Pediatric Tuina Techniques (4)

"Master, how about I perform moxibustion on you two? I'm quite knowledgeable about moxibustion."

Seeing that Yang Tianzheng wasn't responding to him, Su Ziyang grabbed the thermos and ran to Mr. Mengfei Mr. Mengfei, pouring him a cup of hot water.

"Get out of here! I'm annoyed with you too, I don't need you to pour water."

Having been snubbed, Su Ziyang could only try his best to invite his masters to have some mutton soup to warm them up.

"Hey, Uncle, could you please chop this ginger and put it in a bowl for me later? Thank you!"

Su Ziyang took a large piece of ginger out of his pocket and handed it to the owner who was cutting the mutton offal.

"Such a big piece? What are you going to do with it? To warm your stomach?"

Su Ziyang was always very familiar with the boss.

The shop owner picked up the ginger, smashed it twice, and then chopped it up.

"Yes, yes, it'll warm your stomach. Uncle, did you see those three? They're on their period. Their stomachs hurt, they need something to warm their stomachs!"

Su Ziyang made a sarcastic remark and then carried the mutton soup to serve the masters.

"It smells so strong of ginger."

All three had very sensitive noses, and as soon as Su Ziyang put the mutton soup down, they all said in unison.

"Angelica and ginger mutton soup. We didn't have angelica, but it's a warming soup for the masters to nourish themselves."

Su Ziyang chuckled and took the pepper powder, adding a spoonful to each of the three of them.

"Ziyang, I don't have diarrhea, why did you put ginger in my food?"

Daoist Jin took a couple of sips of mutton soup before he realized what was happening. He scratched his head and asked in confusion.

"Oh, Master, this gentle nourishment is good. You must have used up your energy teaching me. Thank you for your hard work!"

It must be said that Su Ziyang was quite adept at coaxing his master, and the group was very pleased with him. Yang Tianzheng and Mr. Mengfei immediately put on smiles again.

After one wave of teaching ended, another wave of teaching emerged.

Daoist Jin continued his pediatric massage teaching.

Su Ziyang sat to the side, listening attentively.

This technique is called "Heavenly Gate Enters the Tiger's Mouth":

Its function is to strengthen the spleen and aid digestion.

Place the child's palm upwards, dip it in scallion and ginger soup, and push it from the tip of the index finger along the sides of the three points (寅, 卯, 辰) to the base of the thumb.

The "three gates of Yin, Mao, and Chen" mentioned here refer to the index finger and the entire finger itself. In the palm chart of the twelve earthly branches, the base of the index finger is Yin, the third joint of the index finger is Mao, the middle joint of the index finger is Chen, and the tip of the finger is Si.

Pushing down from the second middle section means pushing directly downwards from Yin, Mao, and Chen.

Another technique, also known as the "Tonify Spleen Earth Method.

Hold the child's thumb with your left hand, then use your right hand dipped in scallion and ginger soup to push it.

Hold the child's thumb vertically, and then use your right hand dipped in scallion and ginger soup to push it.

After two simple techniques, there will inevitably be a complex, multi-layered technique; this is the order that Daoist Jin himself arranged.

This technique has a lovely name: "Two Dragons Play with a Pearl Playing with a Pearl".

This is also a method that primarily utilizes warmth.

First, use the thumb, index, and middle fingers of your right hand to pinch the child's liver and lung points.

Use the thumb, index, and middle fingers of your left hand to pinch the Yin and Yang and Yang acupoints on the child's head, pinching upwards repeatedly until you reach the Quchi acupoint five times.

For heat syndromes, apply more pressure when pinching the Yin acupoints; for Yang syndromes, apply less pressure.

When treating cold syndrome, pinch the yang acupoints harder and the yin acupoints lighter.

After pinching these five times, pinch the Yin and Yang acupoints, and shake the Liver and Lung acupoints 18 or 27 times.

The next technique is a method that can treat both cold and heat, called "Crimson Phoenix Shakes Its Head". This technique can clear blockages and regulate Qi.

First, place the child's left palm facing upwards. Then, the doctor uses the thumb, index, and middle fingers of the left hand to gently pinch the child's elbow. Next, the doctor uses the thumb, index, and middle fingers of the right hand to pinch the child's index finger and then shakes it clockwise twenty-four times, pointing upwards and outwards.

Then pinch the liver finger and repeat the above steps.

Then repeat the above steps by pinching the spleen finger.

Then repeat the above steps while pinching your lungs.

Then pinch the kidney finger again and repeat the above steps.

When performing this technique, the boy uses his left hand and the girl uses her right hand. The boy shakes the hand clockwise and the girl shakes it counterclockwise, each shaking twenty-four times.

Next is the "Push the Five Meridians Method":

The Five Channels refer to the five fingertips: heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. The second and third joints are the six Fu organs.

When performing the procedure, first use the four fingers of your left hand to support the back of the child's hand, pinch the child's palm with your thumb, and bend the child's fingertips downwards with your right index finger, then push and move each finger upwards.

Moving the brush to the right is tonifying, while moving it to the left is purging.

In general, direct application is sufficient, but it's still necessary to consider the child's condition, whether it's due to cold or heat, deficiency or excess.

