Many aspects of Asian culture have been assimilated to the North American culture, from matcha and bubble tea to yoga. While the yoga studios in your neighbourhood maybe be only 5 years old, some of these wellness practices go back to Ancient Asian cultures for centuries. For this week's #SICRealLife and to start off the #AsianHeritageMonth celebration we want to emphasize the history behind some practices that are "trending," in North American mainstream media.
Gua Sha
The first time you may have seen a gua sha was probably from Lizzo on TikTok. Gua Sha which partially mean "scraping" is a practice that originates from ancient Chinese medicine. Gua Sha is done by performing scrapings on the epidermis. "This is to release unhealthy bodily matter from blood stasis within sore, tired, stiff or injured muscle areas in order to stimulate new oxygenated blood flow to the areas, thus promoting healing and recovery." - l'official
What a better time to learn more about Asian history and support Asian owned businesses than during a month of celebration? One way as a consumer you can be more conscious about understanding and supporting Asian cultural practices is buy supporting Asian owned businesses. Mount Lai is an Asian owned brand that sells products for Chinese medicine treatments.
"Mount Lai is a proudly Asian female owned beauty brand rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine. We take a modern approach to ancient rituals for radiant, glowing skin." - Mount Lai
Yoga
The origins of yoga date back to over 5000 years ago in northern India. Yoga was mainly intended as a means of spiritual realization - "it was interpreted and disciplined according to the different schools, or darsanas, in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism."- l'official
There are many differnces between Yoga practiced in North America and in India. Not only is the relationship between instructors and students greatly valued but also, Yoga in India factors in diet and seen as a lifestyle.
Moxibustion
Another Chinese medicine treatment which is practiced in other parts of Asia including, Japan, Tibet, Korea, Vietnam and Mongolia is moxibustion. This treatment "involves burning moxa, a cone or cigar-shaped stick made of ground dried mugwort leaves, on the patient's skin or near the body's meridians and acupuncture points."- l'official
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