MODEL RELEASED. Acupuncturist manipulating needles inserted into the shenshu points on the bladder meridian on a patient's lower back. In traditional Chinese medicine, illness is considered to be due to an imbalance of vital energy" or Ch'i, which flows through the body in twelve pathways or meridians, each meridian corresponding with one of the vital organs. Here, the kidneys are being "tonified" or filled with Ch'i. The acupuncturist inserts needles at specific points on the meridian and rotates the free ends to stimulate the energy flow."