March 04, 2004
Capturing (most of) two birds in one shot
My kind and gracious Tui Na practitioner asked me to write something about our work together. I decided that I could capture two birds with one shot, (that's PC for an old adage) and do an entry about Tui Na.
Tui Na, just in case you haven't taken the opportunity to click, is a form of Chinese massage. Mine is done lying on a mat on the floor, in loose clothing, snuggled up in a down comforter. Needless to say, I am not always as alert as I might be to the process.
Here's what happens before I lose consciousness. My dear practitioner gently pulls on the joints of my fingers and sometimes my toes, from tip to base, joint by joint, finger by finger, rotating each joint slightly with each tug. When she is finished with my fingers, she moves on to my wrists and elbows, sometimes my shoulder. She is making room for chi to flow, and a very fine job she does. Often I slide into a theta brainwave state , which, as far as I'm concerned, is the frosting on the cake .
I evidently have alot of ja chi (misplaced chi). My ja chi twists around my muscles, like a mosquito net at midnight, and makes my fascia burn. In writing this piece, I actually read something about myo-fascial pain, and discovered:
"Physical stress isn't the only thing that can cause TrPs [trigger points, painful lumps of hardened fascia]. Tension TrPs can occur. These are not psychological results of tension but are physiological biological effects of long-term emotional abuse or mental trauma. If you are constantly holding your muscles tight in a "fight-or-flight" stress response, this changes your body patterns. TrPs can be caused by a surgical incision, as is often the case with abdominal surgery. TrPs may form as a result of other medical conditions. A case of arthritis may be otherwise well managed, for example, but the accompanying TrPs are overlooked. The pain load of that patient could be substantially lessened if the secondary TrPs were treated successfully. "
I am pleased to report that my fascia flames are quenched. Like the pain of childbirth, I am beginning to forget how bad it was at it's height. I still have some tension in my shoulders and feet, but they don't hurt continuously, even in bed. I can rest.
Although I do many things all at once, all the time, I am certain that Tui Na has helped my fascia the most. It is the kind of help that builds and lasts, restructures, whereas plain massage, craniosacral treatment, and accupuncture, though very effective in so many ways, do not seem to have the same cumulative, long-term effect on the fascial pain as has Tui Na.
After my ja chi is untangled sufficiently, I am going to learn some medical QiGong to keep my chi tidy from now on.
Photo note: The birds are pelicans--- we are still in Mexico.