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                   By: Billy Shonez Singh, M.S., L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. (NCCAOM)

                                                      ©2010

 

"Dedicated to my family, my patients, my teachers, and my colleagues.  ¡Hasta La Victoria Siempre (Always Towards Victory)!"

 

Moxibustion is another procedure used in East Asian medicine and it involves the burning of an herb called mugwort (ài yè in Mandarin) on different points and areas of the body.  Moxibustion is one of the many sub modalities in the acupuncturist's arsenal.  Modern TCM theory says the needles are used to move qì while moxa is used for supplementing it. That is modern TCM view on acupuncture and moxibustion.  Thus the modern view of moxibustion being a supplementing entity is correct in that respect.  Classical literature has shown that moxa is used for either supplementation or for dispersion just as much as acupuncture can used for either moving qì or supplementing qì.  Before I discuss the proper functionalities of moxa (ài yè), let us look at the Chinese characters of moxa, jiǔ huǒ. 

The character  "jiǔ" when translated from Mandarin to English is "something that endures; long-standing." 

The character  "huǒ" means "fire." 

Putting those characters together,   "jiǔ huǒ" translates to "long burning fire."  This implies that the effects of moxibustion heats up the body and its effects are long lasting.

 

Moxibustion works on these levels:

1. Increasing metabolic vacuities within the body (or supplementing the qì or Blood)
2. Providing analgesic effects (or moving qì and Blood to stop pain)
3. Building up the immune system (or supplementing the wèi qì)
4. Lowering blood pressure (or sedating Liver yang when applied to Kid-1{Yǒng Quán} or Du-20{ Bái Huì})

 

The way moxa works on body based on scientific thinking starts in the second century.  In the second century, Buddhism arrives in China from India along with Ayurveda and breathing techniques (pranayama).  According to the philosophy of yoga, chanting "Om" during meditation is based on the concept that everything vibrates.  This is the sound that the earth's core makes.  That form of thinking goes into Chinese medicine.  Moxa has a vibratory effect because there is movement while it's being burnt.  The human cell vibrates at a rate of 600 to 900 amgstroms per second.  When moxa burns, vibrates at a rate of 900 amgstroms per second.  Therefore, its vibrations affect the human body.

 

The application of moxa depends on the following factors:

1. The point(s) used
2. The treatment principle: supplementation or dispersion
3. Transfer mediums:
1. aconite (Fù Zi)
2. Ginger (Shēng Jiāng)
3. Garlic (Da Suàn)
4. Salt
5. Deer Antler (Lù Róng)
6. Tangerine Peel (Chén Pí)
7. Poria (Fú Líng)
8. Potato
9. Rice
4. direct application on the skin (cones)
1. has it been burned 2/3's of the way down
2. has it been burned all the way down

      5.   being burned on top of the needle (needle-head)

 

The cone-style moxa affects the wèi, qì, and yíng levels of the body, thus making it effective in treating vacuities in the body (qì level) or supporting the immune system (the wèi and yíng levels).  Needle-head moxa, where the moxa wool is placed on top of the needles, affects the xuè (blood) level.  When moxa in cone form is burnt an odd number of times, its function (depending on which point is being used) becomes supplementing.  When moxa cones are being burnt an even number of times (again, depending on the point used) becomes regulatory.  Now it's not just the number of cones being used but also the amount of heat being transferred through the points.  When the moxa cones are burnt 2/3's of way and the patient feels "warm" the effects are supplementing and the heat is spread put in a smaller quantity.  This will affect the wèi, qì, and yíng levels of the body.  Similarly, if the cones are burnt 2/3's of the way almost to the surface of the skin, the effects are more dispersive.  It will feel "hot" and the circulatory system is increased and the heat is spread out throughout the body.  This technique will affect the yin and blood levels of the body.  The heat emitted from the burning moxa on top of the needles (in the needle-head technique) conducts itself through the needle to affect the xuè level.  Thus, it is effective in treating muscle, tendon, and joint related conditions thereby invigorating the flow of blood to those specified areas. 

