Cupping, Gua Sha & Moxa can be used as stand alone treatments for tense muscles or in conjunction with a TCM to treat overall health.

Moxibustion (Moxa) -
Artemisia princeps (mugwort) is a plant that grows along roadsides and in waste places. This common weed has remarkable medicinal properties that have been used in China and Japan alongside acupuncture for many centuries. Mugwort leaves are whitish underneath due to many tiny hairs, which contain aromatic oils. Using traditional methods, the leaves are dried and ground up to produce a yellowish-brown fluffy substance called moxa, that can easily be moulded into different shapes.
When moxa is burnt it smoulders to release heat and aromatic oils – this process is called “moxibustion” and is done close to or directly on the skin to provide various therapeutic effects. An inserted acupuncture needle can be warmed up by fixing a small ball of moxa to its handle. The heat from the burning moxa passes down the needle to warm up the deep tissues, giving a gentle penetrating warmth, similar to an infra red lamp. This provides relief for conditions such as back pain and sciatica and is soothing and relaxing for coldness or tense muscles.
Moxa can also be burnt directly on the skin. Medical research in Japan has shown that tiny amounts of stimulation caused by burning moxa can have immediate beneficial effects on the blood and immune system. Toyohari acupuncturists use a very gentle approach in which very small pieces of moxa, about the size of a half rice grain, are placed on the skin and burn down to a fine point. This is usually experienced as pleasant and comforting. Applied regularly at appropriate places on the body, it can be very beneficial for the circulation and general health and can relieve painful conditions like arthritis. In the days before antibiotics it was used in Japan to treat patients with difficult illnesses such as TB.
Direct moxibustion was developed in Japan as a home therapy, since it is most effective when repeated every day. Your practitioner may teach you how to use moxa so that you can apply it yourself between visits to the clinic.
Cupping -
Cupping therapy is an ancient form of medicine where the practitioner applies cups to your skin for a few minutes to create suction. The suction is created through a vacum in the cup created by either applying a flame (for glass cups) or suction (for silicone cups).
Cupping can be applied for many purposes but in my clinic I focus on using it as a kind of deep-tissue massage that helps to release and relax tension stored deep in the muscles. As the suction causes the skin to rise blood vessels also cause the surface to redden leading to the marks most people have seen on Olympic swimmers following treatment (see photo).
I only practice dry cupping so I do not combine cupping with blood letting.
You might get 3-5 cups in your first session. Or you might just try one to see how it goes. On some occasions the cupping will be applied along with massage oil to allow the cup to slide and therby affect a larger muscle group.


Gua Sha -
Gua Sha (pronounced Gwah Shah) is a cleansing technique used by many practitioners of traditional medicines. It involves the methodical application of pressure and stimulation of the skin using a round-edged instrument, often a Chinese porcelain spoon, which results in the appearance of small red or purple spots (petechiae) called 'sha'. The effect is similar to that of a scrape but the skin is not damaged in any way and the redness fades in a few days.
The technique is used to move qi and/or blood stagnation, which is considered to be the main cause of pain and stiffness in muscles and joints. It can promote good circulation and release tension as well as remove toxins systemically. According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine it is used to ‘release fire’ from the channels (meridians) where the blood is encouraged to flow more freely in the vessels, thus effecting a cleansing action in the body. Gua sha is also useful for the prevention and treatment of acute illness, upper respiratory and digestive problems, and many other disorders.