The Benefits Of Gua Sha And Why You Need It In Your Self-Care Routine
Restore your body to its best How often do you end the day feeling worn out and stressed? For many of us it’s so often we’ve come to accept it...
Restore your body to its best
How often do you end the day feeling worn out and stressed?
For many of us it’s so often we’ve come to accept it as the norm.
But this isn’t the case. Stress is our body on high alert – causing inflammation, dampening immunity and constricting circulation – all bad news for our health.
Yet we don’t have to live in this state.
There is actually a simple and quick way to release tension where it’s stored in the body, improving our immunity, circulation, sleep and general sense of calm and wellbeing. It doesn’t cost the earth, and it only takes a minute.
Let’s find out how.
More than a massage
A massage is a great way to relieve your body’s aches and pains, and that’s about it.
But did you know that with the right technique, there is so much more it can do for your health, appearance and sense of wellbeing? Whatsmore, it’s a treatment you can give yourself.
Katie’s Body Restorer Ritual is our supercharged interpretation of the humble massage, making it fit for modern life, yet its roots go back thousands of years to ancient China.
The art of Body Gua Sha
For millennia, a therapeutic healing technique, known as Gua Sha, has been widely practised in China. It involves using a round-edged tool, traditionally made from materials such as jade or metal, to press-stroke the skin until redness appears.
Gua Sha has been used to treat a whole range of conditions from fever to chronic cough and migraines.
In fact, it has been shown in studies to increase micro-circulation by 400%, clear inflammation and increase immunity.
But that’s not all. Gua Sha is also renowned for maintaining and strengthening the constitution and even improving your sleep.
So how does it work?
Gua Sha in action
Gua Sha has been shown to exponentially increase blood flow to the surface of the skin, which scientists believe works in a number of ways.
Firstly it helps disperse toxins by increased circulation and aiding the lymphatic and immune systems. Then as the blood is reabsorbed by the body it promotes an enzyme with anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties.*
According to Chinese Medicine, by regularly clearing toxins from the body, particularly from the joints, back, neck and shoulders, external pathogens are prevented from establishing a foothold, thereby reducing the likelihood of serious illness further down the line.
Katie’s Body Restorer Ritual
Our founder and resident Chinese medicine practitioner, Katie, has distilled the essence of this ancient practice of Gua Sha into a simple one-minute self-massage ritual – designed to meet the needs of modern life.
All you need to get started is the sleek Hayo’u Body Restorer™ tool and a spare minute – that’s it.
For best results use in the evening after a mineral bath, with our Revive Body Oil.
The ritual
- Chest
Press and stroke the tool over the chest, with eight sweeps along the arrows shown. This aids circulation.
- Neck
Press and stroke the tool along the neck and shoulder, as shown, with eight sweeps in each direction. This relieves tension.
- Back
Press and stroke the tool anywhere that feels tense.
The reward
Renowned for millennia across Asia for its therapeutic qualities, when used regularly. These include:
- Relaxing tight muscles
- Soothing stress
- Releasing tension
- Improving circulation
A few pointers
When you use the Hayo’u Body Restorer™ to press-stroke your skin, it shouldn’t be painful. If in doubt, start very gently and work up to the pressure of scratching an itchy insect bite. We say 8 strokes as a guide, which is enough to effectively bring up a red flush. If in doubt, stop.
We associate redness with bruising and pain in the West, but in this instance it’s in fact healing and satisfying. Most people feel a sense of weightlessness, pain relief, greater energy and many even report feeling ‘lighter’ after a treatment session.
The position, colour and form of the redness (or sha) can vary according to the area, degree and nature of a health problem in the body. For this reason, Gua Sha can also be an indicator of what’s going on internally. The sha will vary from light brown to almost black, depending on the level of toxicity in your body.
For example:
Red – a recent invasion of external disease
Dark red – heat, inflammation or acidity in the local area
Purple or very dark red – long-standing stagnation and damaged tissue.
Darker skin tones will show less Sha than lighter skin tones; it will still be there, just harder to see.
Disclaimer
Do not perform Gua Sha over broken skin, broken veins, moles, cuts, bruises or rosacea.
Individual results may vary depending on age, skin type, sensitivity & skincare history.
Wait until any redness has subsided before re-treating that area.
Gua Sha is a treatment designed to relieve muscular pain and tension and improve circulation. Results vary according to age, strength of body, skin type and medical conditions. If you are under the age of 16 and over the age of 60, or suffering specific medical conditions, we do not recommend using the Body Restorer™ until you have consulted a medical practitioner. At no point should treatment feel painful. Always start gently, observing the reaction to your skin and proceed with caution. If in any doubt, contact us at info@hayoumethod.com or seek medical advice. This information is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17905355
*http://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/press-releases/2015/05/05/science-gua-sha
Effects of Gua Sha on Heart Rate Variability in Healthy Male Volunteers under Normal Condition and Weightlifters after Weightlifting Training Sessions
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4433678/
Gua Sha therapy could facilitate the parasympathetic nervous activity and modulate the balance between parasympathetic and sympathetic activities
