In Tibetan Medical Center in Nepal, a doctor diagnosed me after feeling my heart rate on different spots on my arms. I was stunned by the accuracy of his conclusions. He administrated a set of herbal medicines I should take each morning, lunch and evening with a glass of hot water throughout next two months and gave some general dietary advice. Surely enough after one month I had the desired effect!
I have grown gradually more interested in traditional healing practices and ancient wisdom behind it. In Bali's culture traditional healers - balians - play a very important role and their number is far greater than of regular doctors. Due to the book "Eat, Pray, Love", visit to the balians has become a tourist attraction, so fake "healers" have apparently popped up, so I was a bit concerned how I will find a real one. For that reason I decided not to use Google in my search, but rather wait and see. I thought if my mind is set to finding a healer, the opportunity will come.
And it did. I got a phone number of Pak Man, made an appointment, rented a scooter and went there. All I knew is that he smokes cigarettes, blows the smoke at you and then sees hat's going on inside you. He has an Australian wife, who acts as a translator.
In the beginning we had a long discussion as my worries were more of spiritual kind rather than a concrete physical ailment. This all took place outside on a porch over a glass of water and cigarette smoke in my face. He had such a presence to him, hard to describe with words. Sense of peace, kindness, empathy and wisdom. And the cigarettes he had smelled absolutely wonderful, I could not get over my bewilderment. So I took another breath-full and explained my worries and fears. A hard thing to do, but no real point to keep them inside, as he would be able too see them anyway.
What followed was the treatment part. He had concluded that most of my energy blockages are related to liver and spleen. Everything that you have experienced in your life leaves a mark. Stress, negative emotions, sadness, bigger or smaller tragedies, you name it, they all affect the body directly, creating blockages in different places. His healing method for me was to use medicinal oil and do kind of acupuncture to work on the liver and spleen spots all over the body. I knew it's gonna hurt, but man, did it hurt! In some spots I had to wince and scream and the pain made me sweat. Seriously. But I could feel the progress as he was working on a specific spot - after a while it hurt less and even less, until it was almost just a strong stroke. A moment to gather yourself before the next spot.
When feet and legs where done, it was time to move over to the belly. That's a whole new level of pain, plus something I am not used to at all. Aren't we all more used to someone poking around your back or even legs and feet, but belly is something you usually keep to yourself. I consciously tried to breath calmly and remain as silent as possible, but it was not possible. On one spot though, even though the level of pain was probably the same as before, I could not take it, tears started to run down my cheeks. Finally he was done with that spot and I could gather myself. He had a box of tissues nearby, so I felt relieved, that apparently I'm not the first weak one.
Then it was time for back and neck. At one moment I was just sitting with my legs crossed and neck bent ahead, really relaxed. Then suddenly before I could understand whats happening, he crabbed my head by my hair and shook it really wildly. My neck crackled in about ten different places. Later he crackled my spine as well. Scary stuff.
After the head, chest and arms as well, the healing session was over. Time to sit on the porch again and talk about what he had found and for some final advice. The point that I had started crying, he explained, was a place where my previous sorrows had huddled together, so he released them. Doing so I party had to relive those emotions, hence the tears. I could easily draw a parallel with a dear person for me, who explained her experiences with ayurvedic massage.
We had some tea, I relaxed in the best smelling smoke in the world and left on my motorbike looking ahead.
I have grown gradually more interested in traditional healing practices and ancient wisdom behind it. In Bali's culture traditional healers - balians - play a very important role and their number is far greater than of regular doctors. Due to the book "Eat, Pray, Love", visit to the balians has become a tourist attraction, so fake "healers" have apparently popped up, so I was a bit concerned how I will find a real one. For that reason I decided not to use Google in my search, but rather wait and see. I thought if my mind is set to finding a healer, the opportunity will come.
And it did. I got a phone number of Pak Man, made an appointment, rented a scooter and went there. All I knew is that he smokes cigarettes, blows the smoke at you and then sees hat's going on inside you. He has an Australian wife, who acts as a translator.
In the beginning we had a long discussion as my worries were more of spiritual kind rather than a concrete physical ailment. This all took place outside on a porch over a glass of water and cigarette smoke in my face. He had such a presence to him, hard to describe with words. Sense of peace, kindness, empathy and wisdom. And the cigarettes he had smelled absolutely wonderful, I could not get over my bewilderment. So I took another breath-full and explained my worries and fears. A hard thing to do, but no real point to keep them inside, as he would be able too see them anyway.
What followed was the treatment part. He had concluded that most of my energy blockages are related to liver and spleen. Everything that you have experienced in your life leaves a mark. Stress, negative emotions, sadness, bigger or smaller tragedies, you name it, they all affect the body directly, creating blockages in different places. His healing method for me was to use medicinal oil and do kind of acupuncture to work on the liver and spleen spots all over the body. I knew it's gonna hurt, but man, did it hurt! In some spots I had to wince and scream and the pain made me sweat. Seriously. But I could feel the progress as he was working on a specific spot - after a while it hurt less and even less, until it was almost just a strong stroke. A moment to gather yourself before the next spot.
When feet and legs where done, it was time to move over to the belly. That's a whole new level of pain, plus something I am not used to at all. Aren't we all more used to someone poking around your back or even legs and feet, but belly is something you usually keep to yourself. I consciously tried to breath calmly and remain as silent as possible, but it was not possible. On one spot though, even though the level of pain was probably the same as before, I could not take it, tears started to run down my cheeks. Finally he was done with that spot and I could gather myself. He had a box of tissues nearby, so I felt relieved, that apparently I'm not the first weak one.
Then it was time for back and neck. At one moment I was just sitting with my legs crossed and neck bent ahead, really relaxed. Then suddenly before I could understand whats happening, he crabbed my head by my hair and shook it really wildly. My neck crackled in about ten different places. Later he crackled my spine as well. Scary stuff.
After the head, chest and arms as well, the healing session was over. Time to sit on the porch again and talk about what he had found and for some final advice. The point that I had started crying, he explained, was a place where my previous sorrows had huddled together, so he released them. Doing so I party had to relive those emotions, hence the tears. I could easily draw a parallel with a dear person for me, who explained her experiences with ayurvedic massage.
We had some tea, I relaxed in the best smelling smoke in the world and left on my motorbike looking ahead.
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