Look at my cup size!

On our first completely free day to wander at will (no training, no tours) my friend Blair and I decided to give ourselves our own tour, following a 14-step self guided tour in a travel manuel. You'll read about the day in an upcoming column (there's so much to tell I just can't keep up), but I'm going to tell you about one particular aspect of our day. Cupping. We went to a massage parlor of sorts where we indulged in a Chinese therapy massage (in other words we were beaten, pounded, kneaded, stretched, slapped, and poked.) The massage ended with a thing called cupping.

So, here's what's up with cupping. Hot glass cups (they look like stemless wine glasses) are placed on various pressure points on your back where they create a vaccum, suctioning out bad energy, heat and toxings from your body. It's a form of Chinese alternative medicine that has been around for thousands of years so we figured, 'When in China, do as the Chinese do."

This pictures are mildly embarrassing and yes, I realize that now, technically, there are somewhat topless photos of me on the internet, but this is for the sake of education people.

STEP ONE

Here he is lighting the glass cup on fire, then quickly blowing it out and the forcefully putting the cup on my back.

STEP TWO

I am now almost completely covered with hot cups that are pulling so hard at my skin it feels like 6 very large elephants are giving me back hickies. It hurts but the idea is so ridiculous I can't quit laughing--which pulls my skin even more.

STEP THREE

The suction created giant welts on my back and my pores were huge where the toxings were basically sucked out. They then rubbed the welts and tried to make them go down a little. They were still puffy the rest of the night.

STEP FOUR

A post-Chinese massage photo. As you can see, I wasn't exactly relaxed. However, for the next few hours, I felt amazingly zen and over the next couple of days, I had an incredible amount of energy.

STEP FIVE

I was expecting cup marks on my back, but not so larage and severe of bruises. It was pretty painful for the first 2 days, but not unbearable. Plus it made such a good story...

Now, 5 days later, my bruises are only slightly visisible. While i'm glad I had the experience, I might just stick to a foot massage next time.