23/02/2022
Acupuncture – what is it then? Something to do with needles? The needles are actually finer than a strand of hair. Yes! Tiny, tiny!
Acupuncture is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine that has been around for thousands of years. Plenty of time to get it right and if it has been around for so long, it must work, right? There have been many acupuncture masters that have used their experience to refine acupuncture and there are now different kinds of acupuncture practised widely.
The human body is an incredible machine and scientists find out more about it year on year. When we are unwell, have pain or just don’t feel right, it is our body telling us something is out of balance; something is wrong. As acupuncturists, it is our job to give the body a little help to get back into balance. It is almost like a kick-start, a nudge for the body to do something to get back on the right track.
If you have a Scalextric track and the track is not aligned properly, the cars cannot speed around. They just get stuck. Realign the tracks and they can drive around quite happily! However, we need to make sure that they are not trying to break the land speed record nor chug along too slowly. Everything in balance!
It is similar within the body. Imagine the body has lots of tracks or lines running inside it (it does, they are called meridians or channels) and for the body to function at it’s optimum, everything must be running smoothly. If for whatever reason the lines get blocked, or energy (qi – remember this word for later) is moving too quickly or too slowly, this causes a problem. Blockages or stagnation can lead to pain and dis-ease. This may present as actual physical pain, emotional upset or mental challenges.
An acupuncturist will work to both ease the symptoms (pain, tiredness, discomfort, aching etc.) and address the cause. In this way, we treat the root (the actual cause) and the branch (the symptoms). Western medicine focuses on treating the symptoms which could contribute to some people being on medication for long periods of time. This could be why many people turn to alternative medicine and eventually try acupuncture.
Put it on your to do list!