alternative treatment
JUNE, 2018 | The HEALTH
The ancient
Chinese healing
technique Tui Na
T
HE term tui na pronounced
as twee nah has been gaining
attention in Malaysia for sev-
eral years. A form of therapeutic
massage and body work offered by tradi-
tional Chinese medicine (TCM), it was
used in China for more than 5,000 years to
address a wide variety of conditions.
Forevercare Treatment Centre Chinese
physician Dr Sun Yong who specializes in
pulse reading to diagnose various internal
medical conditions, said that tui na is a
wide area of practice and can be done by
both adult and children.
“However, it is very seldom that the
Chinese physician would practice this on
children.”
“Tui na is actually acupressure massage
that is used to relieve multiple disorders
including insomnia, constipation, head-
aches, stiff neck, sore back, migraines,
irritable bowel syndrome, premenstrual
syndrome, and emotional problems. It can
also treat disorders related to digestive,
respiratory and reproductive systems.”
“Literally meaning pinch and pull, the
strength of the massage is based on the
conditions on the patients. However, you
can’t simply pinch and pull. Tui Na is also
not recommended if there are injuries in
certain areas.”
“Normal massage is more for comfort
and relaxation, whereas in Chinese medi-
cine, we believe in ‘Qi’. If there’s a blockage,
higher pressure would be applied and this
can cause some pain. The application
Sun Yong
inserting
tiny needles
on a patient
as part of an
acupuncture
treatment.
of high pressure is to address medical
conditions.”
“It also follows the meridian points,”
he said.
Tui Na, along with acupuncture and
Chinese herbal medicine, are the main
components of TCM. As such, Tui Na can
be used to treat specific areas, or it can be
used to improve the overall Qi or energy
flow throughout the body. Because Tui Na
is a complete system, the treatment often
helps both these components at the same
time.
Acupuncture
Tui na
therapy
being done
on the sole
of the feet.
Acupuncture involves releasing and
connecting energy at 12 specified points
throughout the body through the use of
tiny needles to various depts.
“It is used to stimulate the nerves and
in Chinese principle of medicine, is to
emulate the flow of ‘Qi’.
Similarly, Tui Na addresses the same
points using manual stimulation. Tui Na
rectifies anatomical abnormalities of both
inner and outer surfaces by altering the
energy levels of the biological system and
adjusting the bio-information of the body.
Because it employs the same principles,
Tui Na can also be used as a complement
to acupuncture treatment.
29
Infrared sauna to
detoxify and overall
wellness
E
NJOY total relax-
ation while you
detoxify, sweat and
release stored toxins
under infrared light
waves. Safe, inexpensive
and powerful, these
devices assist in increased
detoxification and pain
re d u c t i o n . Th ey ’ re
also believed to have a
parasympathetic healing
effect which means they
help the body handle
stress better — an attri-
bute that could be used for
insomnia and depression
to hormonal imbalances
and autoimmune disor-
ders. In addition to this,
it improves the immunity
system.
Sweatspa founder
Sabrina Tang explained Each cabin is lit differently based on
that infrared sauna its functions. (Inset) Sabrina Tang.
therapy has an inflamma-
tion-lowering effect, activates the cells, helps with wound
healing, boosts metabolism and helps remove toxins from
the body.
“The perception of sauna is often misunderstood. It is
often linked to saunas and hot stone. The urban population
in Malaysia generally don’t like to sweat and are used to be in
an air-conditioned environment most of the time.”
“Health consciousness has become a term popular with
many. However, they are merely focused on food intake. The
same goes with juicing. When the word detoxing is men-
tioned, most equate it to juicing. However, juicing is only to
cleanse a certain percentage of the body through the gut.”
Sabrina explained that infrared is like the morning sun.
“Sun energy is very important to us. But we don’t like to
be exposed under the sun because of the ultraviolet (UV)
ray. This technology has a heater that produces a wavelength,
similar to the spectrum of the infrared that comes from the
sun energy.”
“Thus, it gives users the benefit of the infrared which
is used to stimulate and produce the infrared wavelength
without the UV.”
According to her, traditional sauna, steam bath and hot
blanket are mechanisms with a heating device used to heat
up the air.
“The heat is only transferred to the surface of the skin
and the sweat is purely water loss. It doesn’t bring out much
toxins,” she said.
Compared to traditional sauna, the heat from infrared
sauna is circulated from inside out. This promotes deep
penetration which is very important to flush the toxins out
from within.