June 25, 2007

Hello Community Members,

This is the final part in the mini-series focusing on medicine in Japan. You can look back over the previous topics in the series here:

One cannot talk about medicine in Japan without mentioning the traditional side. There are various traditional treatments available, some with Chinese roots and others with roots firmly placed in ancient Japan.

How Much Ki Do You Have? Everything starts with 気 (ki, or qi in Chinese), the energy or vital force responsible for controlling the workings of the human mind and body. Ki flows through the body via channels or pathways called meridians. There are a total of 20 meridians: 12 primary meridians, which correspond to specific organs, organ systems or functions, and eight secondary meridians. Imbalances in the flow of ki cause illness; correction of this flow restores the body to balance. The greeting "how are you?" in Japanese is お元気ですか (o-genki desu ka), which literally translates to "Is your ki fine?" People ask me this everyday, and the standard answer I have is はい、元気です (hai, genki desu), or "Yes, my ki is fine." But when I'm talking to someone who has some knowledge of ki, my honest answer usually is "I haven't got a clue. You tell me, is my ki fine?" And my listener (who, in my social circles, is usually a martial arts teacher or massage therapist) answers, "Well, let's see, ...," and proceeds to poke various points on my body. The poking kind of hurts, my teacher/therapist informs me, "Oh, oh! If it hurts that's not good." Uh-oh, blocked ki. Basically, the bulk of traditional medicines works towards freeing blocked ki along the meridians. There are so many different methods it would be impossible to go through them all without having a separate web site on it. But let me quickly run through a few popular techniques.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used systems of healing in the world. Originating in China some 3,500 years ago, its the poster-boy for Eastern medicine. Simply put, acupuncture is the use of needles on the points along the meridian lines.

Acupressure and Shiatsu

These similar forms of massage involve the pressure points along the meridian lines. Acupressure and acupuncture are actually quite alike. In fact, acupressure is sometimes referred to as "needleless acupuncture," because both forms of healing use the same points to achieve the desired results. Shiatsu is the Japanese form of the technique with a different style. Shiatsu practitioners sometimes use not only fingers but also elbows and even feet to put pressure on the meridian points.

Moxibustion

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves the burning of mugwort, a small, spongy herb, to facilitate healing. Moxibustion has been used throughout Asia for thousands of years; in fact, the actual Chinese character for acupuncture, translated literally, means "acupuncture-moxibustion." The purpose of moxibustion, as with most forms of traditional Chinese medicine, is to strengthen the blood, stimulate the flow of ki, and maintain general health.

Reiki

Reiki is an ancient Japanese form of healing using light touch and hand positions. 霊気 (reiki) comes from two Japanese words - rei, meaning higher power or universal force, and our friend ki. Loosely translated, then, reiki means universal or spiritually-guided life-force energy.

Try It, You'll Like It (?)

There are of course many more traditional techniques, but instead of writing about them, your intrepid reporter decided to go out and try out one of these ki-freeing experiences for himself and tell you all about it. The only one I could do by myself (on the cheap) was moxibustion (the name really doesn't sound healthy, does it?). At the local drugstore I found a box of DIY "moxi-sticks" (I made that name up, but take a look at the picture and you'll get the point).

The complicated pamphlet of instructions showed recommended stimulation points along the meridians for a wide array of ailments ranging from mouth ulcers to troubles with burping!

As you'd expect, the instructions were all in Japanese, but the manufacturer's web site had an English version posted. I decided to start with the easiest looking treatment, the shoulder-ache remedy.

Despite large plumes of smoke and rather pungent odor, the missus let me do it indoors. So I set 7 moxi-sticks alight and put them on the recommended spots as shown in one of the pamphlet's many diagrams. I had one on each elbow, one on each side of my shoulder blades, one below the third bone along my spinal cord, and a one on the back of each hand.

Freeing ki: Does it burn yet?

I waited a couple of minutes and ... it suddenly got hot! One by one, the places where I had put the sticks began to heat up. Each lasted 30 or 40 seconds and then it was all over.

Verdict: After the heat become a distant memory, and I had recovered from the weird tingly sensation, I felt like I had been massaged by little angels. Ahhhh. Miraculously, my usually stiff and sore shoulders felt light and flexible, as if the ki were flowing playfully along my long-neglected meridians.

Hey, maybe these guys have been doing this for thousands of years for a reason, I thought. I went to bed smiling and buzzed. The next morning, to the standard greeting お元気ですか, I confidently replied, はい、元気です.

I'd definitely recommend this traditional medicine, and I'm thinking some acupuncture might really get my ki flowing.... Hmmm, I wonder if there's a modern, family-run clinic nearby ...

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Moses
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