Jenna Dewan was on Ellen when John Cena was hosting. They bonded over the fact that Jenna is a WWE fan now, thanks to her boyfriend, Steve Kazee. She said she’s been through a tough year and alluded to her divorce but didn’t mention much. It’s been impressive how above-board and kind to each other Jenna and her ex, Channing Tatum, have been. I’m sure they had some issues, but they’re not leaking to the press. Jenna has a new book coming out, Gracefully You, How to Be Your Best Self Everyday. It sounds like she’s still going to take the high road and that it will be a lifestyle and self help book. She was sweet when she was describing it though and just said that she’s a hippie and it’s about what works for her. The book isn’t out until October though, which makes me wonder why she’s promoting it now. Here’s some of what they said and the interview is below.
You tried a certain recovery method?
Cupping. I’ll try anything. I like alternative body hacks. I woke up and my rib was out of place. So I was in Chicago and I yelped ‘body worker nearby.’ [The woman said] ‘how about cupping?’ That was on for about 10 days. They’re like giant hickeys that don’t go awaySo you rib hurts, someone gives you a boatload of hickeys on your back, and then your back hurts so your rib doesn’t hurt anymore?
Basically, they just like changed the pain so you’re handling it a little bit better.That’s pretty intense. Also you have a book coming out.
It’s no secret, I had an intense year and a lot of change. I’m a hippie at heart. I’m sort of a seeker. I like to do practices and rituals and things that sort of connect me to something greater than myself, bigger than myself. Through that, I used a lot of those techniques to help me through change. There’s a lot of personal stories, there’s a lot that I go into. There’s also rituals and my hippie side that I put in there. I went to Peru and I lived for two weeks with this tribe. I’ve always been that sort of person. I put it all together in this book. There’s poetry, there’s funny stories, there’s dance. It was really cathartic and fun to write this.
Remember when Gwyneth Paltrow showed up in a backless tube dress to a red carpet to show off her cupping marks? I’m surprised Goop hasn’t said she invented cupping. I like how Jenna owns the fact that she’s a hippie. She also admitted that the cupping only worked because it made one part of her body hurt more than the other. John explained that perfectly! She didn’t defend it at all, she’s not all super-serious and touting it as a cure all like Goop, she’s self conscious about it and says she’s the type of person who tries things like this. Some people are into alternative treatments and spiritual practices. As long as they admit it’s their thing and don’t try to tell other people how to live their lives that’s ok. Some of those things can be helpful too (not cupping necessarily, but I have not tried it and am not going to attempt to figure it out now. I’ve done acupuncture though).
Also, Cena was wonderful as an interviewer! He’s super nice and related well to her. I would watch the hell out of a show with him on it.
Here’s that interview and it starts where she talks about the cupping:
photos credit: WENN, Backgrid and via Instagram
I’ve had cupping done as part of my massage therapy – it just helps loosen the muscles so she can work on them even more. I don’t think it’s as intense as what Jenna described though because it’s not solely cupping – it doesn’t hurt, and the hickeys only last about two days instead.
I think it depends on if you bruise easy. Some people’s bruises will last longer than others. But I can see how it’s a great way to loosen muscles. But if your bone is the issue, as she said she had a rib out, I have no idea how this would help.
Exactly! I bruise easily and have bad circulation. My “crop circles” always lasted at least a week.
I tried cupping for the first time in March. My second session was 2 weeks ago. It really worked wonders on my right shoulder. The cupping stretched out very tight muscles with knots/scar tissue. I feel so much better now. My therapist was explaining everything as it was happening and she was awesome. My bruising last about 4-5 days.
I love it. I find it really helps loosen those trigger points!
Yes, exactly. I am a huge fan!
I really like her hippie vibe!
Those pants look good on her, as I think anything would- but I despise how the unfinished hem is a thing these days.
Cupping made the effects of my massages last way longer. I carry all my stress in my neck/shoulders, and they get bad FAST. My LMT used to tell me she has hedge fund managers and wall street guys with less built-up tension than me! I can’t afford massages too often, so to add the cupping and delay all the pain from coming back is super helpful. But yeah, they look nasty! I always tell people I was abducted by aliens.
I’m a TV journalist and I once did a story about the conch/daith ear piercing, and how some people said it improved their severe migraines. I went to a surgeon who specializes in this migraine treatment and expected him to totally debunk it. He said he’d seen patients it really did help – and that even if it’s just the placebo effect, the placebo effect can be SO strong on our bodies that it’s the same as if the treatment is working. Long story short, he said if you feel like it works, it works for you!
