My first time receiving cupping was L I F E - C H A N G I N G! I felt a lot of tension release during the treatment and I was surprised to experience such a dramatic reduction in back pain with improved mobility and range of motion. I’ve played around with cups before but I wanted to better understand how they work, what makes them so effective in treating muscle pain and tension and how to better use them to incorporate them in my massages. Last week I completed a 16 hour myofascial cupping training at McKinnon Body Therapy Center! Here’s what I’ve learned about how it works, what the benefits are and what to expect during a session with me.

What is it and how does it work?

Cupping therapy, also known as myofascial cupping or simply cupping, is an ancient healing practice that dates back thousands of years, with roots in Chinese, Egyptian and Middle Eastern cultures. It involves placing cups on the skin to create suction, which is believed to promote healing and relieve pain.

There are two ways to use cups. Static cupping involves placing cups on specific points of the body and leaving them in place for a set period, typically a few minutes at a time. Slide cupping uses lighter pressure and involves applying oil to the skin and moving the cups in a gliding motion along the muscles.

During cupping, the cups create negative pressure through suction, leading to localized decompression of the tissues where the cups are placed. It lifts the skin, fascia and muscle layers, increases circulation, and releases tension.

When a muscle and fascia get stuck in an adhesion, they move together as one and aren’t able to act independently as they’re meant to, which can cause limited range of motion and pain. Cupping helps separate the stuck muscle and fascia, breaks down the adhesions and helps with scar tissue reduction. As blood rises through the tissues with the negative pressure, it brings up cellular waste, toxins and lymph to the surface to help the lymphatic system process it.

Why you should add it to your session?

The main benefits of cupping therapy include pain relief, improved circulation, reduced inflammation, tension release and scar tissue reduction. It also promotes mobility and range of motion.

Cupping desensitizes pain patterns by sending the nervous system non painful signals when placed in a usually painful area, which makes this modality highly effective in addressing deep tension and adhesions. Incorporating cupping into my massages allows me to break adhesions faster by letting the cups do some of the deep work for me.

If you like deep therapeutic work, I’d love to throw some cups on you and provide you with some pain relief and adhesion melting.

What to expect?

I will likely use a combination of static and slide cupping, depending on what I feel will benefit you best each session.

Cupping can feel slightly uncomfortable at first, but shouldn’t hurt. I like to start with light suction for short periods of time and as your body gets familiar to the feeling, I slowly increase suction and the length of time cups are left on. You should initially feel a pulling sensation as your skin is lifted by the cup. After a few moments you won’t be able to tell exactly where the cup is, or even how many there are on. If there is any pain, just let me know and I can easily adjust the suction.

After cupping, it is common to see temporary marks on the skin, ranging from light pink to dark purple. These marks, known as "cupping marks" or "sha," are caused by the rupture of small blood vessels under the skin and are not painful. They usually fade within a few days to a week. You can mark in some places and not in others, more or less marking doesn’t mean the session was more or less effective.  The more often you receive cupping for the same issue, the lighter the marks will be.

Want to try it? Just click the “+ Cupping” add-on option when you book your next Swedish or Deep Tissue massage.

Stay healthy!

I recently completed a 32-hour training in Lymphatic Drainage Massage (LDM) at McKinnon Body Therapy Center and am thrilled to start offering this service at my studio in a few weeks! LDM is a therapeutic technique designed to support and optimize the lymphatic system's function. I was surprised of how little I knew about this vital but often overlooked system of the human body.

In this blog post, I’ll share what I learned about the lymphatic system, how lymphatic drainage massage can benefit your overall health, some info about getting LDM at Reenoo Bodywork and aftercare advice.

What’s the lymphatic system, anyways?

It’s an extensive network of vessels, nodes and organs that work together to transport lymph throughout the body. Lymph is a clear fluid and consists of water, proteins, fats and immune cells. Lymph nodes are like the body's filtration centers, where immune cells detect and eliminate pathogens, toxins and waste products from the lymph. In addition to supporting the immune system, the lymphatic system also helps maintain proper fluid balance in the body and plays an important role in nutrient transport to the bloodstream.

Unlike the circulatory system, which is responsible for pumping blood, the lymphatic system doesn't have a central pump like the heart. Instead, it relies on muscle contractions, breathing, and external factors such as… You guessed it! Massage! Massage, to maintain lymph flow.

