Hilot

Whether they are Filipinos, who are returning home from work overseas or are migrants coming home for much-awaited family reunions and tropical vacations, they continue to look for the healing touch of the Hilot.

And while it is common among many Filipinos to seek the Western mode of medical treatment for ailments, the Hilot, as a remedy, still retains its esteemed and recognized place in the hierarchy of non-invasive, traditional healing methods.

Hilot is a word from the Tagalog dialect meaning massage-rubbing or touch with soothing strokes. Touch is the modality of Hilot. Initially, one might think it is simply a massage, but Hilot is more. It is energy manipulation.

While many popular massages had predetermined sequences of strokes, Hilot manipulates the electrical charges of the body that creates a biochemical reaction where it is needed. It harnesses bio-energies for balance, harmony, health and wellness. When this is done properly, the biochemical reaction brings balance once again to the body.

What is Hilot?
Hilot is the age-old indigenous Filipino healing practice associated with elderly healers. It is relatively complex way of healing methodology complete with philosophy, health concept, healing concept and healing methodologies. The Hilot Master or Manghihilot could identify body illnesses or areas of energy imbalance in the body through many unconventional methods like pulse reading, hot and cold analysis, phrenology, stool/urine/perspiration analysis. It is the oldest and the most secret arts in the Philippines. Due to the secrecy of the art, very rarely do Manghihilot teach this art to the general public. Most Hilot in the Philippines are either learned from relatives, through hands on practice, or inherited from their forefathers, passing the art from one generation to the next.

Backgroud of Hilot
The practice of Hilot is a part of the Filipino way of life. Traditionally, prior to the popularity of modern medical doctors, the Manghihilot was the health care giver of the community. Like all traditions, it has seen its share of being pushed to the background at the arrival of new methods, new medicines and new technology.

Lately, in the worldwide resurgence of alternative forms of medicine and the research and study of the old ways of healing, Hilot is re-established as the Filipino Healing Art based on scientific- universal and natural laws.

Concept of Hilot
Man is considered healthy or “at-ease” if his faculties (mind, emotion and body) are in harmony with the Universal Law. This harmony sets the phase for the balance and precise combination of the Elements of the body (earth, water, fire and air). The unique combination of the four Elements varies according to man's existing patterns and programs that are called genes. Furthermore, the unique combinations are also dependent on man's lifestyle, culture and environment. This combination has its own individual limitations, and once limitations are violated, imbalances happen. The imbalance is called “dis-ease.”

Imbalances of elements of the body could be corrected by the introduction of changes through; biochemical, neuro-electrical, electro-magnetic and bio mechanical means.

Making of a Hilot
The training of Hilot Practitioners or the Manghihilot involves learning the concepts and philosophy of traditional healing, instilling an individual valuing process and its relevance to Hilot Healing and understanding the body functions. The education of the Manghihilot is holistic, - holistic involving the biological, social, behavioural and psychological aspects of life and living.

A good hilot practitioner would know the type of ailment his client is suffering from just by looking at him and sensing his energy. A good healer can tell if the elements in one’s body—fire, water, earth and air—are in harmony. Fire refers to the body’s electric impulses; water, the blood; the earth, bone and flesh; while air corresponds to the air that one breathes.

To correct the imbalance in the patient’s energy that leads to a distorted metabolism, a healer would have to give the patient a massage to create the desired biochemical reactions that helps the body heal itself.

Spotting a fake Hilot should be easy. Anything that did not conform to the natural law would cause pain, so if one felt sore after a Hilot massage then something was not right.

Tuina & Cupping Therapy for Shoulder

Swedish Massage Redefined

Swedish massage did not originate in Sweden, nor was it created by a Swede. Also, in Sweden there is no "Swedish massage"; instead, massage is referred to almost universally as "classic massage." And in most of Europe the term classic massage is much more prevalent than Swedish massage. But in America, the term classic massage is used very little, while Swedish massage is considered the classic and most basic of all massage methods.

And so the term "Swedish massage" is a misnomer in a number of ways. I don’t know of a massage textbook written during the last 100 years that does not attribute Swedish massage to Peter Henry Ling (1776-1837), a Swede. Setting aside the argument that Swedish massage is a misnomer and would be more historically correct if it were called classic massage, Peter Ling was not the creator of Swedish massage. This may come as a shock to many readers, but it is absolutely true. Peter Ling is not the "father of Swedish massage," because Swedish massage was not a part of Ling’s Swedish Gymnastic Movements nor the curriculum of the Royal Central Gymnastic Institute founded by Ling in 1813.

