Find out more about how Mariana became involved with Tuina…

Touch Tuina co-founder Mariana Arando has had a whirlwind year. As we approach the end of 2025, it’s common to reflect upon how our experiences have shaped us. Paying homage to her roots, in this piece, we delve deeper into Mariana’s Tuina journey.

The Moment She Realised

For Mariana, Tuina was never just a job. She still remembers the exact moment she realised it was her calling.

It was her first month treating clients. She was working on a patient’s abdomen when they suddenly burst into tears – not from pain, but from a release they hadn’t felt in years. They hugged her afterwards and thanked her for unlocking those emotions. That’s when she realised why she had chosen this for work.

‘This was far more than just a pay check at the end of the day. That’s when I realised, I’m really changing somebody’s life here – and for the better.’

A Change in Herself

Mariana’s Tuina journey helping her patients has, of course, impacted her own life. The act of treating people and trying to figure out what they have going on has put her in the habit of doing the same for herself.

‘I’m a bit more self-aware – hopefully people can agree with that! I’m a bit more aware of my surroundings and how people are. I can now, after putting my hands on many, many people, see physical postural things and how they translate emotionally.’

Training in China

Both Errol and Mariana have trained in China. They’ve also taken Tuina students on bi-annual trips to the homeland, so that they could experience Tuina from its roots.

When Mariana went to China for the first time, she arrived eager to impress. She had already trained in the UK and wanted to show the doctors what she could do. When she arrived, however, she was greatly humbled.

For six weeks, she was told to practise just one hand technique, all day every day. Subsequently, her fingers were left bruised and bleeding from friction. Although not a pretty picture, Mariana thanks the doctors for pushing her – and for her now-stronger and ambidextrous hands.

Despite the intense drilling, she returned the following year. The doctors, surprised she’d come back for more, finally welcomed her as a serious student.

‘They were quite surprised ’cause I think they thought they’d got rid of me. No, I was determined. You tell me I can’t do something, I will push until I can do it. I did spend every night that trip on a pillow, practicing all my techniques.’

Why Are Trips to China So Important?

The regular trips to China for training were imperative to Mariana’s Tuina journey. The intense training, that she described as a kind of a dojo style, was just what she needed to realise how hard she needed to train. This, she feels, can be absent from today’s training.

‘What’s missing today is that repetitiveness and being humbled to meditate on a technique whilst you are treating…we try to bring that back to our students here.’

Despite her years of learning about, mastering and teaching her practice, she knows that the journey never ends. ‘Never have your cup too full. There’s always something to learn.’

Mariana wouldn’t be where she is today without learning from the people of the land where Tuina originated, alongside influences from other Asian countries, such as Thailand and India. The trips to China not only give insight into the practice that’s been around for thousands of years, but students get to see Tuina being practiced as a standard treatment in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) hospitals. ‘They can see how Tuina and acupuncture is done in a hospital setting…and immerse themselves with what the doctors have to offer.’

More Than Massage, More Than Medicine

Tuina, she explains, is one of the foundational pillars of health, alongside diet, movement, and emotional balance. She believes we should always incorporate some sort of physical manipulation to our bodies to help with posture and circulation.

In our modern society – and with the heavier use of technology in our daily lives – the act of physical touch and human interaction can become lost on some. The physical act of touch, Mariana feels, also plays a huge role in contributing to the effectiveness of such treatments.

‘We need a more hands-on approach to get back to closeness with people – and closeness with nature.’

Interestingly, Tuina was historically used for paediatrics. When it can help the very young and the very old, it means it can help almost anyone in between. For Mariana, Tuina isn’t an “alternative” medicine.

‘For me, I think it is the therapy, and maybe western medicine is more the alternative therapy, because hands are your first tool to treat somebody…It’s true nature’s medicine, and we can’t move away from nature because we are part of it.’

TCM In the UK Today

Mariana believes we’re on the brink of a return to nature, touch, and true human connection. Tuina, she says, is exactly the medicine the modern world needs. However, that’s not everyone’s view. Mariana has observed one big misconception about TCM – that is, ‘it’s a bit woo-woo.’

She feels that, because the meridian lines and energy channels that worked within TCM are not physically visible, they go massively overlooked. Despite there being a much longer way to go in further proving the existence and effect of these channels, Mariana stands by their roots.

‘How did these Asian cultures know what was going on in the body? It’s only being proved today and a lot of it’s still not proven, yet we do know it works.’

Spreading The Word

Mariana’s Tuina journey is nowhere near its end, and she’s done plenty for the practice so far.

Herself and co-founder Errol were invited to China, as a thank you for spreading the knowledge of TCM outside of the homeland. Only a few foreign people were invited to the event, and to give a lecture – a highly honourable invitation indeed. Errol did a lecture on scoliosis, highlighting how to treat such a problem without the use of things like traction beds and other mechanical tools. This was a huge achievement for them both, and for the Touch Tuina clinic itself. It’s a reminder of why they do what they do.

If you’d like to book an appointment to experience the benefits of a Tuina treatment for yourself, just get in touch!