Smooth gua sha is an as-needed technique of Paula's and therefore is incorporated on an as-needed basis in all sessions. Although it is not advised, if you prefer to receive smooth gua sha only, you may request it during the consult upon arrival.

Unlike Traditional Gua Sha

Gua sha is an ancient Chinese method of healing that literally means "to scrape the sha", where sha, loosely translated, is the release of deeply trapped heat or inflammation. ​Like most simple methods, there is much more going on beneath the surface than meets the eye with gua sha.

Paula adapts the gua sha tool for a gentle, smooth procedure that is unlike traditional gua sha.

Smooth gua sha can release tension and normalize things like liver enzymes, ​and also helps relieve the many forms of arthritis and their unique symptoms. Smooth gua sha often provides long-term pain relief - and even regression of arthritis symptoms.

Read more about gua sha in Paula's blog.

The research on gua sha

"Modern research shows Gua sha produces an anti-inflammatory and immune protective effect that persists for days following a single Gua sha treatment. This accounts for its effect on pain, stiffness, fever, chill, cough, wheeze, nausea and vomiting, etc." - www.guasha.com

​In a 2007 study of eleven, healthy medical personnel, a dramatic increase in circulation was observed in the area treated. The volunteers also experienced immediate and somewhat long-lasting pain relief, not only at the site of treatment, but elsewhere. Women responded better than men, overall. None experienced adverse reactions. The mechanisms behind the pain relief of gua sha treatment have not yet been discovered. Sometimes, science gives up on studying effective treatments when they cannot determine the mechanism. Let's hope that doesn't happen with gua sha or other historically effective manual therapies. We should never give up trying to understand that which works.

Perhaps most astounding about gua sha is its ability to normalize liver enzymes. If it can do that for the liver, we look forward to future research on its potential benefits to other organ systems.

About those red marks

Traditional gua sha always brings redness. Paula's smooth gua sha results in redness only when there's inflammation and it has been siphoned to the surface. The redness that can rise up from beneath is only that: Inflammation rising through a siphon action up from the deep. The more buried inflammation you have, the redder it will be. For example, people suffering from arthritis, will usually exhibit more redness - but they'll also feel much better afterward. Smooth gua sha, similar to traditional massage, seems to help usher stuck fascial fluids out of the area to allow fresh, new fluids to come in and do their healing magic.

​Understandably to the uneducated or inexperienced, any redness that might arise could appear to look like bruising, even if the red (which does come from red blood cells) happens to later turn blue/green/yellow, but it is vital to understand that no bruising ever takes place - not the least because Paula would never damage a client's body and actual bruising is the result of breaking blood vessels - and we don't break blood vessels at Paula's Body Shop!

​The red sha markings are quite the conversation starter, though!

Paula's innovative use of gua sha technology is less dependent on bringing up the sha, so if you want relief without seeing the red, go ahead and request it!