Moxibustion is the burning of dried mugwort to give therapeutic warmth. Mugwort produced for burning is called moxa, and the loose herb is known as moxa punk. What better name for an old punk's Chinese medicine practice?
Moxa may be attached to a needle to warm it, or rolled into a small cone that is placed directly on the patient. Or a roll of moxa like a long cigar could be used. That's what is sticking out from the moxa punk's head.
People often find that warmth from a hot water bottle or wheat bag helps their back, abdominal or menstrual pain, and the use of hot rocks for relaxation in spa therapies is popular. But somehow burning stuff seems less 'medical' than acupuncture with its sterile, fine needles and precise point location. Moxibustion also stimulates acupuncture points to bring about systemic effects.
Moxa has properties that make its warmth treatment more effective. It warms the channels, disperses cold, and relieves pain, and is used in herbal medicine for these properties. Even the moxa punk acknowledges that it seems a bit juju that the therapeutic properties of the herb can be introduced to the body by burning it nearby, but that's the reason it's done.
It seems like juju that burning moxa near a specific acupuncture point can turn a breached foetus, but clinical trials have shown that it works.
Sometimes you may be asked to treat yourself with moxibustion, there's a video on how to do it here: