Chinese Cupping Therapy

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I had been wanting to try Chinese cupping therapy since I saw Lauryn Evarts' snaps, grams, and blog about it. I'm a big fan of acupuncture and massage, but hadn't gotten around to trying cupping. I also wasn't sure I could find a good practitioner, having just moved from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. But I very luckily stumbled upon the most incredible massage therapist who also practices cupping.

Cupping is an ancient treatment that touts some of the same benefits of acupuncture: decreased anxiety, pain relief, better circulation, etc. Some say it's like a reverse massage that sucks the toxins out of your body. The procedure typically leaves you with circular bruises for a week or two, depending on the level of toxicity.

After about 40 minutes of massage, we transitioned to cupping. I felt pressure and slight discomfort for sure, but absolutely no pain. When I settled into it, the suction actually felt amazing. She first placed a ton of cups all on my upper back and then moved them to my lower back. In a quick 15 minutes, she was already removing the cups. 

It's now been two weeks, and my purple marks are completely gone and I can't wait for my next treatment. Try it out and let me know what you think! {LM}

 

The Tampons I Can't Stop Talking About

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My sisters have been trying to get me on the Diva Cup for years. They always insisted that my Tampax Pearl tampons were icky and full of chemicals. My oldest sister told me huge corporations that make tampons aren't even required to disclose actual ingredients, so it's almost impossible to know what the mix of artificial fibers and chemicals are in your go-to boxes. It's actually terrifying to think about the chemicals hiding in tampons--we put them in our bodies around the clock for a week every single month!! But even though I love the idea of the Diva Cup, I personally never had much luck using it. 

My period prayers were answered when I discovered Lola, a 100% cotton product developed by some serious and adorable boss babes that love talking tampons. They are all about simplicity, convenience, and total transparency.

The concept is truly simple: pick your mix of tampon sizes and have a box automatically delivered to your door each month so you never have to worry about running out to the store at the last minute. Even with delivery, a box of Lola tampons costs about the same as my old Tampax Pearls AND comes with only one ingredient in the prettiest packaging.

Women's bodies are incredible and I think getting your period should be a reminder of that--getting my box of Lola tampons each month feels like a present and honestly makes my week infinitely better. Oh, and this is not a sponsored situation. I'm just obsessed.

On a different but related note, if you haven't been following the tampon tax debate, check it out. I can't believe this is even a debate. Feminine hygiene products are a basic necessity that should be made as accessible as possible! {LM}