Cupping

This massage derives from a Chinese technique in which jars with a negative pressure (made by lighting and extinguishing a match inside the jar) are passed along the body, pulling the tissue slightly up into the neck of the jar. The process stimulates blood flow and drainage of toxins from the skin, muscles and connective tissue. Cupping is most commonly used to loosen persistent knots and to relax tight muscles, but because of its effectiveness at increasing circulation, it is also said to help reduce cellulite. The tell-tale circular marks that cupping can leave behind--which practitioners say are not bruises but signs of toxic buildup leaving your skin--have given away stars like Gwyneth Paltrow as clients, and Jessica Simpson recently tweeted about her experience with the technique.