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Moxibustion, abbreviated as moxibustion therapy or moxa therapy, is a treatment method that uses moxa sticks or moxa cones made from mugwort leaves to stimulate acupuncture points or specific areas of the body through the heat generated by burning moxa. This method adjusts the disordered physiological and biochemical functions of the body by invigorating the flow of qi (气) in the meridians, thereby achieving the purpose of disease prevention and treatment. The mechanism of action of moxibustion is similar to that of acupuncture and complements it in therapeutic effects. It has many advantages, including simplicity of operation, low cost, and significant effectiveness.
The practice of moxibustion likely originated after humans mastered the use of fire. As early as 1.7 million years ago, the Yuanmou people in Yunnan had begun to use fire. The Lantian people in Shaanxi had traces of fire use 1 million years ago, and the people of Zhoukoudian in Beijing had mastered the method of using fire 500,000 years ago and could preserve fire. The “Zhuangzi: External Things” states: “When wood rubs against wood, it ignites,” and the “Historical Records: The Great Ancient First” states: “The fire drill method of the Suiren people produced fire from wood, leading to cooked food and teaching people to eat cooked food.”
Throughout the million years of stone tool processing, instances of friction igniting fire would have occurred, leading to beneficial insights from the burning caused by practices such as drilling wood and scraping wood, ultimately resulting in the invention of artificial fire-making methods.
(1) Gentle Moxibustion: The practitioner places their left hand’s middle and index fingers on both sides of the acupuncture point to sense the degree of heat on the patient’s skin; this method warms the meridians, disperses cold, and expels pathogens, and is often used for treating chronic diseases, being the most widely used clinically.
(2) Rotating Moxibustion: The lit moxa stick is rotated over the treatment area, maintaining a distance of 3 cm from the skin, moving back and forth or rotating repeatedly, allowing the skin to feel warmth without burning; generally, this can be done for 20-30 minutes; it is suitable for rheumatic pain, neural paralysis, and widespread skin diseases.
(3) Sparrows Pecking Moxibustion: The burning end of the moxa stick is directed at the acupuncture point, moving up and down like a sparrow pecking at rice, generally for about 5 minutes. This method is often used for treating acute diseases, emergency fainting, and children’s ailments; it has a stronger heat intensity, so care must be taken to avoid burning the skin.
The efficacy and effects of moxibustion have gradually gained recognition among most people and have begun to integrate into daily life. However, many are concerned about the smoke produced during moxibustion and whether it poses a risk to health. So, is moxa smoke harmful? Is smokeless moxibustion still true moxibustion?
According to the “Shuowen Jiezi,” the character “灸” consists of the top part meaning ‘long-lasting’ and the bottom part meaning ‘fire,’ indicating the long-term use of fire for heating. Where there is fire, there must be smoke! What is the role of moxa smoke? Moxa smoke is a carrier of energy! Without smoke, there is no fire; without smoke, there is no moxibustion! Some people say that charcoal also produces fire, but it does not produce smoke, so charcoal is used for grilling meat and lacks the penetrating power, while moxibustion relies on this smoke to carry energy.
No smoke, no moxa; no fire, no moxibustion, meaning that there must be moxa, fire, and smoke for it to be called true moxibustion. The magic of moxibustion lies in the moxa, fire, and smoke.
1. Moxa smoke is actually a carrier of energy.
First, moxa smoke is produced by the combustion of dried mugwort.
1. The gas components produced by burning mugwort leaves are complex, and the pharmacological effects are stronger after combustion. Mugwort leaves contain many trace elements required by the human body, such as iron, zinc, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and calcium, which are also present in the moxa smoke after combustion and can be absorbed by the body.
2. Moxa smoke has a regulatory effect on the sympathetic nervous system, providing a calming effect when absorbed by the body. With the high levels of stress in modern life, everyone experiences irritability; if you are fortunate enough to smell moxa smoke, you will feel a sense of relaxation throughout your body, alleviating stress.
3. Moxa smoke contains selenium, an anti-cancer component, whose anti-cancer effect is ten times that of aloe vera, and it can enhance the body’s immunity. A customer at our wellness center had a child who would cough for a long time every winter; I advised her to let her child frequently inhale moxa smoke, and it was truly miraculous; last winter, the child did not cough at all. Therefore, moxa smoke can relieve cough and asthma.
4. Moxa smoke has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties, purifying the air and preventing infectious diseases. The air purification effect of moxa smoke is better than that of modern air fresheners.
5. Without moxa, there is no moxibustion; without fire, there is no moxibustion; without smoke, there is no moxibustion, meaning that there must be moxa, fire, and smoke for it to be called true moxibustion therapy. Without moxa, fire, or smoke, it cannot be called moxibustion.
6. The methanol extracts from moxa smoke also have antioxidant properties and can eliminate free radicals, preventing cancer and aging.
7. Moxa smoke has antifungal properties, and moxa fumigation has varying degrees of inhibitory effects on various pathogenic skin fungi.
When moxa burns, the volatile oils it contains will evaporate with the smoke. The volatile oils from mugwort have inhibitory effects on common pathogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli, among others. The higher the concentration of moxa smoke, the greater its bactericidal power against various bacteria.
8. One downside of moxa smoke is that, like its smoke, it can irritate the eyes, especially at high concentrations. Therefore, when using mugwort or moxa sticks to fumigate a room, please close the doors and windows tightly and try to leave the room.
2. Fire is needed to dispel dampness
Why is there no moxa without smoke? No moxibustion without fire? In ancient military campaigns, the first thing the army needed to solve was undoubtedly military supplies, food, and water. When searching for water sources, they would burn mugwort. They would ignite mugwort in a certain area and look for smoke within a few kilometers; where there was smoke, they would dig down to find water sources.
From this, we can conclude that moxa smoke has the effect of dispelling dampness; it is easy to remove cold but difficult to remove dampness. Moxibustion travels through the three yin channels and penetrates the twelve meridians, actually utilizing the self-seeking effect of mugwort to locate the disease focus. This effect plays a significant role.
3. “Smokeless Moxibustion” = Heating Pads
When moxa sticks burn, smoke is produced. Some people find the smoke irritating during moxibustion, leading to the market introduction of smokeless moxa sticks. However, smokeless moxa sticks are carbonized, and without smoke, the pharmacological effects of moxa smoke are naturally reduced.
Additionally, infrared irradiation, adhesive moxibustion, and infrared moxibustion devices available on the market do have some effects; using heating lamps can also yield results because modern people generally have coldness in their bodies, so using some heat-producing items can have a certain effect, but to a certain extent, it will stop progressing because the dampness in the body cannot be eliminated.
So-called infrared moxibustion devices, adhesive moxibustion, and self-heating patches cannot be called moxibustion; they merely use the name. Moxibustion without moxa fire is no different from heating pads and completely deviates from the effects of moxa traveling through the three yin channels and penetrating the twelve meridians.
Since everyone sees the many benefits of moxa smoke, moderate inhalation of moxa smoke is beneficial to our health. I remind everyone that choosing moxa sticks is crucial; good moxa sticks have gentle heat, strong penetration, and mild smoke, making them comfortable to use, while poor-quality moxa sticks have aggressive heat and can easily burn the skin.
