If you’ve been fortunate enough to try Shiatsu and acupressure together as a form of therapy, then you might want to try a session of Tui Na that may seem like a combination of the two. Tui Na massage, like Shiatsu, applies rhythmic pressure on the body’s meridians or energy channels. Tui na is one among a variety of bodywork techniques that lubricate and manipulate the joints. It mimics acupressure in that it tends to affect the movement of energy by applying and maintaining pressure on certain acupressure points of the body.
From a Western perspective, Tui Na is a an Oriental bodywork type that closely looks like your average Western massage. Several of the methods look the same — shaking, gliding (Tui aka effleurage), vibration, kneading, percussion (Da or tepotement), rocking, friction, rotation, and pulling. However, similar it may seem to Western-style massage, Tui Na is designed to be more therapeutic than your average Swedish-style massage.
Perhaps, the best thing about Tui Na over standard massage is that it can target a specific problem, such as chronic pain associated with the joint and musculoskeletal systems of the body. It works quite well against shoulder, neck, and back pain as well as against muscle spasms, sciatica, and joint diseases such as arthritis. Tui na is a great treatment for tension related to stress and for chronic conditions such as headaches, migraines, insomnia, and constipation.
Tui Na just doesn’t address joint, bone, and muscle problems, it also works with the body’s chi or life energy at a more profound level. As the practitioner is able to determine the flow of energy of the client, he or she can affect its flow and distribute the energy properly and smoothly throughout the client’s body.
Like all other forms of Oriental bodywork, Tui Na can correct and prevent problems. Health is preserved when the energy of the body is kept in balance. This is a fact not just for physical well-being and health, but also for the health and well-being of the emotions and mind.
Tui Na is an ancient Chinese type of medicine that traces its roots way back to 1700 BC. It is the forerunner of many modern Oriental forms of bodywork. Like all components of West Orange Chinese Medicine —Tui Na practice in China was dealt a huge blow during the social and political upheavals brought about by the Communist takeover of China in the 20th century. The Chinese government put into operation in 1929, a policy that would eliminate ancient medicine systems. Chinese Medicine, during 1936, was denigrated as without scientific basis and its practice was prohibited.
Despite these problems, among the majority of the Chinese people, Tui Na survived as a widely popular healing art, who have long used Anmo therapy for treating illnesses and infirmities. The Chinese used to call Tui Na Anmo massage; however, Tui Na is a more specific term that suggests treatment based on Chinese medicine principles.
In 1949, after Communism took over China, there was a change in the policy against traditional medicine, and the ancient way of using Chinese medicine was promoted. Unfortunately, more setbacks occurred during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.
Today, in the West, Tui Na is practiced more by osteopaths, physical therapists, and chiropractors than by massage therapists. In Traditional Chinese Medicine colleges, it’s taught as an equal but distinct field of study, needing the same level of training as herbalists and acupuncturists.
The migration of Tui Na to the West led to some modifications to its styles. Unlike their counterparts in China, many Tui Na therapists trained in the West have abandoned the practice of “bone setting”. Western Tui Na practice can be considered as a clinical appendage of Western massage that emphasizes on balancing and restoring energy.