Swedish massage is defined in large part by the original strokes that compose its method: effleurage (stroking), petrissage (kneading), tapotement (striking), and frictions (rubbing), with vibration added later. The French terms - effleurage, petrissage, frictions (massage a’ frictions) and tapotement - were never used by Peter Ling, by any of his successors nor by the Central Gymnastic Institute. So where did these terms come from?

Dutch practitioner Johan Georg Mezger (1838-1909) is generally credited (by physicians such as Emil Kleen and Richard Hael, who researched the origins of massage and gymnastics) as the man who adopted the French names to denote the basic strokes under which he systemized massage as we know it today, as Swedish or classic massage. Somehow, the term Swedish Movement System was transposed to Swedish Massage System sometime during the second half of the 19th century. Ling’s system was the Swedish Movement System or Swedish Gymnastic Movement System. This may be how he has become incorrectly associated for so long with Swedish massage. When the first books were written about Ling's Swedish Gymnastic System, the writers used the French terms so prevalent since Mezger's use of them. Later writers evidently attributed the French terms to Ling because of this.1

George Taylor, M.D., writing in 1885, uses the terms "clappings, knockings, stroking, kneading, pullings, shakings and vibratings" as the passive movements used by Ling in his Swedish gymnastic system. However, he gives very little attention to describing those movements. This may be explained first because Ling provided no explanations and second by the following passage from Taylor: "But the employment of duplicated [passive] movements, it must be confessed, is attended with difficulties that will prevent their general use as a medical resource. An ordinary course of medical instruction does not confer the necessary qualifications for their successful application; the tact necessary to prescribe and apply them properly is only acquired by long and patient practice, and the labor is excessively severe."

Even so, by 1890 a number of physicians and non-physicians had published books describing in detail with text and illustrations the massage movements we now refer to as Swedish Massage. And Swedish, or classic, massage was used extensively in a number of sanitariums, including the great one run by John Harvey Kellogg, M.D., and other establishments in Europe and North America.

These writings and use of massage movements successfully ended the commingling of massage with any of the gymnastic or movement systems found so prevalent earlier in the century and brought about the advent of massage as a stand-alone therapeutic tool for the first time in its long history. And the first to stand alone were the massage methods systemized by Mezger and expanded upon ever since.

Rawatan Selepas Bersalin

Mengurut, bertungku, ganggang dan bengkung adalah antara ciri-ciri yang menjadi kemestian bagi masyarakat Melayu dalam menjalankan rawatan selepas bersalin. Ini diikuti dengan rawatan dalaman, iaitu dengan menggunakan jamu. Rawatan ini telah lama diamalkan oleh nenek moyang kita di zaman dahulu.

Tempoh rawatan merangkumi 44 hari salepas bersalin. Ia bertujuan memulihkan kembali organ-organ peranakan dan membentuk kembali posisi badan. Terdapat beberapa jenama produk jamu lengkap selepas bersalin termasuk Mustika Ratu, Nyonya Meneer, Nyonya Rogay, Air Mancur dan lain-lain lagi.

Langkah pertama bagi ibu selepas bersalin adalah untuk diurut sebanyak tiga, lima atau tujuh hari selepas lima hari melahirkan cahaya mata, sebaik-baiknya selepas mandi pagi. Ia bertujuan mengembalikan kesegaran badan dan melancarkan peredaran darah. Urutan ini dituruti dengan bertungku atau ganggang selama 40 hari kerana ia membantu mengeluarkan darah kotor, juga mengelakkan kembung perut.

Kedua ialah dengan satu set jamu selapan (lengkap) sama ada serbuk atau pun berbentuk kapsul atau pil. Selepas bertungku atau ganggang, sedikit tapel atau minyak tapil disapukan pada bahagian perut untuk mendapatkan kesan yang positif. Kemudian, perut dilapikkan dengan secebis kain atau tuala dan kemudian diikat dengan bengkung. Amalkan setiap hari selama 40 hari.

Untuk mendapatkan mata yang kelihatan bersinar, jernih dan bercahaya, pilis disapukan di bahagian dahi sehingga kering. Param gaya baru pula dilumatkan dengan air hangat secukupnya dapat menghilangkan rasa lesu, letih dan sengal-sengal dan melancarkan peredaran darah sehingga mencegah pembengkakan yang menonjolnya pembuluh darah di kaki ibu selepas bersalin. Hendaklah dilumurkan pada bahagian tubuh yang memerlukan.

