Moxibustion
Moxibustion
As one of the oldest and most effective forms of oriental therapy, Moxibustion, a technique originated in China and introduced to Japan more than a thousand years ago, is the application of heat to acupuncture points throughout the human body. Two different types of moxibustion have developed overtime: direct and indirect. Japanese Acupuncturists adopted both methods but prefer to use direct moxibustion because of its effectiveness, while direct moxibustion has almost disappeared entirely from Chinese Acupuncture techniques.
By burning moxa, an herb derived from drying the underside of the mugwort plant’s leaves (part of the chrysanthemum family), heat is created in both methods. Thereˇre great variations among the grades of moxa available for therapeutic practice. Japanese moxibustion uses the highest grade of pure moxa possible, which allows for its direct application on the skin.
