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CuppingFor many of us, the new year is a traditional time to set goals and enjoy an increased openness to new experiences. This willingness presents an opportunity to explore the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Better health is on everyone's list and cupping is wonderful technique that can improve your health and provide numerous benefits.
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What is Cupping? |
One way to think about cupping is that it is the inverse of massage. Rather than applying pressure to muscles, the suction uses pressure to pull skin, tissue and muscles upward. We often combine cupping with lymphatic drainage or body work into one treatment, but it could also be used alone.
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History |
Cupping therapy might be trendy now, but it’s not new. It dates back to ancient Egyptians, Chinese, early Greeks, North American Indians and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550 B.C.
Though the technique has been modernized, the original philosophy remains the same. |
How it works |
Cupping involves placing plastic or silicone cups on the skin and creating a vacuum by suctioning out the air. The underlying tissue is raised partway into the cup. The purpose of cupping is to enhance circulation, help relieve pain, remove "heat" and pull out cellular byproducts that linger in your body's tissues.
You usually will feel a sensation in the area of the cup. Often, this sensation is relaxing and soothing. Depending on your comfort and your practitioner's assessment of the problem, cups may be moved around or left in place. They may remain on your body briefly or for longer amounts of time. Each treatment is unique to you on that particular day. One very common area to be cupped is the back, although cups work well on other areas too — particularly on fleshy sections of the body. Cupping can causes the skin to temporarily change color especially if there is an injury or energetic blockage under the area that was cupped. The skin discoloration can sometimes last a few days and is rarely painful as it’s not a bruise but rather old stagnant blood being pulled from the tissue to the surface to allow new oxygenated blood to be replaced. |
Why |
You ought to consider exploring the benefits of cupping if you seek relief from
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