Hijama · Cupping therapy

Hijama involves placing cups on precise points of the body, chosen according to the client's needs and complaints. It relieves — and often improves — the overall state of health, both physical and psychological.

Cups are used to draw cold, wind, dampness and heat out of the body — imbalances that traditional medicines consider the root of many ailments. The practice also improves deep blood circulation.

A therapy as old as the world

Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Indians and Arabs have all treated pulmonary, visceral, dermatological and renal conditions with cupping. Cups were made of clay, bronze, bamboo — and later glass — depending on the culture.

Pushed aside by the rise of antibiotics in the early 20th century, cupping was never abandoned in Traditional Chinese and Arabic Medicine. In recent years it has been embraced in the United States by celebrities (Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow) and athletes (notably swimmer Michael Phelps), and now meets a growing demand in wellness clinics.

Two approaches: dry or wet

Dry cupping can be fixed — a cup placed on a single point to relieve pain — or sliding, moved along the treated zones as a cup massage.

Wet cupping (Hijama) adds a small, painless capillary micro-extraction through tiny scarifications that leave no lasting marks, positioned according to the conditions being treated.

The process

The skin is first oiled on the zone chosen for cupping, so that the cups can move smoothly.

Cup massage has a much stronger effect on blood circulation than classical massage. The increased circulation to muscles and skin nourishes tissue and allows toxins to be eliminated through the venous system. Applying essential-oil blends, liniments or analgesics right after cup massage helps the product absorb into deeper tissue.

The method is particularly suited to the back, shoulders, lower back, hips, thighs and abdomen.

A practice of prophetic medicine

"During my Night Journey (al-Isrā'), I did not pass a group of angels without them telling me: 'O Muhammad! Order your community to practice Hijama.'"

At his coming, the Prophet Muhammad approved, practiced and recommended this therapeutic technique. He said:

"If there is anything truly curative among all your medications, it is bloodletting by cupping, honey, or cauterisation — and I do not like to be cauterised." — Sahih al-Bukhari, on cupping (hijama).