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How does acupuncture aim to restore balance in traditional Chinese medicine?

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Moxibustion — traditional Chinese medicine In moxibustion, or moxa treatment, small cones of an herb (typically *Artemisia moxa*) are burned on top of needles placed in designated points of the body, generally the same points as those used in acupuncture.

In traditional Chinese medicine, health is viewed as a state of balance between two complementary cosmic forces: yin and yang. Disease or physical disharmony is understood to be the result of an imbalance or an undue preponderance of these forces, which causes an obstruction in the flow of qi, or life force, throughout the body.12

Acupuncture aims to restore this balance by inserting thin needles into specific points located along 12 major meridians, which are invisible pathways associated with major visceral organs and functional body systems. By stimulating these points, practitioners seek to readjust the flow of qi, thereby enabling it to move freely and harmoniously. This process is designed to influence the distribution of yin and yang within the body's channels, effectively bringing the two forces back into equilibrium and restoring the individual to health.13