The Tibetan Cure

I now sit back in Canada reminiscing about my final - and one of the most meaningful health encounter in India. Dr. Yeshi Dhonden - most commonly referred to as the Dalai Lama's Doctor.

Dr. Dhonden is a world renowned physician, and served the Dalai Lama personally from 1960 to 1980, and yet unlike getting in to see a specialist in Canada, Yeshi Dhonden is very accessible to everyone.

Having come out of a 10 day Vipassan meditation retreat my back was a little troubled and clearly announcing it's presence with pain. It apparently didn't like being subjected to 10 hours of daily sitting. Luckily some friends told me about the Dalai Lama's doctor and that anyone could get in to see him. It was a date!

A few days later a gang of precocious backpackers gathered in the early morning (5am) in the main square of McLeod Ganj. We wandered down the empty streets, urine bottles in hand (one of the Dr's diagnostic tools), until we found the small line up that already began to form at the clinic's front door. At 7am an elderly monk came out and handed out numbers to those waiting patiently in line. A total of 40 numbers are available daily. With our numbers securely in our pockets we went to have an anticipatory breakfast before the clinic officially opened at 8.

With my belly full I returned to the clinic and sat in the waiting room until it was my turn. A wobbly monk would occasionaly come out of the doctor's office and guide people wordlessly down the hall. When my turn came he encouraged me to follow him to a sink. Demonstrated that he wanted me to pour my bottle of pee into his cup, where he whisked it, observed quickly the peculiarities of my morning pee and immediately poured it down the drain. He then guided me into the Doctor's office, sat me down, grabbed my hands and with his fingers observed my pulse. This was Yeshi Dhonden himself. He looked me in the eye and pointed at his back and abdomen. I whole hartedly agreed, yes those are definitely the areas where I need some help.

Another young Doctor in the office served as translator and told me they needed to work on Kidney energy. I was given a prescription written in Tibetan and asked to leave the office but return in a week for further evaluation. The entire visit took about 5 minutes. At the clinic's pharmacy my prescription was filled and I received 4 bags of little brown pellets, to be taken at specific times throughout the day with a glass of warm water. The pellets made up of different herbs look and taste like rabbit turd (I'm assuming, I don't really know what rabbit turd tastes like) whi makes chewing them as instructed a distasteful act, but well worth it.

Within a couple of days my back started to improve as did my energy. I returned to the doc. after taking my pulse he changed one of the herbs and gave me a 2 month supply, sying I should be all better by then.

I've been keeping to the pellet chewing schedule and feeling good about it - I don't even make faces anymore while I down the herbs! I'll let you all know how it goes.

Vipassana, Enlightenment in 10 Easy Steps

ok, well maybe not so easy.
I recently finished a 10 day silent Vipassana retreat. It was as pleasant as going through drug rehab and as transformational.

Vipassana is an ancient Buddhist meditation. Today different styles are taught, but the most influential at the moment is S.N. Goenka's version. Goenka, born in Burma, was taught by Burmese monks who claim to have maintained the purity of Buddha's meditation technique for 2 and a half millenia. He has become responsible for the spread of these teachings around the world through his many Vipassana centres (over 100 I believe, and one only an hour from Toronto)

For 10 days I lived like a Buddhist nun. I had to first take refuge in triple gem - a Buddhist Tradition where one takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma (the law of nature), and the Sangha (the monastic community). From there we promise to keep 5 precepts:

1. to abstain from killing any living creature;
2. to abstain from stealing;
   
3. to abstain from all sexual activity;
4. to abstain from telling lies;
5. to abstain from all intoxicants.

This was pretty easy since participants are only allowed to communicate with the teachers and Dhamma servers (volunteers there to cater to all your needs), and we were meditating 10 hours a day - not much time for much else other than sleeping and eating.

The first 4 days were spent focusing on the breath in order to sharpen the mind and the lat 6 days focused on the Vipassana technique itself where one focuses on the sensations of the body as a way to connect with the subconscious mind.

Needless to say this was a very challenging process from the very beginning. I had to share a room with 4 other girls- without communicating or making eye contact. It wasn't until the 3rd day that I started to realize who my roomates were. My back was killing me as were my knees and shoulders, and other parts I never knew existed. And to top it all off my mind refused to shut up. I've meditated before I thought to myself - and all other techniques I've used have silenced my mind much better than this.

But soon I realized that was the point - to get all the daydreams out of your system so you could focus on the more important work ahead. Everyday I considered leaving. I thought I'll just wait one more meditation and one more discussion and then I'll leave. For the whole term I almost ran away it felt so unbearable. But at the same time my mind began to open up. I started understanding how I'm the cause of my own suffering. Really grasping the understanding not just knowing this intellectually. It's changed how I react to external stimuli. I'm more aware and less negative.

