Ancient Gua Sha
Gua Sha’s Health and Beauty Perks
Gua Sha is an organic and an alternative therapeutic technique that involves the practice of using a flat, smooth-edged tool that scrapes the skin in a variety of short and long upward-downward strokes. This traditional Chinese technique provides a more natural approach to healing and addresses a lot of medical conditions, specifically those that are linked to poor blood circulation. It is one of the inherited wonders of ancient alternative medicine that is increasingly becoming popular and well-embraced today because of its spectrum of beauty and health perks.
Etymologically, gua sha is a Chinese word that means scraping. In other terms, it is often referred to as skin scraping, spooning, or coining. The skin is scraped because, according to Chinese traditions, the energy that flows to the body known as chi, is connected to one’s health. So, a balanced chi is an indicator of a person’s good wellbeing.
However, sometimes the chi is blocked due to many contributing factors: stress, anxiety, physical inactivity, and among others. This is when the use of gua sha comes in. It is used to generally ease blood circulation. By stimulating the pooled and stagnated blood, it relieves the muscles and joints from pain and tension. Moreso, it unblocks the chi and generally lessens the stiffness of the body. The same is true when gua sha is used on the face for beauty care.
A critical factor in using gua sha is both movement and pressure. It should be applied slowly and puts only a fair amount of pressure on the spot being targeted using a specialized hand-held gua sha tool. The massage is done on the neck, jawline, cheeks, and between the eyebrows. To achieve optimum results, focusing on these spots five times can greatly lift the face and improve blood circulation that, as result, gives a more youthful, rejuvenated, glowing skin.
Practitioners of alternative medicine strongly argue its practicality and efficacy to alleviate, if not totally relieve, the symptoms of several conditions. This East-Asian technique claims to be medically beneficial to people who have been experiencing symptoms of hepatitis B, migraine headaches, breast engorgement, neck pain, Tourette syndrome, and perimenopausal syndrome. Several case studies were conducted to observe and understand the linkages between using gua sha and the aforementioned conditions. Scientific and quantitative research were done to gather and treat data related to the benefits of gua sha in the contemporary medicinal scene. But further studies are needed to be done to fully establish support from the scientific community.
Gua sha is a fair shot to start exploring the realm of alternative medicine. Its popularity in the market is worth its hype. More than the medicine, it tremendously nourishes the skin. Its health and beauty perks are what raving people over gua sha--and it is totally justified by the gains with little to no pains.
