My Beauty Diary – The Cupping Edition

I am excited to share the continuation of my self care journey through My Beauty Diary. As my loyal beauty lovers know my approach to health, (skincare is part of our health as the skin is our largest organ and reflects what is happening inside our body), is holistic. When I say holistic I refer to mind, body and spirit as it is all interconnected, to take care of one and ignore the other does not allow your whole body to thrive in unison. As part of that thriving I enjoyed my very first cupping session last week and so I am taking you exclusively inside my beauty diary like never before…

A little backstory. Cupping has been on my radar for years. I knew I wanted to try it this summer and so when in Wholefoods recently I saw a girl with her cupping marks and eagerly approached her. We had a nourishing conversation, (don’t you just love that random female support), and she highly recommended where she went, which is biking distance from my home in Manhattan. Aligned and loving it. I promptly booked a consultation. I had been feeling bloated and tired over the past few months, which is so rare for me, although I have also had an incredibly high stakes project that has been ongoing for a year and my exercise regime is still not at the optimum  level my body needs. I could feel my body asking to really let go and release. Ansgar, (my cupping king), confirmed it when he read my tongue, anxiety and dampness. In Chinese medicine internal dampness is often generated when the spleen, the digestive organ, is not functioning ideally. This creates an excess of fluid which can accumulate in different areas in the body. Mine was in my stomach. Dampness in the body can be caused by external factors (like the weather) or dietary factors and lack of exercise. For myself it was a combination of not exercising as much as my body needs to flourish and also adjusting my diet slightly and getting back into the rhythm of eating breakfast (I can hear my mums voice) and continuing to support my nervous system (which cupping also helps). As a vegan I already avoid most of the harmful foods that cause dampness (dairy is a big one) and so it’s really shifting, adjusting and creating new habits and eating warm foods, incorporating my turmeric and ginger (which I have spoken about at length over the years), soups and regular meals and not eating late. Which I had been consciously working on pre pandemic. 

Dampness is digestion and is connected to the spleen. Worry is the emotion of the spleen/stomach/pancreas network, organs associated with the earth element. Too much pensiveness, worrying and insecurity can weaken our ability to digest – simply knot the energy. It was all making sense, everything my body had been telling me was all connected to the dampness; my digestion and the anxiety. Learning this allowed me to really hear how my body was communicating to me. As I listened I was in awe of what my body had organically told me over the years. For example drinking cold water hurts your spleen and stomach. I have always preferred room temperature water and avoided iced drinks. In traditional Chinese medicine, cold water and iced drinks weaken the spleen and stomach, interfering with their normal functions. The spleen (which is a fist sized organ in the upper left side of your abdomen, next to your stomach and behind your left ribs), is the major organ for the formation and circulation of “Qi” to distribute blood and nutrients throughout the human body. I feel extremely connected to my body and listen attentively when she talks to me. I could feel my bodies energy pulling me to cupping. I was so ready. 

Cupping therapy can be used to remove cold and dampness, open the meridians, eliminate stasis, help promote Qi and blood circulation, reduce swelling and pain, promote detoxification, bring balance to yin and yang, relieve fatigue and enhance the body function. How was the actual cupping? First of all, the environment Ansgar has created is so nourishing and his energy so pure and supportive  and our communication so unfiltered I knew he understood my needs and therefore it was a joy to trust him with my body. Once the cups were placed on my back, I breathed into it (much like when I have a deep tissue massage) and I felt the release, I could feel my body letting go and it felt divine. My mind was letting go in unison with my body as I received the treatment. It lasted around 30 minutes. I also asked for cups on my neck as I had felt very tight in my neck, at first I really felt it as the cups went tighter and tighter on my neck, however I breathed into it and started to feel the same release. Pure bliss. When I went to sit up on the massage table afterwards,  I felt off balance for a few seconds as my body readjusted. I felt the release, I also literally felt the blood flowing through my body. The heaviness was released. I felt light again. The color of each cup determines the depth of stagnation and each area on the back correlates with different organs. Mine was a map for what we already knew. The body amazes me, I just stared in the mirror in awe studying my cups. When I worked out the next day I felt more energized and so much lighter, most importantly my stomach was not bloated. I will continue cupping every two weeks to help eliminate any dampness as I incorporate the lifestyle and dietary changes. 

I discovered afterwards that you can do cupping on the stomach and it’s even been used for cellulite. I focused on my back and neck as this is where I felt tight. I highly recommend cupping, however please make sure this is right for your body. I will share more about the foods that support the body when it has dampness in Part 2 of this very personal edition of My Beauty Diary. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. We are all interconnected and it starts with the connection with self. Before you can fully connect with another, make sure you’re connected with yourself. Listen to your body when it talks to you. Self awareness is a love language. xoxo

My Cupping Home:
Lesacupuncture.nyc

Emma is a campaign, editorial, print model and actress living her best life in NYC.
Currently in The Adobe Gen Create campaign and the face of Sibu Beauty skincare.
Represented by World Models, Miami
Mary Anne Claro for all legit.
MMG Models, Dubai.