Chinese Wisdom
Ancient
medicine inspires family to spread the word
Chinese
wisdom is being spread across the western world thanks to one Cheltenham
woman. Owen Adams found out how an ancient form of massage changed
the life of Maria Mercati
and her family.
It
may seem hard to believe unless you've been initiated, but behind
the trim suburban facade of Flecker's Drive in Up Hatherley there's
a drug-free health revolution in progress. From her modern Cheltenham
semi, Maria Mercati
- author, teacher, masseuse and acupuncturist - is spreading Chinese
wisdom across the western world.
Maria, her family and her students from around the world,
have a busy schedule. For,
Maria's Bodyharmonics is the only place in Europe to treat and teach
people using Tui
Na massage and acupuncture as a complete package. And,
as her books and instructional videos are selling by the thousands,
so people are travelling
from all over Britain and Europe to receive treatment. Since discovering
the ancient massage Tui
Na (pronounced twee-nah) on a 1992 trip to China, Maria has become one
of the foremost authorities on Chinese medicine outside the Orient.
Tui Na works separately and in conjunction with acupuncture
and herbs. All three forms of Chinese medicine work using a complex
diagram of the human body which consists of 12 energy channels linked to various organs. On the body,
there are 365 different points. The
treatment is to remove blockages to the flow of energy, thus restoring
balance. It involves basic Chinese philosophies like the yin and
yang and the five elements of fire, earth, metal, water and wood.
Simply
put, Tui Na is acupuncture with moving pressure used instead of
needles - it uses bare-handed rubbing, chops, knuckle rolls and
a myriad other often vigorous, intense and deep pulling, shaking,
pummelling, pounding, kneading and vibrating techniques. In addition to specific ailments being treated, you leave
after a session of Tui Na and acupuncture feeling considerably refreshed,
more alive and as light as a feather.
However, the massage is not a form of chill out therapy
- it's intense, rough, bordering on violent (although the pummelling
and pushing is very subjective) and you're likely to wake up the
next day feeling like you've been in a mangle. But breach the pain
barrier and you experience something almost transcendental. If that
seems enough of an ordeal, Chinese practitioners of Tui Na and acupuncture
allow for at least 10 similarly powerful sessions to complete any
specific treatment. This is to ensure that the energies are so balanced
that the body's healing is complete.
Obviously, for babies and young children, the treatment
is far gentler. Each of a baby's fingers can be tweaked to encourage
the Qi (energy flow) for each organ, rubbing the abdomen in a circular
motion treats wind and colic and a needle between the thumb and
index finger of a young child wards off colds and flu - according
to the doctrine of Tui Na and acupuncture.
Maria
was diagnosed with Perthes'
Disease (a destructive hip complaint which often develops into osteoporosis)
as a child and was told she would eventually need a hip replacement.
But an eye opening trip to China for a month long course
of treatment in 1992 meant no hospital treatment was needed. Nine
years later, Maria still has her own healthy hip. She
said: "I was so amazed by my progress in the first week of
treatment, I felt I had to bring Tui Na to the western world - teach it, practise it and write books about it.
'The public get told by their doctors that they have
just one option, which often involves an operation or drugs. "In
China, there are no chiropractors, osteopaths and other Specialists
that you find in western medicine because all their needs are met
by massage, acupuncture and herbs. "For something like a car
crash or a burst appendix, you need western treatment but most health
problems and diseases can be cured with Chinese medicine. "You're
not actually healing people, you're just getting the body in a state
where it can heal itself."
Since that fateful visit, Maria has returned to China
eight times to gain extra knowledge. On
the last visit, she took along a camera crew to record 50 hours'
footage of people being treated using Tui Na and other Chinese medicines in combination.
After the laborious process of editing the tapes, a short
series containing the footage will hopefully be shown on TV. In
one case, a weeping mother and father were told by doctors that
there was no hope for their
baby daughter, infected by meningitis. She had been in a coma for three months and the hospital
wanted to turn off her life support system. But, after a Tui Na
practitioner had worked his magic for five minutes by pressing his
hands, on her acupoints she came out of her coma and was on the
road to recovery. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it
with my own eyes,” said Maria.
Maria says many of her clients are families. She teaches
parents step-by-step to massage their babies while adults require
a professional Tui Na practitioner as stronger and more complex
techniques are needed. "Every
time I complete a session and see the difference in the person leaving,
I feel a great sense of fulfillment,"
she said.
All
four of Maria's children practice
Tui Na - Gisela, 29, and Gina, 27, in London and
Graham, 25, in Buckinghamshire. His twin
Danella has re-joined her mother in Cheltenham after spending two months in the
Caribbean resort of Parrot Cay, where she massaged stars like Paul
McCartney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Liam Neeson, Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck
and Demi Moore and their families.
Tui Na Can Treat Many Ailments
-
Tui
Na's literal translation is to push and grasp. Some experts
believe it pre-dates acupuncture, which has been practised for
4,000 years in China.
-
It promotes
smooth, unhindered flow of Qi (energy) through a system of 12
channels called meridians and regulates and balances the spread
of Qi between the organs by stimulating specific combinations.
-
Tui
Na and/or acupuncture can he used to treat chronic pain caused
by musculo-skeletal conditions like back pain, knee conditions,
frozen shoulder, sports injuries and osteo arthritis, internal
conditions like sinusitis, bay fever, ME, MS, menopause and
migraine, psychological conditions like depression and insomnia
as well as common childhood conditions such as colic, cough
and colds, hyperactivity, teething, cerebral palsy, night crying,
asthma and fever.
-
It
treats all conditions that osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists
deal with in the western world.
-
Tui
Na uses no oil or drugs and is performed through clothing.
-
Tui
Na works in conjunction with other forms of Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM), ranking equally with acupuncture, herbal medicine
and Qigong. More than one-fifth of the world's population uses
TCM - the second largest medical system in the world.
-
Tui
Na links different emotions to different organs. For excessive
joy, sadness, hysteria, stress and irrational behaviour, the
heart is treated. The stomach and spleen are connected with
too much thinking, worrying and lethargy and the liver and gall-bladder
to anger and depression. The bladder and kidneys are linked
with fear and phobias, whether mild or acute and the lungs are
connected with feelings of sadness and grief.
-
Baby
Tui Na is said to strengthen the child's immune system and reduce
reactions to substances that cause asthma and eczema, develop
the brain to increase intelligence, help with parent-to-child
bonding and improve motor co-ordination to enhance physical
skills like writing, drawing and sports. It is a holistic treatment,
that treats and balances the entire body and mind.
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