What is Tuina?
Tuina Medical Massage is a unique system of ancient body work that both gently and firmly treats pain in any part of the body, including:
low back/hips
neck
knees
feet
shoulders
Hands too!
Tuina is hard to find in the United States, but you can experience it at New Harmony Acupuncture-Sarasota. Since earning a Tuina therapist's certificate in 2020, the feedback has been awesome.
Education and Training
The initial interest in Tuina began more than 15 years ago at acupuncture school while learning about all the various modalities used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Touch and bodywork clearly were crucial diagnostic and treatment tools dating back to the formative days. My curiosity about Tuina only grew before graduating (2008) while visiting a working TCM univerity/hospital in northern China. There, busy Tuina clinics treated dozens of people everyday. It clearly was a specialty unto itself.
Tuina training is difficult to find in the U.S., but to my utmost gratification, I found a local master. Dr. Aihan Kuhn, a Chinese-trained doctor, acupuncturist and author, had settled in Sarasota following a busy medical career in Massachusetts. She was offering Tuina training and, in 2019, I embarked on her intensive training course. We had to perform at least 100 treatments before qualifying for her final test. The pandemic slowed the process down but last fall (2020), after passing her hands-on exam, I could finally hang this certificate on my New Harmony wall.
Testimonials
WOW!!!
Those were the first words to describe my feelings when I got off the table after my first tuina massage from Josh Zimmer. My aching, stiff body hadn’t felt so pain-free, flexible and smooth since my pandemic quarantining began 15 months ago. As a very serious 75-year-old woman racquetball player (I won two gold medals six years ago at the US National Racquetball Tournament in Denver), I had been looking for help to return to my favorite sport with the same painfree body and ease I felt pre-pandemic. I have routinely often gone to chiropractors, classic masseuses, traditional acupuncturists, and Reiki healers for optimal physical and emotional health and well-being. After the first tuina massage session I moved Josh’s tuina massage to the top of the list.
After my second tuina session with Josh two weeks later, much to my continued surprise, I played racquetball the next day and felt back to my former pandemic level of play—painfree, flexible, and focused! And, as importantly, each tuina session lifted my spirits and renewed my energy for days after the massage. I couldn’t recommend Josh Zimmer’s tuina massages more highly!
Irene