Chinese massage is very common in Australia and the techniques that have been used in China for thousands of years are now practiced Down Under. However, a lot of local practitioners just don’t get the details right and end up performing something that is similar to Chinese massage on the surface, but lacks many of the complexities that make this practice what it is.
In this article we’ll take a look at some available massage courses that do not sacrifice any of those useful aspects, courses that you can find at the Spring Forest Qigong Centre and take as home study courses. These all use a technique known as “Qi-ssage” which was developed by the founder of the SFQ Centre, Master Lin.
Qi-ssage Healing
Qi-ssage is a practice that uses ancient Chinese massage, as well as Qigong and acupressure to create a system that can heal you and others from head to toe using simple techniques. This practice makes an appearance in many different SFQ courses but it is perhaps best covered by the level 1 Qi-ssage Healing course.
This is a comprehensive course that includes a manual, a CD and a DVD. All of these were created by Master Lin, and it is his voice you will hear and his movement you will see. Master Lin’s narrative makes it easy to follow and learn and the graphics on the DVD and in the manual ensure that the energy points are easy to locate.
This is important, because Qi-ssage works by using specific massage techniques on specific energy points, helping to clear energy blockages that have formed here. Once you have eliminated such blockages, then you can free your energy to flow once more, healing yourself as a result. With Qi-ssage, you begin with the symptom that you have and then use this to find the massage technique that you need to perform. So, if you have a pain in your lower back, find the corresponding technique and massage, follow the guidelines and then you can cure yourself.
Head to Toe Body’s Repair Manual
One of the most essential courses at the SFQ is the Head to Toe Body’s Repair Manual. This is a single manual and does not come with CDs or DVDs, like many other SFQ courses. That doesn’t make it any less useful though and this is actually one of the best ways to learn Qi-ssage techniques. There are a total of 76 techniques in the Head to Toe Body’s Repair Manual, and all of these are broken into different chapters, each one of which details the exact location of the energy point you need to target and the technique you need to use.
- Cupping: The Head to Toe Body’s Repair Manual explains a technique known as “cupping” which is one of the most common and the most effective techniques in Qi-ssage. It involves forming your hand into a cup and then patting different areas of your body. Where you pat will depend on what symptoms you are looking for help with, and this manual can assist you with that.
- Newborns: As well as tips for pregnant women, all of which aim to make the pregnancy and the birth more comfortable, the Head to Toe Body’s Repair Manual also includes techniques that can be performed on newborn babies. These can help to improve wisdom energy, to de-clog sinuses, to stimulate digestion, and more. They can essentially rid your baby of the symptoms that are common at such a young age.
- Stroke Recovery: If you have had a stroke then you process of recovery can be very long and incredibly slow. It can be a difficult time, and one in which you are limited to what you can do. But there is a technique that can help. It simply involves pinching the tips of your fingers, performing this technique on each finger and each hand. This helps to unblock a key energy point in your heart channel, which means it can help with a number of other heart related issues as well.
- Pains: There are many techniques in the Head to Toe Body’s Repair Manual that target aches and pains. These include everything from headaches and migraines, to pains caused by injuries, pain caused by bad posture and even sinus pain, which may be caused by allergies, colds or flus. It doesn’t matter how severe these pains are or how long you have had them, Qi-ssage techniques should be able to help.