I've been cupped.

Yesterday, I had my third session with my intuitive massage therapist. It was definitely our best session yet. To start, she noticed that my neck was "out". She explained that a vertebrae in my spine had twisted, which was causing tension on the tendons linked to it. She suggested I go to the chiropractor, which I had never done before, because frankly, they scare the shit out of me. But apparently, it's best to go to the chiropractor directly after a massage, because your body is warmed up.
She continued her massage, after kind of terrifying me and my vertebrae. She did a LOT of work on my back, particularly my left side. Now, she does deep tissue massage, breathing technique, and energy work. This is no relaxation massage at the spa. It is downright emotional and sometimes uncomfortable.
Towards the end of the session, she asked if I had ever tried cupping. I said that I had heard of it, never tried it, but was open to it, and asked her to explain it a bit more.
In Chinese medicine, cupping is commonly used down the meridian line of the body, to align your chi. You place the cups on different organs, and the Chinese believe that each organ is tied to a different emotion: lungs - grief, heart - love, kidneys - fear, liver - your ability to let go. (I believe I got those all right, by the time she was explaining all of this to me, I was pretty relaxed and still slightly concerned about my vertebrae.) The cupping can cause bruising, and the more you bruise in a particular area, can either mean that you are not handling that specific emotion in a healthy manner or that your body has toxins and tension that is moving out.

I came out of her office feeling incredible. Full of energy and smiles. I went straight to the chiropractor. A day of firsts, right?

I almost walked out when I was signing the consent forms - so scary! What if they cause a fracture or a disc slip?! Suck it up, just try it.
First of all, the chiropractic doctor was the nicest young man. And, he was so excited to see that I had just gotten cupped, which I used to convince myself that I was doing the right thing. Yeah, good job Paige. About 7 minutes later, he was all done, I was realigned again. No slipped discs or fractures, phew.

Went home, drank tons of water and still drinking it. I am a bit tender today from all the work, but not sore, and the bruises don't hurt.

Mom, I know you were concerned about my delicate skin, but I think my new alien looking back is kinda sexy.