Gua Sha

Three Seasons also provoked my curiosity about what, I later discovered, was called Gua Sha. In one scene of the movie a character collapses on the ground after being exposed to emotional stress. At this point, the subject of the character’s self denied affection rubs her back with the edge of a spoon in a pattern similar to picture until it turned an irritated red. The woman appears to be enjoying the somewhat orgasmic experience. She falls asleep and awakes the next morning utterly refreshed and seemingly cured from all her stress. This is called Gua Sha. It is an ancient therapeutic practise that began in china centuries ago used to treat and prevent acute conditions such as the common cold or flu, asthma, bronchitis as well as chronic problems involving pain and congestion. Gua means to scrape or rub and Sha is a reddish elevated skin rash that results from the rubbing with a ceramic spoon. It is my understanding that it works based on the assumption that massaging the skin promotes blood circulation and provokes toxins in the body to rise to the skins surface in the form of a rash. Increased blood flow to an affected area means more antibodies to fix the mess. So in essence Gua Sha is the process that provokes the body to cure itself. I’m not extremely convinced by all this it's a little too S & M for my personal taste but million dollar bet says: some North American is getting googly eyed at the prospect of a cure for some hardcore disease. And, quick as a flash, Gua Sha might just replace the present fascination with acupuncture.