Gigi is a very experienced and internationally recognised therapist, accredited member of the Australian Traditional Medicine Society (number 17349) and registered Private Health Fund provider. He has achieved a unique blend of therapeutic and life experiences that enable him to offer extremely effective and holistic treatment for a great variety of pathologies and disharmonies. Below are the main Healing methods he practices.
Oriental and Remedial Massage:
Oriental and Remedial Massage are useful for the treatment of pathologies and conditions causing tightness, stiffness, aches and pains in the muscles (including tendons and ligaments) and joints, and are known to effectively induce relaxation both locally and to the person as a whole. Although both involve kneading, stretching and other similar manual techniques, there are some major differences between Oriental and Remedial styles, such as the general principles on which they are based. Gigi can help you make the most appropriate choice as to what style would benefit you the most. Structural issues, injuries and emotional upsets are positively helped by Massage Therapy, which has also been found useful as means of post-operative and post-partum care. In addition, as well as effectively supporting fertility treatments (including assisted reproduction, such as IVF), Gigi specifically performs Pregnancy Massage, with a great deal of success with easing the natural upsets, tensions and discomforts that often result from the physical and hormonal changes associated with being pregnant, including the strains from the gradual gain and shift in the distribution of weight.
An Mo Tui Na (Traditional Chinese Medical Massage):
An (to press) and Mo (to rub/caress) respectively refer to the static pressure applied to specifically selected points and the slow movement and deep stimulation introduced to the soft tissues, joints and meridians (Energy pathways); Tui (to push) and Na (to pull) metaphorically refer to tonifying potential deficiencies (pushing) and reducing or sedating possible excesses (pulling), by way of affecting, through the meridians and their points, the internal organs���¢�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½ system and its balance. An Mo Tui Na is known by various different names, such as Traditional Chinese Medical Massage and Chinese Massage, but is largely known in China as simply Tui Na. This ancient art and science is practiced at a medical level, in hospitals, it is often described as Acupuncture without needles and it's one of the oldest and most fundamental aspects of TCM, offering resolution and relief from most issues spanning the physical, energetic, emotional and spiritual levels of being human.
Qi Nei Zang:
Qi (Vital Energy) Nei (Internal) Zang (Viscera/Organs), is the Manipulation of the Internal Organs Energy. This form of manipulation is at once physical and energetic. On a physical level, the abdomen is massaged following a specific sequence of movements and pathways in order to address systemic imbalances and upsets. Energetically, the organs are manipulated by way of the practitioner's channeled Qi, to release obstructions and promote flow and adequate function, making this the most profound and healing application of 'External Qi Gong'. In TCM, disharmonies of the Internal Organs and their interactions are the basis of most pathologies. For example, most eye sight issues are mainly treated by harmonising the Liver.
Cupping Therapy:
Cupping is a very effective method of treating acute issues such as colds, coughs, and sore throats, as well as some chronic issues such as asthma, chronic cough and gastrointestinal disorders. The treatment consists of the application of suction cups either to specific points (static treatment) or with slow and smooth movement over entire areas (meridian treatment) with the aid of plain or medicated oil, in order to remove pathogens, break stasis/stagnation of Qi and blood, promote freeflow of both the latter and, especially where medicated oils are used, introduce heat. Cupping techniques can be employed singularly, but they are most commonly performed in combination to other modalities as a complementary means of treatment. As well as applying Cupping Therapy for a variety of disharmonies, Gigi is one of the practitioners recently involved in reviving the ancient use of Cupping Therapy to treat vertebral disc issues. After a substantial period of time spent working side by side with Dr. Yan Chongwen, of Luoyang University, the results of performing specific cupping techniques in the treatment of bulging, prolapsed or compressed discs have proved to be consistent and reliable. In the worse case scenario the patients feeling of pain/discomfort is greatly diminished, thus it can, at the least, be employed as means of pain management for such issues.
Some exaples of disharmonies that Traditional Chinese Cupping Therapy has been proved to help are:
- Respiratory Diseases
--- Asthma
--- Chronic Bronchitis
--- Pedriatic Bronchitis (also acute)
- Digestive Diseases
--- Dysentery
--- Early Morning Diarrhea
--- Acute and Chronic Gastritis
--- Pediatric Indigestion
- Pain Syndromes
--- Shoulders (i.e. Frozen Shoulder, Scapular stiffness or pain)
--- Soft Tissue Injury (i.e. Sprains)
--- Loins (i.e. Lumbar Sprain, Inguinal Pain)
--- Head (i.e. Headaches, Migranes, Neuralgia and Toothache)
- Gynecological Disorders
--- Infertility
--- Irregular Menstruation
--- Leukorrhea
---Uterine Cramps
- Acute Diseases
--- Fever
--- Headache due to Infection
--- Acute Conjunctivitis
Chinese Dietary Therapy:
Based on the TCM principle that all foods predominantly express a Yin or a Yang nature and that their taste, colour and shape determine where they 'fit' in the context of the Five Elements Theory, Chinese Dietetics are a powerful tool to address most issues in a relatively simple and proactive way. As well as being assigned specific foods, beverages and recipes, the patient is empowered with the necessary information to make nutritional choices that will complement the practitioner's work outside of clinic time. Also, it is important to note that foods adopted in this modality are rarely foods that the patient wouldn't consume as part of their regular diet. Mostly, it is a case of increasing the intake of foods and beverages that promote the processes necessary to overcome the issues presented, whilst minimising the consumption of those that would hinder them.
Qi Gong:
Gigi offers periodic Qi Gong seminars and classes. Qi Gong is fundamentally divided into two distinct categories: Internal Qi Gong and External Qi Gong. The study and practice of Internal Qi Gong is concerned with the health status, general harmony and flow of Qi within the practitioner's body, and it is primarily what Gigi teaches in seminars and classes. External Qi Gong is the therapeutic application of Healing Qi, channeled and delivered by the practitioner to individuals presenting disharmonies/pathologies, usually in specific body parts, and it is what Gigi practices in clinic.
In China, the term 'Qi Gong' is used for all exercises (about 3300) and different styles that aim at the improvement of Energy circulation in the body. Some such exercises have a purely therapeutic and/or meditative purpose, whilst others, like Taijiquan (also known as Tai Chi Chuan, or simply Tai Chi) for example, best translated as 'fighting (quan) style based upon the Supreme foundation (Taiji)', are employed as an actual martial art practice. The therapeutic benefits of Qi Gong are widely recognised in China, where it is also an integral part of the treatment protocol for most pathologies, both in hospitals and with privately practicing physicians.