Guasha: Waste-material– The three stages of Chi

One of the main causes of all complaints and diseases is: waste-material!!!

Waste-material that enters our body through food, but also by stress, tension, pollution, electronic-smog (tv, computer, cell phone etc), medication, smoking, alcohol etc. etc.

Waste-material is deposited in our body in places were they, initially, cause the least amount of damage. This is in the connective tissue, muscles and joints. But slowly the connective tissue will start to sludge, muscles sour and joints inflame. Pain and complaints will occur.

Because the connective tissue sludge, nutrients from the blood stream have more difficulty reaching the cells, which is required for a good metabolism. Because less nutrients can be absorbed, cells also get less oxygen. The waste-material that is released through the burning of nutrients that still takes place in the cells, needs to be transported back to the bloodstream through the connective tissue, so the waste-material can be carried away. But also this waste-material has a hard time getting to the bloodstream because the connective tissue is already filled with waste-material. So our body starts to clog even more. Energy can no longer flow. And the problem increases and increases.

In Chinese medical science there are 3 stages of “bad Chi” (energy).

• The first stage is the toxic (poisonous) Chi, in which waste-material and toxic residue accumulate in our body and if they are not fought and they are left alone this can result in serious health problems.
  
  
• The second stage is the stagnant Chi (energy). This is caused by conditions such as lack of exercise, chronic hart, liver, kidney, spleen and lung problems and …. severe obesity. This slow or stagnant energy always goes together with pain in different areas of the body.
  
  
• The third stage is called dead Chi (energy). This is stagnation that exists in the body for a long period of time. Because of this, a lack of oxygen has occurred in the tissue. Dead Chi can cause a lot of damage, it can stimulate growth of cancer cells. Important is this respect is to know that cancer is anaerobic, which means that it can not survive in a high oxygen environment. It thrives in an environment that lacks oxygen.

Guasha.

Guasha causes pression of the scraping of the skin, some sort of “suction” underneath the skin (epidermis) in the connective tissue. And this suction causes the stagnated intercellular fluid to move to the surface, thus eliminating the toxic remains (waste material). This way at the same time a flow of fresh fluid, rich in oxygen takes place, rich in nutrients, which accelerates the revitalization of cells, preventing possible “dead Chi”.

When waste material comes to the surface, it also cause a release of a little bit of serum and red blood cells from the tips of the very thin capillaries. This causes red marks, the Sha’s, to become visible. The serum and the red blood cells in the connective tissue cause a reaction within the immune system in our body. The body is used to the presence of waste material in the connective tissue - it even dumps it there – but blood is a different thing. Our body reacts to it instantly, because blood doesn't belong in the connective tissue. Our lymphatic system and our blood circulation are activated to remove foreign intruders. The waste material is absorbed and transported through the blood and the lymphocytes to the organs that are there to process them further, such as the liver and the kidneys. It is therefore crucial to drink a lot of water after a Guasha treatment to make sure that all the waste material is being drained through the kidneys and the bladder.

(Also sweating, after heavy physical work, or in the sauna is a good way to drain yourself from excess waste material. Passive sweating, for example during the night or when a woman goes through Menopause, is a sign that we have to much waste material in our body. The skin reacts as an emergency valve to get rid of this material.)