healing with heat.course

8/11/2019 Healing With Heat.course

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Healing with Heat, Wonders ofMoxibustion and the Near Infrared 2008

a 4 CE Hour !ourseb" #r$ Har%e"&altsas, '$($, #i)l$ '!$ *NCC'+M

Those of us who practice acupuncture are sovery blessed with the tools we have at our disposal tohelp people get well. The wonders of TCMdiagnosis, acupuncture, and Chinese herbal remediesdont need recounting here; and moxibustion is atherapy dedicated Western doctors would beg to learnif they only new how effective it can be.This course will discuss various mechanisms bywhich heat can heal. !t will first retell a bit of ancientmoxibustion history; then it will describe points

prohibited to moxa; then it will list some precautions to observe when performing moxa;next it will discuss Clinical pearls from "r. #o about doing moxa to certain points, howand when to use them; and finally it will explore some scientific research on the use ofmoxa.

Moxibustion in (rehistor"

$rom prehistoric times, heat has been used on acupuncture points to supporthealth and ward off illness. %ven the prehistoric man, &t'i, born circa (()) *.C. andfound preserved in a glacier in ++ near Tyrol, !taly, bore evidence of moxa type scarson his body. The following three articles tell an interesting story to bolster your

awareness of how ancient our medicine may very well be.-$Wiipedia reports that -e had approximately /0 carbon tattoosconsisting of

simple dots and lines on his lower spine, behind his left nee, and on his right anle.1sing ./ra"s,it was determined that the !ceman may have had arthritis in these 2oints.#ome scientists suggest that the designs might have been used to mar the passage fromyouth to manhood, or it has been speculated that they may be related to a!u)un!ture.3

2$4!t loos lie an early form of acupuncture originated in central %urope,4 said"r $ran *ahr, president of the 5erman 6cademy for 6cupuncture, who was in 7ienna topresent the results of a study into the tattoos. 4! was ama'ed, 8) percent of the pointscorrespond to those used in acupuncture today4.

$ive groups of linear tattoos along the spine were probably applied to combat

bac pains, and were found to be located on 9 or close to 9 classical acupuncture points.The iceman, nicnamed &et'i by his finders and who is thought to have died ofexhaustion at the age of about :/, suffered from acute arthritis, worms and diarrhea.

6ncient Chinese acupuncture is thought to have originated in about +,))) *C andscientists said the icemans therapeutic tattoos were applied in (,


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lasting effect, or the tattoos were intended as a ind of chart to show relatives where tomassage and relieve the pains of the man. 6nother theory holds that after the lines wereincised in the sin, the incisions were filled with a mixture of herbs which was then burnt.Most of the tattoos were made on the sin over 2oints that were affected by arthrosis=lumbar spine, nee, and anle>. 6fter a six9year custody dispute between 6ustria and

!taly, &et'is mummified body was returned to !taly in ?anuary. e is now housed in aspecial windowed fridge in the Museum of 6rchaeology in *ol'ano, the capital of !talys6lpine 6lto 6dige region.+3

hese da"s, tattoosare bold fashionstate1ents, but what)ur)ose did the" ser%e,000 "ears ago3 (erha)s a1edi!inal one, sa"s MaxMoser, a )h"siologist atthe ni%e hese da"s,

tattoos are bold fashion state1ents, but what )ur)osedid the" ser%e ,000 "ears ago3 (erha)s a 1edi!inal

one, sa"s Max Moser, a )h"siologist at the ni%ersit" of ra5 in 'ustria$He and his !olleague 6eo)old #orfer rea!hed this !on!lusion afterexa1ining 7t5i, the 1u11ified i!e 1an e2extra!ted fro1 a gla!ier In the

+Journal of Chinese Medicine, cited in [email protected]


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'l)s In -+-$ 7t5+i9s ba!:,;right :nee, and left an:le were adorned with- gro

;$-6ncient 6cupuncture or TattooingB4:

Science Magazine

"The oldest European mummified human body shows 15 well-preserved tattoo groups onhis back and legs. In all 5 tattoos have been counted on his body. !is tattoos were only simpledots and little lines.