 

Another point I want to mention is that moxa overall helps with regulating the zhēng qì (the correct qì).  The definition of zhēng qì is the qi that defends the body from exogenous pathogens and gives rise to other forms of qì such as wèi qì, yíng qì, zàng fǔ qì , and jīng luò qì.  With that in mind, the zhēng qì is needed for the proper energy dynamics within the body to maintain health.  When, the zhēng qì is compromised in serious illnesses such diabetes or autoimmune disease, then the other aforementioned types of qì becomes compromised.  As stated before, moxa helps regulate the zhēng qì.  In essence, moxa leads to a natural reorganization of the body into its normal components.

 

 

Bibliography

 

Jackowicz, M.Ac., L.Ac., Ph.D., Dr. Stephen J., "Moxibustion Boot Camp," Lecture Notes 2007.

 

Jackowicz, M.Ac., L.Ac., Ph.D., Dr, Stephen J., "Dr. J- Moxa Seminar Excerpt- History" http://www.youtube.com/user/holisticceus#p/a/u/1/aOivgbDwMdU November 11th, 2008.

 

Jackowicz, M.Ac., L.Ac., Ph.D., Dr, Stephen J., "Moxa Theory Excerpt," http://www.youtube.com/user/holisticceus#p/a/u/0/BRvdf3l2MqI November 11th, 2008.

 

Easton, Darlene, Fundamental Theory of Oriental Medicine, Lecture Notes 2002.

 

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and a board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM.  He is currently practicing in Westbury, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects. He is also the President & CEO of Zen-Ohs Botanicals, Inc.

 

 By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac., Dipl. CH (NCCAOM)

                                                              ©2010

 

    People have often asked me a lot of questions about herbs.  "How much do I give patients,"  "How long do they have to take them", and "can I take them with my current medication my doctor gave me?"  These are causes of concern however they are abated with some of the information that I obtained for the course of time from other veteran herbalists. 

 

Dosage.

This factor is based on two different factors.  (1). If a patient is suffering from a chronic condition, the patient is placed on a low dosage and is increased on a gradual basis unless the signs and symptoms are disappearing.  The dosage for each ingredient in an herbal formula starts off at three grams instead of the standard nine to twelve.  While on the subject on chronic conditions, I also give my patients a trial dosage for two to four days.  If there are no adverse reactions, then we increase it to a week supply.  (2). If a patient is suffering from an acute condition that has persisted for a number of days, then we start them on a higher dose. 

 

How Often Should I Take These Herbs?

In the past, I have given my patients a two week supply of herbs.  After two weeks has gone by, I ask them how they are feeling after two weeks.  If they are making suitable progress, then we take the frequency down from two weeks to one week.  Once that is done, then we do a follow-up and we look together what kind of progress has been made.

 

Herb-Drug Interactions.

This is often the cause of concern among Americans since most of them are using another form of medical treatment or taking vitamins, supplements, green tea, etc.  Another cause for concern is about the cautionary and contraindications.  Some of them are very valid such as prescribing peach kernels (Tao Ren) and safflower flower (Hong Hua).  Both of these herbs are used in moving and invigorating blood.  However, from a scientific perspective, you would not use these herbs with someone who is on blood thinning medications like coumadin, warfarin, etc.  According to a few sources, other contraindications and cautionary about herbal medicine are purely hypothetical and clinically miniscule.  If someone asks me if they should stop taking their medications in favor of herbs, I respond by saying, "that is entirely up to your primary care physician."  The reason for that is because ethically and legally it is not up to me to do so since I am not an MD.  According to Dr. John K. Shen, author of Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology what you can do to avoid any potential herb-drug interactions is that their patients can take the herbal medicine an hour apart from taking their Western medication.  The principle is based on the concept of two children fighting each other.  In order to stop children from fighting each other, you pull them apart.  Same thing with conflicting medications; take one remedy an hour apart from the other remedy. 

 

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and a board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM.  He is currently practicing in Westbury, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects.  He is also President and CEO of Zen-Ohs Botanicals, Inc.

