Hijama in
New York City

Getting here from across the city

There is no hijama practice in every neighbourhood in New York, so almost everyone travels for it. We are in Flushing, in eastern Queens, which is straightforward from most of the city and a genuine trek from a few parts of it. It is worth knowing which one you are before you book:

• Queens

  Flushing, Kew Gardens Hills, Fresh Meadows

  Ten minutes or less by car. The practice is on 75th Avenue, a few blocks off Main Street. Most clients come from inside this ring and treat it as a local appointment.

• Queens

  Jamaica, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Bayside, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights

  Fifteen to twenty-five minutes. The F and E to Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike, or the Q64 and Q46 buses, both put you within a short walk.

• Manhattan

  Midtown and downtown

  Forty-five minutes to an hour on the E or F. Long enough that it is worth booking a slot rather than turning up, and long enough that people usually make one visit do the work of two.

• Brooklyn · Bronx

  North Brooklyn, the Bronx, Long Island

  An hour, give or take, and people do make the trip — usually for the price or because they want a female practitioner. Say where you are coming from when you message and we will find a slot that fits the journey.

Coming from inside the borough? The cupping therapy in Queens page has the local detail.

What hijama costs in New York City

This is the question people ask first, and the one most clinics in the city answer only by phone. The going rate for a hijama or wet cupping session in New York is $60 to $150. That figure usually buys the cups alone: the consultation is billed separately at a good many practices, and massage cupping and red light therapy are sold as add-ons at most of the ones that offer them at all.

Here the arithmetic is one line. Ten dollars a cup, and nothing else is charged. A back-and-shoulders session is typically six to eight cups, so most people pay $60 to $80 — for a session that includes the consultation, a full electric massage cupping across the back, and time under the red light before any hijama begins.

The full breakdown, and how it compares across the city: what cupping therapy costs in NYC.

How to choose a hijama practitioner in NYC

Hijama is not a licensed profession in New York State. There is no register to check and no board to complain to, which means the standard varies more than it should between one practice and the next. Five things separate a practice you should book from one you should leave — and they apply whether or not you come to us:

• 01

  Everything that touches you is single-use

  Cups, blades and gloves out of a sealed packet in front of you, and into a sharps bin afterwards. Hijama breaks the skin, so this is not a nicety. If a practitioner reuses cups, or cannot show you the packet, walk out.

• 02

  You get a consultation before anyone touches a cup

  Where the cups go depends on your symptoms, your history and what medication you take — blood thinners in particular change the approach. A practitioner who does not ask is guessing.

• 03

  The gender question is answered before you arrive

  Ask who will be treating you and where. A practice set up for it will have a straight answer and separate rooms; one that improvises will tell you it depends who is in that day.

• 04

  The price you are quoted is the price you pay

  Ask what is included. Across New York City the consultation, the massage cupping and the red light are commonly billed as extras on top of a session fee, so a $70 quote finishes north of $120.

• 05

  Nobody promises you a cure

  Hijama relieves pain and congestion and many people find it helps them sleep. It does not cure disease and it does not "detox" your blood — the evidence for those claims does not exist. Anyone selling them is selling something.

If you want to know what actually happens in the room before you commit to anyone, the plain-English guide to wet cupping therapy walks through a session start to finish, including what the evidence does and does not support.

Women and men, seen separately

Women are treated by Hasina and men by Ahmad, in separate partitioned rooms. No practitioner works on a client of the opposite gender, and that does not change depending on who is in that day. Families come together and are seen apart. Between them the practice speaks English, Farsi and Pashto.

For a lot of people in this city that is the whole reason a nearer appointment was never booked. If it is the reason for you, hijama for women covers how the sessions are run, what to wear, and cupping around your cycle.

Common questions

• Q

  How much does hijama cost in New York City?

  Most practices in the city charge $60 to $150 for a session, usually with the consultation billed separately and massage cupping and red light therapy priced as add-ons. Here it is $10 per cup and nothing else is charged. A typical back-and-shoulders session runs six to eight cups, so $60 to $80 all in.

• Q

  How long does a hijama session take?

  About an hour door to door. The consultation takes ten to fifteen minutes, the red light and massage cupping about fifteen, and the hijama itself twenty to thirty depending on how many cups.

• Q

  How often should you have hijama?

  Most people go every two to three months. There is no benefit to going more often than that for general wellbeing, and going too frequently gives the skin no time to recover between sessions.

• Q

  Who should avoid hijama?

  Anyone on blood thinners, anyone with a bleeding disorder, and anyone pregnant should not have wet cupping. If that is you, the massage cupping and red light therapy are safe alternatives and cost nothing here. Tell us at the consultation either way.

• Q

  What is the difference between hijama and cupping?

  Cupping is the general term for suction therapy. Hijama is the wet form — suction, then a few superficial scratches so a small amount of stagnant blood is drawn off — and it is the form named in the Sunnah. Dry cupping leaves the skin unbroken.

Worried about the marks? They are a normal part of it and they fade — what cupping marks mean and how long they last.

Where to find us

150-43 75th Ave, Flushing, NY 11367. By appointment only — confirm your slot before travelling, particularly if you are crossing the city for it.