Moxa-Tonify/Sedate

I&#39ll preface my comment with I&#39m trying to not be snarky with my comments --- but whatever book you are reading needs to be thrown in the trash! Personally in years on the forums I have never read a forum post with so much misinformation. 30 minutes of moxa in particular to "sedate" is the most incorrect thing I have ever heard personally, that could actually be very dangerous for many (most?) people depending on which points you are using and their underlying TCM diagnosis (I think/hope you have those two switched in your post - i.e. 3 min to sedate and 30 to tonify instead - which is essentially still wrong, but closer to true in a way). That said, even 12 minutes of moxa is still quote long and could be equally damaging - again depending on the points you use and the patients diagnosis. Hard and fast rules simply do not exist in Chinese Medicine - you always have to have proper diagnosis and proper point selection first before generalizations about technique can apply.

I recommend you start by throwing that book out and then reading some of the moxibustion sections within our Japanese acupuncture theory section and asking more specific sections within our forums for more guidance. Moxibustion is a very useful technique can and often is used on single or multiple points at a time and is generally used to tonify but there are ways to sedate with moxibustion as well. It is a critical part overall of Chinese Medicine and is not technically better or worse than needles or any other technique but it does have its value for certain patterns and conditions. For most home users, however, it is simply better to think of it as a tonification mechanism and treat it as such (i.e. do not overdo it). It is generally warming, moving and strengthening. These warming aspects, however, can cause problems for people with conditions such as Liver Fire or Kidney Yin Deficiency for example - so, again, proper diagnosis is key. Most home uses are for building strength/immunity generally, promoting digestion, alleviating menstrual cramps, alleviating pain - among others. A general discussion is within my article, What Is Moxibustion?.