Acupuncture

The first record of acupuncture is found in the 4,700-year-old Huang Di Nei Jing (The yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine), claimed to be the oldest medical textbook in the world. it is said to be written based on theories by Shen Nung, the father of Chinese medicine.

Shen Nung theorized that the body has an energy running throughout it. This energy force is kn own as the qi (roughly pronounced, "chee"). The qi consists of all essential life activities which include the emotional, spiritual, mental and the physical aspects of life. A person's health is influenced by the flow of qi in the body, in combination with the universal forces of yin and yang.

Yin energy (reflecting the feminine side) is said to be "soft", "dark", "cold" and "dry". In a healthy person, yin and yang energies flow throughout the body and are in constant flux ever changing to produce balance and harmony. If the flow of qi is insufficient, unbalanced or interrupted, yin and yang become unbalanced and illness may occur.

The qi flows through 12 main channels or meridians and two accessory channels. All along the meridians through which the qi flows, there are acupuncture points where the qi can be stimulated and the flow corrected. So an acupuncturist will, after making his assessment, place needles along the selected points in order to correct any imbalances in tech flow of energy that has been detected.