Moxibustion and Steam Therapy Benefits

Moxibustion and Steam Therapy Benefits

Steam therapy is one of the most ancient healing techniques. Termed swedana in Ayurveda, a 5,000 year old holistic medical system from India, the penetrating heat from the steam has multiple benefits that include:

• Improving circulation
• Draining excess lymph fluid
• Liquefying and reducing toxins
• Opening energetic channels
• Expanding the tissues
• Reducing stiffness and heaviness
• Enhancing flexibility and suppleness in the body
• Reducing pain and muscle spasms

Moxibustion is one of the eight limbs of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The other limbs include acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, tui na (bodywork), qigong (energy work), tai chi, diet and lifestyle, and feng shui. Moxa is the herb artemsia vulgaris rolled into a cigar stick or a cone and then burnt directly or indirectly over precise energy points. The penetrating heat from the moxa and the therapeutic effect of the herb stimulate the point and open the body’s meridians or energy channels that course through the body. This regulates our physical and emotional health.

With the Shakti v-spa seat, the moxa is heated and the steam rises up to the vaginal opening, stimulating a powerful energy point named Ren 1. Conception Vessel 1, the first point – Ren-1 –  is where three of the most powerful yin acupuncture channels emerge from the body.

It is located at the the perineum, midway between the anus and posterior labia. This is the first point of the Conception vessel in chinese medicine, a powerful energy channel that governs feminine energy or Shakti. It regulates the yin or feminine energy in the body, reduces genital pain and swelling, regulates uterine prolapse, irregular menses, or amenorrhoea (lack of menses). Opening Ren 1 in this powerful way with the moxa heat and steam has important actions for female reproductive health.