Cupping is the art of placing suction cups on Acupuncture points all
over the body. The cups can be made from bamboo, glass or plastic.
Mine are made of a very hard plasic with a suction valve on the back. A suction gun is placed against this and a small amount of suction is produced to pull the cup onto the skin. The cups are left on for
about 20 minutes and can sometimes be drawn along the skin if it is coated with
a light oil such as grapeseed. Cupping can be used for
treating many problems as an alternative to Acupuncture or with Acupuncture. I personally use it to
treat colds and flu, stress and painful joints. It could even be used on the
tummy for painful periods.
In the hands of a skilled
Practitioner the amount of suction produced by the cups can be varied to suit
the patient. For instance you would not want to use heavy cupping on an M.E.
Patient but, a stressed, healthy Patient would be quite suitable. Cupping produces the tell
tail marks that make it look as if you have been attacked by a giant Octopus!
This is normal with heavy cupping and may take a while to go but while the marks are visable the therapy is still progressing. This therapy has been a part of Chinese Medicine for thousands of
years but has also been part of many European folk medicines including
England where it died out about 100 years ago. It is still used in
Turkey and Poland. Cupping was often applied by the Mother or Grandmother to
clear disease in their family.