The Importance of Lymphatic Drainage Massage

LDM is a specialized massage technique that aims to stimulate the flow of lymph and promote overall health. It’s performed with light, slow and intentional touch. After clearing the lymph nodes, I work at skin level following the lymphatic pathways to encourages lymphatic fluid movement. This technique is particularly effective in reducing swelling and edema, making it beneficial for bodies coping with conditions like lymphedema, pregnancy related swelling in the hands or feet or recuperating from surgeries.

By providing better lymphatic circulation, LDM helps boost immune function and as a result strengthens the body's ability to combat infections and illnesses. As it assists in the removal of metabolic waste, toxins and excess fluids from the body, LDM is also believed to enhance detoxification. On a more holistic level, this treatment induces a deep sense of relaxation and stress relief through its gentle and rhythmic motions. Over half of the people who have received this treatment from me end up in some kind of altered state of consciousness and I, personally, fall asleep every time I receive it.

Many bodies turn to lymphatic drainage massage as an essential component of their post-op healing process, as it aids in reducing swelling, managing pain and preventing scar tissue formation. Bodies recovering from cosmetic or gender affirming surgery have gotten amazing results with LDM.

Lymphatic Drainage Massage at Reenoo Bodywork

Lymphatic drainage massage is performed by working with 3 zones: the upper body, the lower body and the head, neck and face. The treatment plan depends on your body’s needs, here are some recommendations:

• For a one-off treatment for relaxation, to take time for yourself or to help boost your immune system, I recommend a 60-minute appointment. We will work on the head, neck and face zone. If you book a 90-minute service you can get 30 minutes of bodywork in addition to the 60-minute lymphatic work.

• For post-op bodies or those dealing with edema, we work in localized sessions. You can often start seeing results after the first treatment and I recommend a minimum of 3 consecutive sessions (a couple days apart) to really reap the benefits. These will be three, 90-minute sessions on the same affected zone for the body, or three, 60-minute sessions for the head, neck and face. This is just a recommendation as every body is different and some might need additional sessions to obtain the desired results.

• If you wish for full-body lymphatic drainage to detox, I suggest a full drainage cycle of two 90-minute and one 60-minute sessions, ideally a couple days apart. Each treatment will focus on one zone at a time starting with the upper body, lower body, then head, neck and face.

• To boost your immune system I recommend going through 2 full cycles of drainage, which will usually require 6 weekly sessions (two 90-minute and one 60-minute, twice).

Service and packages prices:

60-minute session: $135 - 90-minute session: $190

LDM Head, Neck & Face package (3 x 60mn sessions): $355 ($405 value - $50 in savings!)

LDM Head, Neck & Face + 30mn bodywork package (3 x 90mn sessions): $470 ($570 value - $100 in savings!)

LDM Upper or Lower Body package (3 x 90mn sessions): $470 ($570 value - $100 in savings!)

If more sessions are needed to achieve your desired results, you can add individual services or get a 2nd package.

LDM Full Body Detox package (2x 90mn, 1x 60mn sessions): $440 ($515 value - $75 in savings!)

LDM Full Body Immune Boost package (4x 90mn, 2x 60mn): $830 ($1,030 value - $200 in savings!)

LDM aftercare advice

To ensure that you gain maximum benefit from a massage treatment, I recommend that you:

• Loosen tight clothing and underwear – this inhibits lymph flow.

• Increase the amount of water you drink over the next few days – the body will be in a state of high toxicity for a few days after the treatment

• Reduce your caffeine intake (coffee, tea, colas) and avoid alcohol for 24 hours

• Try to cut down on smoking

• Make time to rest and relax – this allows the blood pressure to return to normal if has dropped during a treatment

• Regular (but not too strenuous) exercise helps with muscle contraction, therefore lymph flow

• Diet is important; a light diet of raw foods is recommended so that the body does not need to concentrate on sluggish digestion. Remember, low sodium diets are recommended for a healthy lymphatic system – poor diets are a contributing factor to poor lymphatic drainage.
  
  

Occasionally, you may experience reactions during the body’s self-healing process and elimination of toxins. These reactions may include:

• Frequent visit to the toilet

• You might feel a little like you’re getting sick for a few days afterwards (runny nose and/or cough)

• Perspiration – another way that the body can excrete waste

• Conditions which have been suppressed may flare up temporarily before they heal

• Deep sleep or difficulty sleeping, and vivid dreams
  
  

Those reactions are only temporary and should clear within 24-48 hours. They are positive signals that your body has responded to the treatment and is balancing itself.

Feel free to reach out to discuss how LDM can be incorporated into your wellness routine so you can start feeling your best again.

Stay healthy!