What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine are used as safe, non-invasive, effective treatments for many medical conditions.

TCM= Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The basis of TCM is one of balance. When there is balance, everything functions in harmony, both in the world and in our bodies. When they go out of balance, you will feel unwell, and disease may occur.

TCM has the following five distinct qualities: Effectiveness, Individuality, Simplicity, Diversity and Wholeness.

Effectiveness-The effectiveness of TCM is impressive. The World Health Organization recognizes TCM’s ability to effectively treat over 50 common disorders and a mounting body of research is verifying its effectiveness. Many diseases that cannot be cured or are resistant to Western medicine can be successfully treated and alleviated with Traditional Chinese Medicine. TCM, and in particular acupuncture, has gained in reputation as being an effective treatment for pain. But what is lesser known is its ability to treat an incredibly wide range of disorders – everything from digestive complaints to headaches, gynecological problems to neurological disorders – TCM is a complete system for health and wellness.

Individuality-One of the cornerstones of the TCM diagnosis process is to look at the patient as a whole and unique individual. Individuals are different from each other in both physical constitution and psychological make-up. This is accounted for when reaching a diagnosis and treatment. As an example, two patients arrive at the clinic with the same symptom. One is a man weighing 230 pounds with a red complexion and extroverted personality, the other is an underweight woman who feels cold all the time. Though they may have the same complaint, they would receive different treatments in TCM. This illustrates the idea of taking into account the individual and how to best bring that person back into balance, versus simply treating an outward symptom.

Simplicity -The basic concept of treating a body that is out of balance is simple in and of itself. Often a TCM practitioner will look for simple solutions that allow the body to heal itself. An example of this is food cures. The adage of let your food be your medicine was likely first written by a TCM Doctor. Every cell in your body is only made up of whatever you have consumed, thereby underlining the essential role nutrition plays in rebalancing the body. In TCM, every food has its own unique energetic qualities. By looking at a patient’s constitution and lifestyle, suggestions will be made to allow the body to return to balance.

Diversity- Part of the appeal of Traditional Chinese Medicine at The House of Healing is how effectively it treats a diverse and broad spectrum of disorders. Imbalances and disorders can evolve in a thousand different ways. The art and skill in TCM is in diagnosing the imbalance and determining the correct course of treatment. A well trained TCM practitioner will have many different treatment modalities to choose from when treating disease. This can range from acupuncture, cupping, electrical stimulation, moxibustion, massage, food cures, meditation and exercises.5db59ac358461e100f91cbf99efbf37d

Wholeness-TCM at The House of Healing focuses on the whole body rather than its individual parts and symptoms. Often a patient will come into the clinic with a particular complaint, but rather than view that complaint in isolation, the TCM practitioner will ask questions about the whole person to determine the underlying cause of the complaint. The aim of TCM is to return your body to a state of balance and treat the underlying cause of the disease.

The practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion is based on the theory of meridians. According to this theory, qi (vital energy) and blood circulate in the body through a system of channels called meridians or pathways, connecting internal organs with external organs or tissues. By stimulating certain points of the body surface reached by meridians through needling or moxibustion, the flow of Qi and blood can be regulated and diseases are thus treated. The depth of which Qi is acquired is called ‘De-Qi’. These stimulation points are called acupuncture points or acupoints.

There are 12 pairs of regular meridians that are systematically distributed over both sides of the body, and two major extra meridians running along the midlines of the abdomen and back. Along these meridians more than three hundred acupoints are identified, each having multiple therapeutic actions.

Acupuncture is the practice of inserting small sterile needles along these acupoints and adjusting them to regulate the flow of qi through the meridians. These points are selected and determined by what ailment and symptoms are described to the practitioner followed by the Eastern medical diagnosis that best pertains to you.

After every appointment we encourage you to drink lots of water for the duration of the day. If possible have a relaxing bath and try not to overexert yourself for the rest of the day.