Reading Comprehension

Tui Na and Your Emotional Health

　　In Traditional Chinese Medicine the body, mind and spirit cannot be divided and so the unique whole-body treatment in Tui Na can also be a useful treatment correcting any imbalances in the body's energy before symptoms and disease can develop．It also works to restore emotional harmony as well as physical health．This is why after a Tui Na treatment many people“feel good”．Many people in China use Tui Na regularly to keep healthy and to deal with some specific illnesses．

　　Tui Na is performed on the clothed body and the patient is either lying on a couch or sitting on a chair．Therapists using a variety of strokes or movements will control the intensity and direction of pressure in an exact way．The unique rolling movement in Tui Na is one of the most difficult strokes to learn and students have to practice sometimes for many months on a rice bag before they are allowed to practice on the human body．

Stress

　　Tui Na is of course very useful for treating stress．

　　It distributes the energy around the whole body．It is believed that Tui Na moves the strong energy in the tense muscles to the weaker areas, thus making a more balanced body．When your Qi(energy in the body)flow is balanced you feel relaxed and comfortable．Tui Na is especially useful for stiff shoulders and tense neck muscles．

Emotions

　　In Traditional Chinese Medicine each major organ is linked to an emotion．By balancing the energy in the organ, the relevant emotion will be calmed．When your emotions are out of control, you would usually turn to your doctor or perhaps a psychotherapist．But perhaps some people would not like to be seeing a psychotherapist or feel nervous about discussing their problems with others．With Tui Na one does not need to tell the therapist anything one does not want to．The treatment of Tui Na can deal with the problem itself－although if one does need to talk, then the safe space is there to do so．An active dialogue between the therapist and the patient will help to get a better effect．

How the major organs rule your emotions

　　Each major organ－the heart, the stomach, the spleen, the liver, the bladder, the kidneys, the lungs, etc．－is linked to a relevant emotion．

　　The heart is linked to joy, excitement and sadness．If the heart is out of balance, the patient may dream a lot at night and often forget something important in the day．

　　The stomach and spleen are connected with too much thinking or worrying－over anxiety．When the stomach is out of balance there is often a lack of energy．The patient often feels very tired and has no interest in doing anything at all．

　　The liver and gall bladder are linked to anger．In Chinese Medicine the eyes are connected with the liver, and many people who suffer from anger often suffer from eye problems．The gall bladder rules decision-making and too much energy here can lead to rashness, while if there is too little it can bring about indecision．Where there is a history of depression, the therapist would look to the liver．

　　The bladder and kidneys are linked to fear of all kinds, from simple anxieties and phobias to vague fears and worries．

　　The lungs are connected with feelings of grief and sadness．When there is a history of grief, the therapist would look to the lungs．

　　Tui Na is used in almost all the hospitals in China and very popular among Chinese people．It is a useful and valuable method of restoring Qi balance, when emotional and physical health is out of balance．Tui Na is one of the remaining secrets of Chinese Medicine．