Acupuncture is an important aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The exact origin of TCM and acupuncture is not known, but it originated more than two or three thousand years ago. The theoretical basis of TCM is that there is a life-force, call Qi, that resides and circulates within one’s body, and illnesses are due to the deficiency or excess, stagnation, and imbalance of Qi. Acupuncture is the aspect of TCM that uses needles applying at appropriate acupuncture pressure points to generate, circulate, and rebalance Qi. Other aspects of TCM include doing diagnostics by sensing the subtleties of the pulse, examining external features such as the color and texture of the tongue, prescribing herbal medicines, suggesting exercises such as Taiji, and applying special massaging techniques such as Tui Na or Qigong healing. Although the relationship between the theoretical basis of acupuncture and modern scientific understanding of physiology and medicine is unclear, most people do acknowledge that there are a lot of medical benefits associated with acupuncture, although there are skeptics. This article provides a brief introduction to the theoretical framework of acupuncture even though this theoretical framework could be modified as we gain a better understanding of the science behind acupuncture.
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Introduction to Acupuncture
From the Eyes of Grandma
My first impression of my maternal grandma was a small, frail lady who was very quiet, but with pensive, penetrating eyes. I first met her when I was almost seven years old and she was 71. She lived to 100 years old, but I never interacted much with her, and never really knew her or tried to learn from her. Now that I am almost her age when I first met her, I regret very much that I never made use of the opportunity to get to know her better, because there were so many things I could have learned from her.
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Why Taiji Is Beneficial to Health?
Chinese have long believed that practicing Taiji is good for one’s health. In the last 20 years or so, many western medical research studies have shown that there are many health benefits to Taiji, including: Lower blood pressure, increase immunity to shingles, provide relief to osteoarthritis, improve control of Type 2 diabetes, lower stress and reduce joint and back pain, reduce probability of getting Alzheimer’s disease. provide relief to depression, improve Parkinson disease, and generally improve health. [1] Although these conclusions are preliminary and need many more and larger studies to confirm, collectively they do provide impressive evidence that practicing Taiji does have health benefits. This article provides a high-level explanation why Taiji is good for health.
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Inconsistent Foreign Policy May Drag U.S. Into Another War
By adopting an ambiguous and internally inconsistent policy toward the territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands/Senkaku Islands between China and Japan (former name used by China and latter name used by Japan), U.S. government leaders may be dragging the U.S. into a war in Asia that it has no moral or legal reasons to be involved. The U.S. government on many occasions has stated that the sovereignty of these islands is unsettled, yet has also stated that these islands are covered under the U.S.-Japan Mutual Defense Treaty.
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