Courses and training in qigong from the Daoist and Buddhist traditions
~ The school of Grandmaster Guo Bingsen ~
Teacher: Edith Guba
Gua Sha Fa
Gua Sha Fa is a form of massage from Chinese folk medicine. It used to be very popular in China as an effective method of self-help. The historical roots of this method are identical with those of acupuncture: they can both be traced back to ancient times when stone needles were used, from which metal acupuncture needles and the massage plates of Gua Sha Fa were developed.
Gua Sha Fa achieves its results predominantly by discharging ill or spent energy, and thus supporting the process of recovery. Many books have been published in China about this method. The massage plates used were made of copper, silver, sheep or buffalo horn and were used with sesame or herbal oils, or even simply with water. Today, the massage is often carried out using a small, flat plate made of water-buffalo horn or jade. The quality of the oils used has been improved.
In the last few years, the methods of Gua Sha Fa have been combined with the knowledge of the meridians from Chinese medicine by doctors and scientists, and a “Gua Sha Fa of the meridians” has been developed. Gua Sha Fa has proven to be just as effective as acupuncture, but without wounding the skin; bleeding without the blood; massage without direct touch of the hands.
This method is at once very new and just being established as well as an ancient method. The revival of this method increases its therapeutic possibilities, its effectiveness and simplifies its application. The systemisation of the treatment in Chinese medicine makes it possible to learn the method quickly and easily.
The method allows qigong teachers to soften the reactions their course participants may have to qigong. Qi blockages can be dissolved and discharged without having to work solely with transmissions of qi.
It also enables medical practitioners who wish to use Gua Sha Fa as a method of treatment to be frugal with their own energy resources.
Gua Sha Fa is also a method of self-healing for many health problems.
The form of Gua Sha Fa taught at the school is called Dao Yuan Gua Sha Fa.