Full-Body Tuina Massage, Cupping and Gua Sha

In this course you will learn how to perform the ancient Chinese therapeutic massage called “tuina”. Tuina, or tui na, is pronounced “twee nah” and it is applied to people of all ages, from infancy to old age, respectfully.

In the West, this ancient massage can be thought of as an acupressure massage. It is different than a regular massage because it targets acupuncture (acupressure) points and meridians thus balancing the flow of “qi” in the subtle energy channels as well as harmonizing yin and yang dynamics within the person. Among the many other health benefits of tuina is that it promotes blood circulation, improves the flow of oxygen in the tissue, and it helps to alleviate muscle pain as well as reduce mental and emotional stress.

The 22 individual tuina techniques selected for this course that you will practice are:

• Tui Fa (pushing)

• Gun Fa (rolling)

• Rou Fa (kneading)

• An Fa (digital pressing)

• Ya Fa (suppressing)

• Mo Fa (round rubbing)

• Ma Fa (wiping)

• Na Fa (grasping)

• Nian Fa (holding and twisting)

• Zhen Fa (vibrating)

• Ji dia Fa (finger striking)

• Ji Fa (chopping)

• Pai Fa (patting, knocking)

• Che Fa (squeezing)

• Tan Bo Fa (plucking)

• Cuo Fa (rub rolling)

• Dou Fa (shaking)

• Gua Fa (scraping)

• Ca Fa (scrubbing)

• Ben Shen Fa (stretching, traction)

• Yao Fa (rotating)

• Yi Zhi Chan Tui Fa (one finger meditation pushing technique)

These techniques, when performed properly, create an integrated, well-balanced massage as demonstrated in the video lectures on the full-body: back, legs, arms, abdominal area, and face and head.

In addition to learning tuina, students will also learn cupping and gua sha. Cupping is demonstrated on the back, neck, shoulders, legs, feet, arms, hands, and abdominal area. Gua Sha is demonstrated on the back, neck, and shoulders. Finally, aromatherapy basics are taught simply because aromatherapy complements tuina, cupping and gua sha.

This course is for a variety of groups: healthcare professionals that already do bodywork such as Massage Therapists and Acupuncturists and who would like to add another service or skill set to their business. Spa Owners would also benefit from this course. People generally interested in learning this massage as well as the cupping and gua sha techniques would benefit from these skills as well.

It’s a big course in terms of the length and knowledge imparted. I have been practicing tuina since the year 2012 since I was first introduced to it at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine while studying for my Acupuncture Diploma. I compressed years of my own learning and experience into this course. This course is marked as intermediate in terms of the level because while Massage Therapists and Acupuncturists may find it basic albeit challenging at times, the non-body worker may find it more difficult learning the new concepts and skills. While everyone is at different levels of learning, I wanted to design this course so that it was accessible to anyone interested in it.  Since tuina works on the human energy anatomy - meridians and acupuncture (acupressure) points - I did put references in the course to help those students who are less familiar with that aspect our our multi-dimensional nature, even though this is not a course on meridians and points. Still, those people should be okay to take the course.

I hope you enjoy this course and share what you learn with others. I know your clients will appreciate this unique massage – mine do. Feel free to connect with me if you have questions or comments. Thank you.