HOW TO DO GUA SHA AT HOME
Gua Sha is a scraping technique that is frequently used as an adjunct therapy to an acupuncture treatment. It helps break up areas of stagnation by stimulating the microcirculation of the skin to improve blood flow and decrease inflammation. Gua Sha can help with:
Acute discomfort like upper back and neck pain from working at a desk for too many hours.
Chronic pain and scar tissue from a prior injury or surgery.
Emotional stagnation from grief or trauma that is difficult to move through.
You will need a gua sha tool - classically this was thin and made from jade - but for home purposes it’s easiest to use a kitchen spoon. Any dull thin object will work, so use what you have. You will also need lotion to create a smooth stroke while you’re scraping. If you are particularly hairy or have dry skin, then use more lotion.
Apply a thin layer lotion to the area, and start to scrape along the surface of the skin for about 20-30 seconds at a time. Look for redness to appear, and focus on these areas as they have the greatest amount of stagnation. This is light to moderate scraping and should use about as much pressure as you would use to check the ripeness of a peach. When working on the torso including the chest or back, scrape from the center going out; when working on the abdomen, arms or legs, scrape from the top going down towards the fingers or toes; when working closely on either side of the spine, also scrape downward. Any redness or minor bruising will resolve on its own in a couple of days at most.
Your practitioner will tell you where and how often to do gua sha as part of your treatment, or if you can’t come to the office, book a telemedicine appointment with your practitioner, who can go over a specific treatment plan for you. Call or text our clinic mobile 541-972-2837 or book online at liberatedspirit.com