Cupping has been an ancient form of bodywork therapy that was used to help stimulate blood flow, relieve pain and provide many other health-promoting effects.
Historical records document cupping use in Chinese medicine over 3,000 years ago. Other records indicate that the ancient Egyptians and Greeks practiced it as well – including the father of medicine, Hippocrates. Cupping is practiced as part of traditional Oriental (Chinese, Korean, and Japanese) and Persian medicine. The practice dates back to hundreds of years ago but started to grow in popularity during the 1950s and continues to heal to this day.
Understanding Cupping
Cupping therapy entails placing a plastic cup on the skin and pumping air out of the space inside the cup. When the practice first started to emerge, bamboo and glass jars were the preferred tool to use. Suction is created that breaks the small blood vessels near the surface and can result in red or purple marks where the cups were. This technique is done with the intention of breaking up the stagnation that may be caused as a result of congested blood in a specific area.
Serasana specializes in dry cupping that’s static or dynamic, combining myofascial release and traditional Chinese Medicine techniques.
Benefits Of Cupping
While cupping is used in TCM for overall health, conventional physiotherapists use it too. Modern biomedical texts list cupping as a pain-relief and myofascial release tool. Below are just a few of the benefits that you can experience with cupping therapy.
1. Helps Reduce Pain
Like Massage therapy, blood flow is led into certain areas of the muscles that flush out inflammation and release trigger points. Cupping therapy can also target more pain-prone areas of the body with less fat tissues, such as the back and shoulders. It’s a great natural way to reduce muscle pain that one experiences and is much healthier as compared to regular pain medications that people have to take on a regular basis.
2. Can Help With Respiratory Issues
One of the lesser known benefits of cupping is the interaction that it has with the immune system. Cupping helps to stimulate the immune system to focus on the lungs and upper respiratory tract. It will also help break up congestion and phlegm in your lungs from allergies, colds and more – making your body stronger and more able to fight off infections.
3. Helps Improve Skin
Cupping has a range of benefits that can contribute to better-looking skin. By removing the body’s blockages and congestion, your body has a chance to heal itself and energize the skin tissues. Fresh nutrients and oxygen work with your lymphatic system to detoxify and remove pathogens that cause skin conditions. It can help reduce inflammation that one experiences, and can help reduce the appearance of acne, psoriasis and eczema.
4. Has Anti-Aging Benefits
While cupping goes a long way into making you feel better, it can also do wonders for your skin and the process of aging that it experiences. Cupping has natural anti-aging benefits that can improve the texture of your skin, and can combat the signs of aging. Using essential oils and lotions after your cupping session also improves the ability of your skin to absorb all the nutrients from the products you are using, giving you better-looking skin overall.
5. Energizes Your Body
While cupping has a range of health benefits it also works wonders for improving your energy levels in your body. The process of cupping entails eliminating the negative energy from the body, and the process itself can make you feel more energized. If you are someone who experiences fatigue on a regular basis, or if you simply want a “perk me up”, cupping is something that you should try out.