibustion. Direct and indirect moxibustion are different techniques of applying moxibustion and will be introduced in another article.
Moxa sticks are usually more convenient to use than moxa cones as they are longer and can be hold by hands. To make moxa sticks, roll moxa wool into the shape of a sausage. Mulberry barks are usually used as wraps for moxa sticks as they also have certain healing effects. Commercial moxa sticks are available from Chinese herbal stores.
According to Chinese medicine, moxibustion can be used for reinforcement and reduction purposes. The reinforcement technique is a therapeutic method for patients with deficiency, such as fatigue. The reduction method is usually used for patients with excess, such as high fever. For reinforcement purposes, let the moxa burn naturally till it burns out. For reduction treatments, blow air to the moxa while it is burning to make the incineration vigorous. This method is recorded in the classical book Miraculous Pivot of The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic.
To apply moxibustion on different parts of the body, certain order should be followed.
Usually, it starts from the upper part of the body toward the low part, from the back toward the abdomen, and from the head toward the four limbs. However, clinically it can be applied in different ways in accordance with the health conditions.
To avoid any accidents and to achieve the best effects when using moxibustion, there are some points to be noticed. For example, do not perform moxibustion on patients with diseases of the heat type. Do not use the direct moxibustion method on the face or at regions with large vessels. For a pregnant woman, do not perform moxibustion at the abdominal region or the lower back region. As a treatment method using heat, cautions should also be taken to prevent burning for those with numbness or tardiness of sensitivity.
