Information About Acupuncture

• What is Acupuncture?
• How does Acupuncture work?
• What is Qi?

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is one treatment modality among several that collectively form what is called East Asian Medicine (also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine or Oriental Medicine). It involves the insertion of hair-fine needles into specific points on the body. The locations of these points correspond to specific areas where the networks of Qi (pronounced "ch-ee"), also known as meridians or channels, flow through the body. Acupuncture needles are tools designed to access these networks, and thus promote the proper flow of Qi, blood and fluids within the body. Acupuncture has been shown to directly influence the immune system, nervous system, digestion and other physiological aspects of the body.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Because there is no Western concept for Qi, there is no modern Western understanding of how acupuncture works. Some have theorized that the nervous system holds the key to acupuncture's effects. For instance, acupuncture points on the foot and leg used for eye disorders have been shown to stimulate activity in the visual cortex of the brain. Others believe that acupuncture is simply a placebo. Yet acupuncture is effective with infants and animals. Some surmise that research into acupuncture will lead to the discovery of a different physiological communication system altogether. In any case, acupuncture in the West is still a mystery. Its effectiveness and safety are the keys to its growing acceptance.

The explanation of acupuncture passed down for thousands of years is simple. Acupuncture stimulates the natural internal flow of Qi, which in turn engages blood and other fluids to flow smoothly, and the internal organ systems to function properly. When Qi, blood and fluids are in harmony with one another, and the internal organ systems function normally, disease processes are unable to take hold or remain for long.

What is Qi?

This is notoriously difficult for most Westerners to answer. In Asia, Qi is considered essential to everything from martial arts to cooking to medicine. In the West, there is no concept of Qi, but it is commonly translated as "energy". I prefer to forgo translations and simply call it "Qi" because the full meaning imparted by the character, (and experienced in clinic), cannot be captured by a single English concept.

The character for Qi depicts a grain of rice cooking inside a pot with steam rising up. It depicts an active and transformative process. Rice is being transformed into nourishment, and water is being transformed into steam, which in turn transforms back into water. Qi is both the form and the transformative process. It has been referred to as something in a constant state between energy and matter. Similar to a unified field theory in modern physics, all things and all activity are Qi.

In East Asian Medicine, Qi is actually categorized specifically by how it manifests. For example, each organ has its own kind of Qi. There is Kidney Qi, Spleen Qi, Lung Qi, etc, and each is different and serves a different function. There is also channel Qi, which flows in specific pathways known as acupuncture channels or meridians. These are all manifestations of Qi, each slightly different, and each with definitions based upon observable effects.

Qi is experiential. Modern technological devices cannot detect it. Much of your experience with acupuncture will be based upon your experiences with Qi. For many it is something completely new. For others, it is an explanation of physical sensations they have always felt, but could not describe. Qi is subtle and profound. Like the sun moving across the sky it is in constant motion, granting energy and life to all things, but you only notice when you are paying attention. At the least, Qi is part of a different medical language to explain the physiological processes of the body. At its most profound it is the common link between all things in existence. The best part is, you can decide for yourself, "What is Qi?"