Cupping

According to Anita Shannon-Krizek, author of Medical Applications for Vacuum Therapies in Bodywork, and creator of MEDICUPPING:  “Our bodies are a “walking history” of our lives…Every injury, illness, surgery and even the toxic substances that the body has been exposed to from conception forward may still be present in the tissues.  The body is brilliant in its efforts to protect itself from the effects of personal history, yet the capacity is limited.  The body has to store that which it cannot process and eliminate.  The result is an accumulation of materials such as old medications, inflammatory agents, cellular wastes and acids in stagnant lymph fluid—ALL STORED IN FAT CELLS, your body’s way of protecting vital organs.  

That said, each body reacts uniquely to this accumulation of debris and stagnation, and we see examples of degeneration occurring at younger ages more than ever before.  Ordinarily healthy people become fatigued and sluggish due to the cumulative effects of their lifestyle and eventually move into the “diseased” state.  This may help to explain the high level of auto-immune disorders that exist.  

Think about the elements of living today such as intake of medications, acidic diets, and a high-stress/no-rest pace—all producing a constant state of inflammation.  This literally “cooks” the water right out of the body tissues.  How many people actually absorb the water that they drink?  Water is eliminated from the lymph as well, leaving it thick and unable to flow.  This internal heat also fuses the soft tissue, closing the space between layers where the lymph should move freely.

We are water-based beings.  Since cells eliminate their wastes into the interstitial fluid, which becomes part of the lymph, then what happens when this system becomes blocked?  Would not the cell and tissue functions become sluggish, thus affecting the larger organism?  What if we clear the drainage system and create the space for lymph to flow again?  This is accomplished by the separation of layers of tissue and the ability to carry stagnation via the suction of the cup.  This is only enhanced by the increased blood flow that brings oxygen and nutrition to the cells and tissues, boosting all levels of metabolism.  What a significant change this is for a multitude of people!

Therapists who have explored the use of vacuum therapies in bodywork have found that the addition of suction and lifting to other massage techniques has produced radical changes for clients and for themselves.  One of the most amazing aspects of this technique is the “separation” that the vacuum produces in tissue layers.  This enables water absorption and renewed blood flow to undernourished and dehydrated tissue and the elimination of old waste and congestion.  It has become evident that separation and drainage of fused, congested soft tissue produces an increase in tissue and systemic function and is a great catalyst for change in health.  Think about the impact on women going through menopause or other hormonal changes:  A chance to clear the body of the old congestion and give it the ability to eliminate new debris and inflammation as it occurs.  How about weight loss enhanced by natural and lasting metabolic waste (stored in adipose tissue (FAT CELL) stimulation?  Consider the concept of clearing old chemical triggers in stagnant tissue that are affecting cellular receptor sites; could this have an effect on addictions and abnormal auto-immune responses?