Learning the art of moxibustion

ROOTED in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Moxibustion is an external treatment that aims to improve your immune system and general well-being. This week, Moxibustion experts visited Durban to share their knowledge with social workers and staff at Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre in Greyville.

Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM), Yuki Itaya, of MoxAfrica travelled from UK while her assistants, Minako Higa and Daichi Sasaki, flew from Japan to teach the ancient technique. Itaya demonstrated the treatment whereby ground mugwort leaves are rolled up into a cone shape and placed on various pressure points in the body. The cone is lit and allowed to burn about 90% of the way before it is extinguished.

“We roll a tiny cone of moxa, about the size of a rice grain. We place it on the acupuncture point. We burn the moxa until you feel the heat, and then we extinguish it,” explained Itaya.

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The moxibustion process can be repeated several times on the same pressure point to complete the treatment. During her demonstration at Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre, Itaya focused on two pressure points: the first point, found near the knee joint, is called stomach 36 or ‘leg three miles’. The second point, found on the forearm, is known as 3-arm. There are two hundred pressure points used in moxibustion.

Itaya added that mugwort is a common plant found in most regions, making the treatment easily accessible.

“I have seen it here in Durban. It grows in the cracks of the concrete. I think it’s a very special plant – Native Americans use it for ceremonies. In Japan, it is used as a medicine. People also use it here as a medicine,” she explained.

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Michael Wilson, one of the directors of Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre, expressed his gratitude to the MoxAfrica team for their interest in sharing moxibustion techniques with staff at the centre.
“We are grateful to the MoxAfrica team for spending time in Durban with our team. We are really grateful to be able to learn from them about practices that are being used across the world to improve health outcomes. We hope this partnership will continue into the future,” he said.