Moxibustion is the nemesis of Cold, Qi, and Deficiency
One may notice that in previous posts regarding expelling Cold-evils, dredging meridians, supplementing Original Yang, and regulating Righteousness Qi, all the examples are related to moxibustion. In TCM, acupuncture actually consists of two parts: acupuncture and moxibustion. In the Chinese word of acupuncture- “针灸“, “针“ means Acupuncture and “灸” means Moxibustion. This is my preferred method for treatment as it is particularly effective for diseases of modern people.
The method of “moxibustion” could allegedly be traced back to the as early as the Paleolithic Age when fire was first discovered. It can be observed from the Chinese character of “灸”(moxibustion), where the bottom half- “火“ means ‘Fire‘ (The image above shows evolution of the character). Fire could generate active energy, stimulate and dredge meridians, as well as reconcile/regulate Qi and Blood.
In the Classic “Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor”, it was mentioned “…where beyond reach of acupuncture, it may be appropriate for moxibustion”; also in “Introduction of Medicine”, “…where herbs and acupuncture stop to work, moxibustion must be performed”. Therefore, it is arguable that moxibustion is the best treatment method among all four Chinese treatment methods: Stone Needle, Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Herbs.
Although there are various types of moxibustion, the most commonly known is that performed with mugwort; this is because it is as magical as moxibustion. Mugwort’s function was mentioned in a number of ancient TCM works, but they can all be summarized in two words “Pure Yang”. Because mugwort features Pure Yang, it has wonderful effects on treating Cold evil and Yang Deficiency.
Even today many people still use mugwort leaves for foot bath or put mugwort leaves into sachet and wear it to achieve the purpose of consolidating Yang and expelling Cold. These are very practical fold remedy.
