If you thought Swedish massage was deep then it is a shallow pond in comparison to the depths that Dr - Qiang Yi – “Paul Yi” – Chinese Tui Na master and acupuncturist reaches when he works on your body.

Dr Yi trained at the Chang Hang Hospital of Chong Qing in the early 1980’s and learned his techniques from a master healer who only taught 45 students in his lifetime. His teacher was a fourth generation, traditional Chinese medicine practitioner specialising in Tui Na (pronounced ‘twee naa’) massage.

Dr Yi is an embodiment of this continuing wisdom and this knowledge informs his massage techniques and understanding of the body’s energy levels, or Qi (pronounced ‘Chi”) in a unique way.

He works with three techniques in his massage, the first being a general massage which is the most standard method. This is good for maintaining a state of balance within the energetic system as well as being marvelous for soft tissue complaints and overall relaxation. The next technique he uses is more in keeping with that of a sports massage and it is effective in treating specific ailments like frozen shoulders, stiff and sore muscles from over-exercise or repetitive strain injury.

His real treatment secret, though, is Meridian Organ massage, a technique we are not readily familiar with in this country. He was one of the few taught by his master to administer this treatment and this form of massage takes a bit longer than usual to perfect.

Meridian Organ massage is very good for treating digestive disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome and can aid in helping to rebalance the hormonal system, making it an effective way of treating irregular periods and sexual dysfunction like low libido. He also says he can assist in treating physical causes of impotency.

His success with IBS is most notable; one of his clients who lived with this debilitating illness had no more symptoms after five weeks of being treated by Dr Yi. His hands also work magic on treating chronic sciatica; migraines; old injury pain and digestive ailments by activating the body’s innate healing system in order to shift conditions that have been stuck for months.

A simple diagnostic procedure precedes the treatment including a complete analysis of your energy system and the condition of your major organs by feeling your pulse and looking at your tongue.

Traditional Chinese Medicines relies on these seemingly strange diagnostic tools to give the practitioner an overview of your body’s wellbeing. To his trained eye the condition and colour of your lips tells him the condition of your spleen. The depth and rate of your pulse gives him clues to your overall energy levels and the shape and size of your tongue is also a key indicator in determining your state of health.

Once the diagnosis is complete a massage technique is chosen focusing on the relevant meridians needing care. My condition showed a weakness in the kidney meridian which explained my low levels of energy. He reactivated my kidney meridian giving my body enough motivators to re-energise itself. Each of us represents yin or yang characteristics and in the general massage he activates the acupressure points that will rebalance your system. It is not always pleasant as some of the points can be quite sensitive but the relief you experience after a treatment is worth so much more than a few moments of sensitivity.

As is true for all great healers a sixth sense is also part of the treatment process and he told me that when he works he listens to his hands that give him information about the person.

He is highly intuitive and specialised and to experience being so well-read is very reassuring and enables you to feel instantly at ease and to trust the whole process. Treatments for long standing ailments are better done on a regular basis as it will take a few sessions to totally shift. He is skilled and compassionate and reads your body so well, being the master that he is of the universal language of energy and health.

However you may feel after your treatment, be it great, drained, ill or reborn it is only the first feeling to emerge before you reach the transcended state of wellness that happens when you are re-connected to your energy frequencies. All your switches are on, your energy has been shifted, your body has that ‘light bulb’ moment which is its memory that health is its natural state.

Cape Town Medi Spa, 99 Kloof Street, Cape Town. Call 021 422 5140, email info@medispa.co.za or visit www.float.co.za