Tattoos on the Tyrolean Iceman have a simple linear geometric shape and are locatedon parts of the body that seem to be located on #hinese acupuncture points.

The tattoos were investigated morph metrically$ and according to the e%pert opinion ofthree accredited acupuncturists nine of the tattoos were on or within 5 millimeters of acupuncturepoints. #omputer tomography revealed that the iceman suffered from arthrosis of the lumbarspine.

&cupuncture points used for treatment of this condition coincide with the tattoos.'cience (aga)ine e%plains "the Theory of acupuncture predicts that perforation or irritation of theskin at special locations$ the acupuncture points$ results in modified function of related$ notnecessarily ad*acent$ organs$ allowing relief of pain or inflammation."

These findings raise the possibility that the practice of therapeutically intendedacupuncture originated long before the medical tradition of ancient #hina +appro%imately 1,,,.#. and that its geographical origins were Eurasian rather than East-&sian$ consistent with far-reaching intercultural contacts of prehistoric mankind."

"... some of the tattoo locations on the back and the left leg of the Iceman are in closepro%imity or directly on the locations of classical acupuncture points for treatment of arthritis of thelumbar spine/. 0adiological studies found evidence of e%actly that disease in the Iceman. 'igns ofdegeneration were found along the lumbar spine as well as in the *oints of the hip$ knee$ andankle. In acupuncture$ perforation or irritation of the skin at specific locations$ the acupuncturepoints$ causes a reflectory change in the action of the related inner organs$ or in the relief of painor inflammation. ifferent modes of irritation are used in #hinese and &sian acupuncture2mo%ibustion +combustion of herbs over the points$ puncture with needles and sometimestattooing$ in chronic diseases.

3ine of the 15 tattoo groups are from the urinary bladder channel$ acupuncture meridiansin which #hinese medicine organi)es acupuncture points. This channel running along the backand down to the feet$ is also the primary location for treatment of back pain. 4ive additionaltattoos are located on or pro%imal to acupuncture points connected to digestive functions."

Done of my own patients in $lorida are Guite that old, but they have also benefiteddramatically from moxibustion done for a variety of ailments, including the lumbar, 2oint,and digestive problems from which &t'i suffered.

(re!autions and (rohibitions when sing Moxa

*efore ! describe actual moxa treatments for specific problems, let us first discusssome precautions to tae when using moxa. &ne of my greatest teachers, "r. ?ames TinHau #o, once recounted an experience from his own early days as a practitioner. e newof a *uddhist mon who had high blood pressure treated with direct moxa to 57


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The only death ! ever caused by using moxa was in +08, also unintentional and adelayed reaction. !t came as Guite a surprise, and the patients wife never forgave me. !am not maing this up. My patient was a 0< year old man with mared idney yangdeficiency suffering from diabetes, lethargy, and continued dribbling after urination. ehad been impotent for a number of years. ! treated several points with acupuncture, and !

did moxa three times indirectly to Jidney Hai Chuen >Do moxa in the mouth

.=/8 / Ain Ain and ?u ?eh >Do moxa in the moutho%erning Bessel 4K Ming Men *gate of lifeK "o not do moxa to this point on young

men under age Ai Aung *1iddle of the s)ine > Moxa here will cause curvatureof the spine.

o%erning Bessel > A"h ?ang *extre1e "ang > "ont use moxa when the patient has2aundice.

o%erning Bessel - > ?a/1en *#oor of 1uteness >Do moxa, can cause loss ofspeech. !f this occurs, the antidote is to perform direct moxa within 8) days on thefollowing points@ L.!. : =+ moxa>, F. / =< moxa>, TW +0 =( moxa>, 5.*. < =+moxa>, 5.7.

o%erning Bessel - > =eng =u *wind 1ansion >Do moxa, can cause loss of speech

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o%erning Bessel -@ > Nao Hu *brain door > Moxa will damage patients braincausing death.