The other incredible thing is that you start to notice all these negativities clearing out of your system. You are able to observe them arise and depart without reacting and creating more negative energy.

However this process really aggravated my back and knees. Staying now in the hills of Bagshu just north of McLeod Ganj and Dharmasala it's been tough walking up the steep hills. But I have discovered the next step in my healing journey -so stayed tuned and I will further elaborate.

Also according to Goenka one should not practice Vipassana and Reiki. He says you have to choose one or the other or risk going crazy. If anyone knows anything about this or has an opinion please leave a comment.

Diving into Ayurveda

OK. So I'm doing it. I'm diving head first into a treatment plan that I'm a tad skeptical about, however I will try it with an open mind.

Arriving to Goa felt like the weight of the world was sliding of my shoulders. The warm sea air (noticeably cooler than the scorching heat of Tamil Nadu), the palm trees swaying in the breeze and the portuguese architecture gracing the tropical landsape. Ahhh heaven. I spent 2 months here 5 years ago, but I was bracing myself knowing that the tourism industry, always predominant, had exploded. Especially in my cherished Arambol, a formerly sleepy little fishing village now grown beyond recognition.

Our first planned stop was Candolim. An old friend (Vijay) opened a gorgeous Ayurvedic clinic here, and we thought to stop for a brief hello, a couple of days and then head down to my old haunt Arambol. Vijay treated Jose and I to some free massages, steam baths, and facials. And I was hooked by the luxury of it. Vijay also has a way with words and he convinced me to stay for a treatment. After contemplating his offer I accepted.

I have to admit this mode of medicine is a bit bizzare and often uncomfortable. I had experienced some basic massages - but the first day of treatment was something else.

I met with the Ayurvedic Doctor who told me very little. I had to fish everything out of him. He took my pulse and I asked him to explain what he found. He said I'm Vatta Pitta. A blend of 2 doshas. In Ayurveda there are 3 Doshas - Vatta, Kappa, and Pitta. Each a constitution having it's own quirks and tendencies. I will get more info on the specifics and add it to future postings.

Anyways I'm starting with a treatment to remove excess Vatta. 4 women pund me with linen bundles filled with piping hot herbs, while a 5th woman prepares fresh bundles as the temperature of the beating must remain constant. This is done while I'm contorted into 7 different positions. Some comfortable, some not. This process lasts around an hour. After which I'm so stinky that even after a shower my boyfriend won't come near me! This follows a wonderful Ayurvedic massage performed by 2 people (I will describe this further soon).

After the brutal pounding I am guided into a "steam bath", which looks like a medeival torture device - a big box with a hole for my head. I sit there for 15 minutes while steam medicated with a combination of herbs is piped into the box. This feels almost unbearable after all the previous treatment. But the facial I get after makes up for it.

Yoga Therapy part deux

To continue from the previous post:

After performing Karma Yoga, which consisted of sanding down the very rusty door to the studio and then priming it (I know you're all thinking I'm a sucker doing manual labour for free) we got to rest. This meant doing Suddoku puzzles. Then another dose of Asana practice and then dinner. We're starving by this time.

Afterwards we received a good dose of Satsang - or a lecture on spirituality to stimulate our minds. This was followed by an evening meditation and then bedtime. Needless to say they kept us busy.

But what was the point of all this???
As I said before the goal is to find self realization. Am I any closer to such a lofty goal, I have no idea. But I certainly deepened my meditation practice and somehow appear to be needing less sleep. A big achievement in my books.

Another big goal is healing and promoting health through balancing the mind and the body. Asanas are used to strengthen the body and keep in flexible - keeping the stiffness and deterioration of age at bay. According to my teacher Harilal it is a treatment for everything from diabetes and arthritis to asthma - all diseases originating in the mind. Through meditation one gains an understanding of the mind and hence these illnesses disapear.

In yoga therapy one is given specific exercises to practice. Both physical asanas as well as mental exercises. Also one receives internal cleansing protocols. Most of which I find nasty - like pouring water through the nose or cleaning the stomach by swallowing a cloth. Anyone out there ready to experiment with such things and let me know how it goes?

The name of the Ashram is Arsha Yoga Gurukulam. It is located in Idduki in the western Ghats of Kerala. I don't have their website but I promise to post it soon. The magnificent and knowledgable hosts are Harilal and his disciple Sudarsh. I highly recommend this beutiful, tranquil place. Just watch out for the ants and spiders.

Currently Jose and I are in Pondichery Tamil Nadu working on our eyesight. This place is incredible and we're both blown away by the results. For all the delicious details stay tuned to the next edition.

Catching Up, Allopathy vs. Natural Medicine

it's 9:15pm in the Keralan heat as I sit in a dingy internet cafe writing on a sticky keyboard. We're in a small city called Kollam (or Quilam) where one can hire a boat and go explore the backwaters of Kerala. The bakwaters are a series of rivers, canals and lakes that connect a significant part of the state.

