Acupuncture and Smoking Cessation - How to Quit Smoking Naturally and Effectively

What is acupuncture, briefly?

Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese form of medication which involves the placement of needles in specific areas on the body to help in various types of pains and several other ailments. It is based on the conviction that humans have an essential energy, called "qi", which circulates throughout twelve hidden energy lines known as meridians on the body. Each meridian is linked with a dissimilar organ system. An inequity in the run of qi during a meridian is how disease begins and acupuncture aims at correcting this.

In recent times, it is being extensively used as an alternate practice to help patients cope up with smoking cessation and nicotine withdrawal and therefore is a natural way to quit smoking.

What does Acupuncture change?

There are several theories about how acupuncture works and changes the internal metabolism of the body. A few common ones are that Acupuncture:

1. excites the release of pain-relieving endorphins
2. manipulates the release of neurotransmitters, substances that transmit nerve impulses to the brain
3. kindles electrical currents throughout the system.
4. sways the autonomic nervous system

Common ailments and medical problems which are treated by acupuncture are:

• migraines and tension headaches
• sinusitis, common cold
• addictions, smoking cessation
• arthritis, menstrual cramps
• low back pain, other muscular pains
• asthma and breathing problems
• weight loss

Acupuncture and smoking cessation - standard procedure

Oriental Medicine mostly aims to take care of specific symptoms that are exclusive to each human being using a selection of methods such as acupuncture, Chinese herbs, bodywork, lifestyle/dietary suggestions and energetic exercises to re-establish unevenness created within. Therefore, an acupuncturist takes an interview to find out about your distinctive smoking habits and also executes a physical examination. The emotional and bodily symptoms that you are witnessing will be of assistance to produce a lucid picture of a treatment plan exclusively for you. Acupuncture treatments focus on the jitters, cravings, irritability, and the restlessness that people commonly complain about when they quit. As the profile of every individual smoker is different, the overall treatment, duration and other variables are entirely different during the process of stopping smoking.

Which points are used for acupuncture?

Generally a blend of body acupuncture points on the ear are used to help in smoking cessation as they are believed to influence the organs and energetic pathways associated with smoking.

Ear points:

Shenmen

Kidney

Sympathetic

Lung Upper and Lung Lower

Hunger or Mouth

Typical treatments last from five to 30 minutes, with the patient being treated one or two times a week. After removing the needles, ear press needles or silver pellets are often applied to stimulate the points between treatments and reduce cravings.

This basic analysis of a typical acupuncture treatment will help you know what this ancient oriental art is all about and how will it help you to quit smoking.

Michael is and expert on methods on how to quit smoking as she managed the difficult 5 years ago and has abstained from tobacco ever since. Visit her site for articles and resources on how to quit smoking and lose weight. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com