What is Cupping?

What is Cupping?

Most cultures around the world practice some form of cupping. Originally in China fire cupping was called the "horn method" because animal horns were used to dispel pus and clear infection. As the therapy of cupping evolved in clinical practice the materials used and methods practiced also evolved to include relieving colds and coughs, all kinds of pain conditions, abdominal disturbances and repiratory issues. Natural materials like bamboo were used to perform cupping as well as glass jars.



In modern times, cupping therapy mostly uses a glass jar attached to the surface of the skin to cause local congestion through negative pressure created from a vacuum. This vacumm can be created by a heat source or a manual pump. There are several ways to cup. Flash cupping is a quick contact to the skin and release using one or two cups at a time in a specific area. This encourages blood flow to the area and can confuse the muscle to assist it in relaxing. Stationary cupping uses specific acu points where cups are left for several minutes pulling old blood and stagnation out of an area. Sliding cupping feels wonderful and helps to lengthen the muscle tissue while spreading out the fasica.

Many people remember Gwenneth Paltro's cup marks a few years back. Cupping can cause a bruise or blood stasis mark. This happens when muscles have been chronically tight or if there has been a trauma to an area. When a muscle is tight or damaged blood can not efficiently move in and out of the area due to the contricted muscles. The cup pulls this old blood up leaving the cup mark or bruise and allows space for fresh oxygen and blood to take its place and correct the problem. Over time bruising will become less and less dark until there is no longer a mark on the skin. If there is not an issue in the area cupped no mark will appear when the cup is released. Although the stasis mark can look painful people do not report feeling the tenderness of a typical bruise. Redness can also appear from cupping usually due to heat or inflammation trapped in the body. As you can see in the picture to the right a stasis mark has formed on this patient's shoulder. There is also some redness in the form of lines from sliding cupping. Most patients at Whole Health Acupuncture request cupping after receiving it for the first time. Cupping is a wonderful accessory technique to aid the benefits of acupuncture or massage therapy.

Sarah Zender LAc

Neighborhood Acupuncture Place (NAP)

230 Florence St

Crystal Lake IL 60014

815.893.9825

www.clnap.com 

Best Cure For Sickness is Prevention

Best Cure For Sickness Is Prevention

The strategy of Chinese Medicine is to strengthen the body and build upon health rather then waiting for an illness to treat. Balance may seem like an illusive reality when change is our only constant. The intention of this medicine is to instead allow the body to flow with the changing rhythms within the body and around the external environment. Illness and imbalance are a part of life. Chinese Medicine supports the body to ride through an illness or imbalance instead of being disabled by it.

The Chinese use a symbol of balance called the yin yang. The yin yang is really the foundation of Chinese Medicine. The yin yang is two equal halves of white and black with smaller circles of the opposite color inside the half. You might notice that the halves are not cut right down the center, rather in a more fluid motion. This is meant to symbolize the fluidity of balance. Yin is often classified as being more cool, feminine, dark, and heavy whereas yang is seen as being more hot, masculine, bright, and light. The image of the yin yang is meant to explain the interconnectedness of life. Yin is not better then yang or vice versa. The two need each other to exist. The image of balance is yin at its greatest becomes yang, yang at its greatest turns back into yin.

In terms of your body what exactly does this mean? Well for starters balance isn't a state your body reaches and then the work is over. Maintaining your body's equilibrium means moving fluidly through life's transitions, flowing rather then fighting. For many people change is hard, fighting change is one way to knock the body's natural balance. The farther we get away from nature the harder it can be to access our bodies' innate wisdom to maintain balance. We know the only constant in life is, in fact, change. The day (yang) turns into night (yin). Summer (yang) turns into fall (yin). When we follow the rhythms of nature by adapting our habits to reflect the environment around us i.e. wearing less clothing in the summer, more clothing in the winter, eating richer foods in the winter and lighter foods in the summer, sleeping more in the winter and less in the summer our bodies know how to adapt without effort.

The famous classical text Nei Jing so eloquently states, "maintaining order rather than correcting disorder is the ultimate principle of wisdom. To cure disease after it has appeared is like digging a well when one already feels thirsty or forging weapons after the war has begun."

Sarah Zender LAc

Neighborhood Acupuncture Place (NAP)

230 Florence St

Crystal Lake IL 60014

815.893.9825

www.clnap.com 

Harmonize in the Fall

Harmonize in the Fall with Acupuncture

The season of autumn is now in full swing. In Chinese Medicine Autumn corresponds to the Lung, the most delicate of organs as well as the skin and nose. In the fall, dryness is what our bodies are most susceptible to invasion of. Autumn is also the time of harvest, reaping the benefits of the summer months when more energy is available to us so that we can prepare for the cold of winter. Grief is the emotion of the season as well. If you are in the process of transition in your life, lost a loved one or job and have not taken the time to acknowledge this life change or are hiding behind grief to move forward you can actually weaken the body's natural defenses.

It is believed that colds and flu attack the body from wind blowing on the neck. Think about the progression of a cold: stiff and achy neck and shoulders, sore throat, stuffy nose, headache, fever or chills. It is thought that when the body is weak and allows "wind" in to the body the wind can bring in other pathogens as well including cold, heat, dampness, and dryness.

Take a look at your own body. Is your skin or hair starting to get dry as we close the windows and turn the heat on? Have you caught a "cold" or flu recently and are unable to get away from the grip of a dry, hacking cough? Perhaps you are someone who "always" gets a cold in the fall, dry skin etc. This is not something that you must endure. It is possible that at one point your body was weakened from a cold or constitutional deficiency and a pathogen such as dryness is lurking in your body manifesting during its season of power. You can change your "always" to "used to" by visiting your acupuncturist for a seasonal tune-up session and herbal tonic to moisten and strengthen the body.

Some simple things you can do to protect your body are:

>>Wear a scarf or shirts/turtlenecks that do not expose the chest and neck, layers are a plus.

>>Avoid direct contact from an open window or fan when you are sleeping. This is when the body is most susceptible to wind invasion.

>>If the Fall is the time of year when you usually get sick now is the time to harmonize. Talk to your acupuncturist about what treatment plan is right for you.

>>Many herbal formulas are preventative ask your acupuncturist which formula is best for your body.

(picture from)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Maple_leaf_structure.jpg

Sarah Zender LAc

Neighborhood Acupuncture Place (NAP)

230 Florence St

Crystal Lake IL 60014

815.893.9825

www.clnap.com