The holidays are right around the corner, but so is flu season. If you want to boost your immune health naturally, try wormwood and moxibustion.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupuncture and moxibustion have been practiced since ancient times. Practitioners use these three natural methods to help prevent illnesses and promote overall wellness.
A healthy body functions properly when it is balanced in all channels. But what does that mean?
In acupuncture, the human body consists of meridians, acupoints, channels, qi (chi) and blood. All five elements affect each other and your internal system.
Using Chinese herbs is similar to using Western health supplements. The herbs help you stay healthy and protect against diseases by boosting the efficacy of your internal system, making sure that your body is in optimal condition.
But when you’re already sick, TCM becomes a holistic remedy to cure physical and internal imbalance, blockage and malfunction, like Western medication given by your doctor.
But unlike most Western medicinal practices that are artificial and mass-produced by pharmaceutical companies, Chinese herbs are 100 percent natural. Additionally, these natural herbs are less likely to cause negative side effects.
One of the most commonly used traditional Chinese medicine is wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris). Considered a weed in the U.S., this medicinal herb can grow up to six feet.
The plant bears yellow or reddish-brown flowers in the summer. Wormwood leaves have a silvery fuzz on their underside and it has a sage-like smell and slightly bitter taste.
Wormwood is also called felon herb, sailor’s tobacco, St. John’s plant, mugwort and moxa.
Chinese herbalists use wormwood to treat gastrointestinal issues like indigestion and irregular menstruation because the herb stimulates the uterus. It is also often used as a natural remedy for liver and gallbladder issues. (Related: 7 Health benefits of elderberry, a superfood that can boost your immune system.)
Wormwood grows above the ground and its roots are used for medicinal purposes.
As moxa plants have a warming effect, they enhance healing when used along with acupuncture and moxibustion. Moxa helps boost your immune system, heats meridians and disperses cold chi.
The heat stimulates unblocking of channels, qi, or blood. It also helps restore balance and health. This is why wormwood is a popular and effective herb often used to treat diseases, partially during the cold seasons.
Moxa plants are crunched and molded into cones or sticks for moxibustion, which are then burned. Burnt wormwood in either form is used in direct or indirect moxibustion.
Moxibustion using dried moxa from wormwood leaves
Moxibustion is a heat therapy that uses dried moxa that is then burned on or very close to the surface of your skin. When lit, wormwood invigorates and unblocks the flow of chi and blood in your body and dispels pathogenic substances to promote healing.
Both moxa cones and sticks are made of dried wormwood leaves.
Experienced TCM practitioners perform direct moxibustion by applying moxa cones directly resting on the skin, depending on the particular area that requires treatment.
In indirect moxibustion, an acupuncturist burns a moxa stick and holds it at a distance above the body surface to warm the area being treated.
The practitioner may also place the moxa on acupuncture needles to heat them. After the leaves are burnt and extinguished, the heat of the moxa transfers onto the acupuncture needles.
A beginner’s guide to DIY moxibustion
If you live in a country where moxibustion acupuncture isn’t as common, you can do it yourself in a safe environment.
Moxa or wormwood sticks used for moxibustion therapy are dried wormwood leaves crunched and rolled into sticks. Look for good quality moxa based on several factors, like appearance and touch.
The texture of good quality wormwood is soft and winding but not sticky. Meanwhile, poor-quality moxa is scratchy, uneven, rough to the touch and ashy.
Good quality wormwood is solid yellowish-green in color in a tight bunch.
The older the wormwood, the better the quality. The golden standard of aged moxa is three years or longer.
Tips for choosing moxibustion equipment
