Massage Ku Nye and Therapies from Tibet: Manual for Professional and Domestic Benefit

Dr. Nida studied this techniques while he was at the University of Lhasa and on his arrival in Italy undertook some research and experimentation on this techniques which resulted in an articles being published in Tibet. Massage, energy La treatment, moxa, bath therapy, stick massage, stone massage are very unic and authentic ones. Energy La is a protective and essential energy which moves continually within our bodies from day to day and from period to period. There is a strong link between Tibetan medicine and astrology. When Tibetan Medicine started to develop, it did so at the same time as Tibetan astrology which was an indigenous system that developed without influence from outside Tibet. The bLa moves around the body from day to day following the lunar calendar and from period to period in the arc of 24 hours. It is essential to make a precise distinction between the symptoms that indicate partial loss of the bLa from those typical of a rLung imbalance. In the 13th-14th century, Ratna Lingpa discovered a gterma (a text that has been hidden or buried by a master) which described the use of sticks for therapeutic purposes associated with Mantra Healing. Doctors and healers of Mantra Healing kept these techniques very secret for many years. Up to the 19th century, the use of sticks was considered to be a secret teaching and transmitted solely through a lineage that was direct, unique and particular. Later on this technique was described in a text by Gyaltsen Palzang who stated that this teaching should be considered secret. For this reason it risked being lost and today is no longer used in Tibet. Moxa therapy is found in various traditions of ancient medicine including Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. In the ancient text entitled Bum Shi and Gyu Shi, moxa is considered to be the second of five external therapies. Moxibustion is one of the oldest therapies. We can find many descriptions of this technique in ancient Tibetan texts dating back to a period well before the introduction of moxa into Traditional Chinese Medicine. Dr. Nida actually believes that its use may date back as far as the Stone Age and in fact moxibustion was initially done using stones which were rubbed in order to produce heat or which were heated directly on a fire and then applied to the points. With the passage of time the technique of moxa evolved. In a second phase the yak's horn was used. The horn was rubbed and when it became hot it was applied to the points. With the discovery of the therapeutic properties of herbs, the technique of grinding them, heating them and applying them on the points was introduced. The herbs used by the Chinese and the Tibetans are the same. Moxibustion makes use of the therapeutic function of heat. Whichever means is used, it is the energy of fire that penetrates the point and produces a therapeutic effect. The function of the energy of fire is to improve the circulation of the blood and the rLung and eliminate the energetic blocks thus encouraging the flow of all the energies of the body. It can be used for pain (caused by energetic blocks) and for pathologies that have effected the internal organs. The second therapeutic effect is derived from the use of herbs. Artemesia vulgaris is the herb that is commonly used. It can be used alone or together with other herbs according to the problems to be treated.