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Tui Na Acupressure Asian Healing Arts Qi Gong Shiatsu Herbal Medicine

Tui Na Therapy

Tui Na therapy is translated "push pull" and is a system of massage that originated in China at
least 2000 years ago. Its utilizes a multitude of manipulation techniques that address a wide
variety of muscular and skeletal disorders and facilitates proper neuro-muscular function. Tui Na
can also be very effective at relieving symptoms associated with internal disorders of the
digestive and respiratory systems. Through stretching, pressing, rolling (and many other
techniques) a healthy flow of qi and blood through the body is established. Tui Na addresses the
body from both a TCM perspective (by working with the flow of qi and blood through the
channel system, acupoints, and organs) as well as a bio-medical perspective by treating the
mechanical structure of the body. Tui Na is the optimal therapeutic massage method for treating
sports injury, post surgical trauma, structural disorders, colds and flu, and muscular pain but is
also thoroughly effective for stress relief and whole body tonification.

Acupressure:

Acupressure is a therapy focused on the treatment of specific acupoints and energetic meridians
of the body for a particular effect. Acupressure works much the same way as acupuncture and
in fact untilizes the same foundational science but uses no needles. This method of massage can
be extremely relaxing and therapeutic at the same time. Organ systems can be balanced, pain can
be relieved, and energy and blood are restored to a natural flow through the body. Acupressure
is often combined with the other healing systems.

Shiatsu

Shiatsu is a massage therapy very similar to acupressure but puts less emphasis on particular
points and more emphasis on the energetic channel as a whole; especially the balance of energy
between meridians. It is often performed on the floor with the patient laying comfortably on a
mat, but can also be performed effectively on a table. The practitioner presses and holds areas of
the body simultaneously for varying degrees of time to penetrate soft tissue and enhance the
circulation of blood and qi. Shiatsu is a Japanese massage therapy and is extremely relaxing,
therapeutic, and rejuvinating. Organ systems can be balanced, muscular pain can be decreased,
and overall well-being is enhanced.

Qi Gong

Qi Gong literally translated means "energy work". This is both a personal cultivation method and
a therapeutic modality. The practitioner lightly touches, or doesn't even touch at all, the patient
and makes changes in the patient's energy system based on a careful diagnosis. Elements of
acupressure are utilized and the patient will most often feel sensations of warmth, tingling,
pressure, and movement in and around the body as the practitioner works through the session. It
is not uncommon for chronic dysfunction in the body, emotional constraints, and inhibitory
perspectives to be altered or absolved through qi gong therapy.

Asian Healing Arts (Moxibustion Therapy, Gua Sha, Cupping, Auricular Acupressure)

Moxibustion therapy is an ancient technique that utilizes the herb ai ye (mugwort, or artemesia
vulgaris) in a process that involves its burning over specific acupoints or ashi (pain) points. A
pleasant warmth is felt over the area being treated while the heat and energy penetrates deeply
into the meridians and surrounding tissue. This form of therapy is extremely effective at treating
a multitude of disorders including those of the soft tissue, organ imballances, chronic pain, colds
and flu, digestive disorders, GYN disorders, etc. Often this technique will be applied in
conjunction with other therapies but can stand alone as a full therapy in itself.

Gua Sha is another extremely old therapy that has been found to be present in several cultures
arround the world; not just China. Literally translated it means "scraping sand" and utilizes
techniques involving any of several tools of various shapes (sometimes even just a simple coin
will be employed) which are then gently scraped over the skin following the course of the
meridians and underlying musculature. This therapy is extremely effective at treating chronic
muscle pains, colds and flu, and is also used for such pleasantries as facial rejuvination. There is
the possibility and in some cases a probability that a color change to the skin will occur which
can last from 1-7 days. This is not brusing or damage to the body but this techniques ability to
penetrate into the deep levels of the soft tissue and draw out stagnant blood and cellular waste
than is trapped in the muscle.

Cupping is a technique in which glass cups are "suctioned" to the body at particular acupoints or
muscular structures. The suction is created by the introduction of a flame quickly into the cup to
remove any oxygen and create a vacuum. The purpose of this treatment is very similar to gua
sha in that it attempts to remove stagnation from muscles, move blood and qi, and eliminate
pathogenic influences on the exterior. What are pathogenic influences? In TCM, is is believed
that elements such as wind, cold, heat, and dampness can enter the body and create dis-ease.
They must first enter the body through its outermost surface (the skin, nose, mouth, etc.) before
penetrating deeper. If the pathogen can be removed from the surface of the body (no, we dont
cup over the nose or mouth), there is a great chance that further development of the disease can
be halted. Cupping is both therapeutic and relaxing and is often an adjunct therapy to Tui Na and
acupressure.

Auricular acupressure is a technique that is essentially the same this as auricular acpuncture but
instead of using needles, a small seed is adheared to an ear point with a small piece of tape so as
to be continually stimulated by both the practitioner and the patient. It is believed in TCM that the
ear (like many other parts of the body) presents within its energetic structure a map or reflection
of the whole body. This is not very hard to imagine since all of nature grows with this reflective
patterning based on repeating mathematical ratios. Points on the ear can be used to treat any part
of the body for both internal and external (muscular-skeletal) dysfunction. The seed(s) is left on
the ear for a few days and the patient is encouraged to stimulate the point by pressing the seed
frequently throughout the day. This offers excellent continuation of therapy and engages the
patient actively in their process of healing. Ear acupoint therapy is utilized in clinics and
biomedical hospitals around the world to help people recover from addictions. It can also be very
effective in the treatment of pain anywhere in the body.

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