Summary
Host Heather Love interviews Fiona McDonagh, a holistic wellness coach and five element acupuncturist from Ireland, about her journey into alternative healing. Fiona explains how acupuncture uses very fine needles (about one-twentieth the diameter of a hypodermic needle) placed at specific points based on diagnosis, and how different elements of the five element system (earth, fire, wood, air, metal) correspond to different aspects of health. The conversation covers cupping therapy in depth, with Fiona explaining how glass (fire cupping) and silicone cups use suction to lift skin from fascia and muscle, improving circulation and aiding healing. She references Michael Phelps popularizing cupping at the Olympics and describes how the circular marks left behind actually trigger the immune system to send nutrient-rich blood to the area. Fiona treats conditions ranging from back pain and broken wrists to sinusitis, fertility issues, and immune boosting, often combining cupping with acupuncture for best results.
Key Points
- Acupuncture needles are about one-twentieth the diameter of a hypodermic needle and should produce sensation but not pain
- Five element acupuncture treats imbalances across earth, fire, wood, air, and metal elements in the body
- Cupping uses suction (glass fire cupping or silicone cups) to lift skin from fascia, improving circulation and healing
- The circular marks from cupping trigger the immune system to send nutrient-rich blood to the treated area
- Cupping can be applied from ears and face all the way down to the soles of the feet depending on the condition
- Cupping is recognized in Ireland by the medical profession as beneficial for fertility treatment
- Acupuncture can treat distally, meaning treating points on the arms can affect the lungs or other distant areas
- Cupping and acupuncture can be combined in the same session, with practitioners choosing which to apply first based on the condition
Key Moments
How cupping uses suction to lift skin from fascia and boost circulation
Fiona explains how cupping works by using suction to lift the skin from the fascia and muscle layers, improving circulation throughout the body, and describes the different types of cups including glass (fire cupping) and silicone.
"It's massive for fertility. It's one of the things definitely in Ireland that is very recognised by the medical profession for fertility. And cupping would be... So cupping would be using suction. There's a variety of different cups you can use. They could be glass. The original ones would have been bamboo or silicone-based ones. So if you use glass, it's called fire cupping. Silicone just uses your hands. And you use suction to lift the skin from the fascia, the fascia from the muscle. So it really..."
Cupping marks trigger the immune system to send nutrient-rich blood
Fiona describes how the bruise marks from cupping trigger a positive immune response, sending nutrient-rich blood to the area. She also notes that marks diminish with repeated sessions, and cupping can treat both superficially and deeply.
"They're not painful to press on, like as if you'd walked into a chair and bruised your leg. But what it does is it kicks in your immune system to send more nutrient-rich blood to the area. So it's a positive negative. So if you bruise somebody by cupping, it's a positive. And the more somebody gets cupping done, the less they will mark. But it can treat quite superficially. It can treat quite locally or can treat quite deeply. So you could cup somebody's upper back for their lungs as well, for their immune boosting, for clearing somebody's head,"
Cupping the upper back for immune boosting and respiratory support
Fiona describes how cupping can be applied to the back to support lung function and clear congestion, which she combines with acupuncture for a comprehensive treatment approach for colds and sinus issues.
"So say if somebody came to me whose head was really stuffed, whether it was sinus related or just a head cold, and they feel a little down, you know, a little maybe heavy in the body and just not lacking, lacking oomph, you know, that kind of thing. What I might suggest is that we cut their back and get things moving in the lungs."
