Cupping always in trend!

Personally I was treated by my grandmother, “for cold or when catching a cold”, with cups that were applied on the skin with a thicker q-tip dipped in alcohol. That had a magic touch in it. Cupping involves placing glass, bamboo or plastic jars on the skin and creating a vacuum by suctioning out the air. Nowadays we use a pump in order to create vacuum inside the cup.

The skin and muscles are raised, or sucked, partway into the cup. The purpose of this is to enhance circulation, help relieve pain by acting as a stretch movement, and pull out the toxins that linger in your body's tissues. On the energetic level the cups are opening the skin pores and induce an outward movement for the lingering “heat or cold”. This way the pain, created by the inflammation (seen symbolically as “heat”) or by the “frozen muscle” aka “cold”, is reduced or eliminated.

Another way to think about cupping is that it has a complementary action as the massage. Rather than applying pressure to muscles, the suction uses vacuum pressure to pull skin, tissue and muscles upward. We often combine cupping with acupuncture into one treatment, but it could also be used alone.

You will feel a “tight 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.

Cupping may cause the skin to temporarily turn red, blue or purple, especially if there is an injury or energetic blockage under the area that was cupped. The skin discoloration can last anywhere from a day to a week, but is rarely painful. Once the marks have cleared, the procedure can be repeated until the condition or ailment is resolved.