Relaxation or Aggravation?

Taime, the Japanese foreign teacher, brought me to get a Chinese massage. First of all, it is so cheap! For an hour, full-body massage, it is $25 RMB, which is only $3.70 USD. I got a special that includes 11 one-hour massages for $200 RMB, less than $30!

On the other hand, the massage is not like one you would receive back home. The cozy, calming atmosphere created in a Western spa is not provided. You will not smell the sweet scent of lavender incense, hear soothing sounds of the ocean and other relaxing music or feel warmth from the heated massage mattress. There are not private rooms; Instead, all the available beds are lined up in the front parlor. You keep your clothes on and no oils are used.

Furthermore, the techniques are different. Traditional Chinese Massage focuses on acupressure and it's intended use is for medical purposes, not relaxation. If you have knots, for example, a typical Western masseuse will use broad strokes with the palm or circular motions with the finger tips, circumventing the knot in order to stimulate the surrounding muscular area. The Chinese masseuse will take their thumb and dig directly into your knot. I understand the discomfort this would cause for many, but I found it absolutely wonderful - I was in seventh heaven!

Afterward, my masseuse recommended I get Gua Sha because my back and shoulders are really bad. Having no idea what that was, I figured "What the hell!" The massage was amazing, and he seemed to know what he was doing...

My shirt was rolled up in order to apply a thin oil. A long, smooth stone was pressed firmly against my back in broad, downward strokes. Essentially, my back was being scraped with a stone! I can't say that it felt good, but it surprisingly didn't hurt; It was rather uncomfortable. This was done repeatedly for maybe 5 minutes, creating a lot of friction.

Next, 12 glasses were literally suctioned onto my back! After lighting and extinguishing a match inside each cup (in order to remove the oxygen), he would quickly press and twist the cup on my back so that I soon had a dozen cups gripping to my skin. I was left in this position for a few minutes, which were not the most memorable minutes of my life. Again, I was never in any pain, but I was certainly not in the relaxed state that my massage allowed - I could feel my skin being pulled by the suction. Finally, the cups were removed and then my back was massaged with his palms in a downward motion. I was done!

Walking home, I could still feel the heat created from the friction, which was intensified against the cold, night air. Granted, I felt great! Although I was quite unsure about the benefit of such methods. Once home, I soon noticed that my back was covered with deep, red bruises! There were perfect circles where the cups had been placed. I freaked out, called Taime who reassured me they would be gone in a week and, then, I immediately began to frantically search the Internet.

I learned that two different therapies were applied. Gua Sha refers to the use of a smooth edge (the stone) to apply pressured strokes to the back. Gua means to scrape or rub, while Sha refers to the resulting redness of the skin. The other technique is typically called Fire Cupping. Both are ancient Chinese medical methods dating back over 2,000 years. Basically, both intend to promote circulation and metabolic processes and are claimed to help with several ailments beyond back pain.

You can check out this brief article about fire cupping. Plus it has a good pic of what the method looks like:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/12/earlyshow/health/main628788.shtml

It's been almost a week, and my bruising is nearly gone. Once they have completely disappeared, I plan to go back for my next hour massage. But if they recommend Gua Sha again, I will definitely say "Bu shi, Bu Shi!" (No! No!).