Hey guys!! I know I wanted to have this up for you last week but my schedule was kind of all over the place…and my little brother is leaving for his freshman year of college today so it has been a wild week in the Dudley house. Anyway, last week Micheal Phelps hit the pool with a dozen circular “bruises” and the internet went insane, but cupping isn’t new. The earliest recorded cupping practice dates back to the fourth century by Chinese herbalist Ge Hong.
The three types of cupping are typically practiced (wet, dry, and air) after acupuncture or during//after a massage. Although the methods differ slightly, they share a common goal, create suction of the skin into the cup. Once the cups are applied, they sit on the skin for 3-10 minutes.
I had the suction cups applied and used during a relaxation massage. Kayla (my masseuse) first used her hands to massage my neck, shoulder and back. She felt for adhesions and tight spots before using the cups to massage those areas. It totally doesn’t hurt but the sensation is…different. A good different. As she moved the cup over my tighter spots there was definitely more pressure, but I welcomed it. After she was finished using the cups to massage, she applied the cups to my skin and left them their while she massages my legs. The cups where noticeable but not at all bothersome. I really liked it. After a few minutes she took off the cups and finished my massage. After what seemed like the shortest hour of my life, it was over.
Now it was time to see my marks. Before going into it I knew that the darker the marks meant then more toxins I had in my body. I had just came back from a vacation where I had donuts (three to be exact) and cinnamon rolls neither of which are in my normal clean routine so I expected the cupping marks to be dark. To my surprise, they were barely visible, only in good lighting and they were gone the very next day.
Comparatively, my little brother had cupping done a few weeks ago and his back and his marks were dark…they were super noticeable and there was a lot of them. You can totally see the difference in how our two lifestyles impacted the cupping. Not that Brendan is unhealthy, but he eats more processed food than I do. He will grab snacks or meals from Wawa when he is out with friends. He also loves to go out to eat whereas I prefer to cook all my meals. Those slight differences in our exposer to toxins made a big difference when it came to our marks.
According to a private practitioner of Acupuncture and Asian Medicine, Dr Lovie, “When our liver or kidneys aren’t able to process these insults to the system and excrete them correctly, the toxins are put into storage to be managed at a later time – and they’re usually housed in the muscle layer. The vacuum action of cupping rapidly facilitates the release of rigid soft tissues, stimulates the peripheral nervous system, loosens and lifts connective tissues, breaks up and drains stagnation. It also increases blood and lymph flow to skin, muscles, and connective tissues. It does all of these things far more rapidly and effectively than any other type of therapy, including acupuncture, massage, chiropractic adjustments, medications or even surgery.”
Ummmmm how amazing does that sound????????
To clear up any misconception, cupping marks are not bruises. They are causes by stagnant blood and toxins in the body. So who can benefit from cupping? Everyone. Toxins are unavoidable. They are in the air we breathe and the food we eat (no matter how hard you try to avoid them) If you have an autoimmune condition or an old injury cupping can do wonders for you! Athletes use cupping to help with healing and to increase their performance…I mean if the best olympian in the world is doing it, you know it has to be good right?
After cupping, it is super important to drink a ton of water and rest. You want to help your body flush out the toxins. Try to limit sun exposer to your cupping marks and you want to eat nutrient dense meals to help promote healing. The cupping marks can last anywhere from a few hours to three weeks so if you have a wedding or a photoshoot you might want to skip it that month.
This was only my first time cupping and I plan to keep it up especially to help manage stress heading into my final semester of nursing school. What are your favorite homeopathic health methods? I am dying to try more!! Leave me a comment and it might just be my next post.
xoxo,
K
