There’s More to Cupping Than Putting Cups on a Back
When most people think of cupping therapy, they picture the familiar circular marks left by cups on an athlete's back or shoulders.
That is cupping.
But it's only a very small part of what cupping can be.
I've been practicing East Asian Medicine since 1997 and teaching cupping to massage therapists, bodyworkers, acupuncturists and other healthcare practitioners for many years. One of the things I've learned through both treating and teaching is that the cup itself is the easy part.
When I learned cupping in acupuncture school, much of our practical time was spent learning how to get the flame into the glass cup and create the right amount of suction. Far less time was spent exploring what to do with the cup once it was attached.
And that's where cupping gets interesting.
Creating suction is relatively easy.
Knowing why you're using the cup, where you're going to use it, how much suction is appropriate, how long to treat—and whether cupping is even the right treatment in the first place—is where the real learning begins.
Start With the Foundations
Before we can get creative with cupping, we need to understand the basics.
How much suction is appropriate?
How long should a cup stay in place?
What does the tissue underneath the cup tell us?
When is cupping contraindicated?
What do cupping marks actually mean?
What happens physiologically when we create negative pressure against the tissues?
These aren't necessarily the exciting parts of learning cupping, but they're important ones.
Good cupping isn't about creating the darkest possible marks or using the strongest suction a client can tolerate. More isn't necessarily better.
A strong foundation gives you the freedom to use cupping creatively because you understand the boundaries within which you're working.
That's why my Cupping for Manual Therapists Level 1 training begins with safety, contraindications, application and treatment principles before moving into technique.
Learn more about Cupping for Manual Therapists Level 1
Cupping Doesn't Have to Stay Still
Once you understand those foundations, things get much more interesting.
A cup can remain stationary—but it doesn't have to.
We can glide cups over the tissues. We can move a joint while a cup remains in place. We can move the cup while the client moves. We can incorporate positioning, stretching and joint mobilization.
Changing the position of the body changes the tissues underneath the cup.
Suddenly cupping becomes dynamic.
This creates some fascinating possibilities when working with areas such as the shoulders, hips, lower back, legs, abdomen and diaphragm.
But adding movement still isn't the most important part.
The technique isn't the treatment.
Clinical Reasoning Changes the Treatment
Two people can walk into your treatment room complaining of what sounds like exactly the same problem and require very different approaches.
This is where my background in East Asian Medicine has profoundly influenced the way I teach cupping.
Is what you're feeling an Excess or a Deficiency?
Does an area feel Hot or Cold?
Are the tissues congested and stagnant, or depleted?
Is the condition acute or chronic?
Are there signs traditionally associated with Wind?
What happened during the previous treatment?
What are the tissues telling you?
These observations help determine not only where you work, but the amount of suction, the techniques you choose, how long you treat and sometimes whether you should cup at all.
That's the layer we explore in Dynamic Cupping Techniques Level 2.
It isn't simply a collection of more advanced techniques. It's about learning to use the information the body gives you to make better treatment decisions.
Explore Dynamic Cupping Techniques Level 2
Cupping Is Part of East Asian Medicine
Cupping isn't simply a manual therapy technique. It has a long history within East Asian Medicine, where treatment choices can be informed by the pattern being treated.
For acupuncturists and other East Asian Medicine practitioners, that opens another layer of the work.
Fire Cupping returns to the traditional glass-cup techniques I first learned in acupuncture school, but takes the learning beyond simply creating suction and into practical clinical application.
And then there is another question I've become particularly interested in:
Does cupping always have to be a Yang treatment?
Cupping is generally considered Yang—stimulating, moving and dispersing. Traditionally, our tools reinforced that approach. The treatment is primarily practiced on the back, and Yang side of the body.
But the development of soft silicone cups changed what we could do.
Unlike traditional glass and rigid plastic cups, silicone cups allow us to work with much gentler suction and dynamic techniques that weren't previously possible.
My Yin and Yang Cupping training explores how we can use those newer tools within the traditional framework of East Asian Medicine—using gentle silicone cupping techniques, exploring how cups can be used to tonify as well as disperse, and adapting the treatment to more deficient presentations.
The medicine hasn't changed.
The technology has given us new ways to apply it.
Cupping Can Be Delicate
If your primary image of cupping involves dark circles across someone's back, the word delicate probably isn't the first one that comes to mind.
But facial cupping is an entirely different application.
The cups are smaller. The suction is gentle. The tissues are different. And the treatment goals and techniques change accordingly.
Facial cupping can be incorporated into treatments involving the face, jaw and surrounding tissues, and it can also be used as part of cosmetic facial care.
It's also an interesting option for practitioners because it is not physically demanding to perform.
After decades of manual therapy, that's something I care about enormously.
Our careers depend upon our bodies. Learning techniques that allow us to offer meaningful hands-on work without continually increasing the physical demands on ourselves is valuable.
Facial cupping can also become a specialized service within an existing practice rather than requiring practitioners to completely change what they already do.
My Facial Cupping Masterclass teaches cosmetic and therapeutic applications using silicone and glass cups and includes a set of silicone facial cups so practitioners have the equipment they need to begin practicing.
Explore the Facial Cupping Masterclass
Cupping Can Be Precise
Scar tissue is another area where our understanding of cupping needs to become much more nuanced.
Working with a scar isn't simply a matter of putting a cup over it.
We need to understand the scar itself.
What kind of scar is it?
How old is it?
How has it healed?
What is happening in the surrounding tissues?
Are there adhesions or restrictions?
Is cupping appropriate at this stage?
And importantly: when should we not cup it?
Different scars require different approaches, and sometimes the best treatment decision is to leave the cup on the shelf.
Scar work can involve very small cups, carefully controlled suction and precise movement. It can also involve working with the tissues surrounding a scar rather than directly over it.
That's why my SCARS Masterclass includes scar physiology, assessment, contraindications, different types of scars, cup selection and specific treatment techniques—not simply a demonstration of how to put a cup on a scar.
More Than Cupping
There's another lesson I've learned after many years of clinical practice:
Having one tool doesn't mean you need to use it for everything.
Cupping may be useful on its own. Sometimes it's more effective as part of a larger treatment.
Sometimes another technique is more appropriate.
And sometimes the best clinical decision you can make is not to treat something at all.
That's why I don't want practitioners leaving my courses simply knowing a collection of techniques.
I want them to understand what they're seeing and feeling.
I want them to be curious.
I want them to ask better questions.
And I want them to have enough knowledge to adapt what they've learned to the individual person lying on their table.
The Cup Is Just the Tool
There are now more cupping tools and techniques available than when I first learned cupping as part of my East Asian Medicine education.
Glass. Plastic. Silicone. Heart Shaped Cups. Butter Cups
Stationary. Sliding. Dynamic. Gentle. Strong.
The tools have evolved and our possibilities have expanded.
But the principle I keep coming back to hasn't changed:
The cup is just the tool.
The skill belongs to the practitioner using it.
Knowing how to create suction is the beginning.
Knowing why, when, where and how much is where the real learning happens.
Where Are You in Your Cupping Practice?
Maybe you've never used a cup before.
Maybe you've completed foundational training and want to develop your clinical reasoning or dynamic techniques.
Maybe you're an East Asian Medicine practitioner interested in taking cupping deeper into the traditional medicine.
Maybe facial cupping has caught your attention.
Or perhaps you're interested in learning more about working with scars.
There isn't one next step for everyone.
I've created a Cupping Learning Path to help you find the training that fits where you are now—and where you'd like to take your practice next.
Find Your Cupping Learning Path
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