We began our journey into Kerala in Trivandrum - nearing the southernmost tip of India. We arrived by plane from Bombay - that an adventure in itself. Though we planed to quickly move through the city and head to the beach, we got stuck with dis-ease. Jose had a bad case of Delhi belly (or maybe Pune belly). He was so dehydrated that we finally decided that yes the hospital was an appropriate place to go. After struggling to find a rickshaw driver who understood the word hopital we made it to Govindras hospital. A lovely place set in a Colonial House. Within seconds of paying 50 rupees for a hospital card we got to see the Dr. He looked at Jose's tongue at declared that he was dehydrated and prescribed and I.V. right away.

The nurse led us to an open area of the hotel, i mean hospital, where Jose was able to commune with nature as he recieved inter venous nourishment, while I lay down on the bed next to him. 2 hours later the water back in his system we go to see the Dr. as we're about to get discharged Jose, to my horror, passes out into the Doctor's arms. More I.V. the Doc declares. 2 hours later we're discharged with probiotics, rehydration solution, and a bottle for a stool culture. I was amazed, they didn't try to give him a single drug, treated him with respect using only natural forms of medicine. That and a dose of homeopathic Sulfur from me.

That morning I awoke with a painful kink in my neck. For me the doc at the hospital prescribed muscle relaxants. Next thing I know I feel weak and dizzy, and by evening I have a fever and I'm delirious. We all the hospital and they tell me I have a viral fever, if I need to come in the morning I should. I guided Jose through my Homeopathic computer program and we came to the remedy Aconite (I was terrified, my neck hurt, and i had a nasty fever). That calmed me down a great deal. Then the intense headache started, I got insatiably thirsty and every movement was an agonizing ordeal. I took a dose of Bryonia - a remedy that has helped me many times in the past. By morning I was weak but able to rest and eat. The next morning we both had enough strength or the one hour train journey to Varkala.

I think the drugs the Doctor gave me may have made me sick or at the least didn't help my neck in the least, while homeopathy got me through the night. I also met several people in the last few days who suffered from bad fevers for several days and were given antibiotics by medical professionals. Hurray for alternative medicine. Next time I'll talk about my Ayurvedic experience in Varkala - now it's time for bed.

no ricksha, no one rupee, no balloon, no magnets, no problem!

I know I know, it's been a long time and the pics I promised have not appeared! but I promise some nice things to look at before the end of the week.

We're now ssettling down in Pune for the next couple of weeks so I hope to have more time for this blogging thing (I have to admit the infinitely slow connections are a bit of a detraction)

So on the health front: it's been 10 days since my reflexology and Su Jok treatment and my knees and back have responded after only 1 treatment. My knees have been completely pain free and my back has given little hastle - especially considering long train excursions and carrying an ever increasing load (somehow my backpack keeps getting heavier - could this be correlated with shopping?) This seems like something I need to learn and explore further.

In the meantime Jose and I have visited Udaipur - home of octopussy! No one here will let you forget that this classic Bond movie was filmed on location in Udaipur. It is a majestic city on the shores of a quiet lake - and provided much more atmosphere than little touristy Pushkar. We left after 5 peaceful days to attack the crowds and the wallas in the sprawling metropolis of Mumbai.

In Mumbai I visited the Shree Mumbadevi Homeopathic hospital. What an amazing institution! A complete hospital with every department imaginable from a gynaecology department to a rheumatology department. There were even 2 women that had gone into labour waiting to give birth. And they tell me around 80% of all patients are treated homeoapthically. Here life and death situations are treated using homeopathic remedies with full confidence - something Homeopaths in the Western world can learn a great deal from.

There is even a government sponsored research department that for the last 10 years has been focusing on the treatment of HIV/AIDS, and have found success with patients returning to a viral load of zero! I filmed some scenes in the hospital and will have them up on the site at some point (even if it's only after I return)

One thing I've really enjoyed in India is that when I tell people what I do they nod and call me Doctor. Nobody asks what Homeopathy is, and nobody doubts whether it works. Even the tourists, like this French woman I met who works for big pharma and was carrying around her vials of Boiron remedies. People know and have embraced Homeopathy, though there are still many misconceptions about it. Many think that it is only for chronic illness and can be of no help in serious acute conditions - but my time at the Homeopathic Hospital has proven them wrong.

And now I find myself in Pune, home of the famous and indeed infamous Osho Ashram. What was once a true place for meditation, awareness, and hence healing, (and maybe I'll go and check it out once again to see if it's still true to its roots). Tomorrow I begin my internship with Dr. Sunil Anand and I'm sure I will have lots to report.

