ACUPUNCTURE

• Cupping involves placing glass jars on the skin and creating a vacuum by suctioning out the air through a process that involves fire.  We also use silicone cups.
• Cupping benefits: enhances circulation, helps relieve pain, pulls out the pathogens that linger in your body’s tissues.

•  Herbs and Acupuncture are complementary components of Chinese medicine, comparable to synthetic drugs and surgery of the western medicine. 
•  The aims of Chinese herbal therapy are to help you regain balance in your body and to strengthen your body's resistance to disease. 

•  Auricular acupuncture is the technique of stimulating specific points in the ear that correspond to different parts of the body with the use of specialized beads or needles. 
•  Ear seeds are small seeds or metal pellets with stickers used to stimulate pressure points in your ear to encourage balance and healing in your body. 

• Electroacupuncture is an alternative technique designed to promote the flow of Qi and blood, relieve pain, warm the muscles and remove blockages within the Meridians. 
• The procedure for electroacupuncture involves inserting the needles first, then attaching a small electrode to the needles. 
• These electrodes apply a pulsating electrical current to the needles as a way of stimulating the acupoints and enhancing the Qi. 

Gua – translates as rub or scrape, Sha – a term used to describe the substances released to the surface of the body after the rubbing or scraping occurs.  The term tui na (pronounced "twee naw"), which literally means "pinch and pull," refers to a wide range of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapeutic massage 

• Gua Sha is designed to release unhealthy elements from injured areas of the body and stimulates blood flow and healing.  
• Using specialized instruments, the practitioner uses repeated strokes over specific areas to release adhesions, reduce excess fluids, loosen connective tissue and release stagnant blood trapped within the tissues.

• Traditional moxibustion involves using heat from burning the plant Artemisia vulgaris to stimulate acupuncture points on the body. 
• The aim is for the treated skin to become red. It is thought in traditional Chinese medicine that this improves Qi circulation, and helps with numerous conditions.
• At our clinic, we use a form of moxibustion that is smokeless but, still has the therapeutic benefits of traditional moxa.