Class Notes 5

TUINA
Class Notes 5

Pile Standing Practice 4 minutes

Silk Reeling, Taiji Symbol, Teacup exercise

Stretching out Wrists and Forearms

Rooting Practice, Hand on shoulder

Review of Techniques:
Rubbing, Pressing, Pushing

Vibrating, Rolling, Swinging, Kneading

Grasping, Grabbing, Pinching, Nipping, Plucking, Lifting

We've worked on many of the fundamental techniques in Tuina. As is implied by the name "Tuina," the "core techniques" of this form of bodywork are Tui (or Pushing) and Na (or Grasping). Keep in mind that Tuina (as opposed to Anmo) emphasizes more the musculoskeletal aspect of the body, and the techniques of Tui and Na are really best at releasing tension in the muscles.

Today, we are going to be working on what I class as percussive techniques, techniques which involve "striking" the body repeatedly. What's the point of percussive techniques? To answer this, we should consider whether percussive techniques are Yin or Yang. As they remain on the surface (really, we're not trying to "break boards" here!) and as they are generally somewhat rapid (a percussive technique that simply pounds once is like the slap of one wet fish), we can definitely consider such techniques to be Yang. Yang techniques invigorate, and promote general circulation and relaxation.

In practice, I think it is best to apply percussive techniques towards the end of your treatment. Why? Percussive techniques tend to be a bit too jarring and invasive at the beginning of the treatment. They can in fact cause the patient to "tighten up" more, as it is somewhat uncomfortable to have someone strike tissue that is already tight. Percussive techniques are also inappropriate in the middle of the treatment; generally, the middle of the treatment is when you would like to be doing your deep, focused work, and is when you would like the patient to be as relaxed as possible. At the end of the treatment, when you want the patient to sort of revive and wake up, I think it's fine to perform your percussive techniques, particularly if you end with the patient in sitting position. By then, their tissues have been relaxed and prepared somewhat by everything preceding, AND the patient has grown accustomed to your touch; at that point, it's ideal to perform percussive techniques, to spread and invigorate the relaxing, warming sensations you've initiated.

Aside from invigorating/relaxing, etc. percussive techniques are also great for chest congestion and lung problems. It is a way to "jar" blockages in the chest loose.

There are MANY FORMS of percussive techniques. I will introduce the main classes from the Sun-Chengnan text, and introduce a few that I learned from my Shiatsu days.

Keep in mind a few principles:

1) you are not trying to "penetrate" so much as you are trying to lightly bounce off the tissue. If you have ever drummed, you know that "sticking" to the skin after impact deadens the sound; the best sound is produced when you are able to lightly glance off the surface, so the vibration of the impact can travel.

2) stay relaxed and loose. This actually follows from the previous point. You are trying to impart energy (whether you think of this as qi or as vibratory energy doesn't matter). If you are very tight when you do a percussive technique, then that energy stays locked up in YOU, not in your patient.

3) following upon #2, but perhaps deserving of a separate point: keep your hands LOOSE! This is true whether you use a fist or a chopping hand. While you want your hands to adopt a certain shape for any given technique, you do NOT want to hold that shape stiffly! This will again deaden the impact, and keep the vibration/qi locked up in YOU.

4) start off with a slow rhythm, just to get in a groove. I like to start off in a kind of syncopated rhythm, sort of like a limping horse. For some reason, starting off with a square, even rhythm feels really "clunky," and I have a harder time accelerating. Of course, this is just personal preference.

THE TECHNIQUES ACCORDING TO SUN-CHENGNAN
So the Sun-Chengnan text has three general categories for percussive techniques, and they are mainly differentiated from each other by the shape of the hand and the striking surface.

TAPPING (DOTTING): Dotting is performed with the tip of the middle finger as the striking surface. The middle finger is braced by the index finger "on top" and the thumb "below," such that it looks like a goose head (similar to "holding the single whip" in taijiquan). It is the only percussive technique that uses a single finger as the striking surface. It is primarily intended to be a form of stimulation for specific points. It can also be used over a larger area in cases of numbness, where the objective would be to restore sensation.

