These therapies are a graduated approach to designing a truly holistic treatment plan. When I form a treatment plan, I always start with the least invasive techniques first. As you can see from the above list, the most invasive treatment is last on the list. I always look at the lifestyle of the person first i.e diet, exercise and relaxation. These, then, form what are called the self applied health regulation therapies, that is, the patient can do these at home or at work for free.
Massage is the first hands-on therapy that is on the list.
Massage can be broken down into two parts. The first is massage that is done by a qualified practionier and the other can be performed by the patient on themselves. We will look at the former one here. It is called internal training because of the lengthy internal training it requires to be able to master one's own Qi to the point of being therapeutically effective. This type of training can be used for oneself or another person in a helpful way and also can be directed in a harmful way to another person such as in the Dim Mak practice.