Acupuncture is an ancient healing practice that can trace its history back thousands of years to its apparent origin in China. It eventually spread to Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and East Asia. In the 1970s, the practice finally gained attention in the USA.
Classical Chinese acupuncture is based upon naturalist and Taoist thought. Traditional Chinese Medicine is a form of acupuncture that strives to keep the body in balance. Under Traditional Chinese Medicine, qi regulates a person’s spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. A person’s qi is believed to be affected by two polar compliments: yin and yang. Yin represents negative energy or passive principle. Conversely, yang represents positive energy or active principle.
An imbalance of yin and yang leads to a blockage of the vital energy, or qi, along pathways called meridians and results in illness. It is thought there are more than 2,000 points on the human body that connect with 12 main and eight secondary meridians. Through...
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Johnson, B.L. (2012). Acupuncture. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_16
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