Param beras kencur pula dilumatkan dengan air dingin secukupnya dan dilumurkan pada sekujur tubuh. Ia dapat mengurangkan rasa letih, lesu dan memberi rasa sejuk pada badan ibu selepas bersalin.

Jamu dan ubat periuk pula dimakan untuk membersihkan sisa-sisa darah kotor di dalam perut, memulihkan kembali tenaga supaya kelihatan berseri dan lebih bermaya dan melancarkan air susu untuk bayi. Minyak telon pula disapu di perut ibu dan bayi selepas mandi, ia bertujuan untuk mengelakkan angin dan kembung perut.

Dari segi pemakanan, ibu dinasihatkan supaya mengelakkan makanan yang sejuk, berminyak dan berempah, dan lebihkan memakan ulam-ulaman yang terbukti berkhasiat. Meminum air kunyit untuk penyembuhan luka boleh diamalakan selama beberapa hari sehingga luka mengering dan sembuh. Selepas dalam hari, ibu digalakkan memakan kapsul, jamu atau ubat periuk yang berkhasiat.

Shirodhara

Modern lifestyles lead to poor health in many ways. However, the use of simple and natural methods can significantly improve health and vitality. Purification therapy is a unique feature of Ayurveda involving the complete cleansing of body and thereby eliminating vitiated doshas. The technique effectively treats doshic balances in their advanced stages. Vitiated doshas causing blocked channels in a system, which needs purification, approach. Shirodhara is one of the great purification and rejuvenating therapy.

Shirodhara is an ancient Ayurvedic healing practice performed in India for over 5,000 years. The word shirodhara breaks down into two ideas: “shiro,” meaning head, and “dhara,” which means flow. Together they form a concept that aims to bring physical and emotional balance by rejuvenating the spirit and preserving health. This is achieved through a relaxing technique in which warmed oil is poured over a client’s forehead for an extended period of time.

There are specialised forms of shirodhara called tailadhara, ksheeradhara, takradhara and jaladhara.

Shirodhara works primarily on the mental sheath or "manomaya kosha" as it is referred to in Ayurveda. Shirodhara is traditionally used to calm the nerves, harmonize vata constitutions, restore the nerves, release stored emotions, and purify the mind. In Ayurvedic Medicine, it is considered an important tool in the pursuit of higher states of consciousness. Shirodhara has been traditionally shown to help with fatigue, mental exhaustion, anxiety, insomnia, some mental disorders, headache, excessive thinking, nervousness, and many other conditions commonly affecting persons in today’s active lifestyle.

Benifits of Shirodhara:
Regular shirodhara enhances blood circulation to the brain, improves memory, nourishes hair and scalp, assists in providing sound sleep and calms the body and mind. Shirodhara is one of the most effective treatments for reducing stress and nervous tension.

Ultimate mental and emotional relaxation therapy
Beneficial for many diseases connected with the head, neck, eyes, ears, nose and throat
Beneficial for many diseases of the nervous system like nerve disorders, facial palsy, paralysis and ptosis (drooping) of the eyelids
Beneficial for curing long standing insomnia and schizophrenia
Beneficial for fits in epilepsy when used in conjunction with other medicines
Prevents hair lose, premature graying and cracking of hair
Relieves headache and burning sensation of the head
Nourishes and rejuvenates the body
Stimulates the nervous system giving sturdiness to the body
Improves digestion
Sharpens the sense organs
Improves the quality of voice
Gives strength to the neck and head
Improves the health of the skin
Cools the body and relieves pain
Invigorates the body and mind and stimulate cognitive memories
Helps relieve fatigue, tension, anxiety, anger, chronic headaches, rheumatism, hypertension, asthma, hair problems and stress
Disperses negative electrical impulses that accumulate at the skull and hairline from stress
Renews the sweetness of life
Rejuvenates the entire face and softens worry lines
Opens the third eye of lord Shiva by this therapeutic Marma based head massage
Activates the pituitary gland
Increases spiritual awareness
Regulates mood and depression disorders
Activates the memory & stimulates the 6 & 7th charka which regulates our breathing patterns
Increases intuition
It improves concentration, intelligence, confidence and self-esteem

Du'a mohon kemurahan rezqi dan ilmu manfaat

Para ibu bapa yang mempunyai anak-anak yang masih belajar digalakkan supaya membaca du'a-du'a ini sebelum belajar; sekurang-kurangnya sekali atau 3 kali. Dan untuk sesiapa yang kesempitan, sama dalam perniagaan atau pekerjaan, bacalah du'a-du'a ini sebanyak yang termampu. Terutma ketika duduk di dalam kedai atau pejabat. Du'a ini juga berupaya untuk menyembuhkan penyakit dengan izin Allah, insyaAllah. Semoga usaha anda berjaya, Amin.

بِِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

اَللَّهُمَّ اِنَّانَسْئَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا وَقَلْبًا خَاشِعًا وَيَقِيْنَا صَادِقًا وَدِيْنًا قَيِّمًا وَرِزْقًا وَسِعًا وَعَمَلاً صَالِحاً وَشِفَاءً مِنْ كُلِّ دَاءٍ وَحَسْنُ الْخَاتِمَةِ

Dengan Nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Pengasih
Wahai Tuhan, aku mohon ilmu yang munafaat dan hati yang khusuk dan yakin yang benar dan agama (Islam) yang kuat dan rezqi yang luas dan amal yang soleh dan pemyembuh daripada setiap penyakit dan kematian iman.

بِِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

اَللَّهُمَّ رَبِّ زِدْنَا عِلْماً نَافِعًا . اَللَّهُمَّ زِدْنَا رِزْقًا حَلاَ لاً طَيْباً.

Dengan Nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Pengasih.
Wahai tuhan tambahlah aku akan ilmu yang munafaat. Wahai tuhan tambahlah akan aku rezeki yang halal lagi baik.

Kiwi

Kiwi fruits are rich in many Vitamins, flavonoids and minerals. In particular, they contain a high amount of Vitamin C (more than oranges), as much potassium as bananas and a good amount of beta-carotene.

Studies in Italy, though, performed on 6-7 year old children, have also demonstrated additional health benefits to the respiratory tract. In particular, children that were fed 5-7 portions a week of citrus and kiwifruits had 44% less probability wheezing compared to children eating less than once a week.

Shortness of breath was reduced by 32%,night time cough by 27%, severe wheeze by 41%, chronic cough by 25%, and runny nose by 28%. This results is not only traceable to the content in Vitamin C or Potassium, but in substances which are still largely unknown contained in kiwi fruit.

These substances are most likely flavonoids that help protect our cells from oxidative damage, and are therefore considered very helpful in protecting our DNA from mutations and damage.

Protection from Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD)
A series of studies published by the Archives of Ophthalmology have proven that consuming 3 or more servings of fruit per day (including kiwi fruits) can reduce by 36% the risk of developing an eye-related disease called ARMD (the primary cause of vision impairment in adults), if compared to people who only consume 1.5 servings of fruit per day.

The study was conducted on 110.000 women and men and lasted several decades. Surprisingly, the study found that while vegetables were not correlated with an improved resistance to the disease, fruits containing high amount of Vitamin C,A and E (the most common antioxidant vitamins) helped significantly in protecting against ARMD.

Anti Oxidant properties of Kiwi Fruit
It is important to note that kiwi fruits contain a remarkable amount of Vitamin C, E and A. Vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant that has been proven to protect our body from free radicals, dramatically improving the health of individuals who consumed it regularly against all kinds of disease, from cardiovascular problems to cancer and obesity.

Vitamin E has been proven to have similar effects, but is fat-soluble and thus is complimentary to Vitamin C in its functions. Kiwi fruits contain both these vitamins in high amount, which help protect our body against free radicals from all fronts.

Kiwi fruits have a high fiber content
The high content in dietary fiber helps improving diseases such as diabetes, by controlling sugar levels, and cancer color, since fiber binds to toxic compounds in the colon and helps us expel them.

Fiber has also been proven to reduce cholesterol levels, improving the conditions of patients with cardiovascular diseases and lowering the probability of heart attacks.

Summary of Kiwifruit Health Benefits
Eating kiwi fruit is clearly a healthy choice, and it is particularly useful in these cases:

Prevents Asthma
Prevents wheezing and coughing, especially in children
Protects our DNA from mutations
Provides a healthy amount of antioxidants and vitamins
Helps prevent colon cancer thanks to a high fiber content