Acupuncture is the practice of inserting very thin needles into certain points on the body to help a patient feel better. For pain, we usually insert needles right into the area of the pain, in order to bring new blood to the area and speed up the healing process. Also, one theory says
that acupuncture may block the pain impulse to the brain, so that the pain is numbed.
For problems that don’t involve pain, such as nausea, sleeplessness, anxiety, or many other conditions, needles are inserted into points on the body that have been found, over thousands of years of practice, to help the body heal itself in various ways. Some patients come for acupuncture seeking a general sense of relaxation and well being. In that case needles are inserted into certain points on the body which balance the flow of Qi (pronounced Chi–the life source flowing through your body).
I believe that when we talk of Qi we are talking about the flow of the nerve impulses in the body, and the general sense of energy and being alive. Did you ever feel like your energy was stuck? That you couldn’t get up in the morning because your energy was stagnant? Or did you ever feel angry until you “Blew your top”, and then you felt better. Then you have experienced a stagnation of your Qi. Acupuncture can help many people to get their Qi moving by stimulating the nervous system.
Acupressure is a technique similar to acupuncture, but the practitioner uses her hands instead of needles to move energy in the body