Birth Control and Weight Loss
Birth control has been a hot topic when it comes to women’s health, hormone balance, and, specifically, weight management. Whether you love your form of birth control, are unsure which [...]
Soooooooooooo. Cupping. You guys go NUTS every time I post about it and I don’t think there’s been another topic you’ve been more curious about from me. Ever.
Which makes me wonder…….do I start doing MORE than just nutrition? Do I start dabbling in all things wellness? I mean, I’m constantly trying new things. Because I’m obsessed with health and beauty and trying to look and feel hot for as long as possible in my life.
I just want to give you guys easy, quick, efficient, and affordable ways to be your healthiest self and to feel good without having to do a lot of work. That’s really the goal with NA. No bullshit, just shit that works. Anyways.
Let me know what you think. I guess I’m already doing it because I’m about to give you the run down on my FAVORITE new thing that isn’t food.
So, when I went back home to Iowa and was visiting my best friend over the holidays, she was RAVING about how she and her husband had gone and done cupping with a professional. It literally cured her of a migraine, and her husband’s sciatic nerve problems started to improve significantly.
She is VERY resourceful though and doesn’t like to spend money when it’s unnecessary (one of the 39402384 reasons we’re best friends), and she discovered that you can buy your own cupping kit online and just do it at home. Yes. Please .
So I laid in her living room and I let her suction the hell out of my back and ass and OH. MY. GOD. My life changed forever.
I’m really not exaggerating (yes, I know, I do that a lot I’m a little over the top), and I’ll get to why in a second but in case you don’t know what cupping is already.
Cupping is an ancient Chinese therapy in which a local suction is created on the skin. Through suction, the skin is drawn into the cup by creating a vacuum, and blood is drawn to the surface of the skin, hence the bruise-like marks. It is believed by some to help treat pain, deep scar tissues in the muscles and connective tissue, muscle knots, and swelling. It is also believed to extract toxins.
The biggest question people have about cupping is…wtf is up with the marks it leaves?! I pulled some info from cuppingtherepy.org to explain it and I’m just going to copy and paste bc they can explain it way better than I can –
“When injuries occur deep in the muscle, bleeding often occurs causing deep bruises. There will also be edema in the area involving the coagulation of sticky proteins. The combining presence of these elements usually results in stagnation of circulation to the area – resulting in pain, dysfunction, and chronic conditions.
The vacuum formed by Cupping draws up the old non-circulating stagnant blood and sticky fluids from the area, bringing them up to the surface and away from the injury so that healthy free circulation can be restored to the affected area, thus creating space for oxygen, living cells and nutrients for faster recovery.
Where there is dead, static blood, lymph, cellular debris, pathogenic factors, and toxins present in the body, Cupping can leave marks which indicate that the stagnation or disease has been moved from the deeper tissue layers to the surface.”
None of this has been proven, this isn’t some scientific research shit, but I don’t care because let me tell you about my experience with cupping and why I’ll never stop doing it.
A few years ago I started having major low back pain. Like, major. I also suffered from weekly migraines. I started going to a chiropractor and they COMPLETELY alleviated my migraines and helped my back a ton. And while my migraines have never returned, the problem is, if I didn’t go weekly to get readjusted, my back pain would come back and really, really affect my everyday life.
So I figured well whatever, I’ll just go to the chiro for the rest of my life. And it’s what I did for the last 3 years.
Then I started cupping at home.
Not only did I noticed immediate relief from my back pain, but I realized if I just cup maybe once/week, I only need to go to the chiropractor about once every 3 weeks. That’s a BIG DEAL for someone who has had to go weekly for years.
Also – cupping is like natural Xanax. I do it at night before bed and I’m sooooo relaxed. It’s total me time. I just lay there with some trashy Netflix show on and feel, I don’t know, almost euphoric? It’s just the best.
Disclaimer: I’ve never been to a professional. I’d love to do it to see the difference but honestly, I just ordered my kit off Amazon and looked up the different spots to put it on my body (although I just go ALL over like a psycho) and went with it. Click here to get my exact kit.
So here’s the deal – this kit is THE SHIT and it’s like $35. I mean, you can’t beat that. And I’m telling you, it’s worth its weight in gold.
Also – I cup myself half the time. I can’t reach my middle or upper back of course but I’ll cup my butt and under my butt (by the way, it’s also really good in reducing cellulite so I CONSTANTLY cup my under butt) and my low back and my shoulders. And if anyone is around, I’ll have them do my middle and upper back (my friends come to expect me to make them cup me if Andy isn’t home).
I do it about once a week. Sometimes twice. Depends on how I feel.
The kit is super simple – you just get this little pump that you use to suck the air out of the cups. It’s a no-brainer.
Relaxation, which is hard for me to come by. Drug-free Xanex.
MASSIVE improvement in low back pain.
More mobility in my low back.
Immediate relief after a night of bartending on my feet (obsessed w doing it when I get home at 4 AM)
Looking really really cool with spots on my back.
As far as cupping pulling out toxins goes, I can’t relate, but read this article from Lauryn Evarts of The Skinny Confidential to hear her spider bite story. CRAZY.
So guys – check it out, try it out, and tell me what you think!! We could have a cupping party? I am so down.
PS – Andy has told me on multiple occasions that I’m “banned” from cupping bc I totally overdo it. It’s addicting, so watch out.*
*for real though, don’t leave them on for like, an hour. Or even a half hour. This is a 10-15 min thing and also don’t re-cup areas that are already bruised. Don’t be a moron about it.
Cupping during pregnancy is not recommended. Before starting any sort of alternative therapy, be sure to consult your doctor. Especially since there isn’t a whole lot of research on cupping.