o%erning Bessel 22 > Dhin Hui *1eeting of the s:ull bones > Do moxa for thoseunder 8 years old

o%erning Bessel 2; > Dheng Hsing *rising star > More than / moxa here will cause

dimness of the eyes.o%erning Bessel 2 >Du liao *)ure white bone hole >Do moxao%erning Bessel 2 > Dhui &ou *water dit!h >Do moxa, can cause death ow is

this possibleB !n a hypertensive patient, it can bring too much blood to the brain,causing a stroe and sudden death. Ferhaps the same could happen with a non9hypertensive patient as well.

o%erning Bessel 28 > ?n Aiao *gu1 !rossing >Do moxa in the mouth6$ I$ 20 > ?ing Hsiang *a!!e)t fragran!e > no moxa6$I$ - > Ho 6iao *brain boneK no moxaC$B$ 4 > &uan ?uan *gate arising9 Do moxa with pregnant woman...may cause an

abortion

C$B$ > Dhi Men *stone doorK The old boo says no moxa on women K may causesterility, although this certainly did not wor on "r. #os wife. #he seemed to bemore fertile after he did this.

C$B$ -- > Chien 6i *established 1ileK Do moxa during pregnancy, can lead to abortionand fetal deformation

.( - > wei au *head of )enisK Do moxa here K for obvious reasons6ung ; > ian =u *hea%enl" 1ansion >Do moxa6ung > Chih 5en *foot 1arsh >Do moxa6ung 8 > Aing u *1eridian gutter >Do moxa6ung -0 > ?u Ai *fish border >Do moxaW - >ian ?ou *Window of Hea%enK Do moxa, will cause patients face to swell,

closing the eyesW 2; > Di Ahu &ung *sil: ba1boo hollow >Do moxa(C > Aung Chung *1iddle rushing >Do moxa>Do fire to a fire point of a fire

elementD)leen 2 > #a #u *big !a)ital >Do moxa during pregnancy of for three months after

confinementF - > Aing Ming *e"e bright >Do moxa, once caused blindness on a patientF 2 > suan Ahu *drilling ba1boo >Do moxaF > Cheng &uang *re!ei%e light >Do moxaF ;@ > ?in Men *)ros)erous gate > No 1oxaF 40 > Wei Aung *entrusting 1iddle >Do moxa, will shorten the nerveF 2 > Dhen Mo *extended 1eridian >Do moxaF @ > Aih ?in *extre1it" of "in >Do moxa for pregnant women K except at the very

end stage to turn a breech baby for deliveryF - > ung 5i 6iao *bone hole of e"e >Do moxaF 22 > ?uan ?eh *the liGuid of the dee) waters >Do moxa K N!t will cause a

carbuncle to grow. !f the carbuncle breas on the inside, the patient will die.-F 42 > #i Wui Hui *earth fi%e 1eetings >Do moxa

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D$I$ -8 > Chuan 6iao *!hee:bone hole > Do moxa K in general "r. #o was veryreluctant to use moxa on the face

D)leen @ > 6ou u *lea:" %alle" >Do moxaDto1a!h - > Cheng Chi *re!ei%e tears >Do moxa, will cause eye to swell as big as a

fist and nasal polyps to grow to be the si'e of a peach

Dto1a!h 2 > Di bai *four whites >Do moxaDto1a!h @ > Dhin uan *lower gate >Do moxaDto1a!h 8 > ou Wee *head binding >Do moxa, may cause blindnessDto1a!h > ?en ?ing *1an wel!o1e >Do moxa. Hou dont want to coagulate blood in

the carotid artery with moxa here and cause a stroe.Dto1a!h ;2 > =u u *!rou!hing rabbit >Do moxa

hings to '%oid When #oing Moxa

-$ $irst and foremost, by all means avoid using the rigid, compressed smoelessrolls made by a special charcoal process. These can be a disaster

Many years ago, in the mid +8)s, ! made the mistae of using these carboni'edsmoeless moxa stics, which are unfortunately still on the maret and even being soldby Lhasa &M#. While treating one patient with indirect moxa on his bac shu points, themoxa stic exploded and hurtled a glowing red hot ember onto my patients bac.

