STONE MEDICINE: ONE OF THE OLDEST HEALING PRACTICES IN CHINESE MEDICINE

Stone Medicine is one of the oldest therapeutic practices in Chinese medicine, yet it’s often unfamiliar to modern eyes.

Long before acupuncture needles existed, stones were used as primary tools for healing. In early Chinese medicine, they were valued for their ability to provide weight, warmth, pressure, and subtle vibration — qualities that speak directly to the body in a way that is grounding and stabilizing.

Rather than stimulating or dispersing, Stone Medicine works by helping the system settle.

When stones are placed on the body, they communicate with deeper layers of physiology, including the bones, marrow, Jing, and the autonomic nervous system. This makes Stone Medicine particularly useful for people who are depleted, overwhelmed, or living in a state of chronic stress, where the body no longer feels safe enough to regulate on its own.

In Classical Chinese Medicine, including teachings described by Leslie J. Franks, stones are understood to anchor scattered energy and support regulation at the most foundational levels. This isn’t surface-level work. It’s medicine that speaks to structure, stability, and the nervous system’s relationship to safety.

In my clinical practice, I incorporate Stone Medicine as a way to support grounding, regulation, and repair. I often use it when a patient’s system is overactivated, exhausted, or disconnected from its center. The weight and presence of the stones help the body orient, slow down, and reorganize from a deeper place.

This work was shared with me through the teachings of Master Jeffrey Yuen, an ordained Daoist priest and 88th-generation lineage holder of the Jade Purity tradition. As with many lineage-based practices, Stone Medicine isn’t something that announces itself loudly. Its effects are subtle but profound, and best understood through experience rather than appearance.

Ancient medicine doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. Much of it developed long before modern aesthetics, language, or categories existed. What matters isn’t how it looks, but how it works — and why it has endured for thousands of years.

Stone Medicine continues to be relevant today because the human nervous system hasn’t changed. We still need grounding. We still need regulation. And sometimes, the simplest tools are the ones that reach the deepest layers.

If you’re curious about ancient medicine and how it’s applied in a modern clinical setting, this is one of those practices that invites you to slow down, feel, and learn — rather than judge from the surface.

If this sparked curiosity for you, take a moment to sit with it. Some forms of medicine are meant to be understood gradually, not all at once.