Technical Difficulties

As to be expected it is taking us a long time to get our electronic devices running. To begin with the adaptors we purchased at Europe bound under good proffesional advice, don't actually work in India, or they kind of do if you want to plug in a refrigerator! So after shorting out our hotel with such a device we began the search for an Indian adaptor. After much searching and deliberation we purchased an adaptor with a fuse... but it didn't seen to actually hold the plug in place - and hence the search continued. We finally found an unfused one and we're risking our devises to India's electrical system.

Now with lots of juice to power the cameras and computer we find that the devices aren't recognized by the computer, and it may take longer than anticipated to get the show on the road. So in the meantime I will fascinate you with pictures and tales and you'll have to let your imagination do the walking.

we're currently in Pushkar, one of the holiest cities in India - it is the only place to have a temple dedicated to the God Brahma - a being cursed to having no one worship him for having cheated on his wife - a warning to all you men out there!!

For all your amusement and my own sense of curiosity I visited a local reflexologist. After explaining he could cure my back problem in 5 minutes he began the very painful "massage" of my feet using a variety of instruments. I cought all this on video and promise to post it as soon as possible. He introduced me to a Koean technique that similarly to reflexology claims it can clear blockages in the energetic system by attaching pressure and seeds or magnets to corresponding parts of the hands and feet.

For the next day my back felt just as bad and even a bit worse than it had for days. I'm not sure as to whether his cure did much at all. Though I do admit that today my back feels more at ease - and I feel ready to conquer the local bus to the nearbye town of Ajmer for a little site seeing.

An Introductory Ramble

I promise to not have too many of these long hauled rambles, but I do want to begin by introducing me, this site, and my intentions.

I've been fascinated with mysticism since as long as I can remember. As a child I gobbled books by the dozen that had to do with fantasy and science fiction, and by the time I made it to junior high school I had a keen interest in the occult. I started to realize that magic is an ever present aspect of everyday life and that it's actually possible to to encourage its presence through awareness, intention and spirituality. This became the focus of my university education as i studied performance, religion, shamanism, and their connections to healing.

Now to take a little aside here to discuss spirituality. This is a word loaded with meaning, that is used much too frivolously and simultaneously much too seriously. By spirituality I am not referring to frou frou new age capitalism, nicely packaged and sold to the public as true religion, and I'm not talking about dogmatic institutions that claim theirs is the only way; I'm referring to the underlying soul of humanity. I'm talking about the archetypes that can be found in every culture, inevitably pointing us in the right direction. I'm talking about a personal exploration of reality and reflection of the self, other, and the universal whole. A journey to be taken lightly, with joy and compassion as well as depth, determination, and commitment.

So what is health and healing and how does it fit into a spiritual paradigm? What is the role of religion (which I define as a belief system regardless of organisation or lack of) in healing and healing in religion? This is one of the questions I'm on a journey to investigate. I expect to find polarity, dichotomy, dualism, and unification - Answers? Maybe. A journey? Definitely.

I now prepare to head to India where I plan to explore Homeopathic Medicine, Ayurveda, Yoga, Tai Chi (I'm aware it's not of Indian origin but my spectacular Tai Chi teacher lives in Goa), Devotionalism, Prayer, Tantra, and anything else that may fall in my path.

In the meantime as I prepare you will find ramblings, philosophy and the results of my research.

one last thing the picture above is of a bedouin I encountered in Petra, Jordan who was sharing with us some medicinal plants (not just the ones he's smoking)

I look forward to comments, so please feel free to add yours

Convert the Whales

My roommate Noah is preparing to go on his own more imminent journey to Mexico and more specifically San Cristobal de las Casas. He departs tomorrow morning.

In good Jewish tradition another member of my extensive household presented Noah with a parting gift - $5. We believe that if you go somewhere with the intention of performing a good deed, a mitzva, then God will ensure your safety until you finish your mission. Your mission should you choose to accept it is to drop $5 in a donation box. And as a rather orthodox friend once told me, "and don't give to to Save the Whales or anything stupid like that". We figure convert the whales would be a more acceptable contribution in the eyes of the all mighty.

As a side note San Cristobal is the centre of a revolution. Guided by the Zapatistas, indigenous people are fighting for their rights, for the rights of indigenous people around the world, and for unbiased and free media.

For more info you can check out the following sites:
www.zapatistas.org
wiki's version
and if you speak spanish this is their official site

Indian Bureaucracy - The Journey Begins

You start your preparations:

Packing list:
passport - check
sleeping bag - check
first aid kit - check
3 pairs of socks - check
underwear - check

visa - damn, better get on that! I'lll just head down to the consulate..... or not. As of Nov. 20th they only accept application via mail, you must trust your passport, pictures, and bankdraft to the mailman. Hmmmmmmm.

shanti shanti shanti - time to get into the vibe and place your faith in the hands of the unforseeable. In this case, the bureaucrat.