Acupuncture is a part of what is known as Chinese Medicine and has been the main form of medicine in Eastern countries for thousands of years and is now practised worldwide today. Acupuncture is a beautiful and elegant system of healing that is not purely about the insertion of needles into the body, but works in a sophisticated and astounding way by enabling individuals to recover their vitality and reach their own balance of health and harmony. At the very core of acupuncture is an energy known as 'Qi', pronounced chee, and the flow and inter-relationship of that energy throughout all the bodily functions. An acupuncturist is able to affect a person's Qi via acupuncture points using very fine needles. Acupuncture points are located all over the body and are situated along energy channels known as Meridians where the Qi flows. Every single acupuncture point has a unique energetic action which when manipulated can exert a specific change within the body. Commonly, acupuncture points are used in combination to bring about the greatest beneficial effect and thus a positive change in the individual.

The flow of Qi and the meridians can be likened to the nerves and nerve impulses found within the nervous system in that they spread throughout the body connecting it together in a continual circuit. Like the nerves in the nervous system, the meridians and acupuncture points have a major impact on how the body, mind and emotions function, affecting every aspect of our well-being from the movement of the arm to our sense of emotional stability and clarity of thought.

The essence of acupuncture is its ability to re-establish equilibrium and restore good health and vitality. It can also be used as a preventative measure to strengthen an individual's constitution, especially when one feels unwell within oneself without being 'unwell' in the western sense or when one is well and wishing to keep everything in harmony. Predominantly however, acupuncture is used when a person becomes unwell, for example, due to whip lash injury, emotional distress or because of an underlying acute or chronic disease condition. In such instances, the Qi flow through the meridians can become depleted or blocked. By manipulating certain acupuncture points located along the meridians, the acupuncturist is able to clear the blockage, or strengthen where there is depletion, thus helping the person to re-establish his/her health and sense of well-being.

In the west, acupuncture is now recognised as being an effective form of treatment for a multitude of conditions and so effective has acupuncture proven to be, that it is now widely used within many health care settings both by fully trained acupuncturists, doctors and physiotherapists.