 

By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac., Dipl. CH (NCCAOM)

                                                     ©2010

 

Herbal medicine is another pillar of East Asian medicine along with acupuncture, physical manipulation (tui na), and energetic breathing techniques (qi gong).  It is used as a stand-alone form of treatment and sometimes it is used together as an addendum to one's acupuncture treatment to expedite the healing process and strengthen the body.  Like most countries, China developed a system of herbal medicine that involved the use of different herbs.  These herbs consisted of different substances:

• Plants (eg. cinnamon twigs [Gui Zhi], astragalus [Huang Qi], loquat leaf [Pi Pa Ye], etc.)
• Minerals (eg. gypsum [Shi Gao])
• Foods (eg. garlic [Da Suan], ginger [Sheng Jiang], reishi mushroom [Ling Zhi], etc.)
• Animal products (eg. turtle shell [Gui Ban], deer horn gelatin [Lu Lu Jiao], etc.)  

 

Today, herbal medicine is used in treating a wide range of ailments just like in times of antiquity in Asia.  In my experience, they have been very useful in treating lower back pain, insomnia, PMS, fatigue, and much more.  Aside from being an addendum to one's acupuncture treatment, herbal treatments provide another practical use.  It gives patients an active role in their treatments when they are not coming for acupuncture on certain days of the week.  When properly administered and used, they rarely ever cause any side-effects, when compared to Western medications.

           

Herbs are often administered as a formula; a group of herbal ingredients to help treat disease as opposed to just using one ingredient.  Each ingredient in an herbal formula comes in four groups:

• "King" - it is the main ingredient that exerts the maximum effect.
• "Minister" - it is the secondary ingredient that supports the main ingredient.
• "Assistant" - it reinforces the King herb or the Minister herb, reduces the harshness or the toxicity either ingredient.
• "Envoy" - it synergizes all the ingredients to work together and focuses each ingredient on treating a particular pathway, organ, or system in the body.

 

Chinese herbal medicine is given in two different forms.  The first type is internal formulas and the second type is external formulas. 

 

Internal formulas come in different forms for ingestion:

·         Raw herbs

·         Powdered formulas/ granule extracts

·         Pills and tablets

·         Tinctures

External formulas come in different forms as well:

• Liniments
• Ointments
• Soaks
• Powders
• Plasters

 

Most herbal formulas are not certified by the FDA but are in compliance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices).  They have no heavy metals, toxins, preservatives, or fillers that can cause harm to the body. 

           

In my clinic I often use herbal formulas in powdered form.  The powdered herbal formulas are ingested by adding to hot water and drinking it as a tea.  Another form I use for my patients are pills and tablets.  The formulas that are ingested are usually for patients with problems not necessarily related to pain, but useful for treating systemic conditions such as high blood pressure.  For my patients with aches and pains due to trauma, I give liniments and ointments such as Die Da Jiu ("Hit Fall Wine").  The reason I often use powdered formulas, tablets, and pills is because they are much more convenient for patients to consume because of increased compliance.  The second reason is that it is a lot less time consuming than cooking raw herbal formulas.  The time frame for raw herbal formulas usually takes thirty minutes to forty-five minutes to prepare.  Whereas with powdered formulas, based on my experience, take no more than five minutes to prepare.  Lastly, the use of pills and tablets has been instrumental in that patients can take them anywhere on the run; for example, if they are on vacation and their powdered formulas are rather cumbersome to carry around.  That is one usage of how herbal medicine can be used in pill form.  Also, herbs in pill and tablet form are usually given at the end of patient's treatment once they have made suitable progress with other formulas whether they are powdered form or raw form.

           

            Next time, I'll address the issue regarding dosage, frequency, and other medications that are also being used.

 

To be continued...

 

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and a board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM.  He is currently practicing in Westbury, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects.  He is also President and CEO of Zen-Ohs Botanicals, Inc.

 

                       By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. (NCCAOM)

                                 http://www.zenohs.com ©2009

 

Reading the title of this new article, you are probably thinking, "How is that possible?"  By treating something as simple as back pain with acupuncture and Chinese medicine, you are taking a preventative measure against cancer.  It may sound unlikely, or even impossible; but on the contrary, it's quite feasible.

