Michelle D. Karis is on the education faculty of the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada Institute, teaching acupuncture to health care professionals across Canada.

Acupuncture is the insertion of very thin needles into specific points on the body to promote healing. It is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which is over three thousand years old.

In very simplistic terms:

The Chinese discovered 14 main lines of energy in the body. When there is pain the lines of energy are not flowing properly. The insertion of an acupuncture needle helps the energy to flow again.

Pain and disease can also be due to an imbalance in the energies of the body. Acupuncture is one of the methods used to restore this balance. It is a holistic approach which has been successful and copied around the world.

Western medicine has discovered that the insertion of needles releases endorphins in the body. Endorphins have powerful anti-infammatory and anaelgesic effects.

More chronic conditions such as Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Interstitial Cystitis tend to respond well with acupuncture treatment combined with Neuro-Lingusistic Programming.

For more information on acupuncture go to
The Acupuncture Foundation of Canada