Laid Up For the Weekend…
I have no clue what I did to my back this week, but it has just been getting worse and worse. Can’t sleep, can’t move fast and I sound like an old man when I bend over. After trying to just mend on my own (sitting on the couch watching kung-fu movies) I finally sucked it up and went to see my favorite Chinese doctor. He was even nicer to me this time… he gave me ten needles in my back, plus the bonus of Chinese Cupping, Scraping and I can finally touch the back of my head with my own feet! What a wonderful trip!!!
We did the Chinese cupping in Thailand at a new spa that opened up by our hotel. It was run by a Taiwanese couple and they were giving everything for 50% off to start the business, so a one-hour Thai massage should have cost 500baht (18CAN), but since there were two of us it was like getting buy on get one free. We went three nights in a row I think, and the one night we decided to get the cupping done as well. the cupping was done in the traditional manner with the cups heated up with fire and placed n the skin in order to suck the blood and toxins out of your skin and muscles. Eva’s back wasn’t too bad, but mine was pretty bad. I had the bruises for almost three weeks after. It’s an interesting experience, and the fire cups (instead of using a pump to suck the air out) is a lot more painful, but also more precise.
Here’s some shots from Thailand…
The Thailand stuff looked really bad. My lower back and shoulders were the darkest of the bruises. The cups were left on for about 25 minutes, but the Shi-Fu (Master) readjusted a few of mine half way through to make sure they got everything. It’s not like it really hurts, but it is very uncomfortable as all your skin is being pulled into the cups and you cannot move at all while it is happening.So yesterday at the Chinese Doctor I had eight needles put on both sides of my spine and two at the base to relieve the pressure of the back. I know it sounds strange to do, but it really works. Of course after the needles I then had more cupping done, then Gua Sha, which is the Chinese scraping technique with is like running the edge of something like a credit card over your skin to draw the blood to the surface as well and really give the muscles a deep manipulation. And just to make it even more fun, then the assistant twisted my body so many ways, parts I never knew could crack did, including laying on my stomach and having him take my foot and twist it across my back and up so my foot was beside the opposite ear. this may be why I am still laying on the couch today.Here are a few shots from Eva’s cell phone of the needles and the cups in place on my back…
The red is the light from the heat lamp they had on my back the whole time. Eva kept trying to get good shots, so she moved it a few times. Such a loving girlfriend! No shots of the scraping, but my back does look really nice now that I’ve been poked, sucked, scraped and twisted…
The cups didn’t bruise that badly this time, but the scraping did wonders to the color of my skin. Also, the camera seems to have added about 40lbs into my lovehandles and makes me really wish I didn’t eat that second Easter Creme Egg after dinner today! Oh, and for those of you keeping track (and my sister who is having a fit that I am going to look like a long-haired hippy freak at her wedding in two months), no, I haven’t cut my hair since 2008…
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it My hair…
Comments (3)
Get a haircut or cornrows!
Haha… you looked like you have lot of boobs on your back!
an interesting story, you must have so much fun.
by the way, I think you need to go back again…
I’ve only seen that done in movies, the cupping. Do you have to do follow up with drinking tinctures or a special diet to continue detoxifying? That’s fascinating, I’ll have to read up more on that process.