            It all starts with an injury.  Let us say a 25-year-old man gets into a 30-mile-per-hour car accident.  He survived the accident and now has minor upper and lower back pain due to the concussive force of the crash.  Over time, the pain comes and goes but the concussive force remains, therefore leading to impeded blood flow to the connective tissues and muscles.  In a great amount of time, impeded blood flow in this case leads to lack of oxygen to the surrounding tissues, which is known as ischemia.  Ischemia leads to another process known as cell death, because no oxygenated blood is going to the tissues.  Eventually, the severity of cell death turns into necrosis because cell death has now spread into other tissues surrounding those affected by the concussive force. Over time, the surrounding necrotized tissues go into a cellular process known as cytotoxicity, which is much more severe than necrosis.  Toxins build up in the surrounding and localized muscle tissue, which later leads to cancer, which spreads into tissues.  How many times have you heard about people dying of cancer, despite the fact that they did not have cancer in their family health history? 

            A perfect real-life example of this theory is the case of Sosai Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama.  He was born in 1923 and was the founder of Kyokushin karate.  He trained under harsh environments and conditioned his hands, legs and feet by striking rocks and trees.  He challenged 300 fighters in Japan and fought all of them in a three-day kumite (which in Japanese means "free fight").  In short, he pushed himself beyond the limits of human endurance.  Yet despite his physical and spiritual strength, he died in 1994 of lung cancer as a non-smoker.  Now this is where the theory of concussive force comes into play.  As a fighter in his time, martial artists did not have protective equipment to shield their bodies as we do now.  When you are fighting the way Masutatsu Oyama did, most of the concussive force coming to your body comes from your opponent's strikes to your ribs, among other body parts like the head, groin and stomach.  Despite his physical strength, he was taking concussive force to his body (in his case, specifically the rib cage), which resulted in ischemic tissues, which over time resulted in his lung cancer.

            Chinese medical practices like Gua Sha can help treat musculoskeletal problems before they can eventually turn into potentially life-threatening issues.  Gua Sha is a modality that incorporates the use of a Chinese soup spoon, or any other hard device, to scrape the surface of the skin until there is bruising and redness.  It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or it can be used with one's acupuncture treatment.  The theory behind scraping the surface of the skin until it is very red is to bring up any stagnated blood and toxins to the surface of the skin.  The stagnated blood and toxins that have been built up cause pain and eventually lead to other problems at a cellular level.  Since there is bruising involved, capillaries are destroyed and allowed to regenerate, thus bringing in a fresh supply of nutrients and oxygenated blood to the connective tissues of the body that have been affected by injuries involving concussive force.  The bruising and redness that occurs fade away within four to five days.  If you want to see this technique done in action go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOF9kvjDPsk.

          

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and a board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM).  He is currently practicing in Westbury, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects. 

                         By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac. (NCCAOM)

                                        http://www.zenohs.com ©2009

 

 

            There have been many misconceptions about acupuncture that many people in the Western world have inferred. When I see and hear all of these misconceptions, it causes me to start rolling my eyes in disbelief. So it is time to set the record straight.

           

The first misconception is that it is used for dealing only with stress.  Now this statement is misleading because while certain people do use it for stress, it is not the only reason.  We do look at stress as being the cause of some diseases but not all of them.  If you look at certain diseases such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome, the root cause is stress.  However, certain conditions that acupuncture can treat such as sinusitis or diabetes, the root cause is not stress obviously.  Usually the cause of certain diseases can be environmental, genetic, dietary, or psychological.  Another misconception that caught my attention a couple of years ago was on Oprah Winfrey's talk show with Dr. Oz.  The subject on her show was about acupuncture and the acupuncturist treating Oprah was asked, "Do you need to be sick in order to receiving acupuncture?" The practitioner's answer was, "no."  Now, I find this to be not only a misconception but a dangerous answer to give because there are cases from East Asia that shows that acupuncture to be a useful medical tool.  Furthermore, the World Health Organization states that acupuncture is useful in the treatment of immune system issues up to the side-effects of chemotherapy.

 

Next is the subject of health insurance covering acupuncture treatments is another misconception.  Health insurance companies are only going to cover diseases treated with acupuncture by a medical doctor who is a certified acupuncturist.  I must say again that medical doctors practicing acupuncture have only three-hundred hours of acupuncture training.  Whereas, licensed acupuncturists are not covered by health insurance companies despite having two-thousand hours of training than certified doctors practicing acupuncture. 

