GUA SHA

Although Gua Sha is widely practised all over Asia, it is not well known in the West. This is a great pity, since Gua Sha is one of the most powerful treatments for pain. Astonished clients sometimes ask, "How come I've never heard of it before?"

How does Gua Sha work?

Gua Sha stimulates the movement of Qi and unblocks blood stagnation. In the process it works simultaneously on your skin, connective tissue, lymph system, muscles, blood vessels, nerves and brain. This in turn affects other systems and organs – in other words, your entire body.

How is Gua Sha applied?

Literally translated, Gua Sha means scraping disease out of the body. After lubricating your skin with oil, I 'scrape' the area to be treated with a round-edged instrument until the Sha is drawn to the surface in the form of a mild rash. The marks are usually red, although their colour can range from pink to dark purple depending on your condition and the severity of your blood stagnation.

What can Gua Sha treat?

Amongst its extraordinary healing properties, Gua Sha helps to strengthen your immune system, cleanse your body of toxins, improve your circulation and rebalance your emotions. As a result, it can provide relief for all sorts of different ailments, including those that leave western medicine stumped. It is also a valuable preventative therapy.

Conditions that Gua Sha successfully treats include:

• pain associated with acute and chronic disorders
• back pain, neck pain and other musculo-skeletal problems
• coughs and colds, flu, bronchitis and asthma
• digestive disorders

Does Gua Sha hurt?

Although the Sha rash may look quite angry, it's not painful at all. Within hours of treatment it starts to fade and a few days later it has gone.

Immediate relief

The therapeutic effects can be dramatic. Even after the first treatment, pain is eased, mobility improves and life begins to feel good again.