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I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 97 In yang-on-yang touch, the therapist kneads with the back of her hand (yang) in a rolling motion over the client's posterior trunk, anterior thigh, and leg. In yin-on-yin touch, she kneads with her palms and fingers (yin) over the client's anterior trunk, posterior thigh, and leg. In yin-on-yang touch, the therapist kneads with the palm and fingers (yin) over the client's posterior trunk, anterior thigh, and leg. In yang-on-yin touch, she uses the back of the hand or posterior forearm (yang) over the client's anterior trunk, posterior thigh, and leg. Friction, in Western massage, is usually accomplished with palmar action. Applying Yin Yang Touch with friction, the therapist can follow the same routine as that outlined for petrissage: first stimulate the soft tissues and then relax them, using yang-on-yang or yin-on-yin touch initially, and finishing with yang-on-yin or yin-on-yang. Tapotement, which includes hacking, rapping, cupping, clapping, slapping, tapping, and pinchment, is essentially made up of yang touches. However, within each of these percussive movements one can introduce the yin-yang gradation. Hacking can be either light or heavy, rapping can be either soft or hard, and cupping can be full or empty. Some of these movements cannot be done with the back of the hand or forearm, but other back-of-the-hand movements (such as pummeling or double cupping) can be devised or refined for percussion work. Vibration, which involves oscillating, quivering, or trembling motions, moves a body area gently back and forth or up and down. It is yin touch, but can be performed with yang vigor. The back of the hand is as effective in creating vibration as the palm. Moreover, Yin Yang Touch can be integrated into vibration through variation in pressure and amplitude. The therapist can increase the desired effect by performing her strokes/techniques either toward the head or hip. She might use her palm (yin) to glide over the client's trapezius or latissimus dorsi (yang) toward the head for relaxation strokes and toward the hip for stimulation strokes. (The author has found alternate strokes of relaxation and stimulation are effective in addressing scoliosis.) The therapist might also increase the strength of qi by combining multiple examples of the type of qi required. For example, using the palm (yin) to massage loosely (yin) and move inferiorly (yin) aligns three different dimensions of the yin aspect, while using the back of the hand (yang) to massage firmly (yang) and move superiorly (yang) aligns three different dimensions of the yang aspect. The variations are practically limitless. THE BENEFITS Yin Yang Touch is safe and simple to use and it does not require therapists to make an extra investment, other than greater awareness of the primary purpose of a massage session and a conscious use of their hands and forearms. Other benefits of using Yin Yang Touch include: 1. The therapist reduces the risk of repetitive strain, as all sides of her hands and forearms are used. 2. The client feels more secure and the strokes are less invasive when the therapist uses the back of her hand or posterior forearm over sensitive areas such as the anterior neck, pectoral region, abdomen, medial thigh, and inguinal region. 3. The therapist recovers faster from the rigor of manual work because she is actually engaged in internal massage of her own qi while treating her client. 4. The client can also practice Yin Yang Touch for self- care in between sessions. Notes 1. The discussions of yin and yang, meridians, and electromagnetic energy are based on the works of M. Mercati, J. A. Johnson, T. J. Kaptchuk, and J. Yan et al. cited in the following notes. 2. M. Mercati, The Handbook of Chinese Massage: Tui Na Techniques to Awaken Body and Mind (Vermont: The Healing Art Press, 1997): 15. 3. Sanjiao, also referred to as "triple burners," may best be understood as the functional relationship between the lungs, spleen, kidneys, small intestine, and bladder— organs that regulate the water element of the body. 4. J. Yan, D. Wang, M. Fang, eds., Tuina (Beijing: China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2009): 15. 5. T. J. Kaptchuk, The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000): 130–1. 6. J. A. Johnson, Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy, Volume 1: Energetic Anatomy and Physiology (California: The International Institute of Medical Qigong, 2005): 167. Samuel Wong is a research massage therapist based in Northern Virginia. Trained in Western massage, Wong is also a practitioner of tuina and trained in China. His research focus is using massage to treat fibromyalgia. This article is a synthesis of his study of Chinese bodywork and Western massage. Reach him at vasolace@gmail.com.