Your Dog’s Meridian Lines and Qi: How Animal Acupuncture Works
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes the dog’s body has 12 channels of energy coursing through it, known as meridian lines. These are the pathways that every being’s life force energy, Qi (pronounced “chee”), travels through.
TCM says that Qi is essential to health because it influences thoughts, emotions, and movement. Constant and free flow of Qi is what keeps your dog’s body in balance. If Qi becomes stagnant or stuck in a blocked meridian, it causes malfunction and pain.
When this happens, animal acupuncturists can help stimulate the energy movement in your dog by targeting the affected meridians’ acupoints with tiny, hair thin needles. The goal of acupuncture is to bring your dog’s body back into equilibrium.
Yin and Yang
There are two types of meridians, yin and yang. These two energies work together dynamically to keep each other balanced.
Yin, the feminine meridians, represent cool energy and deal with nutrition and water within the body. The yin meridians run under your dog and are associated with these 6 organs:
Lungs
Spleen/Pancreas
Heart
Kidneys
Pericardium
Liver
Yang, the masculine meridians, represent warmth and deal with growth and nourishment. The yang meridians run on top of your dog and are associated with these 6 parts of the body:
Stomach
Large intestine
Small intestine
Bladder
Triple heater
Gallbladder
What Does Acupuncture Treat?
Each acupoint has a set of disorders or health issues associated with it. Certified acupuncturists can treat conditions such as:
Pain
Arthritis
Mobility challenges
Digestive troubles
Allergies
Pre- and post-surgery support
Anxiety
Depression
Plus, it can be tremendously helpful for older dogs, improving quality of life and easing the aging process.
Note: Acupuncture is not a substitute for veterinary care of services. If you suspect your dog is sick, we recommend working with your vet and discussing acupuncture as a treatment option.
Acupuncture at Happy Dog
Happy Dog’s resident acupuncturist, Stacey MacFarlane, is licensed in the state of Maryland and has been practicing acupuncture for over 20 years. She graduated from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia, MD, then earned her Animal Acupuncture certification in 2006.
Stacey is drawn to Chinese Medicine and eastern philosophy because of its holistic, body, mind, spirit perspective. Ancient wisdom teaches us that symptoms and conditions (physical or emotional) are the body’s way of telling us that something has been knocked off balance, that equilibrium has been disrupted.
Acupuncture uses tiny, hair thin needles to stimulate energy movement in the body, which allows for physiological changes to occur by refocusing the Qi.