Tui Na, or Chinese Medical Massage, is a powerful healing modality. It is a hands-on bodywork “manual medicine”, which has a rich and diverse history in China. Tui Na translates from Chinese as “push-grasp”.

One advantage of Tui Na over simple massage is its ability to focus on specific health issues, and is especially useful with muscle and joint pain, and skeletal system issues. As with other modalities of Asian medicine, Tui Na is designed not only to correct problems, but to prevent them. By keeping the body properly balanced, physical and mental health can be both improved and maintained.

Tui Na is the oldest known system of massage, originating in China circa 2300 BCE. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine lists Tui Na as one of the five major therapy modalities, and has since remained an organized and systematically developed system of bodywork. In China, Tui Na is currently taught as a separate, but equal field of study in medical schools. Tui Na doctors receive the same rigorous training as acupuncturists and herbalists, and receive the same level of professional respect.

Tui Na is rooted the Chinese Medical theory of Qi (vital energy) and channel pathways. Through the use of massage and soft tissue manipulation techniques, channel blockages are cleared, Qi flows more efficiently, and the body is then able to naturally balance itself. All of these benefits contribute to overall wellness and an increased level of health.

Methods include the use of hands and arms to massage muscles and tendons, stimulate acupressure points, and passive joint mobilization and manipulation to relax tissues, allowing the body to realign the musculoskeletal structure. External herbal soaks, compresses, liniments, and salves may also be used to help the body restore back to normal.

Many clinical conditions respond well to Tui Na, some better than acupuncture or herbs alone, and most conditions are improved most quickly by combining Tui Na, acupuncture, and herbs.

Styles of Tui Na

There are four main schools of Tui Na taught in China. The rolling method school emphasizes soft tissue techniques, specializing in joint injuries and muscles sprains. The finger pushing school focuses on acupressure techniques to treat internal diseases. The Nei Gong school uses exercises to generate Qi, and bodywork to reenergize depleted patients. The bone setting school emphasizes manipulation techniques to realign the body’s musculoskelatal structure to heal joint injuries and nerve pain.

There are also hundreds of “family systems” of Tui Na that have been passed forward generationally, all using some combination of techniques taught in the main schools.

Zheng Gu Tui Na / Classical Tui Na

Classical Tui Na, also called Zheng Gu Tui Na (ZGTN), is a traditional, lineage-based, and comprehensive bodywork system that integrates all of Chinese Medicine’s profound tools – acupuncture, external herbal applications, internal herbal medicine, dietary therapy, and rehabilitative exercise.

Based on the lineage of the late Master Ken Ark Fun Gong, and drawing upon the latest research in anatomy, orthopedics, and the teachings of other modern masters, this Tui Na system is a synthesis of over 25 years of clinical experience and over 40 years of martial arts practice. It has been methodically analyzed and optimized to yield the most effective results in treating and preventing disease.

The cornerstone of the Classical Tui Na system is quick, effective pain relief and restoration of impaired function. This system is known for creating dramatic improvement, and drastic reduction in symptoms, often within minutes.

Benefits of Tui Na

• Calming, grounding, and deeply relaxing for body and mind
• Helps to restore and rebalance energy levels
• Creates a sense of well-being
  Helps to prevent and relieve many conditions
• Relieves stiffness and tension, improves posture
• Helps clear toxins from the body
• Improves immunity

What Conditions Does it Treat?

• Headaches and migraines
• Stress and anxiety
• Insomnia
• Fatigue
• Backache
• Neck and shoulder tension
• Digestive problems
• Menstrual problems
• Joint pain and reduced mobility
• Fibromyalgia

The number of treatments needed to alleviate various conditions will depend on your general state of health and the acute or chronic nature of the condition.

Would you like to feel more relaxed and better grounded?  Include Tuina bodywork in your health routine!
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