Main qi-points

The diagram below shows the qi-points that can be massaged when Tui Na is applied to the shoulder, arm and hand. These are found on the following meridians: sanjiao and small intestine (shown in red, on the left), large intestine and lung (grey), and the heart and pericardium (red, on the right). See more on meridians and individual benefits in chapter 3.

JIANQIAN – extra point

Midway between LI 15 and the armpit crease. Treats front arm pain.

The first steps work on the right side of the body.

Position 1 Stand in front of the shoulder.

Position 2 Face the side of the shoulder.

Position 3 Stand behind the arm and face the back of the shoulder.

Repeat these three positions on the left arm.

1 ROLLING THE FRONT RIGHT SHOULDER AND ARM

STAND IN POSITION 1 Standing on your partner’s right, put your right foot on the chair so your thigh is about level with the armpit. With your left hand, grasp the right wrist and raise the arm so that it lies out across your knee. Turn your partner’s wrist outwards from you to expose the deltoid muscle on the front shoulder. Roll with your right hand from LI 11 and LU 5 up this muscled area over LI 15 to LU 1 and LU 2 . You can also roll up the forearm.

Rolling along the large intestine and lung meridians relieves tension and pain in the shoulders and arms.

2 SQUEEZING AND KNEADING THE FRONT OF THE RIGHT ARM

Grasping the muscle on the top of the shoulder with your right hand, squeeze firmly, pushing over the muscle and as you knead deeply between your fingers and the heel of your hand. Continue like this down the arm. Repeat this several times. Now squeeze and knead the tissues with the fingers and thumb lightly all the way down the arm, giving a slight lift between each position. Change hands frequently.

Squeezing and kneading relaxes shoulder and arm muscles.

3. PRESSING QI-POINTS

With either hand, press into qi-points LI 15 and SJ 14 with your thumb and middle finger. Press and knead deeply with a rocking motion at least a hundred times, and for several minutes if there is any shoulder pain. Knead the extra point – jianqian – which is midway between LI 15 and the front armpit crease. Thumb knead up and down the large intestine meridian, between LI 15 and LI 14 . Then knead LU 1 and LU 2 .

LI 15 and SJ 14 relax the muscles around the joint capsule to improve shoulder mobility. They relieve pain caused by injury or arthritis. Stimulating the lung meridian boosts qi in the lungs to relieve chest problems and cold symptoms.

4 ROLLING THE TOP OF THE SHOULDER JOINT

STAND IN POSITION 2 Facing your partner’s side, stand with your foot up and your knee facing the armpit. The upper arm is supported across your knee with the forearm bent. Use the double rolling technique on the deltoid muscle to the border of the shoulder bone. Roll for several minutes.

Rolling here boosts qi-flow in the meridians. LI 15 and SJ 14 ease pain when stimulated strongly.

5 SQUEEZING AND KNEADING THE TOP OF THE SHOULDER JOINT

Repeat the squeezing and kneading of step 2 on the upper arm but this time using each hand alternately. Your right hand squeezes and pushes the muscles of the arm backwards, and your left hand squeezes and pushes forwards.

6 PRESSING QI-POINTS Repeat step 3.

7 PALM RUBBING THE CHEST AND SHOULDER BLADES IN OPPOSITION

Place your right hand on the right upper area of your partner’s chest and your left hand on the right shoulder blade, with your wrists and fingers relaxed. Palmar rub this area with brisk, alternate, light, up and down movements for at least one minute.

Stimulates the whole chest and targets LU 1 and LU 2. The technique relieves front shoulder pain and is good for asthma sufferers and those with coughs and other chest problems.

8 HEELS OF PALMS SQUEEZING AND KNEADING IN OPPOSITION

Place your hands across the top of your partner’s right shoulder, with fingers interlocked and the heels of your hands tucked tightly into the hollows on the back and front of the shoulder (you may need to loosen your fingers to do this). Then knead deeply with the heels of both hands into LI 15 and SJ 14 , making circular movements, for about one minute.

Improves shoulder mobility and should always be used on any painful or ‘frozen’ shoulder.

9 RUBBING DOWN THE ARM

Support your partner’s arm between your hands, just below the armpit. The arm should be completely relaxed. Palmar rub rapidly with alternating to and fro movements, massaging down the arm to the wrist (see right). Repeat several times.

Powerfully stimulates the flow of qi, in all the meridians of the arm to ease pain and tension.

10 SHAKING THE ARM

Hold your partner’s hand firmly with both your hands, with your thumbs together on the top of the wrist. Raise the arm to just below the horizontal and pull gently to loosen the shoulder joint. Then shake ten times with firm, rapid, small up and down movements. Repeat the shake five times.

Opens the joint capsule to improve shoulder mobility and relieve pain.

11 PRESSING AND KNEADING ARM QI-POINTS

Press and knead LI 11 and H 3 with the thumb and middle finger. At the same time rotate the forearm in both directions with your other hand, holding the wrist lightly. Press and knead LI 11 and LU 5, P 3 and H 3 and SJ 10 . Then press and knead SJ 5 and P 6 together, using your thumb and middle finger like pincers.

