Acupuncture, AK yuh puhngk chuhr, is an ancient Chinese method of relieving pain and treating a variety of diseases by inserting needles into specific places on the body. According to Chinese philosophy, acupuncture influences a life force that flows along 12 paired and 2 unpaired meridians, channels of energy that run longitudinally in the body. Specialists called acupuncturists insert needles at points along these meridians or at painful points on the body. Insertion of the needles is said to restore balance between two principal forces of nature called yin and yang. Acupuncturists believe disease and pain occur as a result of imbalance between these two forces.