Taiwanese dao liao centers are reintroducing knife massage, an ancient practice used to relieve pain and remove negative energy from the body. Steel cleavers are used to reach deeper pressure points, with the transfer of energy and chi being the focus.
The practice of massage as a means of healing wounds, relieving pain and reducing stress has been around for millennia and has taken many forms – from Swedish massage to Japanese Shiatsu to Ayurvedic touch therapy in India. From 770 BC to 476 BC in China, knife massage was used by Buddhist monks when traditional medicine failed. And today Taiwan is seeing a resurgence, as more than 180 dao liao centers have reintroduced the use of heavy, dull cleavers in massage to “remove negative energy” from the body.
Relax, it’s just a knife:
Steel cleavers resemble those typically found in kitchens, except they have a beveled edge. It is thought that the blade can reach deeper than the fingers alone.
Using two knives, therapists focus on pressure points throughout the body, using a series of firm, cutting movements.
“It’s not about how much you were hit,” says a knife masseur. “It’s also about the transfer of energy, the transfer of chi.”
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