If you’ve ever walked into my clinic and been greeted by a distinctive, earthy aroma that smells vaguely like a campfire, you’ve encountered moxibustion. This powerful pillar of East Asian Medicine (EAM) has been used for thousands of years to treat pain, prevent disease and promote longevity. Moxa can be used to treat a myriad of issues, so let’s take a deeper look.
Moxa is a form of heat therapy that involves burning the dried plant mugwort, leaving it very near the surface of the skin. A member of the daisy family, mugwort has been known and used for centuries for both its flavor and its medicinal properties. Before hops were used to give beer its taste, other species of mugwort were flavoring agents. Mugwort species are native to Europe, Asia and Africa, though they’ve been naturalized around the world. It’s related to other plants in the artemisia genus, including sagebrush and wormwood.
Moxibustion can be done either directly or indirectly, but the way it is used at Zen Penguin Wellness is always indirectly. The herb is rolled into little cones that are attached to a base with a hole in the middle. the cones are then placed on the acupressure points and lit on fire. As the herb burns to the base, most patients will feel a warming sensation. The base stops the herbs from burning the skin and the hole in the middle allows both the heat and the smoke to enter into the skin, which creates the healing effect.
Numerous clinical studies show that moxibustion increases white blood cells, produces infrared heat, increases hemoglobin and is great for boosting immune health. Just one application of moxa can increase your white blood cells (your infection fighters) for up to 24 hours. It can also increase your hemoglobin, which helps transport oxygen to all of your cells, by 78% after a single application.
In more specific EAM terms, moxa is generally said to:
- warm meridians and expel cold and damp. This is great for anyone who lives in cold climates or tends to get chilled easily.
- induce the smooth flow of qi and blood and move stasis. This can be applied for people who feel a bit stuck, physically or emotionally.
- tonify yang and strengthen yang from collapse. Think of people who are overstressed, fatigued and low on energy. These are the folks who could use a yang boost.
- prevent disease and maintain health.
The applications of moxibustion are vast. Modern research and millennia of clinical practice point to its effectiveness for:
- Pain Management: Excellent for chronic pain conditions, especially those worsened by cold and damp weather, like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic back pain.
- Turning Breech Babies: One of the most well-documented uses! Moxibustion on a specific point (BL67) near the pinky toe has been shown to help turn a breech baby into the head-down position before birth.
- Digestive Health: Warming the abdomen can help with conditions like chronic diarrhea, bloating, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by strengthening digestive fire.
- Immune Support: By strengthening Wei Qi (defensive energy), moxibustion can help the body resist common colds, flu, and recurrent infections.
- Stress Reduction and Fatigue: The treatment is incredibly relaxing. Its tonifying properties are excellent for combating fatigue, brain fog, and low energy related to Qi deficiency.
- Organ prolapse: (bladder, uterus, etc.) due to deficiency because moxa promotes and raises prolapsed organs.
As demonstrated above, moxibustion has a lot of health benefits and if you’re struggling with chronic pain, low energy, poor digestion or simply feel “cold” all the time, it could be the missing piece in your wellness routine.