BA | Damp-Cold Cupping Oil

TIAN DI 天地 | BA 拔 Damp-Cold Cupping Oil | 4 FL OZ / 120 mL

Like GUA, BA is built for a tool rather than a phase. But where gua sha is wind-heat work, cupping lives at the opposite pole: damp and cold, the frozen field where yang qi is stuck and cannot circulate, the chronic channel obstruction that deep tissue work alone has not freed. BA is warming throughout, built to match that mandate. The suction of the cup draws deep holding patterns up toward the surface, and BA warms and mobilizes what is brought up, then supports the marked tissue afterward so the work completes. It is the wrong oil for a hot, inflamed, or acute injury. Where the field is hot and reddened rather than cold and bound, that is gua sha's territory, and GUA is the oil for it.

Ai Ye leads at 19%, aged mugwort, the herbal partner to moxa and the classical name in the damp-cold plaster lineage, warming and opening the channels and dispelling cold from the meridians. Beneath it a four-Deputy team carries the full wind-cold-damp dispel: Qiang Huo and Du Huo open the Du Mai and clear cold from the upper and lower body Tai Yang where cupping is most often performed, Wei Ling Xian travels all twelve channels for migratory and channel-deep damp, and Cang Zhu dries damp aromatically at the surface and the middle layer. Gui Zhi warms and conducts through the cold-locked channels of the frozen shoulder and upper back. Fang Feng and Bai Zhi release the surface, Mu Gua relaxes the bound sinew, and Hong Hua and San Qi move blood across the marked field afterward so the cupping marks resolve. Mu Xiang moves the qi beneath it all. BA carries no Bing Pian, because a cool surface envoy would contradict the warming work the modality requires.

Indicated for: Damp-cold accumulation, chronic muscular tension that worsens in cold or damp weather, paraspinal holding with cold sensitivity, lumbar and gluteal tension with damp signs. Frozen Tai Yang patterns, frozen shoulder, chronic neck and upper back rigidity without acute heat, scapular and trapezius holding where the tissue is cold and stuck rather than hot and inflamed. Chronic channel obstruction along the bladder and gallbladder trajectories where the dominant pattern is cold and damp. Routine practitioner cupping across the upper back, paraspinals, lumbar region, gluteus, and lower extremities. Chronic muscle tension that deep tissue work has not freed. BA is modality-driven, used whenever cupping is the chosen tool and the underlying pattern is damp-cold or chronic channel obstruction, regardless of injury phase.

Application: Apply 4 to 6 drops to the treatment field before cupping and spread evenly across the zone. For sliding cup work, let the oil settle into the surface for one to two minutes first; for stationary cups, it may be applied immediately before placement. Suitable for fire cupping, suction cupping, sliding, and stationary application. The cupping marks that follow are the expected result and typically fade within 5 to 10 days, depending on the depth of stagnation mobilized. Keep the area covered and out of wind and cold for the rest of the day.

Key Ingredients: Ai Ye (Mugwort) Leaf, Qiang Huo (Notopterygium) Rhizome, Du Huo (Angelica Pubescens) Root, Wei Ling Xian (Clematis) Root, Cang Zhu (Atractylodes) Rhizome, Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig), Mu Gua (Chaenomeles) Fruit, Hong Hua (Safflower) Flower, Fang Feng (Saposhnikovia) Root, Bai Zhi (Angelica Dahurica) Root, Mu Xiang (Costus) Root, San Qi (Notoginseng) Root. Carrier: Sesame oil 80%, Castor oil 20%, with Vitamin E (Tocopherol).

For external use only. Avoid contact with eyes and mucous membranes. Do not apply to broken or irritated skin, open wounds, active dermatitis, or recent surgical sites. Do not use over hot, swollen, or acutely inflamed tissue; BA is warming throughout. Do not use over actively bleeding tissue. Do not use during pregnancy. Use with caution in the presence of significant heat signs. Discontinue use if irritation or sensitivity develops. Keep out of reach of children. For professional use. Contains sesame oil; do not use if you have a sesame allergy.