A Good Cupping.
"I completely manifested this injury," I explained. "I called into work saying I had hurt my back - which I had mildly tweaked - and it became aggressively worse throughout the day."
He nodded in agreement.
He got it though... He was an acupuncturist. A healer. A pusher of Eastern medicine. So I felt at ease explaining my intricate tale.
Bottom line: I had a lower back pain. It was in the lower part of my spine... And had been there for two weeks, preventing me from feeling secure about working out or even sleeping on my back - which seemed to make it worse.
He asked me the standard questions I am used to getting asked my acupuncturists... This is the fourth one I've seen in eight years. Before I knew it, I was laying on my stomach with my back exposed.... And he was inserting needles into the meridian points.
This was all "been there, done that" for me. Even though it had been about a year and a half since my last acupuncture session in Boston, it is always familiar to pop back into it.
Then he suggested something new for me.
"I'm going to do some cupping on you," he said.
Now that was something I had never tried before, but always wanted to.
"Cool," I said.
He left the needles in for about 10 minutes, then came back in and took the out. He massaged warm oil onto my back, and begin placing each little cup on my back and twisting them to create a suction.
"It's going to feel like tentacles on your back," he said. "My grandmother used to visit me each week as a child and do this to me starting from the age of seven."
My body's reaction to each cup's initial "sucking" was a tensing of the muscles. He put eight cups on me... And after a few seconds, my body got used to it. I was left alone again for a few minutes... And almost fell asleep. He came back in and removed them.
As I was getting dressed, I saw in the mirror all the circle marks on my back...
When I went outside the room to chat with him after, I inquired about how long the marks would last.
"About three days," he said.
I walked away feeling lighter in my back. There was an ease on the muscles, and my lower spine felt lifted.
"I'll definitely be doing that again."
He nodded in agreement.
He got it though... He was an acupuncturist. A healer. A pusher of Eastern medicine. So I felt at ease explaining my intricate tale.
Bottom line: I had a lower back pain. It was in the lower part of my spine... And had been there for two weeks, preventing me from feeling secure about working out or even sleeping on my back - which seemed to make it worse.
He asked me the standard questions I am used to getting asked my acupuncturists... This is the fourth one I've seen in eight years. Before I knew it, I was laying on my stomach with my back exposed.... And he was inserting needles into the meridian points.
This was all "been there, done that" for me. Even though it had been about a year and a half since my last acupuncture session in Boston, it is always familiar to pop back into it.
Then he suggested something new for me.
"I'm going to do some cupping on you," he said.
Now that was something I had never tried before, but always wanted to.
"Cool," I said.
He left the needles in for about 10 minutes, then came back in and took the out. He massaged warm oil onto my back, and begin placing each little cup on my back and twisting them to create a suction.
"It's going to feel like tentacles on your back," he said. "My grandmother used to visit me each week as a child and do this to me starting from the age of seven."
My body's reaction to each cup's initial "sucking" was a tensing of the muscles. He put eight cups on me... And after a few seconds, my body got used to it. I was left alone again for a few minutes... And almost fell asleep. He came back in and removed them.
As I was getting dressed, I saw in the mirror all the circle marks on my back...
When I went outside the room to chat with him after, I inquired about how long the marks would last.
"About three days," he said.
I walked away feeling lighter in my back. There was an ease on the muscles, and my lower spine felt lifted.
"I'll definitely be doing that again."
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