Moxibustion, Cupping, Bleeding, and Tui Na
Moxibustion has been practiced for as long as acupuncture. Its purpose, too, is to restore the proper balance of yin and yang. Moxibustion is based on the ther- apeutic value of heat, whereas acupuncture is a cold treatment. Acupuncture is used mainly in diseases in which there is an excess of yang, and moxibustion is used in diseases in which there is an excess of yin. Moxibustion is performed by heating pulverized wormwood and passing this concoction above the skin, but not touching it, over certain specific meridians. Great caution must be used in this application because it cannot be applied to all the meridians that are used for acupuncture. Moxibustion is believed to be most useful during the period of labor and delivery, if applied properly.
Other important traditional HEALTH restoring practices are cupping, bleeding, and a form of traditional massage, Tui Na.
■ Cupping, as seen in Figures 10–5A and 10–5B, involves creating a vac- uum in a small glass by burning the oxygen out of it, then promptly placing the glass on the person’s skin surface. Cupping draws blood and lymph to the body’s surface that is under the cup. This increases the local circulation. The purpose for doing this is to remove cold and damp “evils” from the body and/or to assist blood circulation. The procedure is frequently used to treat lung congestion.
■ Bleeding, often done with the use of leeches, is performed to “remove heat from the body.” Only small amounts of blood are removed.
■ Massage, Tui Na, “pushing and pulling,” is a complex system of massage or manual acupuncture point stimulation that is used on orthopedic and neurological conditions (Ergil, 1996, pp. 208–209).