 

Lastly, a misconception is that acupuncture is considered unscientific by the Western allopathic community.  Furthermore is that they feel that acupuncture is more of a mystical, intuitive, and an exotic art form of medicine.  The misconception of East Asian medicine being unscientific is also based on false postcolonial assumptions that date back to the 18^th and 19^th centuries regarding Eastern cultures by European imperialists according to Edward Said, the author of Orientalism.  What people fail to realize is that the Western medical viewpoint grows out of the scientific model.  The majority of individuals unfortunately fail to realize that science is a point of view without any more purchase on truth than the world views.  This gives Western medicine an air of certainty which it does not necessarily deserve anymore than acupuncture and East Asian Medicine does.       

 

            This concludes some of the many misconceptions about East Asian Medicine that have been circulating within the country.

           

 

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM.  He is currently practicing in Westbury, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian Medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects.

"In Chinese folklore, there is a fairy tale that goes with the black-bone chicken. It is said that the celestial Lu Dongbing made pills of immortality on Tiger-nose Peak long, long ago. Tiger-nose Peak is also known as Two-finger Peak of the Wushan Mountain in Taihe. On the day when the pills of immortality were successfully made, Lu Dongbing invited other celestial beings to the celebration party, including Tie Guaili, Han Zhongli, Zhang Guolao, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and Cao Guojiu.

When the celestial beings were drinking wine, a pair of wild chicken flew from the forest into the pill-making pool and ate the pills of immortality. The chickens then became a pair of white phoenix. Lu Dongbing was not glad and reported to Buddha Guanying, but Buddha Guanying smiled and said: "It's a good opportunity for them to live on earth." Buddha Guanying pointed at the Tiger-nose Peak, and the white phoenix immediately became silky fowl."

The black-boned hen is a very good setter and is often used to hatch the eggs of other species that do not set on eggs as well.

"In the Tang Dynasty, the 'maifengdanyao,' which has the black-bone chicken as the main ingredient, was thought to be the cure-all medicine for the gynecological diseases."

Read more about the Black-boned chicken

Oriental Recipes from NYCTCM Eastern Nutrition Class

See a delicious recipe for Black Boned Chicken and Chinese Yam Soup at the NYCTCM website. Students from the Eastern Nutrition class have published their recipes that show the healthful function of each dish and ingredient in accordance with TCM principles. 

Photo by Charles Dharapak-AP

Read article at The Washington Post, Monday, Nov. 16

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Kelsey Dixon, a NYCTCM graduating acupuncture student, wrote on how she will contribute to the future of Chinese medicine in an American culture which is so different from the Taoist principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

" The TCM that exists in the United States of America is, in some ways, childlike, having progressed past the novelty of its infantile stages and the tremendous growth of early childhood, and now entering its adolescence, and the struggle to blossom to its fullest potential while maintaining its roots. It is an old and sacred medicine reborn within a young and eager culture- a culture still, sometimes awkwardly, undecided as to how to approach and integrate this strange new paradigm. At times, the impending pressure upon becoming a practitioner of this healing art can seem intense..."
"Reviewing the words of wisdom from the 'sages' of both ancient Chinese culture and contemporary American culture, the irony of TCM in America is obvious. In TCM, we have a paradigm of health based on a worldview that holds passivity and acceptance, and harmony within a greater whole, in highest esteem. The American Dream, on the other hand, is fundamentally about individuals distinguishing themselves, about challenging the status quo and seeing the way things ought to be rather than the way things are. "

read the complete article at NYCTCM blog page..

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 "Practitioners use moxa to warm regions and acupuncture points with the intention of stimulating circulation through the points and inducing a smoother flow of blood and qi.

Research, for example at Mugwort (Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine by Clare Hanrahan) has shown that mugwort acts as an emmenagogue, meaning that it stimulates blood-flow in the pelvic area and uterus. It is claimed that moxibustion militates against cold and dampness in the body and can serve to turn breech babies.

Medical historians believe that moxibustion pre-dated acupuncture, and needling came to supplement moxa after the 2nd century BC."

Wikipedia article describes moxa treatment.

The photo, taken in Xingping, China, is on Johey24 Flickr photstream, plus more photos.