LI 11 with H 3 and LU 5 with P 3 treat elbow pain. P 6 with SJ 5 has a calming effect on the mind and emotions.

12 PRESSING AND KNEADING HAND AND WRIST

Hold your partner’s wrist with both your thumbs on top and use your middle fingers under the palm and wrist to flick the hand upwards several times. Then press and knead points LI 5, LU 7, LU 9, LU 10, P 7,P 6 and H 7 .

Steps 12 and 13 stretch connective tissues in the wrist to improve flexibility, and to ease wrist pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.

13 PRESSING AND KNEADING THE JOINTS

Using your index finger and thumb, firmly press and knead all the finger joints and knuckles in turn. Then press and knead LI 4, LI 5, SJ 3, SJ 5 and SI 3 .

Caution: do not use LI 4 during pregnancy.

Hand and wrist massage presses some of the most powerful qi-points, increasing the overall feeling of well-being.

14 ROLLING THE BACK OF THE SHOULDER JOINT

STAND IN POSITION 3 Stand behind your partner, with your right foot on the chair, holding the wrist with your right hand so the right arm is across your knee. Turn the hand and arm forwards to expose the back of the shoulder joint. Now roll over this area with your left hand. Roll over SJ 14, SI 9, SI 10 and SJ 10 and then roll down the exposed forearm.

15 SQUEEZING AND KNEADING THE UPPER ARM

Repeat step 5 using your left hand, working along the length of the arm firmly and gently, but this time with a forward-pushing action.

16 PRESSING QI-POINTS

Repeat step 3, pressing and kneading SJ 14 and LI 15 , but this time with the thumb pressing into SJ 14 and the middle finger pressing LI 15 . From the back, knead SI 10, SI 11, SI 12, SI 13, SI 14 and SI 15 (see here ).

17 ROTATING WRIST, FINGERS AND THUMB

With your left hand, grasp your partner’s forearm just above the wrist, and with your right hand grasp the fingers. Rotate the hand on the wrist in both directions for several minutes.

This technique promotes qi-flow through the six meridians passing through the wrist.

18 PULLING THE FINGERS

Supporting the wrist with your left hand, vigorously rotate each of the fingers and thumb in turn. Pull each one firmly by sliding it between your crooked index and second fingers to produce a strong flick. Finally, roll each finger and thumb in turn firmly between your palms.

Each finger stretch opens the joints to prevent arthritis and stimulates all the six meridians that begin or end in the fingers (see here and here ).

19 HAND STRETCH

With your partner’s palm facing upwards, grip the sides of the hand between your fingers and the heel of your thumb. Stretch the hand sideways and outwards several times. In this position, press and knead P 8, P 7, P 6, H 7, LU 9 and LU 10 .

20 ROTATING THE ARM

Stand behind your partner’s right shoulder. With yourleft hand, grasp the top of the shoulder, pressing SJ 14 and LI 15 . Support the right arm with your right hand under the elbow. Gently rotate the arm backwards with small movements, gradually increasing the range of movement. Don’t attempt full rotation if there is any pain. Rotate the arm at least three times against the pressure of your thumb on SJ 14 . Repeat in the opposite direction, pressing into LI 15 .

The rotation and pressure on qi-points improves joint mobility and eases pain.

REPEAT STEPS 1-20 FROM PAGES HERE , THIS TIME ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE BODY.

When you have finished both arms and shoulders, return to the neck and shoulders and repeat any of the steps to leave your partner feeling totally relaxed.

The routines described so far are for balancing the qi in the upper body and will leave your partner invigorated, relaxed and sparkling.

21 LEVERED UPPER BACK STRETCH

Your partner raises their arms and, with fingers interlocked, turns the palms upwards above the head. Stand behind your partner and place the palm of your left hand in the middle of the upper back (over thoracic vertebrae five and six). Grasp the joined hands with your right hand and gently pull them towards you while pushing forwards with your left hand. Be very sensitive and don’t pull the hands back further than is comfortable. Slightly reposition your left hand and repeat five times.

Caution: don’t attempt this or step 22 with an elderly or frail partner.

This shoulder manipulation is an effective way of stretching the pectoral and deltoid muscles. It improves mobility of the shoulder joints.

22 ARM AND SHOULDER STRETCH

Standing behind your partner, with their arms raised above the head, grasp each arm around the base of the thumb. Gently twist both arms outwards to create a slight stretch. Draw the arms apart, slowly and carefully, and back until you feel resistance. Hold the position for at least thirty seconds and repeat several times.

Like step 21, this manipulation gives a big stretch to the front of the shoulders and the chest.

23 FIRM PALMAR KNEAD WITH PUSHING AND PUMMELLING ON THE BACK

Your partner sits, with legs straight, on the edge of the chair, leaning forwards to touch the legs as far down as possible. Push firmly down the spine on the bladder meridian to the lumbar region with the heel of your hand. Repeat this several times on both sides of the spine and then repeat down the du meridian. Pummel with alternating hands down both sides of the spine (but not on the spine).

Relaxes the back and invigorates your partner by removing stagnation in the bladder and du meridians. It’s a good way to finish the sitting routine.