What is moxibustion?

The word for acupuncture in Chinese is zhen jiu. Zhen means needle and jiu means moxibustion. This is an indication of how important moxibustion is to Traditional Chinese Medicine. In the West, far more emphasis is placed on the use of needles, while the significant and extensive use of moxa is often overlooked.

In the Bay Area, acupuncture is a mainstream form of alternative medicine. There are five main styles of acupuncture (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Classical Acupuncture, Five Elements, Japanese Meridian Therapy, and Korean Acupuncture). Practitioners within most of these canons all occasionally use a non-needling technique called moxibustion, or moxa.

Moxibustion is the practice of burning an herb called mugwort in close proximity to the skin (and sometimes actually on the skin). The heat and the volatile oils stimulate the body’s qi along the meridian lines and improve circulation and blood flow.

According to San Francisco Classical Acupuncturist Rebecca Rapaport Ness, “Moxibustion is specifically used for patients suffering from (among other things) immunity issues, colds, digestive issues, menstrual cramps, or for women who are struggling to turn a breech baby. Moxa is often a welcome form of treatment for patients because it is vitalizing, promotes a sense of wellness, and is relaxing.”

To the patient, moxa is a comforting and generally non-intimidating experience that doesn’t hurt (and has a bonus calming, earthy smell).

There are 5 ways that moxa can be used:

1. Holding a tightly compacted moxa stick close to the skin until a comfortable sense of warmth (and energy flow in the meridian channel) is felt
2. Placing tiny tufts of dried mugwort on the skin and then burning it until the patient’s skin feels hot
3. Using moxa on the ends of needles that have been inserted into the skin (the non-skin end, of course)
4. In combination with ginger, salt and garlic for various medicinal effects
5. Placed in a moxa box and positioned on the low back or abdomen in order to affect low back pain, fertility, and menstrual cramps

Some historians actually believe that moxibustion predates needling in traditional acupuncture. Its practice goes back centuries.

The Chinese word for moxibustion therapy—jiu—is a compound character of two words: time and fire. Making use of heat by sitting by a fire was a form of therapy for medical issues due to pathogenic factors like wind, cold and damp.

Thanks to Rebecca Rapaport Ness for her contributions to this article.

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