The Spiritual Health

Every culture and civilization has its own ways to treat different ailments and diseases through the various methods like using the herbs, exercises, pressure points and the energy forms in our body etc. A similar technique that was followed by the Japanese as well as the Chinese people was the use of needles to cure the various types of ailments and the diseases. This technique is today very commonly known as acupuncture.

There is a very thin line of difference between the acupuncture techniques that were followed by the two cultures.

• According to the Chinese technique, the needles used in the treatment are pricked deeper at the specific points so as to cause heavier stimulation which helps to cure the ailment. The area pricked with the needle has a slight achy sensation due to the deep piercing. In the initial stage, the person may feel the pain and also a bit of discomfort, but slowly tends to relax with the passing time.
• While according to the Japanese technique, the needles are pricked gently onto the specific points which cause a mild stimulation in the ailing region. The technique is usually painless, but sometimes, the patient may feel a slight prick while inserting the needle into the specific regions. These points are selected according to the studies and the information gathered by the practitioner through the diagnosis of the pulse, palpation of the acupuncture meridians and the abdomen. These specific points stimulate the precise anatomical points of our body for curing the ailment.

Treatment through acupuncture can be performed through its various different techniques that are followed by the well qualified acupuncture practitioners. These techniques include:

• Needling: Needling in acupuncture is the most common technique that is used on nearly all the patients except for smaller children. In this technique, the practitioner uses needles to cure the patient from the ailments. He carefully pricks the single use, sterilized disposable needles on the skin surface. These needles are pricked very carefully such that it doesn’t cause much pain to the patient.
• Moxibustion: Another highly used acupuncture method is the moxibustion technique. This technique uses the ancient herbs are applied on the skin surface of the patient after which heat from the burning mugwort is applied over the needle so as to arouse the metabolic activities for the proper healing and recovery of the patient.
• Non-insertion needling:  The non insertion needling technique is the most common acupuncture techniques especially used for the treatment of children. The treatment is also known as Shonihari acupuncture treatment for children where in, metal implements are used to arouse the acupuncture points for treating them from the specific ailments.
• Cupping: This is a non needle acupuncture technique that is used for the treatment of specific ailments. The glass or the plastic cups that are easily available in the market are used over the patient’s skin so as to create vacuum. This vacuum created in the center of the cups help in pulling away fever, relieving pain, relax muscles, break the scar tissues from the body and the mucous congestion’s from the chest etc.
• Electro acupuncture: In this technique, a very mild electric current is passed through the acupuncture needles that are punctured in the specific parts of the body. The electric current passed through the needles helps to increase the stimulation in the affected regions which thus increases the healing process.
• Ion pumping cords: Another acupuncture technique where in electric current is used to heal the patient. In this technique, a simple wire is attached to the tip of the needle that is further connected to another needle through a clip which helps to direct the body’s energy to flow in a specific direction for the fast recovery of the affected part of our body.

Also, the same effects can be achieved through the acupressure methods or techniques. The massaging forms that help in gaining the same results includes Tui na, Shiatsu, Sotai, Amma etc.

Acupuncture, Acupressure, Ayurveda, Yoga, etc. these are some of the very important discoveries that were made by our fore ancestors thousands of years ago. These medicinal techniques and exercises were and even today are the most exclusively used treatments and therapies since the time when they were discovered. The science behind these therapies is very immense and also extremely useful.

During the olden times when there weren’t any resources to learn the medical science of the human body or the action of some herbs and exercises on our body, these methods were invented which further paved the strong path for medical science.

According to some of the historians, the method of acupuncture was invented even before the Chinese characters were invented. They believed that the main theory of acupuncture was created by the ancient people during an attempt to remove the effects of diseases from the body of the patient by beating him. Soon they discovered that there were specific points in our body which when beaten had the power to relieve the patients from diseases or illnesses. Thus, the first acupuncture technique was developed from the acupressure technique. They used the Bian stones to press the skin at one end and then prick the needles from the other end into the skin. It was believed that these stones were basically used for the acupressure points and treatments of the patients.

According to the main fundamentals of the Chinese traditional acupuncture, there are basically eight main principles of acupuncture. These eight principles consisted of the three treasures and the five elements.

The three treasures: Based on the ancient Chinese traditions, the way of life or the path of life was called as “Dao”. The main laws of Dao, emphasized more on moderation, having a proper balance and always maintaining a good harmony with the nature around us. They believed that we have three treasures amongst us which are Qi, Shen and the Jing.

Qi: It is pronounced as chi and is believed to be the main energy force and the organizing principle that is flowing in all the various things in the whole wide world. it through this energy that we all are interconnected. The ancient Chinese people believed that every living thing had some energy or Qi within themselves. It is in our heart, mind and the soul of our body. It runs through our blood, oxygen etc.

Shen: Shen is that treasure which gives our life brightness and is believed to be responsible for all the mental abilities that we are able to do and our consciousness. In some cases Shen is compared to our soul as it is thought to be visible in our thoughts, personality, perceptions etc.

Jing: The third treasure according to the TCM is that of Jing which is thought to be responsible for our physical growth, development and also reproduction. According to the principle, it was believed that every individual on the surface of earth is born with a specific amount of Jing within them which gets used up slowly as we grow. Also, we tend to lose Jing if we lead a wrong life and don’t care for our life. Jing cannot be replaced by any other thing in our life.

The five elements: The theory of the five elements followed by the Chinese is just another simple way to categorize all the things in our surrounding. The acupuncturists use these five elements system to diagnose the various things. The five element system is simply another representation of the transient nature of all things in the universe. These five elements or the five phases in the Chinese acupuncture principles include the earth, fire, metal, water and wood. According to the Greek version, the five elements of the universe include the earth, water, wind, fire and the space. According to some pf the historians, it was believed that the Chinese people had found just four elements which surrounded the fifth element namely the earth which was placed by them in the center of the whole system. This represented the transition of various things occurring in the system.

According to the Chinese researches, the five elements were used to represent the various phases from which all the things pass by in the environment. For instance, any metal can be heated to a specific value and then liquefied which can be then poured in the form of water. This water can be later used further to nourish the growth of trees and wood. This wood can be then burned to create fire which can be used to burn all types of things on the earth into ash. Further, the earth is purified to search and make metal. This simple cycle about all the five element systems continues. All possible things like the colors, smells, organs, emotions, seasons and taste have also been categorized into the five elements.

Based on the theory of transition, all the elements cause various changes or are created due to the changes in some other element. Earth is produced from fire and the earth will further transform into metal by plowing. Thus all the elements are interrelated with each other. Under any case, if any one of the elements has been tampered or damaged, instantly all the other elements will undergo an imbalance thus causing an imbalance to the whole system of five elements.

Basically the main purpose why these elements were discovered was to define nature. These elements were discovered about two thousand years ago and so was the definition of nature. The ancient Chinese people created these five elements without the proper understanding of molecular science or any microscopic dissections. They through this system created a simple method to remove chaos from the system by ordering all the things that could be memorized, passed and created in the future. They categorized all the things, illnesses and symptoms in this simplified manner to experiment them and also find their treatments later on based on this system.

This system has become one of the most complex systems which is still being used in many parts of the world.