Leta Herman, Energetic Acupressure

What is Gua Sha?

Gua Sha uses a common everyday ceramic soup spoon to relieve pain and combat the common cold.

Using a ceramic soup spoon (or other similarly shaped tool), Chinese Medicine practitioners lightly scrape the surface of the skin to release trapped energy in the fascia and musles.

The "Sha" is the trapped energy (you could think of it as tension or resistance) that gets released. Whenever there is sha present in the body, when the spoon pulls it out through the skin, a red mark appears that lasts for 24-48 hours. The red mark comes from blood rushing to the surface and is called pitachae.

What does it feel like?

Many people think Gua Sha feels really good, like a light massage.

Other people find it tickles at first (while the red is coming out) but then that feeling subsides once the energy is released.

Some people find gua sha slightly painful, in which case, we can start with very light pressure that isn't painful until the area starts to release. Typcially at that point, slightly harder pressure is no longer painful.

How often should I get gua sha?

Frequency varies based on the condition. Many people get gua sha only a few times, then it is no longer necessary. Some people have more due to repetitive stress in their jobs or hobbies.

Who Would Benefit from Gua Sha?

The following conditions will often be relieved by Gua Sha:

• The common cold or flu, especially on the first day of symptoms
• Repetitive stress injuries
• Recent injuries that have healed (any broken skin has healed)
• Certain types of long-term chronic pain
• Some types of psycho-somatic pain (pain that seems influenced by emotional states)
• Certain kinds of rashes, such as poison ivy and even shingles (gua sha is done around the area of the rash, not on the rash itself)