Let's talk about self-care. At Bull City Soles, we encourage clients to maintain their bodywork with home self-care using Yoga tune-up balls, stretching, and cups by Lure Essentials. Depending on your chronic pain issues, we may suggest one or a combination of techniques. Yoga tune-up balls are great for compression, grabbing, and shearing fascial layers. Silicone cups from Lure Essentials are also great for addressing fascial layers by "lifting" the tissue with negative pressure. In this blog and video, we're going to focus on cupping. We love using a variety of cups in our sessions and recommend Lure Essentials cups because they are ideal for home self-care.
Cupping creates a negative pressure that lifts and separates the tissue layers, increases blood flow, lymph drainage, and eases tight muscles. In this video, I'm using a combination of ionic ENERGY(aka flipflop cups) and CHAKRA silicone cups in a "blanket" technique where an entire area is covered. Range of Motion and active stretches are performed after the area is lubricated and cups are placed.
While the cups are on, tuck your chin back and then roll your head down slowly, imagining one vertebra at a time moving slowly.
Once your chin drops down as far as you can, it may reach your chest; take it to its end range.
Then, bring it back up to a neutral position, facing forward.
You can do simple neck rotations by turning your nose towards one shoulder and then to the opposite side.
From a neutral position, facing forward, you can drop ear to shoulder or turn your nose to the left shoulder and drop the right ear to the chest.
This cupping routine with active movement and stretches can help relieve muscle tension, ease chronic neck pain, treat myofascial trigger points that cause headaches, and so much more! You can order online, pick up a set at our studio, or schedule an appointment for a barefoot massage and get a personalized tutorial on how to use the cups for your chronic pain issues. We like to teach clients how and where to place the cups, contraindications, and how to take care of them.
We also love using the cups in an infrared sauna while the muscles are nice and relaxed! If you don't have time for a massage, schedule a contrast treatment in our sauna and cold plunge, and we'll show you how to use your cups in the sauna!
Bull City Soles is a massage and bodywork studio located in Durham, NC. Our specialty is barefoot massage, but meeting individual needs is our priority. Call 919-477-9887 or use our convenient online scheduling to book an appointment. Follow us on our Instagram or Facebook page for last-minute appointment availability, self-care tips, and other information.