The reason why this occurred ! learned thereafter is because sometimes a bit ofwater is trapped inside the carboni'ed stic during the manufacturing process, and whenthat moisture is exposed to heat, it vapori'es into an expanding gas which serves a s apropellant to shoot the carboni'ed missile forward. The Chinese were always good atfirewors.

6nyways, without a moments hesitation, ! snatched the glowing moxa coal offmy patients bac with the index finger and thumb of my left hand, searing my own fleshbut minimi'ing the burn on my patient. ! immediately applied Ching Wan ung to mypatient and put a little *and96id over his afflicted area. e thought it was all part of thetreatment and no burn mar, discomfort, or scarring ensued for him K and no ma2ormalpractice lawsuit befell me.

Farenthetically, ! was once called as an expert witness in another case in which apatients leg had been severely burned by an indirect moxa stic. The patient reGuired asin graft, and the practitioner and his liability carrier were responsible for O/),))) indamages.

6s for my own scorched fingers, ! embalmed them in Ching Wan ung andwrapped them in gau'e. Within minutes the searing pain had stopped. ! replaced bothgau'e and ointment every and have found them to be very iffy. #ometimes they explode or brea offsuddenly; sometimes they dont. #o ! stay away from them altogether. !nstead ! use theand Fower rigid compressed smoeless moxa stics from ?apan that are not carboni'ed.

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!ve not had any trouble with them doing indirect moxa. 6ctually they are not smoeless,but the smoe is much less than with a traditional moxa roll.

2. When using a traditional moxa roll, to protect yourself most of all, for 5odssae, please remove the colored outside wrapper !t is often died with lead based colors,and burning the wrapper of 2ust one entire moxa roll in an enclosed room is enough to

create lead poisoning in a child. *urning many such wrapped traditional moxa rolls overthe course of many years of practice is going to put a serious crimp in your plans forliving into a healthy old age. This is not 2ust idle chatter. ! sent moxa roll wrappers off toa testing lab and they came bac heavily contaminated with lead.

;$! cringe when ! see illustrations of how to do indirect moxa with the glowingmoxa stic held perpendicular to the patients body, with nothing between the head of themoxa stic and the body but air !nstead, when doing indirect moxa with a moxa pole ormoxa roll, rest the small intestine channel of your hand on the patients body, if at allpossible, to serve as a buffer between your glowing moxa stic and the patients body.old the stic so that it is parallel to the body, with the glowing end over the point.

Consider this all too common occurrence. Hou are holding a moxa stic

perpendicularly one inch over C.7. I, gently warming the point with the stic pointeddown, when the patient suddenly coughs, abruptly thrusting the abdomen up one to twoinches K right into the red hot tip of your moxa roll The next thing you smell is burningflesh, then you hear the sound of a shrieing patient.

This is counterproductive. !t harms both the patient and your relationship with thepatient and is therapeutically altogether unnecessary. Do practitioner is Guic enough+))P of the time to pull the moxa stic safely away as the patients abdomen, orshoulder, or leg, or bac heaves. #ometimes the patients even decide to move suddenly orroll over. Hou can never underestimate a patients ability to put himAherself in harmsway.

owever, it is a simple matter to mae sure the moxa pole does not get too closeby having your hand somehow touching the patient when you are applying the heat.When the patient moves, your hand moves, maintaining a consistent distance between theheat and the patients sin.

$or some points such as #pleen +, Liver +, or L.!. ++, you can rest your middlefinger against the patients sin while applying the moxa heat. !ts always best to putyourself in a position to prevent burning the patient.

4$ When using a moxa pole, mae sure to blow the ash off regularly K away fromthe patient. &therwise it may fall off onto the patient.

. When doing direct moxa, mae sure to have some wet paper towels around tohelp extinguish the moxa if things get out of hand; and definitely eep Ching Wan ungnearby to apply afterwards.

