When mentioning cupping, many people would think it is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. But did you know that before modern Western medicine, cupping was part of the medical treatments in America and American hospitals as well?!
Recently, I had a chance to visit the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, PA and took a few pictures of cups and herbs that was used during the American Civil War*.
I heard many negative comments on cupping either online or directly from Americans. They warned me about the horrible effect it did on the bodies. But after many American celebrities, including Michael Phelps and Kim Kardashian use it, cupping is now more acceptable to the American public.
Cupping: An Introduction
Cupping is one of the oldest methods of traditional Chinese medicine that have lasted over four to eight thousand years. Originally, practitioners would use hollowed-out animal horns for cups and place them over particular points or meridians. Today, most Traditional Chinese doctors and the public use cups made of plastic. These cups are much safer and durable than those made from class, bamboo, and pottery cups, because plastic cups:
- do not break as easily as glass and pottery.
- do not deteriorate like bamboo.
- allow us to see the effects on the skin.
How does cupping work? What does it treat?
Cups are placed on the skin with the air in the cups being sucked out and a vacuum being created so the cups are anchored on the skin. The cupping set typically has a pump to suck the air out. Burning a substance inside the cup also removes all the oxygen, which creates a vacuum.
The cup is placed over a specific area on the skin and pulls the skin upward on the inside of the glass. Drawing up the skin opens the skin’s pores, which helps to stimulate the flow of blood, balance and realign the flow of life energy, break up obstructions, and create an avenue for toxins to be drawn out of the body.
Depending on the condition being treated, the cups will be left in place from 5 to 30 minutes. Several cups may be placed on the body at the same time. You can also apply small amounts of oils to the skin just before the cupping procedure and move the cups up and down particular meridians on the skin to cure related meridian and its organ problems.
Cupping can be used to treat all kinds of health problems unless the problems are deep inside the body and cannot be reached by cupping. Then the last resort, herbal tea, is used for intake for deeply inside problems.
Is cupping safe? Does it hurt?
The cupping is considered very safe. If you have no health issues, there is no bodily reaction but a little pink color on the skin that will disappear in minutes. The swelling, bruising, and reddish or even purplish or black colors on the skin means the body has problems even cancers.
But there are some conditions under which cupping should not be performed such as inflamed skin; high fever or convulsions; and bleeding easily. Pregnant women should not have cupping on their stomach or lower back. If the cups are being moved, they should not cross bony areas, such as the ridges of the spine or the shoulder blades.
Cupping is very popular in the Chinese public. I got three sets of cups as a gift from my sister and used cupping, as well as life energy diet, life energy exercise, moxibustion, massage and tapping, to search and cure my illnesses while I was on my journey to fix my deteriorating health.
Cupping is used all over the world, including ancient Greece, Egypt, and Arabic countries, besides China and the US.
If you plan to use cupping, check online on the details of how to use it or ask Chinese friends to show you how. It is simple and easy to learn.