About Acupuncture

Classical Japanese Acupuncture

Oriental Medicine is a term which includes acupuncture, moxibustion, herbs, martial arts such as tai chi, chi gong and certain shamanistic practices. It has evolved over 2,000 years and is sometimes called Chinese medicine. It has been transmitted around Southern and Eastern Asia and adapted in each country according to its cultural population. In Japan, Oriental medicine has been around for 1,700 years and has been developed to a very high standard which is unsurpassed in the rest of Asia.
Acupuncture is energetic medicine and when practiced correctly and skillfully it utilizes ki energy. An acupuncture needle is essentially a medium the practitioner uses to direct the ki energy along the meridian pathways also known as the Kei raku or in Chinese, Jing luo. The ancient Chinese classics such and the Ling Shu speak of the 9 different types of needles and of the 9 needles 4 of them were not actually inserted into the body. This clearly emphasizes the skills, principles and energetic aspect behind this traditional art. Furthermore acupuncture is a highly refined and effective skill which takes many years to master. Once the practitioner has mastered the basic principles of needling then the art truly comes alive. Sadly in the West, tradition has been superseded by the desire to capitalize on an Oriental art and thus distance itself from that actual learning process. If something is worth studying then surely it is worth learning! This means getting involved in the subject and spending many hours of repetition doing it.
At Steve's Acupuncture Clinic we use ultra thin Japanese or thicker gauge Chinese needles. Regardless of the tool employed it is the energetics that dictates the appropriate tool for the job and thus it is our objective to provide painless yet highly effective treatments.