Clini!al (earls, al1ost all fro1 #r$ Do, about #oing Moxa to Certain (ointsfro1 ' to , )lus four

'$reating shinglesor herpes 'oster is big business. 7irtually every babyboomer had chicen pox as a child, so consider this to be a growth industry. The

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following data comes from aMedical Expenditure Panel Surveyprepared for the 6gencyfor ealthcare Qesearch and Ruality/@

1 9n average in 8,,:;8,,5$ 1.1 million persons$ per year$ had shingles or its complications/and .< million sought medical treatment.

8 (edical spending to treat shingles or its complications totaled on average =5>> million per

year for 8,,:;8,,5 +in 8,,5 dollars.

: 4or 8,,:;8,,5$ there was an annual average of 8.1 million ambulatory care visits for thetreatment of shingles or its complications.

? The elderly were seven times as likely to report shingles as the non-elderly +1.5 percent ofelderly versus ,.8 percent of non-elderly.

5 &mong those who received treatment for shingles$ =585 per person +in 8,,5 dollars$ onaverage$ was spent on treatment.

>

@ $ortunately, unlie medical and pharmaceutical approaches to treating shingles,acupuncture and moxibustion actually wor, and often Guite dramatically. !n my own

practice ! have found that the herpes 'oster attacs respond best to indirect moxa appliedrepeatedly =+ x> to the various bac shu points associated with the outbrea. Most shingles outbreas manifest somewhere intercostally, along the 5.*. or#pleen channels alongside the body. !t helps to surround the dragon with indirect moxastimulation at the site of each outbrea, but more importantly it wors to trace rib at thesite of the outbrea bac to the spine. The virus actually resides along the spine and isvery sensitive to the heat of indirect moxa, which will put it into remission. &f coursedirect moxa wors as well, but it is usually unnecessary.< $or outbreas of shingles on the face, which can get very serious as they canimperil the eyes, ! treat with good effectiveness local points on the 1.*. channel ad2acentto the intervertebral spaces of the nec instead of using moxa, direct or indirect, on the

face.1, Hou can do indirect moxa any number of ways, on ginger or on garlic or with the!bui or Chosei9Jyu stic9on moxa. ! prefer simply to use the and Fower moxa sticsheld out about an inch from the bac shu points and brought closer intermittently.

!n addition to the moxa treatment, which by itself is very effective, ! usually alsorecommend Chuan Sin Lian and Long "an Sie 5an Wan, depending upon the patientsinternal condition.

Thats the treatment of shingles in a nutshell, a O/II,))),))) million sector of thehealth care profession, almost all of which in a sane world should rightfully devolve toacupuncturists, since we do treat it best.

Consider that there are about


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F$ Moxa to B 20 to wae up patients after a stroe really wors. $irst you haveto do a differential diagnosis to ascertain that is a stroe from overcooling =pale face,sining pulse> rather than from overheating =red face, floating pulse>.

My own father suffered a stroe which left him mute and with facial paralysis.The next day ! treated him with indirect moxa to 57 Ai Mai *Gui!: )ulse > for )ain of the )enis and s!rotu1, moxa/x

=$6i%er -;, =or !hroni! !onsti)ation,/ to +)x K indirect

$ CB ; / for urinar" in!ontinen!eJ dysuria, dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia K /x K+))x

H$ CB K for i1)oten!", yang Gi empty K 0 to +))xI$ CB 8> for !holeraK very effective K


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($ .F - / (ee un *root of tu1or > This point is located (./ divisions lateralfrom under the + #ee Aee *Earth De!ret for sterilit" in 1ales, moxa I or 0xD$ D)leen -0 > .uehai for genital her)es outbrea:, as this point cleans the

blood K moxa si'e according to the severity of the case@ not so severe, U rice grain si'e;slight, sesame si'e; severe, rice grain si'e K or do indirect moxa. This point is good forchronic sin diseases, especially of the lower half of the body.

