acupuncture/herbal medicine/shiatsu
ABOUT CUPPING + GUA SHA
CUPPING
Cupping is a form of therapy using glass (or silicone) cups placed on your skin to create suction. Some cups use a manual pump, while others use fire to remove oxygen from the cup before it’s placed on the skin. Cupping releases tension, relieves pain, and detoxifies the body by drawing metabolic waste products in the blood to the surface for release. Cup marks are not bruises, but the color and intensity vary depending upon the person and the amount of "blood stagnation" present. These marks can therefore be diagnostic and reflect a person's internal conditions. Cups can be stationary or moving. Cupping pulls tissue into the cups, and usually leaves round reddish-purple marks on the area of application that last several days to over a week. Cupping can help with chronic pain, range of motion, inflammation, blood flow, immunity, and can cleanse toxins from the blood. Research has found it to be effective for chronic neck and shoulder pain, chronic back pain, chronic neck pain, and hip and knee range of motion. Cupping can upregulate vascular and lymphatic endothelial markers that promote new lymph vessel formation. I use glass fire cups of various sizes, and also have pump cups available.
GUA SHA
Gua sha is a form of therapy often used in traditional East Asian medicine that involves using a tool to apply pressure and scrape the skin to produce a therapeutic reddish-purple “sha” on the skin. Gua sha can be used to relieve muscle pain and tension, break up adhesions and scar tissue, reduce inflammation, benefit the immune system, and protect against oxidative stress via upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) gene expression. Gua sha has also been found effective for relieving perimenopausal symptoms and increasing hormone levels associated with menstrual cycles. It is traditionally popular for respiratory infections, musculoskeletal pain, headaches, fevers, and digestive disorders. I use a hammered copper gua sha tool crafted by Mark at AcuArtistry and your choice of organic oil for gua sha and have multiple different teishin styles for non-penetrating on-the-skin acupressure, also crafted by him.
If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music?
Would you hold it near as it were your own?
-Grateful Dead