Health and Healing With A Whole Lot of Heart

  • By Yoga Studio Calgary
  • •
  • 22 May, 2018
  • •
Now that you’ve met “the gals behind the door” we’d like to share with you, through this next series of articles, the many modalities & benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This month we are introducing you to Cupping Therapy!

Over the last few years, you’ve seen various athletes, celebrities and probably a person in the grocery line with those curious circular markings on their skin…."what is that” you might be asking yourself. That’s cupping! Despite what is seems, cupping is not new and trendy, it is actually one of the oldest natural medicine treatments throughout history.  A fun fact we like to share is that if you were a farmer having cupping done 2000 years ago in China, a healer would be performing cupping by sucking on a hollowed-out goat’s horn to create suction on your back! Fortunately, we have evolved with the tools of our trade and now a days we have bamboo, plastic and glass cups as well as the most recent (and our favorite) new development, silicone cups.

The most common Cupping Techniques

* Stationary Cupping:  where single or multiple cups are placed on painful muscle areas or acupuncture points and retained for approximately 5 - 15 minutes. This can help with respiratory issues, cold and fever.

* Moving Cupping:  The cups are gently moved along an area of the body while the suction is in effect. This produces that massage type feeling and is used for muscular pain, fascial release, lymphatic drainage and stress reduction.

A few of the main benefits of cupping

* Increased blood circulation, nutrition & oxygen to soft tissue:  which can aid in decreasing acute and chronic pain as well as help speed the recovery process of an injury.

* Remove lactic acid:  to help alleviate stiff muscles

* Boost your immune system:  by aiding in your body’s natural detoxification process and assisting with lymphatic drainage.

* Reduces and helps release stress:  some acupuncture points on the back are excellent at allowing your body to return to a parasympathetic state (the rest and relax response).

Some common indications for cupping

Cupping can help many conditions, here are just a few examples. Muscle tension & stiffness, arthritis, sports injuries, fibromyalgia, common cold, asthma, headaches, insomnia and stress. 

If you couldn’t tell already, we LOVE cupping!  If you are interested in more information or think you could benefit from cupping therapy, please contact us.  And YES, you can absolutely book just a cupping appointment, it feels great and is a very effective treatment option.

Kathy Traptow

(403) 710-5027

Lynette James

(403) 512-9884

www.ljwellness.com

This month we’d like to leave you with the wise words of an ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tsu.

“We are born soft and supple…

Plants are tender and pliable…

Whoever is soft and unyielding is a disciple of life…

The soft and supple will prevail…”

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