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This Acupuncturist's 6-Step Gua Sha Tutorial Gently Massages Your Sinuses
We're well into stuffy sinus season, and if you tend to get a head cold every time the temperature dips past a slight chill, you're likely familiar with the uncomfortable pressure. Holistic methods to help manage that congestion run the gamut, but a gua sha massage gently probes the sinuses—a particularly lovely sensation if you're feeling blocked up.
That's why acupuncturist Paige Yang, L.Ac, DACM, doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and founder of Yang Face, sees plenty of patients for sinus discomfort: "Just like how a masseuse might work on one spot on your back, you're breaking up that fascia," she tells mbg. Below, she offers up one of her own targeted tutorials to gently knead those sinuses.
Quick: What can gua sha do?
"A lot of lymphatic fluid stagnates in the face," Yang says. "Gua sha can promote circulation of blood, promote your water metabolism in the face, and helps to keep the lymphatic system fresh."
And while there are tons of TCM literature to support the ancient Chinese modality, one study found that gua sha can increase microcirculation, with participants maintaining increased circulation well after the gua sha practice was over. Another report found that scraping (which has a similar effect to gua sha) promoted blood perfusion and increased the temperature in the scraping area. (See here for a full rundown of gua sha benefits.)
A 6-step gua sha tutorial for your sinus cavities.
Apply a soothing face oil to provide some slip, and mirror these guidelines:
- First, warm up your stone: Now, you might think a cool stone would feel refreshing on those sinuses (it does feel nice), Yang says a warm stone is better for breaking up fluid. "When you have congestion, cold is going to make it more constricted, and warm can actually break it up, loosen it, and move it more," she says. "That's why when people have sinus issues [experts may] tell them to steam—it's the same principle. We don't tell them to go ice their face." You can either warm up the stone in the palm of your hand or run it under warm (not hot!) water.
- Place the pointed end of the stone on the lower half of the forehead, right above where your left brow begins. Massage in small, circular motions. Repeat on the other side of the forehead, where your right brow begins. "This [can break] up that tight tissue or some of that mucus accumulation," Yang says.
- Then place the pointed end of the stone at the inner corner of your eyebrow, right under the brow bone. Again, massage in small, circular motions. "When people put pressure there, it's going to feel a little bit tender," says Yang. Repeat on the other side.
- Once you're done with the upper quadrant of the forehead, use the flatter edge of your stone to sweep over the brows toward your temple for five to 10 strokes. This is a lymphatic drainage center, says Yang, which can help circulate those fluids.
- Next, move on to your nasolabial grooves. (These are at the bottom of your nostrils, slightly to the side where your cheekbone starts on both sides). “It's an acupuncture point called 'Bitong,'" says Yang. "'Bi' means 'nose' and 'Tong' means 'To flow freely.'" With gentle pressure, take the flat edge of the gua sha stone and create short, outward strokes along this groove. Move downward until you reach the bottom of the nostril, then repeat on the other side.
- After repeating both sides, use that same flatter edge to sweep outward toward the front of the ears (another lymphatic drainage center, says Yang, that's easy to reach from the cheeks). Repeat on the other side, for five to 10 strokes.
Yang recommends an S-shaped stone to massage those sinuses, but you can use any stone you have on hand, as long as it has two components: a more pointed area to reach those sensitive pressure points, and a flatter surface to sweep across the skin. "A wide range of tools can do that, of course, but [the S-shaped] one is nice and long and grabs a lot of tissue," says Yang. As for the pressure, Yang says gentle to moderate yields the best results. "If people are not sure what that means, I just tell them the weight of the stone can act as the amount of pressure."
The takeaway.
If your sinuses feel tight and stuffy, this gentle gua sha practice feels lovely on those sensitive areas. Massage those grooves, and if you need a visual, check out Yang's handy video here.
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