Gua Sha

What is Gua Sha?
Gua Sha is an ancient form of treatment for pain and blockages throughout the body.  The word Gua means "scrape" and the word Sha in chinese is "sand or rash".  The two words together in chinese mean "to scrape away fever" or "scrape away disease by allowing it to escape as sandy looking objects from the skin".

What can it be used for?
Gua Sha can be used for almost any condition that causes pain or constriction in the body, whether is acute or chronic.

How does it work?
The physical technique uses a tool such as the one in the picture and apply repeated pressured strokes over the oiled skin.  This allows the practitioner to get deeper into the muscle fibers and allow for all the stuck pathogens to rise to the surface in order to be cleansed by the cleaner surface layers of blood and body fluids.  

This raising of toxins/blood it called petechiae and can look anywhere from a slight red to a deep purple depending on the persons problem.  The petechiae response is not painful to touch.  In fact most patients feel a sense of release and freedom in the body.

The "Sha petechiae" should fade in 2-4 days. If it is slower to fade, indicating poor Blood circulation, the practitioner must ascertain whether it is deficiency of Blood, Qi or Yang, a deeper stagnation or organ deficiency at the root.

Chinese medical practitioners use the color of the Sha as a diagnostic tool. Very light colored Sha can indicate Deficiency of Blood. If the Sha is fresh red, it is of recent penetration. If the Sha is purple or black, the Blood stasis is long-standing. If brown, the Blood may be dry. Dark red Sha can indicate too much heat in the body.