What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Taoist philosophy, which has been refined of the past 5000 years to presently integrate elements of contemporary western biomedical knowledge. As a system of medicine, TCM employs a variety of modalities, including acupuncture, to treat a diversity of ailments.

Acupuncture stimulates the balance and flow of Qi (loosely translated as energy) that in TCM is considered essential to health. When the body is healthy, Qi flows smoothly through the meridians that make up a network of pathways or channels throughout the entire body. When the balance or flow of Qi is deficient or obstructed it may be diseased or susceptible to illness. Based on the foundation of yin/yang, acupuncture treats both the symptoms and the root causes of a patient’s illness. Acupuncture uses with the five elements and eight principles to diagnose and treat imbalances in the meridians and internal organs. In western medicine, the yin/yang balance that acupuncture and other TCM modalities achieve is known as homeostasis.

“Everything that appears in the physical realm is always connected with energy flow at the invisible level.” – Nan Lu