$ F ; > Wai Chu *outer 1ound for rabiesK The old boo says that threedifferent people from three different families must burn moxa on this point. Tryconvincing your patient to trust this treatment protocol

$ Dt ; > su Dan 6i *leg three 1ilesfor e%er" t")e of sto1a!h andintestinaldisease K moxa ( to 0x. !n +08, after a so2ourn to a Dogales, Mexicorestaurant, ! was once beset for hours with gut wrenching pain and diarrhea. %ventually,as ! lay writhing on the floor with my face pressed against the rug Vtrue story, ! thoughtto myself@ -Maybe Chinese medicine can help.- ! did moxa a few times indirectly to#tomach (I, and the pain and cramping went away in minutes. Moxa applied to this pointis famous for reputedly extending vigor and lifespan.

B$ Heart - > Ai Chuan *extre1e s)ringK to !o1bat bod" odor, moxa isneeded; the needle not enough; moxa 0x

W$ Heart ; > Dhao Hai *"oung sea > for hand tre1ors, first needle 57 +:;then do 0 green bean si'e moxa to eart ( with the arm bent at ) degrees. "r. #o used tohave patients hold onto a contraption lie a toilet paper roller that was held up by a coathanger hooed to something up above. Why does the hand shaeB *ecause the heart getswea.

.$ Heart > ?in Hsi *wall hole of the "in for night sweating, this is the mostpowerful treatment. Moxa ( to 0x.

?$(eri!ardiu1 / Aian Dhih *inter1ediar" 1essengerfor an" heart)roble1this is a very important point. *urn / moxa here in a crisis. %ven a glowingcigarette used indirectly can help.

$ (eri!ardiu1 > Nei uan *inner gate for nauseaand to treat heart, chest,and stomach problems. 1se with #pleen :, moxa ( to /x.

-$ 6$I$ -- > Chu Chih *!roo:ed )ond for !hroni! s:in diseases$ This point isgood for chronic sin diseases, especially of the upper half of the body. Moxa (,/, or 0xor daily for a total of Dhao 5er *"oung 1arsh > for no la!tationafter delivery. Moxa +x.;$ .' 2 > Ahou Aian *shar) )oint of the elbow for general infla11ation

especially of the appendix. !t is very effective for inflammation of the cecum. This pointis at the tip of the elbow when the arm is bent ) degrees. The point is in a small cleft..Moxa 0 to +/ x. 6fter ( days or 0 days, moxa can be repeated until done +))x.

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4$ . - > u ?in *single "in for 1orning si!:ness$ This point is located underthe second toe in the middle of the second crease. #ometimes there are several creases.$ind the most painful one, with the patients heel resting on the treatment table or a chair.Moxa this directly 0x =+A< grain rice si'e>. 1se it in combination with moxa on FC /. Thetreatment wors really, really well. Fregnant mothers get great relief from this. !t wors

well for other types of nausea as well.

Lesear!h into the ")e of Heat enerated b" Moxibustion

Feople often as me -Why do you burn moxa instead of another herbB3 ! answerthat practitioners settled on moxa after thousands of years of trial and error when theyhad literally thousands of other herbs at their disposal because it most closely resemblesthe smell of mari2uana smoe and maes everyone in town thin youre a stoner after you

leave the office from a hard day at wor.Do, seriously K 2oing aside, the ancients did a great deal of trial and errorresearch and settled upon moxa because it has special thermogenic Gualities. When thesin is burned by moxa it usually does not get infected. !t also gives off a particularwavelength of electro9magnetic radiation in the near infrared range.

&ne scientific study documented the following@ -The main results are@ theradiation power of moxibustion is distributed over the region very closed to near9infraredmainly and the wavelength corresponding to the pea value is about


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bring respective spectrum of near infrared and have the relevant physiologic andbiochemical effects.30

The use and effects of far infrared heat will be explored in a follow9up C%1course entitled Healing with =ar Infrared Heat$

The !ealing #entre$ AA#/ %ealing with %eat, &onders of oxibustion and the 'ear nfrared /r. !arvey Baltsas$ instructor/ ? C& points awarded/ 3##&9( Crovider D ! 55-666

Exa1 for "Healing with Heat


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PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP#ign to affirm you personally too this course date completed

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healing with heat.course

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