Qi Flow and Healing
Qi flows through and is all things. The more diffuse and active Qi circulates around the human body through a system of pathways called channels. These channels run from our head and face along the torso to the toes or from our chest and face to the fingers, as well as diverging internally to nourish the organ systems. During a Japanese and French Style acupuncture treatment, ultra-fine surgical steel single-use sterile needles are gently inserted into points located along these channels to affect the Qi. The ingesting of medicinal herbs also has a direct effect upon the Qi flow in these channels.
Qi is susceptible to pathological changes. Qi vacuity and repletion can result from various lifestyle factors such as inadequate or excessive diet, exercise and sleep, or from various environmental factors such as wind, damp, cold and heat. These pathologies may be characterized by, lethargy, poor digestion, constipation, diarrhea, insomnia, pain, fever or chills. Qi stagnation can also arise from clogging of excess food or phlegm or the constraining effect of emotional depression, stress and frustration. Qi stagnation is characterized by sensations of fullness, distention, or pain and is often a major cause of female menstrual irregularities.
Did you know that in 2003 The WHO (World Health Organization) published clinical trials researching the effectiveness of acupuncture?
Treats and Reduces:
- Stress
- Sleeping Problems
- Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
- Biliary colic
- Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
- Dysentery, acute bacillary
- Dysmenorrhoea, primary
- Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
- Facial pain (including cranio-mandibular disorders)
- Headache
- Hypertension, essential
- Hypotension, prima
- Induction of labour
- Knee pain
- Leukopenia
- Low back pain
- Morning sickness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neck pain
- Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
- Peri-arthritis of shoulder
- Postoperative pain
- Renal colic
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sciatica
- Sprain
- Stroke
- Tennis elbow
Pete To
WHO Canadian certified acupuncturist
More about Pete: please visit his page here
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is an ancient healing and anti-aging practice of traditional Chinese medicine which involves the insertion of fine needles into the skin. It began to spread rapidly during the twentieth century in Western Europe and North America and has become a popular modality used to offset stress and the effects of aging. Modern research has demonstrated acupuncture’s effects on the nervous system, endocrine and immune systems, cardiovascular system, and digestive system.
By stimulating the body’s various systems, acupuncture can help to resolve pain, balance hormones, and to improve your sense of well-being. According to WHO (World Health Organization) acupuncture is effective for treating 28 conditions, while evidence indicates its effective therapeutic value for many more.
How Does Acupuncture Work?
Acupuncture therapy seeks to release the flow of the body’s vital energy or “chi” by stimulating points along 14 energy pathways, evoking the body’s natural response through various physiological systems.
In Western societies, acupuncture is explained including concepts of neuroscience. Acupuncture points are seen by some Western practitioners as places where nerves, muscles and connective tissue can be stimulated.
Does Acupuncture Hurt?
Acupuncture needles are very thin, even though they can cause temporary soreness, most people feel no pain or very little pain when they are inserted. Many say they feel energized or relaxed after the treatment.
How is Acupuncture treatment carried out?
Although effects are usually felt after a single session, acupuncture generally involves several weekly or fortnightly treatments. A visit to an acupuncturist will involve an assessment of the patient’s condition, the insertion of needles, and advice on self-care. Most sessions last about 30 minutes.
Single-use disposable sterile needles are used in clinics. As each needle is inserted one usually feels them, then when it reaches the right depth there is a sensation of the qi-flow. Sometimes the needles are heated or stimulated with electricity after insertion. Once inserted, the needles will remain there for about twenty minutes.
When to Consider Acupuncture?
As acupuncture rarely causes side effects, it is considered as a healing modality on its own, as well as a complementary medicine that can be used along other treatments.
Acupuncture is widely used to reduce the need for drugs and improve the quality of life of people with chronic pain, premature aging symptoms, and a variety of stress-related conditions including fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and allergies, among many other health conditions.
Talk to your healthcare provider about this powerful modality. It is important to receive treatment from someone who has met standards for education and training in acupuncture. Apart from helping with conditions, regular rejuvenation acupuncture sessions are a time to relax, to shut off the mind, and be in the presence of a therapist you can trust with your total well-being.