The Moxa Stick

The Moxa Stick

The 'moxa stick' is the most common form in which moxibustion is used to promote healing. Here the dried mugwort is rolled up tightly and wrapped in paper forming a cigar-like stick. The moxa stick can be held in one place and rotated in circles in a motion over the area of an acupuncture point. The practitioner places a finger next to the point being stimulated to maintain a comfortable level of heat and to guard the patient from the unlikely risk of burn.

The moxa stick is held approximately a half inch from the skin, although this may vary from patient to patient. Moxa sticks can be used on their own to stimulate an acupuncture point or can be used on a point where an acupuncture needle has been inserted. This simultaneous use of moxibustion along with the acupuncture needle intensifies the therapeutic benefit of the given acupuncture point.