This involves a bit of a dialectical issue, so I'll elaborate on it.

When a child has internal heat, their tongue tip is bright red, their eyes are red, and they have yellow phlegm. In this case, purging methods should be used.

Then, if the child seems indifferent, doesn't eat much, doesn't want to move, and seems cold, then it's usually time to use tonifying methods.

Of course, this is just a general direction; there are also specific directions. For example, if someone personally feels that it's unnecessary to use pediatric massage at home, then it's not necessary.

It's enough to just figure out whether it's cold or hot; there's really no need for anything more precise.

The next technique is called "Circulate the Inner Eight Trigrams":

Treats heart heat and phlegm obstruction.

First, hold the child's left hand with the four fingers of the left hand, palm facing up, and support the back of the child's hand with the four fingers of the right hand, starting from the Qian trigram and moving slightly downwards to the Zhen Trigram with the thumb.

Then gently circulate it seven times; this is to stabilize the spirit and has a calming effect.

Then, starting from Xun (巽), proceed to the fourth trigram of Dui (兑), and repeat this process seven times; this is called "pacifying the soul."

The fever can be reduced by repeating the process from Kun to Kan seven times.

Sweating can be induced seven times from Gen to Li.

If a child coughs, proceed from the Li (离) palace to the Qian (乾) palace seven times, then proceed directly to the Kan (坎) and Li (离) palaces seven times, which is the state of Water and Fire in Harmony.

Here's a description of the Eight Trigrams positions on a child's palm, using the left hand as an example, starting from below the index finger.

The area below the index finger is the Li Trigram Xun Trigram, below the middle finger is the Kun Trigram, below the Dui Trigram finger is the Kun trigram, and a little further down on the hypothenar eminence is the Dui Trigram. Below the Qian Trigram, at the base of the palm directly below the little finger, is the Qian Kan Trigram, and further to the left on the thenar eminence is the Gen trigram. The area between the thumb and index finger on the thenar eminence is the Gen Trigram Zhen Trigram.

This is the location of the Eight Trigrams, that's how it is.

Knowing this location will help you better understand the methods and directions of manipulating the Eight Trigrams.

If there is an "Circulate the Inner Eight Trigrams," then there is an "Circulate the Outer Eight Trigrams."

The main function of the "Circulate the Outer Eight Trigrams" technique is to unblock the flow of Qi and blood, open up blockages, and promote bowel movements.

First, place the child's hand with the back facing up. The doctor starts with the right thumb and moves it from the Qian trigram to the Li trigram, then moves it slightly lighter. After passing the Li Trigram, the movement of the other trigrams will be normal.

Here's an explanation of why it's said that you can be gentler when moving away from the uterus (Li Gong) position. In pediatric massage techniques, there's a saying, "Don't push when moving away from the uterus."

It is said that children are of immature yin and yang nature, with the heart (离) and fire (火) as their corresponding elements.

If you push the Li Trigram of a child, it is easy to disturb the child's heart fire, causing the child to get hot and irritable. Therefore, the technique is usually quite gentle when pushing the Li Trigram.

The next technique is called "Strike the Horse Across the Heavenly River":

This method is mainly used nowadays to treat fever, that is, to reduce fever.

Pinch the child's tendon with your left thumb, and then flick it with your right thumb and middle finger, as if playing a musical instrument.

Play the Tianhe zither across the Quchi acupoint nine times, then pinch the Jianjing, Pipa, and Zouma acupoints with your right thumb five times each.

This is one approach.

There is another way to do this "Strike the Horse Across the Heavenly River":

First, massage the Laogong acupoint. After massaging the Laogong acupoint, bend your fingers upward and use your fingernails to tap acupoints such as Neiguan, Yangchi, Jianshi, and Tianhe.

This technique is also called "Strike the Horse Across the Heavenly River".

The next technique is called the "Ten Techniques":

This is mainly for treating infantile milk stasis combined with exposure to wind and cold.

Children's calculus is generally categorized into two types: milk calculus and food calculus.

Moreover, this accumulation in children is caused by three factors: fright, wind, and cold.

It's not really just simple food stagnation; the main issue is other accompanying symptoms.

When performing this technique, first place the child's left palm facing upwards, and then the doctor supports it with the middle, ring, and little fingers of both hands.

At this point, gently press the three key points and six internal organs with your two thumbs.

With your left index finger near the xiphoid process and your right index finger near the guan (internal joint), begin pinching, kneading, and rotating.

Starting from the main support, rotate the device in a circular motion to the edge of the pool. It is best to pinch back and forth 3-4 times.

The last technique is called "Circulate Water into Earth, Circulate Earth into Water":

Water represents the kidneys, and earth represents the spleen.

Therefore, this technique primarily treats the kidneys and spleen.

First, place the child's palm upwards, and use the right thumb of the doctor to dip in scallion and ginger soup. Starting from the kidney water, pass through the three palaces of Qian, Kan, and Gen, and stop at the spleen earth. This is called Circulate Water into Earth, which is used to treat dysentery.

Starting from the spleen (earth element), passing through the three palaces of Gen, Kan, and Qian, and ending at the kidney (water element), this is called Circulate Earth into Water, which treats diarrhea.