Moxibustion

Moxibustion (moxa) is a technique that has been used safely for generations in China, and for many years in the West, often in combination with acupuncture. It involves the burning of the herb Artemisia argyi Folium (English – Mugwort leaf or Chinese – Ài Yè  艾葉) near the skin, which has the effect of increasing blood and Qì flow to the local area, warming meridians, expelling cold and damp and strengthening the Yáng of the body.

It may either be applied directly to the skin in the form of a small cone which is removed once its heat is felt, or held above the skin in a ‘cigar’ shaped stick by the practitioner. Sometimes a small section from the moxa stick may be cut and attached to the end of a retained acupuncture needle and ignited.