Cupping is Chic
This week I’m back offering cupping at Sky Ting Yoga.
This letter explains where I learned how to cup, the technique, benefits, and more about TCM.
My favorite “pseudoscience”:
If you look up “cupping” on the internet, it will tell you quickly that the thousand year old ancient technique is a “pseudoscience.”
I first learned cupping at Rose Erin Vaugn’s training in Woodstock. Cupping is a tool that is widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, though the practice is not necessarily unique to Eastern Cultures. The healing practices of folk healers like the Sobadores of Indigenous communities in Latin America share strong similarities to their TCM counterparts, although not much literature exists on this topic.
Rose Erin Vaughan, MSAc, is an experienced acupuncturist, Myofascial Trigger Point therapist, Yoga teacher, specialist in anatomy, and founder of Body Aware and Science of Self Yoga Teacher Training. Heading to her Meridian Yoga Training, I knew basically nothing about what the training would involve other than that I had experienced her yoga for the first time the month before and that it was the hardest, most mentally and physically challenging asana (postural yoga) I’d ever experienced. It was the first time I had a consciously felt experience of the energy systems that circulated through my body. It felt like I was waking up for the first time. It was scary and fascinating. It was inspiring and I wanted more.
I’ve always been looking for answers to a false belief that something is inherently wrong with me. Traditional Chinese Medicine opened up a whole new lexicon of information to diagnose my various “issues.” My mom said this Substack is leaning negative, I promise, I have a really great life and I’m a happy person. OK, back to TCM. My mind immediately tried to ascribe an organ type with my personality. I’m Liverish, I thought.. I like sour foods, I love the spring, I can be overly ambitious, but I’m definitely not angry, right? Or I definitely have Kidney issues. I am constantly in fear of the future, I’m exhausted all the time. Oh no, I for sure have Stomach channel issues– a chronic overthinker, worry wort, craving sugar all the time. I know enough now to realize nothing is wrong with me, even if I don't always believe it.
From what I’ve learned so far, we are all of these things, all of the time, at different stages of our life, and different seasons of the year, and even different times of day. The organ channels are like the different voices in our head. The Liver is telling you, get up you lazy POS, you have shit to do. The Kidney channel is saying, no relax, take it easy, you’re so tired. The Stomach is re-living every conversation you’ve ever had, telling you how weird and awkward you are– or maybe that's just me. The heart and pericardium are searching for love and connection making excuses for people who really aren’t it. And then the lungs are telling you, it doesn’t even matter, we all die in the end anyways. Sound familiar?
When I learned we’d be cupping at Rose Erin’s training I was nervous. I’d never done it before. And at first, I was queasy looking at the skin being drawn up into those little cups. Now I think they look like udders. LOL, I’m not selling this very well. Throughout the training, I cupped and was cupped, and realized it actually felt kind of good. I investigated my marks and asked Rose Erin what they meant. “Do you have a lot of anger?” She asked, noticing my liver channel light up. “No, I don’t think so…” I said. “Hmmm,” She replied. The marks the cups leave behind can indicate different kinds of stagnation in the body. The cups both address and reveal information about the subtle mind, body and spirit. To get technical about what’s happening, the suction of the cup removes oxygen which draws the underlying tissue up into the cup. This helps stimulate and promote the free flow of QI (energy) and blood in the meridians (energy highways throughout the body).
I came home from training and bought the cutest cups I’d ever seen– they are heart shaped. Besides my boyfriend Ian, Krissy was the first person to ask me to cup her. In the back of Sky Ting Spa, I oiled her back up, and applied those cute little cups. She told me, “It really felt like something in my shoulder cleared– in a good way.” Benefits to cupping can include reduced pain and inflammation, decreased muscle tightness, and improved blood flow. A few days later everyone wanted them. Thank you, Krissy.
This Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll be cupping all day long at said Sky Ting Spa. 30 minutes of personalized cupping, acupressure, and moxa treatment tailored to the needs of your body. If you’re interested in booking, here is the link.