Massage

Modern day Chinese massage is called Tui Na, meaning to push and hold, and it was not established until the Thirteenth Century. Some boldly link early Chinese Tui Na teaching manuals to the root of European massage. Tui Na is usually performed for brief periods after acupuncture on specific areas. It may also be performed before a treatment to help loosen tight muscles. The term acupressure means simply to apply pressure to an acupuncture point, without penetration of the skin.

Cupping is the use of a vessel to create an isolated vacuum on the surface of the skin, but this modality penetrates deep. This process may relax tight muscles (both superficial and deep), loosen adhesions (which might be noted as crunchy sounds when moving joints), re-oxygenate muscles, and drain excess fluids and toxins by activating the lymphatic system. Cupping began with the use of hollowed horns; Nicholas uses glass cups with a rounded lip for a technique called “fire cupping”. A flame is submerged into the glass vessel for a moment to create the needed suction, than the vessel is placed on the skin.