This is also a very important modality of Chinese Medicine. Guasha, or Scraping Therapy, originated in antiquity as a folk medicine. It is a technique to scrape the surface of the skin of various parts of the body to loosen the pores in order to get rid of pathological agents for the purpose of treatment. A scraping board and a porcelain soup spoon are the most common scraping tools used with oil.
Sraping the skin repeatedly can activate opening of pores, increase perfusion of blood in the tissues, activate blood circulation, promote and strengthen discharge of metabolic wastes and relieve pathological elements and toxins. It can strengthen the body’s constitution and plays a very important role in prevention and healthcare by strengthening immunity.
As a result of scraping, milliary cutaneous bleeding appears on the skin of different characteristics according to the nature of the disease. It resembles bruising to some extent and will disappear naturally within around one week.
There are two types of scraping – therapeutic and healthcare. Therapeutic scraping is more forceful and used during disease for activating circulation of blood and Qi, relieve pain and regulate internal orgains. It produces very visible marks. Healthcare scraping is applied gently to healthy persons to prevent diseases. It can be done any time and does not produce any marks.
According to one of the theories of Chinese Medicine, by scraping the skin, a kind of vacuum force is produced in the body and the disease is drawn towards the surface where it is easy for the body to eliminate it. Generally, if the local area has no disease, even strong scraping does not produce marks.
Although the marks might look scary, this is a very good indication – the disease and stagnation are out and not hiding deep down any more. We are looking at the picture of the past. This is an extremely effective therapy and recommended by Chinese Health Authorities for prevention of disease nationwide.
Chi Harmony
