Gua Sha is a healing technique used in Asia by practitioners of Traditional Medicine, in both the clinical setting and in homes, but little known in the West. It involves palpation and cutaneous stimulation where the skin is pressured, in strokes, by a round-edged instrument; that results in the appearance of small red petechiae called 'sha', that will fade in 2 to 3 days.

Raising Sha removes blood stagnation considered pathogenic, promoting normal circulation and metabolic processes.The patient experiences immediate relief from pain, stiffness, fever, chill, cough, nausea, and so on. Gua Sha is valuable in the prevention and treatment of acute infectious illness, upper respiratory and digestive problems, and many other acute or chronic disorders.

The Gua Sha book and video are teaching tools to guide the learning and practice of the technique. The book explains exactly how to apply the technique with examples of over 40 cases, and instruction on how to use Gua Sha for specific diagnoses.

The video is a companion to the book detailing basic points on how to Gua Sha, demonstrating treatment on patients from the TCM Hospital in Koetzting, Germany. The video may be ordered separately.

Photo: Norbert Foerster
Gua Sha stroking applied to upper back and shoulder. Click on image for detail of Gua Sha.

Arya Nielsen's Gua Sha: A Traditional Technique for Modern Practice details how to use Gua Sha in any caregiving practice.