Cupping is wonderful technique that can improve your health and provide numerous benefits. Cupping is like an inverse massage. Rather than applying pressure to muscles, the suction uses pressure to pull skin, tissue and muscles upward.
Cupping was developed thousands of years ago and though the techniques have modernized, the original philosophy remains the same.
It involves placing glass, bamboo or plastic jars on the skin and creating a vacuum by suctioning out the air. The underlying tissue is raised, or sucked, partway into the cup. The purpose of cupping is to enhance circulation, help relieve pain and pull out toxins that linger in your body’s tissues.
You usually will feel a tight sensation in the area of the cup. Often, this sensation is relaxing and soothing. 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, particularly on fleshy sections of the body.
Cupping causes 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 few days to a couple of weeks, but is rarely painful. Once the marks have cleared, the procedure can be repeated until the condition or ailment is resolved. Cupping can also help in releasing scar tissue. There are a number of methods of cupping, the two most common are “fixed cupping” and “moving cupping”.
Fixed Cupping
The cups are placed on a selected area of your body and then left in place without being moved.
Moving Cupping
As the name implies, in this method your practitioner applies massage oil or cream on your skin in selected places, puts the cups over the areas to be treated and then slides them around that region of the body — most commonly the back. The cups slide easily because the cream has lubricated your body.
Consider exploring the benefits of cupping if you seek relief from stress, pain, allergies, fatigue, back pain, anxiety, scar tissue or muscle aches.
Facial Cupping
The cups used on the face have very light suction. Massaging in an upward movement lifts and brings more circulation to the face, which brightens and gives your skin a youthful glow while relieving puffiness. Your skin becomes more taunt with repeated treatments.