Cupping therapy is possibly the oldest healing modality recorded; glyphs of cupping appear on the Rosetta Stone and every culture has some form of cupping in its healing tradition. According to traditional Chinese medicine, cupping is a method of creating a vacuum on the patient’s skin to dispel stagnation — stagnant blood and lymph, thereby improving Qi flow — to treat respiratory diseases such as the common cold, pneumonia and bronchitis. Cupping is also very helpful with detoxification, sinus issues, edema and digestive problems. With the advent of new silicone therapy cups, orthopedic cupping techniques are even more useful on back, neck, shoulder, TMJ and other joint conditions. (see www.cuppingtherapy.org)