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Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves the burning of mugwort, a small, spongy herb, to facilitate healing. Moxibustion has been used throughout Asia for thousands of years; in fact, the actual Chinese character for acupuncture, translated literally, means "acupuncture-moxibustion." The purpose of moxibustion, as with most forms of traditional Chinese medicine, is to strengthen the blood, stimulate the flow of qi, and maintain general health.

There are two types of moxibustion: direct and indirect. For direct moxibustion, a small, cone-shaped amount of moxa is placed on top of an acupuncture point and burned. We recommend only perform the direct moxibustion under the professional.
Indirect moxibustion is currently the more popular form of care because there is a much lower risk of pain or burning. In indirect moxibustion, a practitioner lights one end of a moxa stick, roughly the shape and size of a cigar, and holds it close to the area being treated for several minutes until the area turns red. Another form of indirect moxibustion uses both acupuncture needles and moxa. A needle is inserted into an acu-point and retained. The tip of the needle is then wrapped in moxa and ignited, generating heat to the point and the surrounding area. After the desired effect is achieved, the moxa is extinguished and the needle(s) removed.

The mugwort or Artemisia Leaf is the herb used in moxibustion because it is believed to emit yang energy when burnt. Since ancient times, it has been used to disinfect the air to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. In hospitals and patient treatment centers in the olden times, artemisia leaf would be placed in all four corners of the room and burnt to keep the treatment area sterile.

Another important attribute mugwort (Ai Ye) is its proclivity towards and ability to penetrate moisture. In ancient times, the Chinese army would use this knowledge to find underground springs during times of war where constant movement made ready sources of water unavailable. The soldiers would mugwort and watch where the smoke would settle. Wherever the smoke accumulated, that is where they would dig a well for water. Chinese medicine also takes advantage of this special property to help dispel dampness from the body. Herbalists associate dampness with decay and toxin retention because it is extremely conducive to fungi-growth.

The effects of acupuncture and moxibustion are unique to other forms of treatment (i.e. intake of medication) in that they do not add any additional elements into the body. Instead, it simply readjusts the body's natural mechanisms to effectively raise its functioning abilities. In this respect, acupuncture and moxibustion are the purest and most natural forms of treatment because they do not introduce foreign elements into the body. In addition, because acupuncture and moxibustion improves the body's functioning, it may also increase the efficacy of herbal treatment to allow the body to better use the raw materials provided by the herbs. For example, a person may be taking herbs to build stronger blood, but if the body cannot even make blood cells effectively, the extra raw materials provided will be of no use.

Mugwort has a long history of use in folk medicine. Research has shown that it acts as an emmenagogue - that is, an agent that increases blood circulation to the pelvic area and uterus and stimulates menstruation. This could explain its use in treating breech births and menstrual cramps.

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