Overview of Home Therapies
Home therapies are the hands-on, tool-based practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine that you can perform on yourself at home. Unlike acupressure, which uses only your fingers, these therapies employ simple tools — smooth stones, cups, warming herbs, and hot water — to produce deeper physical effects on the body's tissues, circulation, and energy channels. They have been practiced in Chinese homes for thousands of years, and today their benefits are increasingly confirmed by modern research.
The tools you need are inexpensive and easy to obtain. A gua sha stone (a smooth, flat tool made of jade, rose quartz, or buffalo horn) costs $5–$15 online. Cupping sets — plastic cups with a hand pump or glass cups with a flame — are available for $15–$30. Moxa sticks (compressed mugwort herb rolls) cost a few dollars each. Foot soak ingredients like dried ginger and mugwort can be found at Asian markets or ordered online. None of these require a prescription or professional license to buy.
Where to get them: Amazon, iHerb, and dedicated TCM supply stores carry all of these tools. Asian grocery stores often stock the dried herbs and moxa products. For gua sha tools, look for genuine stone rather than cheap plastic imitations, as the weight and smoothness of real stone make a real difference.
While these therapies are powerful and effective, they also carry more risk than simple acupressure because they involve heat, suction, and scraping of the skin. That is why this library includes dedicated safety guides for cupping and general precautions for every modality. Please read the safety section below before trying any home therapy for the first time.