Moxibustion not only brings out Pure Yang nature of mugwort, but also bear the effect of dredging the meridians, so it is nemesis for many modern diseases. I have treated many patients with this method, and a young girl in her twenties is very representative. She was a white-collar worker of a large firm in Beijing, who mostly sit in front of a computer and often worked overtime. She came to me because of her insomnia. She could not sleep at night for over two months; She was dizzy during the day, unable to concentrate, and easily out of temper. Her superior criticized her for being absent-minded. She felt wronged, but was unable to fight this condition with medicine or supplements.
My analysis of her situation is a combination of Cold, Qi and Deficiency. Wearing thin business outfits and working in AC environment, therefore afflicted by severe Cold; bad temper coupled with criticism from superiors and busy work, ‘Qi’ grew stronger and blocked the meridians; sitting in front of the computer all day with no exercise, often working overtime, Original Yang was heavily consumed. All these caused her physical weakness and deficiency in the twenties. Many people are similar to her nowadays, who work hard for a good career, but ended up throwing money to doctors.
Her illness was mainly reflected in poor energy and emotional changes. According to TCM theory “Heart governs the mind”, so I performed moxibustion** on her acupoints in the heart meridian such as Shenmen, and used the firepower of moxibustion to open up her blocked meridians. I also performed moxibustion on her acupoints in her head such as Baihui, Dazhui and Anmian, plus Yongquan on the foot, so Yang Qi could rise to her head and improve the supply of Blood and Qi. Lastly, I told her to soak feet in warm water with mugwort leaves every night, which had the dual effects of dispelling Cold and replenishing Yang. Within a month of following these advice, all her original discomforts disappeared.
For a long time, mugwort was nothing but a weed that nobody cared about, but once combined with fire, it becomes effective prescription for many diseases. By using mugwort to expel Cold and tonify Yang, and moxibustion to regulate Qi and dredge meridians, one could get vitality as tenacious as the weeds; so no matter how rampant Qi and Cold become, they would never be able to undermine the giant tree of health.
*These cases are selected from a book “Various Diseases Treated by Moxibustion”, written by Shan Xiamin, a renowned Chinese doctor .
**Severe adverse effect may occur, one should not perform any type of moxibustion without instruction of person of rich experience or professional.