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Health and Beauty: The benefits of cupping
If you thought glass cups were just for drinking from, think again. For centuries they have been used for medicinal purposes, and now the ancient technique has arrived in Calderdale.
WHEN Gwyneth Paltrow was pictured in national newspapers recently with round circles on her back, speculation was rife as to what could have caused it.
It turns out that the American actress is is fan of Cupping Therapy, a technique that has been around for thousands of year but is making a big comeback in Britain, Europe and the United States.
The technique has been adapted for use from a form of traditional Chinese medicine. It uses glass cups applied to the skin to help relieve pain, flush out toxins, soften stiff muscles and tissues and restore healthy blood flow to the body. It is often used for relieving cold, cough and asthmatic symptoms and can aid aching shoulders and backs.
Using heat, a vacuum is created inside of each glass cup. These cups are then placed on various acupuncture points on the body and either left still or moved around the skin in a massage-like technique.
After a session you will notice red marks in the form of circles on your skin (they take about a week to disappear) . You also feel deeply relaxed and the areas treated much more flexible and light.
I tried out cupping at Orient Medicine, the new Chinese herbal shop in Southgate, Halifax. It is owned by Ting Ting Wu from Guan Dong, South China. Ting Ting studied massage, cupping and acupuncture in China for five years, before moving to England nine years ago to study English.
She met her husband, Andrew Feather, at Bradford University and the couple now live in Bradshaw, Halifax. Andrew is a financial consultant and has helped his wife set up two shops in Bradford and Halifax.
Ting Ting works at the Halifax shop full-time with several Chinese doctors. They prescibe out herbal remedies for everything from skin problems to stress, depression, the menopause and weight loss.
She works upstairs and offers a neck and shoulder massage at 8 to a full body massage at 30. Acupuncture and cupping are often incorporated into a treatment, depending on what the client is being treated for.
Ting Ting does a full consultation with a client and gets to know a bit about their lifestyle and diet before each treatment.
She says the Chinese treat the whole body rather than a specific complaint, and she can tell a lot about a person's general well being simply by taking their pulse, looking at their tongue and feeling their bodies.
"I only opened last month but I've been really busy with both massage and acupuncture treatments.
"I think the vast majority of people know about both of these but probably don't know much about cupping," says Ting Ting.
She used a combination of cupping and acupuncture on me. Thin steel needles were inserted into energy points on my body to improve my life force and boost my immune system. Cups were placed on my back to help with stubborn knots and areas of rigid tissue to draw inflammation out.
Have to say when the cups were moved it was very painful and I was shocked when I first saw the red bruises on my back, but it wouldn't put me off trying the technique again.
Ting Ting says so far most clients have had treatments for back, shoulder and neck pain menopausal symptoms and hormone imbalance. Cups were placed on my back to help with stubborn knots and areas of rigid tissue to draw inflammation out.
Have to say when the cups were moved it was very painful and I was shocked when I first saw the red bruises on my back, but it wouldn’t put me off trying the technique again.
Ting Ting says so far most clients have had treatments for back, shoulder and neck pain menopausal symptoms and hormone imbalance.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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