YINA : Review of Body Recovery Balm and Gua Sha Stone

Bangalore weather is back to being moody with rains and dip in temperature. This makes me want to go back to my cooler weather essentials, be it sipping a cinnamon honey tea by the window side and watch the rain go by or get into my cosy PJs and read a book. These cosy vibes make me lean a bit more towards my selfcare rituals including acupressure and a body gua sha.

Gua Sha as I read, is a chinese folk therapy, a technique which is one of the tool amidst many others in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) tool kit. As rooted in the traditional Chinese medicine, qi or chi is energy that flows through one’s body. It is believed that a person’s qi must be balanced and flowing freely for a good health and wellbeing.

I have been drawn to gua sha since more than a year now. This technique aims to move this energy, known as qi or chi, around the body to relieve aches and stiffness.. The treatment involves using a tool to rub the skin in long strokes, applying just the right amount of pressure – neither too light, nor too strong. 

We, as a generation are always stressed be it physical work or mental pressure. This hampers the flow of energy and causes blockages triggering pain or tension in the muscles and joints. And, I must admit I experience this often around my neck, chest and shoulder area. So when Beauty Heroes announced their January Discovery for a great body reset routine featuring Yina,  I couldn’t resist. It featured two of the Yina products –Recovery Body treatment balm and the Gua Sha Bian Stone.

Yina is the brainchild of Angela Chau Gray, a plant biologist and Traditional Chinese Medicine nutritionist, and Ervina Wu, a registered TCM dermatologist with a PhD in autoimmunology from Zhejiang Chinese Medical University. After meeting in their master’s program, they decided to join forces to create a holistic skincare company rooted in the multi-disciplinary practice of TCM, influenced by botany, biology, astronomy, meteorology, phenology and philosophy. The result is a modern alchemy of traditional Chinese wisdom and green technology uniquely developed to bring the skin back into balance with the rhythms of nature.

Yina – The Body recovery treatment Balm

This sunshiny balm is shea and safflower oil based and formulated with pure and potent medicinal herbs and bio-adaptive botanicals to stimulate Qi, boost immunity and energize skin metabolism for full body renewal. The noticeable star ingredients include Buddha’s citrus, Horsetail, Chinese herb, bai zhu. The have a long known history in therapeutic sciences.

Buddha’s citrus contains a number of therapeutic chemical compounds like coumarin, diosmin and limonin. It has anti-inflammatory properties helps in improving lymphatic flow and skin resilience.People of many cultures have used this fruit for several thousand years for alleviating pain. 

Horsetail , which is another star ingredient here has the highest amount of silica in the plant kingdom, a powerful healing herb which was used as far back as ancient China and Europe for inflammation, cooling fevers, for fluid retention, to heal skin conditions and to strengthen hair and nails. It also contains calcium, iron, manganese and antioxidants. Besides being an antioxidant, horsetail is also an antimicrobial, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory herb.

The Chinese herb, bai zhu, has been used for millennia to move stagnant Qi and flush the system of toxic buildup, resulting in the appearance of brighter skin and even tone. Siler root, another ancient herb, stimulates microcirculation, while horsetail helps repair skin laxity.

My personal experience with this has been everything nice. I not only enjoyed the scent and texture of this balm, but also have benefitted with this duo. The scent has warm notes of cinnamon and ginger combined with budhha citrus and is quite uplifting in a therapeutic way. The balm has a nice yellow hue with a thick ( not too thick, its just right) and grainy texture that melts when in contact with body heat. It offers a wonderful slip and aids long stroke massages. Not only does this spread easily, but it also gets absorbed after few good deep strokes. Speaking of which, I am not a fan of body butters or oils that leave a tacky greasy residue and I must admit it does leave a slight residue, not in a tacky way but a nourishing thin layer-  something that soaks over time and hence I prefer to use to at night. Definitely not for summers, but will make for a winter delight.

