What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture needles

Acupuncture is one of the four main branches of Oriental Medicine. It is said that it started anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 years ago, but in truth, no one is really sure. What has been proven is that the practice of acupuncture can be dated to the third millennium B.C. because shells and bones from that period have been found inscribed with Chinese characters showing how herbs and stone needles were used to stimulate certain parts of the body. 


Books from 2,000 years ago described acupuncture and herbal therapies, however, many writings were lost or destroyed during Chairman Mao’s regime because of any references to esoteric/energetic/spiritual references were all destroyed.


Simply stated, Acupuncture is a health modality where points along the various energy channels throughout our bodies are stimulated to bring about a desired change in well-being. The stimulation is usually done with very fine, single use needles, but it can also be done with micro current, cold laser, or just merely pressing a specific point (acupressure).