Yes, we DID it. We did it in the same room in our recent trip to Langkawi.
I am not ashamed to admit it. It was our FIRST and definitely not our last.
It was at a simple, no frills place somewhere around town area.
It was a nerve wrecking experience.
Neither one of us have DONE it before. Yet, we were curious to go ahead and try.
So we went ahead despite the fear.
We undressed and plonked ourselves on the bed. Cold sweat came next.
We have our backs cleansed, oiled, vacuumed and poked with sterilised needle.
But, it’s not what you think it is.
Well, you could have imagined this.
Google sourced
Sorry to burst your imagination bubble folks! This definitely ain't the 50 Shades of Grey.
We went for Spooning!...Opps..sorry, Cupping!
Yup, we recently had our blood drawing cupping session during our family trip to the Island.
It has always crossed my mind to try this traditional healing method. Actually, it was in my Bucket list of Things to Try but I never explore it because I hate needle and my pain threshold level is similar to a 5 year old.
Since hubby always complaint his back is sore (due to long period of sitting at work and less exercise), I suggested to give it a try and he agreed.
We found the place by chance. I searched for it via Facebook two days prior to our trip. Got in touch with the friendly and helpful therapist and the rest is history.
When we arrived at the place, we were actually an hour earlier. We purposely planned to go earlier because we have no idea where the location is (and we’re not sure if Google Map is accurate). Apparently when we arrived, the therapist had gone for his Friday prayer, so we waited at the shop. I was expecting to meet a middle aged man since we never met and only communicated via WhatsApp.
We were greeted by a middle aged woman and a child, whom I presumed could be the wife and grandchild.
Half an hour later, a young man opened the glass door and greeted us. I hesitantly asked him if he is “Mus” the therapist we’re waiting for. He acknowledged, nodded his head and smiled. He asked us to get ready in a small room behind the shop.
Apparently the shop belongs to his mother, the middle aged woman that we met earlier. She's an enterprising woman that runs a salon, a mobile make up service and sells local beauty products at the same time.
Mus is hardly 30 yet (he sounded really mature for his age!) but took interest in the Islamic healing practise about two years ago. He then shifted his interest in ‘Bekam’ and learnt more about the method. As he was talking about his experiences, his hand was busy preparing the cups (UV sterilised), disposable gloves and needle, olive oil and toilet roll.
Since I requested for a female therapist, I had to wait for my turn. I asked my husband to go for his session first. Well, at least I can experience from him first on the level of pain he will be going through.
For those who are not sure what ’Bekam’ is all about, it is actually;
Source : A method of treatment in which a cup is attached to the skin surface to cause local congestion through the negative pressure created by introducing heat or suction in the form of an ignited material. This draws up the underlying tissues. When the cup is left in place on the skin for few minutes, blood stasis is formed and localized healing takes place. This type of treatment has been practiced by the Chinese and the Arabs for thousand of years. In Malay this practice is known as 'bekam' and in Arabic, it is called 'Al-Hijamah'. In Arabic this method of therapy was popularised by the Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
It is not true that only the Malays or Muslims do it (because it’s Sunnah according to Prophet Muhammad PBUH), the alternative healing method had also attracted a lot of Chinese and Caucasians. Mus himself have done quiet a fair bit of non Muslim patients that came to see him. Most of them are repeat patients.
Check out this Blog for another good explanation by a health blogger that went and experienced 'Bekam' somewhere in Petaling Jaya.
While there were many that are skeptical about the healing method, to me there is no harm to try. It existed thousands of years ago during the Prophet era. If it doesn’t work, surely he would warn many to not do it right? There are some things that are not entirely explainable scientifically. While those that has been scientifically proven doesn’t mean they are 100% accurate. There is always that 1% probability that it could be otherwise.
So when my therapist came. I was super nervous. I asked my husband to stay on and take photos/videos of my ‘torturing’ moment.
My therapist is a gentle Mom of 3, expecting her fourth. She was quiet at first but warmed up after I chatted up with her. Well, whenever I get nervous, I chatted A LOT!
So when she started the cupping process, I couldn’t take it when she vacuumed 3 times using a special apparatus. I requested to loosen the cup and vacuum 2 times only. There were parts of my muscle (or skin) that’s pretty tense, hence the pain. This process is a common process called “Bekam Angin”, a method to remove wind from the body.
Hubby told me that the cups on my back is filled with vapor. True enough, when I compared the pictures of his cups and mine during the same process, I noticed that the vapor in my cups are much more than his!
After a few minutes, once the pain is a little bearable, she loosen the cups one by one. Then came the most dreaded process, needle poking. I hate needles!
I was humming when she poked every cupped parts. The humming was to masked the fear.
Surprisingly, the poking part is not that painful. They're like ants bites. Then she proceeded to vacuum the cupped parts again. We all continued to chat in the room throughout the process. Few minutes passed, I felt light headed suddenly. Not sure if this is due to the blood drawing process. I asked hubby to check.
He said there was already blood in the cups but not as much as I expected. While I rested, the therapist and hubby chatted away.
10 minutes passed, my therapist removed the cups filled with blood and explained that they had turned to jelly-like when it’s exposed to the air. Mine was pretty thick that it looked like there is some tissue in it. I joked that my back is having its period. The room is filled with laughter.
Here are my 'magical' moments with 'Bekam'. Warning on Graphic photos.
See that blood drawn in the cup?
The not so cool view of my back
Check out the pores!
Blood drawing moment
This is how the blood looked like when it turns jelly
The Jello moments
So, how do I feel after the whole process? I felt relieved. Relieved because I finally tried it and it was not as bad as I expected. I felt refreshed as if something heavy is lifted behind me. Will I do it again? Absolutely!
The fee is super reasonable at RM90 for two. Price is depending on the number of cups used. He suggested us to do the basic maintenance cupping points (9 cups) because first, we were newbies and second, we have no major health issues.
We were advised not to shower for an hour or more, no heavy lifting, no heavy meals and be well rested. So our next plan is to go for a stroll at the Giant Eagle statue, the iconic landmark of the Island.
It’s been three days since we last did it. My cupped bruises has changed its colour from dark ruby red to purplish red now. My left side seems to be darker than the right side. No more sore back (unlike the first day) and I still feel good.
So for those of you who will be visiting the Island, do give it a try. Well, at least put this into your Bucket List of Things to Try and I promise you that you won’t regret it.
Here’s the link to the Facebook page and address (stated in the link) to the place we did ours. You may send the therapist (his name is Mus) a message on Facebook and he will reply. Let him know Angie from Kuala Lumpur recommended him to you from her blog!
If you can’t find the place, please use Google Maps, it works for us.
Enjoy your session!
So who is Angiechin28?
Angie is a Mom with a mission (with a 10 year old daughter, 6 overweight cats and an overgrown baby man, ie: Hubs) is the Founder of HerPortal.co, the first online platform in Malaysia that connects & empower Women & Moms to affordable online learning (coming soon!), shareable contents, job opportunities, resources and go-to market opportunities to earn side income/sustain via tried & tested channels.
She discovered Steemit by accident after reading a friend’s posting on Facebook and decided to check it out because she’s too curious (not kaypoh ahhhh..) to find out exactly how it works. Since then, she never looks back.
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