Gua sha orginates from tradional chinese medicine tcm in which the skin is scraped to produce light bruising it is renound for releasing unhealthy blockages from stagnated areas to stimulate blood flow and healing in the west it is also referred to as 39spooning39 or 39scraping39 or in french is known as 39tribo effleurage39 the gua sha instrument is used as hands alone are not always effective in releasing deep rooted stagnation the beneficial strokes are made in a downw