Modalities
Direct moxa (scarring and non-scarring), indirect moxa over ginger / garlic / salt / aconite cake, moxa-on-needle, and modern smokeless devices. Each modality has distinct indications, contraindications, and depth-of-effect characteristics studied in dedicated infrared and thermography research.
Patient selection
Cold and deficient patterns benefit; heat patterns and pregnancy contraindicate specific point selections. Students learn to identify patient phenotypes for which moxa demonstrates the strongest evidence — chronic low back pain, knee osteoarthritis, breech presentation (BL67), and chemotherapy-induced leukopenia.
Air-quality and clinic safety
Combustion produces particulates and PAHs. Modern moxa clinics require ventilation engineering and staff exposure monitoring — these systems are taught alongside the classical technique.