A consistent observation or highlight for me is that I sleep better every time I use it. The scent is addictive for me. And, when I have the luxury of time, I use the Bian stone (my hero) with it to release any muscle stiffness in my lower body, especially thighs and calf muscles. And, I do feel when the body recovery treatment balm is used with Yina’s Gua Sha Bian stone it does feel like a whole different level of restorative ritual that helps in bringing me peace and makes me feel light.

If you are someone who likes to indulge in selfcare and has a thing for natural scents, may be this will be a game changer for you. I speak from a personal experience and totally recommend it for cooler weather. You can shop the Body recovery treatment balm here.

Gua Sha Bian Stone

As someone who has always been a dancer most of her life , muscles stiffness around my calf is a nagging history for me and, earlier my best friend or mother would give me a kneading massage or long strokes to help me get some relief. I do get similar stiffness now as well due to my sedentary job lifestyle but I don’t have my mom around every time for the kneading strokes. This is where and why the Bian stone is a Hero for me.

A bit of history behind the Bian stone.

Bian stones were formed about 65 million years ago when a meteorite collided with Earth in Shandong, China. As per history, the Yellow Emperor’s Medical Book (305-205 BC) talks very high about the Bian Stone. It was considered the most important part of TCM, more important than acupuncture, cupping, moxibustion or massage. Overtime, the Bian Stone faded into history and was forgotten as it was replaced with other more accessible, however inferior stones. The original Bian Stone is said has some amazing properties like:

1. It contains over 40 minerals and trace elements

2. It can create Far Infra-Red (FIR) waves or energy

3. It can create ultrasound pulses in the therapeutic ultrasound range

4. It can produce negative ions, best known to help with antioxidation (anti- aging) in human cells and DNA

5 . It has super smooth edges which means easy and effective use.

Coming to YINA’s Bian stone, its beautifully shaped with a ripple, point, a small curvaceous notch and a smooth curve. These features helps adapt on various body parts. For me, I love the ripple side. It imitates the shape and massage as that of the hand knuckles. I can easily use the ripple side on my calf and thigh muscles like a much relieving kneading massage. I cannot express in words how happy I am with this, it’s by far my favourite discovery. Then, there are also days when I just pick the Bian stone while watching my favourite TV show or reading a book and do a head acupressure massage or use it on the acupressure points on the sole of my feet. Not to miss my stiff shoulders and back of the neck have benefitted from this too. If you would like to know more on how to, Yina has some informative short videos on this on their Instagram page.

To sum up this has been my favourite discovery from Beauty Heroes. They bring out some of the best discoveries every month. you can subscribe to their discoveries here or  You can shop the Bian stone here.

Few Gua Sha pointers : Make sure your skin is well lubricated with an oil or balm of your choice that has some cushion and slip for effective strokes. If the skin is dry, it can cause more harm than benefit. The gua sha stone should always be a t 35- 45-degree angle and the strokes should be one way. Begin to scrape in one direction – down, away from the head, or sideways, away from the spine. Gua sha is contraindicated over any area that has been recently traumatized, fractured, contused, broken, scratched or burned. Also anyone who has had any surgery recently or is on blood thinning medications or has blood clotting disorders should avoid it.

Books and Tutorials for more information and instructions on how to apply gua sha:

– Gua sha: A Traditional Technique for Modern Practice by Arya Nielsen 

-Gua Sha Scraping Massage Techniques: A Natural Way of Prevention and Treatment Through Traditional Chinese Medicine by Wu Zhongchao

-The BIG “Little” Gua Sha Book: Learning (and Loving) the Ancient Healing Art of Gua Sha by Leta Herman, Jaye McElroy

-Gua sha: Step-by Step, a Teaching Video by Arya Nielsen

Disclaimer : Please note, I am not a therapist. This blog states my personal experience. It’s not intended to treat or cure any ailments. Please consult your healthcare provider if you are looking at treating any specific health condition or indulging in this practice.