My chiropractor does cupping on me and I love it! She says it gives you the benefit of a deep tissue massage without the pain because instead of digging into the knots, it lifts and loosens them. Then again, I the method she uses is different from what I see these celebrities do-she basically oils up my back and runs a cup attached to a suction machine over the tight spots. If there’s a really bad spot, she leaves it in place for a couple minutes. I’ve never had anything more than minor bruising that fades in a day and I bruise like a peach normally. I get the feeling that the cupping Jenna went to is one that touts the benefits of the dark bruising more as a status symbol than an actual cure.
I’m such a skeptic at heart; things like cupping just make no sense to me. I’m not really a hippie at all, though. I crave information, research, data… Probably too much, because my husband laughs at me for how long I take to make decisions. But even just doing a little bit of reading about this shows that the one major study (in 2012) of cupping was a meta-analysis of 135 other smaller studies that showed very limited possible benefits for acne, facial paralysis, and shingles. But the authors of that study noted that the 135 studies they surveyed were low quality and in many cases didn’t pass muster for scientific review.
So I just find things of this sort harmless, I guess, but definitely not my thing.
I love her approach, though–she has a sense of humor, doesn’t take herself too seriously, and doesn’t try to push this on anyone else.
It is utter rubbish. Bruising is BAD. Always. It is breaking blood capillaries and damaging tissue. Heat relaxes the muscle and improves blood flow without the need for tissue damage. Cupping is one of the stupidest snake oil techniques I have ever studied.
Wanna have nasty skin in about 10 years? Go for it. Otherwise take a hot bath or get a hot stone massage.
Smdh.
My husband is a really great Physical Therapist, and uses cupping. He does it to me when I try for gains in the gym, so end up sore or strained. It’s magic the way he does it. If cupping doesn’t knock the strain out he will dry needle, which I hate, but is even more effective.
I let my acupuncturist talk me into cupping for a sore back nearly a decade ago. It hurt, the bruises lasted over a week, and it did nothing for me. I’ll stick to the needles.
Cupping is great therapy and I think it is best to get it from an acupuncturist. If a person has bruises that last for ten days, the practitioner overdid it.
An acupuncturist will have been trained and had supervised clinical internship, plus potentially have answered questions on their board exams (at least a few) before being able to perform cupping. Also, if the cup is just popped on here or there, based on muscle tightness, the person is missing out the foundational principle of Chinese medicine, that of balancing the system. An acupuncturist or anyone else with meaningful training in Chinese medicine will place the cups with a certain ideology behind the placement.
Here are some good articles about cupping and Chinese medicine for anyone who is interested:
https://twoheartswellness.com/2016/08/09/cupping-from-michael-phelps-to-you-today/
https://kootenaycolumbiacollege.com/the-history-of-chinese-medicine-cupping/
Cupping is great, but for the very best cupping has to offer, it really is a good idea to go to someone who has undergone meaningful training.
I do self-cupping occassionally bc I have a suction cupping device. Once in awhile I just need Mr. IMUCU to place a cup in an area I can’t reach. The “bruises” actually become l less and less the more regular you are at it bc the blood flow to that area becomes better and less stagnant. I’ve had dark spots the first few times in an area, and then, over doing it a few times over many weeks, the same area won’t change color at all anymore. It just takes time and commitment and can help promote circulation and lymphatic drainage when done the right way in the right areas.
I have been in two ‘not my fault’ car accidents, 5 weeks about earlier this year. Soft tissue damage came with the accidents. I have been using cupping as part of my tissue rehab. I LOVE it. I feel so relaxed afterward.
However, my ‘hickeys’ never look that intense! That’s crazy!
You don#t need intense bruises. Cupping is just supposed to suck a little bit on your soft tissue which makes it swell a bit and improves circulation: blood and lymphatic system. Long-lasting bruises mean that there was way too much sucking. Same as a love bite: too much sucking.
I lived in Asia where you see cupping a lot on the street vendors. It was always described as good for fever, toxins and sore muscles. I don’t know if I’d trust an American hippie to do it as they’re supposed to be placed carefully on the body.
Dewan is cute as a button and nice and charming. But unfortunately her acting skills are a bit boring. She played one of the daughters in “witches of east end” and she got lucky with that part as she played the emotional and spirited daughter. But her acting was so boring. Honestly. Julia Ormond did play the daughters’ mother and Maedchen Amick played their aunt and they both did outshine Dewan.