Acupuncture & Integrative Health

Cupping is a therapeutic practice that involves creating suction on the skin using a glass or plastic cup. In fire cupping, negative pressure is created in a glass cup by applying a flame to the cup to remove oxygen before placing it on the skin. With plastic cups, the cup is placed on the skin before attaching a device that generates suction through a manual pump.  Cupping can be applied stationary on dry skin or as sliding cups with an emollient that allows the cups to glide along the skin.

Cupping leaves temporary marks on the skin that can look like bruising. In cases of wet cupping, where lancets are used to puncture the skin along with cupping, the marks may be darker. The marks themselves typically do not hurt and will resolve within days of treatment.

Gua sha, translated as “scraping sand,” is a therapeutic technique in which the surface of the skin is repeatedly stroked in linear motions using a round-edged tool. This is typically performed along the neck and back, but can also be used on the arms, legs, and even the face

The intensity of pressure is modified depending on the area of the body and the condition for which treatment is being applied. For something like neck pain, the pressure and therefore the sensation of the treatment is expected to be deeper and more penetrating, whereas draining lymph from the neck would require less pressure and therefore the experience is more relaxing.

As the gua sha tool moves over the body, small capillaries may break and create bruise-like markings. These markings will diminish in the days following treatment. In Chinese medicine, we refer to those markings as "sha" or sand, as it resembles grains of sand coming to the surface of the skin. 

There are various types of moxibustion therapy. The most common practice is one in which the medicinal herb mugwort – scientific name Artemisia Vulgaris or Ai ye – is burned at or near acu-points on the surface of the skin for therapeutic effect through thermal, radiation, and pharmacological actions.

Our highest grade moxa burns over a metal shield which sits between your skin and the burning plant material so your skin is protected from any direct contact. 

The combustion of our highest quality moxa produces a light herbal smoke and a comfortable warmth over the area being treated.

If you are sensitive to moxa smoke just let us know --we can substitute moxa balms which sit under far infrared lamps so the same therapeutic oils can penetrate into the acupoints.