In the Sun-Chengnan text, for example, the indications list "Hemiplegia, numbness, flaccid paralysis, muscle wasting and atrophy" first.

KNOCKING: Knocking is performed with the fingertips (all of them, not just one), or with the large thenar mound, the small thenar mound and the heel of the hand. Actually, four techniques are specified: knocking with the finger tips apart (with your hands forming loose "claws"), knocking with the finger tips together (such that they form a single "point"), knocking with a cupped palm, and knocking with the back of the hand (which, oddly enough, should be considered a fist).

CHOPPING: Envision the karate chop, and you get an idea for this technique. You can chop with a single hand (using the ulnar edge), chop with both hands in alternation (perhaps the most common version of this technique), or chop with both hands together (this is called, in Japanese, "gassho," in that it resembles placing your hands together as if in prayer).

POUNDING: Pounding is performed with the fist. There are several striking surfaces of the fist, though the most common is the "ulnar edge" (in which the fist is used like a hammer). You can also use a "prone fist" (in which the palmar side strikes) or a "supine fist" (in which the back side of the fist strikes). You may also pad the fist by using your other hand as a cushion.

While you should ALWAYS keep your fist relatively loose, if you are striking certain areas (like the scalp), you should keep it particularly loose and open.

OTHER TECHNIQUES: Okay, so some of these are not technically percussive techniques. Some of them are actually Rubbing Techniques or Pinching/Plucking Techniques. I introduce them here because they are usually performed with percussive techniques at the end of a shiatsu treatment.

FISHTAILING: This is used on the crest of the trapezius (although it could very well be used in several other places). Place the ulnar edge of your hand on the patient's GB 21 area. Imagine that your hand is like a fish's tail. Allow it to "flap" back and forth rapidly, while rubbing the ulnar edge into the patient's skin.

CENTIPEDE AND CRAB: Use both hands to pluck the crest of the trapezius. Then, using your thumbs, walk straight up and down in the space between the scapula and the spine. This is the Centipede. After doing this for a few repetitions, you can walk laterally across the scapula. This is the Crab.

BALL OF AIR POUNDING: This is hard to describe and can be hard to perform. Cup both hands together to form a loose ball. Then, strike with the ball, using the back of one hand as the striking surface. Ideally, it should feel as though the ball "bounces" off the back, and as it strikes, all the air rushes out of the ball. You can actually "hear" this.

BUTTERFLY HANDS: No, this is not a reference to that cheerleading movie... Make your hands into a butterfly shape, with the thumbs of either hand on the paraspinals, and the fingers extended out and upwards. Then, let the butterfly "flutter" by rapidly rubbing your hands in and out, and up and down over the upper back.

WHERE should percussive techniques be performed? Most percussive techniques can be performed just about anywhere on the body. The central caveat is that you do not strike over bone. This is uncomfortable for both your patient, and for you (and can damage your hands). You also typically do not do percussive techniques over vulnerable areas of the body (like the abdomen or the groin or the front of the neck).

"Flatter" percussive techniques are best when you wish to stimulate the exterior. Think of the Hakka (the warrior dance used by the UH Warriors, aka the Mosquito Extermination Dance), which involves a great deal of slapping. Pre-game, or pre-battle, you would want energy/qi/blood to rise to the surface, and slapping accomplishes just this. You can use flatter techniques on just about any part of the body, but they probably are more "effective" on flat areas of the body (the back, the chest of men, etc.)

As your hands develop more specialized "shapes" (for example, a chop), your techniques tend to go deeper, and thus, tend to be more ideal for "shaped" areas of the body, like the limbs. Think about how you orient your "shaped" percussive tools on the body, as this can translate into very different effects. If you chop across tissue, then you tend to get a deeper (and sometimes more uncomfortable) effect, versus if you chop with the tissue.

PRACTICE ASSEMBLING A ROUTINE for the back and shoulders:
Think about what you have learned so far, regarding the fundamental techniques. Now, try to put what you’ve learned together to try to work on someone’s back and/or shoulders. Experiment with the order of techniques, the strength of techniques, etc., focusing on keeping a smooth flow to everything.