06 Jul CUPPING, AND WHY IT’S GOOD FOR YOU
Remember the time when Gwyneth Paltrow was photographed with red circles on her back? This was the time when cupping made it’s entrance in the wide world. Nobody had ever heard of it before. Or at least, not many. Since then Jennifer Aniston, Justin Bieber and even athletes like Michael Phelps have used cupping.
I had never tried it, but cupping is suppose to have many health benefits. Time to find out why ancient trend is so good for you!
What is Cupping
Even though it might not sound so familiar, cupping is an ancient method used by Egyptians and later found it’s way into Chinese Alternative Medicine and practises. Traditionally, glass cups are placed on your skin (mostly on your back and legs) and heated with fire to suck the air out of the cups, creating suction. This can be quite risky because of the heat, so most salons use other materials like silicone and suck the air out with a special device. By cupping, it’s believed that problems such as headache, muscle and join pain are relieved. Furthermore, it also suppose to stimulate your blood circulation and smoothes out your skin.
Find out where to find the BEST SPA’S IN AMSTERDAM!
The Art of Massage
Time to find out! I booked my first cupping treatment with Art of Massage, run by Cerise. After a holiday in Thailand, Cerise gained an interest in massages and wanted to explore more than just the traditional Thai massages we all know. She decided to explore the world of cupping. She tells me that because this is my first ever cupping treatment, she won’t go all the way. Cupping can be quite intense. She starts with a short massage to find out if I have any knots in my muscles. After that, she is ready to place the cups. My pain barrier is pretty high, but when she applied the first cup on my back..HELLO! You definitely feel it! Because the power of cupping is more intense than a deep tissue massage, it might feel a bit uncomfortable at first. After a few moments, the feeling does get less intense and you are able to breath it away. She applies the cups at the places where I felt most tense, and she also decides to include my legs.
And then starts to move them around, like giving a massage. HELLO 2.0!
She leaves the cups there for about 10 minutes or so, and then starts to move them around, like giving a massage. HELLO 2.0! My shoulder area is fine, but when she does this around my weak spot, the hips, I have a difficult time to breath at a normal pace. Something is seriously going on and I ask her to take a picture. It looks pretty weird and shocking at the same time, but wow, can you imagine what this does to your blood circulation! Especially if you’re walking around with an old injury or you just can’t seem to loosen up, this will do the trick!
Alien or Elke? 😉
My Verdict
By far the most pain I experienced during the Treatwell Series, but nothing I could not handle. My knots were gone, and my legs felt like the received an intense massage I think I could only benefit from. Looking at the pictures you might feel a bit cautious, but remember, cupping is very safe. In like manner, after the treatment I looked exactly like Gwyneth Paltrow! (Ok, minus the blond hair, long legs and flat tummy) Oh, and my circles disappeared after about 5 days. Cerise tells me that you can’t get a 100% result immediately and she advises people to come for at least 3 to 4 treatments. Her regular customers don’t really feel the pain anymore when they return for their 2nd or 3rd session, meaning that you’re body is actually un-tightening.
I’m curious to see who of you have tried cupping before and what was your experience? If you are curious yourself, you can book my treatment here.
Love,
Elke
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