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Gua Sha Treatment with Jade Tools
Gua sha comes from the Chinese words "cao gio" which literally means "catch the wind". Excessive wind causes illness including colds, flu, fever, digestive disorders, pain, urinary and gynecological disorders, headaches and fibromyalgia. Gua sha treatment is Chinese medicine, but gua sha has been considered a home treatment, or folk medicine, and gua sha is usually not practiced by Chinese doctors. It is really a very simple procedure to learn, and to practice.
The commercialism of gua sha treatment has led to other uses of gua sha, and there are books available that describe gua sha treatment for almost every ailment. Gua sha breast health treatments, and gua sha facials are becoming popular, although these kinds of treatments are not what gua sha was intended for. These specialized gua sha treatments should be practiced only by qualified practitioners.
Gua sha used as it was intended is simple and effective for treating excessive wind illness. The scraping creates a red mark, a "portal for the wind to get out", and relieves stagnation and removes heat.
Most gua sha tools are made from buffalo horn, however Calm Spirit doesn't want to use any body part of an animal that would cause it to suffer. Also, jade and body qi are very compatible, so pure and natural jade is really the best tool to use for gua sha. Calm Spirit found a jade carver to make the styles of tools that were available in buffalo horn, and additional tools as suggested by Dr Charles Li who lives and practices in Beijing. We went through years of having jade gua sha tools manufactured, and considerable expense, and now they are available for anyone who wants to buy, or sell, them.
To give a gua sha treatment, you also need to use gua sha oil, which is specially formulated as a warming oil. Gua sha oil also has an effective consistency that works well with the tools and lasts throughout the treatment.
Start gua sha treatment on the back, neck and shoulders. Inspect the area to be scraped for wounds, moles, or any bumps because you must avoid these with the gua sha tool. Then rub the gua sha oil on the area to be scraped. Hold the jade gua sha tool at a thirty degree angle to the skin with the smooth edge touching the skin. Rub the skin in downward strokes using moderate pressure. Stroke one area at a time until you see a red mark. When the area does not get darker as you scrape, then you can move to the next area.
The red mark, petechiae, should fade in 2-3 days. If it is very slow to fade, it indicates poor blood circulation and there may be a more serious deficiency that will require treatments of acupuncture, herbs, cupping, etc.
Since gua sha treatment removes stuck qi, the person receiving the treatment should feel immediate changes in their condition.
The best book
about gua sha is by Arya Nielsen, simply titled "Gua Sha" and
some of the above information from the book is shared on this website.
After gua sha treatment, you can smooth the body qi with a jade roller, using the larger end for major body areas, and the small end for smaller body areas.
The jade gua sha tools are different shapes, with curved and more pointed areas for working the acupuncture points. Jade pointers and jade "needles" are also very effective for working on stubborn stuck qi at the acupoints.
