ASIAN Geographic Magazine - Issue 4 2010

In this issue

A peek into the Asian experience will reveal some of the most virile and varied forms of healing – ingredients and practises that testify to improving and maintaining the health of Homo sapiens. It is almost daunting keeping up with the myriad ways and concoctions still in practice today. It is somewhat strange to me now, having been brought up in a world where Western medicine ruled, despite having cultural heavyweights on my mother’s side of the family. It was truly an eye-opener to surrender to the ancient Asian healing techniques. I still remember the fi rst time I walked into a TCM shop and my fi rst encounter with what I then thought was a voodoo magic man. It has been decades since that fi rst experience. Today, “going Asian” is the fi rst option I consider before deciding on Western medication and medical practises. More recently, I had the nerve-wrecking opportunity to go through a successful bloodletting session, when acupuncture, cupping and even a prior Javanese massage episode failed. When the massive migraine from a titanic tension in the upper back muscle miraculously dissipated from being stabbed three times with a short but thick needle and blood was sucked out from the area via a cupping method, I silently thanked the ancient souls who sat by the Yellow River eight millenniums ago, inventing the beginnings of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I’ve also pinched my nose to swallow a mammoth mug of an Indonesian detox blend of tumeric and assam (tamarind) for four days straight. It was supposed to cleanse the insides and jump-start your metabolism, thus helping with fat burning and weight lost. The idea was to go on for a week for it to truly work, but alas, the fl esh was weakly grossed out. To say the least, it was not a pleasant experience. Over the years, I’ve also come in touch with reiki, yoga, ayurveda and chakra cleansing and alignment. And of course, I’ve also had pleasant hits with world-renowned massage techniques such as those from the Javanese...