How to Treat a Cold With Moxibustion

Moxibustion is an excellent and effective method to use if you want to treat conditions caused by an excess of cold or dampness in the body. In fact, moxibustion was developed in the extremely frigid temperatures of northern China thousands of years ago as a way to ward off conditions caused by the cold. In moxibustion, mugwort is burned over energy lines along the body to dispel cold and increase health. Today, the mugwort is commonly burned in sticks, but it can also be burned in a powder directly on the body as it was in the past. You can treat a variety of conditions with moxibustion, from infertility to the common cold.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Moxa sticks
• Lighter

1. Peel a moxa stick down halfway, and then light the end of it with a lighter. Blow out the flame and make sure the end of the moxa stick remains smoking.

2. Wave the moxa stick in front of the web of tissue between your thumb and index finger on your right hand. This is part of the large intestine energy meridian and is very effective at stopping a cold in its tracks.

3. Keep the moxa stick at least 1/2 inch away from your body at all times. You want the skin to feel hot and to become slightly red, but you do not want it to burn.

4. Continue to wave the moxa stick over the web for 15 minutes. Then, move the stick up along your arm, stopping every 1/2 inch or so for a minute or two, until you have reached the top of the shoulder. Your large intestine and lung meridians run along your arm, and it is necessary to stimulate these meridians to expel a cold.

5. Put out the moxa stick by gently tapping it against the edge of a sink until all the ash falls off, and then push the end of the stick into the bottom of the sink and twist it a few times to make sure the stick has been thoroughly extinguished.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to get a partner to hold the moxa stick for you when you use moxibustion to treat a cold. Sometimes, it is difficult to hold the stick for 15 minutes on your own. Other people find it challenging to reach the appropriate spots on their shoulders with the moxa sticks. A partner can do all of this for you. Better yet, get a trained moxibustion practitioner to do it for you.

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