On social media, you may find a lot of beautiful things — and a lot of questionable stuff as well. Gua Sha isn’t one of those dubious products. While it may appear to be something out of a late-night commercial, this time-honoured muscular scraping technique has numerous advantages.
Body Gua Sha has its origins in Chinese medicine (TCM). Your qi (pronounced “chi”), or energy, must circulate throughout your body in order for you to feel your best, according to TCM principles. Health problems are said to emerge when qi becomes stagnant in certain locations. Gua Sha is a technique in which a practitioner (usually an acupuncturist) uses a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape regions of your body where there is inflammation or stagnant qi in order to increase circulation and promote healing.
Gua Sha is a type of massage in which you rub the skin with oil and a smooth-edged tool along the meridian lines on the face or torso.
It increases circulation by up to 400%, causes micro damage, enhances collagen, and stimulates the lymphatic and immunological systems, according to research.” While many of us are familiar with Gua Sha facials, its applications are much broader. Gua Sha is a popular treatment among my customers because it relieves tightness in the neck and shoulders, as well as tension in the jaw and face.
Gua Sha’S BEAUTY BENEFITS
The skin is a remarkable organ that has the ability to organically heal, nourish, and protect itself. Gua Sha works because we can use a stone to activate its natural healing abilities. This is accomplished by altering the skin’s tissue and muscles to improve their function.
- Lifts, tones, and firms sagging skin
- Reduces puffiness, irritation, and dark circles
- Enhances the appearance of the skin
- Reduces fine lines and wrinkles and softens deep wrinkles
- Blemishes and redness are reduced
- Collagen and elastin production is stimulated
- Rejuvenates facial tissue while also relieving tension and pain.
- Increases the capacity of the skin to absorb essential nutrients
- Skin is purified and oxygenated
- Controls the flow of qi and blood
Gua Sha’S HEALTH BENEFITS
Gua Sha can also be used in other regions of the body. The tool’s pressure on the skin feels like a relaxing massage. It relieves muscle tension, decreases inflammation, and relaxes muscles. When applied to the body, studies suggest that it aids in the reduction of pain, the speeding up of muscle healing, and the improvement of movement.
If you have a muscle knot, you should first use your Gua Sha body massage tool to go across it. To break up all of the adhesions, you’ll want to work perpendicular to the muscle fibres. Then, to lengthen the muscle fibres and return them to their proper path, go in the direction of the muscle fibres. You want to go back and forth across those uncomfortable knots in your upper shoulders with your tool to break them apart. You’ll start moving your Gua Sha tool along the direction of the muscle fibres, which is normally inwards to outwards after things start to loosen up. However, you should not begin Gua Sha in this direction because it would simply tighten the tissue.
Gua Sha aids in the restoration and smoothing of the facia
Yes, this will reduce the appearance of dimpled skin over time (cellulite). Because fascia lies on top of and connects all of your muscles, relieving fascia tension helps redistribute any fat beneath your skin, giving you a more even appearance.
Gua Sha promotes lymphatic drainage and improves circulation
Gua Sha practice on a regular basis might assist disperse fluid in the fascia. For a moment, let’s become a little nerdy: Plasma and other fluids are supposed to be cleansed by the fascia. Researchers believe it dumps waste into the lymphatic system and then uses osmosis to carry new plasma and other fluids back into cells. In other words, when your fascia is stimulated adequately and on a regular basis, your lymphatic system may function more efficiently. It never ceases to astound us.
Gua Sha relieves muscle tension by loosening muscle fibre knots
Your muscles get tense and contract when you have adhesions in your fascia, and relaxing fascia with Gua Sha practice helps reduce this stress.
Gua Sha supports your microbiome, which helps to boost your immune system
This is significant since your digestion and hormones are influenced by these systems. Remember how fascia is thought to be a natural cleanser? It turns out that toxins can become caught in the fascia if it is twisted and tight. Maintaining fascial health can help and contribute to the health of your microbiome, which can have good ramifications throughout your entire body because your microbiota plays a part in influencing how well your body absorbs nutrients.
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Gua Sha can assist in the relief of muscle pain and stress
It is, for example, extremely beneficial in alleviating an ache that we are all too acquainted with: tech neck. The tension that is stored in the myofascial tissue can be one of the core causes of pain. It’s fairly uncommon for this pain to manifest as a headache or upper back tightness as a result of sitting for long periods of time with bad posture in front of a computer or phone. This tension can be relieved using Gua Sha.
Takeaway
When traditional therapy fails to alleviate your symptoms, evidence reveals that Gua Sha may be a viable option.
Although this procedure appears to be simple and basic, it should only be performed by a professional acupuncturist or Chinese medicine practitioner. This ensures a secure and effective therapy. Although more research is needed, there are a few hazards linked with this type of massage.
Make certain that everyone you choose has a Gua Sha certification. Certification verifies that they have a fundamental understanding of this healing technique. Using professionals increases the treatment’s effectiveness and lowers the chance of pain or serious bruising from using too much force.