ALL TIME THERAPIES
Written by: Sankalita Shome
The disease is always a step ahead of the cure. With the conventional allopathic medicine failing in many areas, and the stress of modern day living taking its toll on the health of people, more and more people are turning towards alternative and complementary medicine.
Cairo, too, has seen an upsurge in the number of wellness studios that are opening their doors; two yoga studios opened in the same neighborhood in Cairo in the same month. Even the National Geographic’s travel guide on Egypt carries a new section on spiritual and therapeutic travel to Egypt.
“Alternative or complementary medicine takes a very holistic view of the problem, the pain is only a manifestation of a deeper malice,” explains Dina Fakhry, about the growing popularity of the alternative therapies. Dina is a reiki master and went into alternative therapy when she greatly benefitted from its therapeutic powers “The alternative therapies go to the root of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms.”
Alternative Therapy Movement in Egypt
Though alternative and complementary medicines have already been big the world over, Egypt seems to have got onto the bandwagon only recently.
But Leslie Zehr, disagrees and argues that Egypt has always had its own brand of substitute medicine; only it was in different forms.
The wall in Zehr’s apartment is adorned with completion certificates from the courses that she has taken in every conceivable form of alternative therapy-hypnotherapy, reiki, aromatherapy, touch therapy and even homeopathy.
In the year 1995, Zehr established one of the very first Centres for Health and Well-being in Egypt. She went on to use her experience to developed Sacred Dance, which is sort of a primordial dance like a primitive or tribal dance. It came from her initiation at a temple in Upper Egypt and has evolved out of the work that she has been doing in Egypt.
“I have based the process of dance on the archetypes of tarot that carry certain energy. In our daily lives, we are all about control and schedules and what we are going to do with our lives. We need to learn to flow like the Nile and so during the Sacred Dance workshop; I let the music be the guide. It is about reconnecting to the divine feminine in a joyful and spiritual manner.”
Egyptians have always used herbs for healing; the ‘attarin’ or the traditional healer was, and probably continues to be a very important part of their lives and it has never really been ‘alternative’ medicine for them.
But then, why is it that in Egypt, most of the practitioners and teachers of alternative therapy are westerners. “Alternative therapy is a western movement. Chinese have always had the acupuncture and the Indians the ayureveda but as a movement, it has come from the west,” explains Zehr.
Corroborating Zehr, Lady Colleen Heller who has been has been involved with alternative healing since the early 90’s describes an incident that took place when she had just arrived in Cairo. She had gone to the Al Azhar mosque in her quest to know more about the people and culture of her adopted country and there she got into a discussion with the Iman, who asked her what she did. She explained that she was a reiki healer and that she worked with "laying on hands", which is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us. And the imam immediately said that this is similar to “rukia” that is practiced in Egypt.
Thereafter, whenever she had to explain reiki to a layperson in Egypt, she just referred to ‘rukia’ and it sort of paved the way for a better understanding of the discipline. As director of the 99 steps ~ The Cairo Center, she lectures on Alternative Complementary Health care and has combined different modalities of healing to develop acupressure point reiki. “I release all meridian points in the body that alleviates the stress and anxiety that is packed in this area,” explains Lady Heller. Apart from this, she also conducts spiritual journeys into the Sinai region of Egypt.
Growing awareness
“Egypt in 1995 was very different from the Egypt of today,” says Zehr referring to the increased awareness about the alternative therapies in Egypt.
In 1996, she had started the Women’s Group for Health and Well-being with the idea of connecting and educating women about the healing arts. There were many alternative health care practitioners in Cairo but finding them was not always easy. Growing internet penetration and with greater number of Egyptians travelling abroad, there is growing dissemination of information regarding alternative therapies.
Gabriele Habashi, who is trained in reflexology, Trager, and reiki, among others, also feels that the Egyptians are very receptive to alternate therapies. It is easy to believe her considering that the interview with the Community Times reporter had to be squeezed in between her almost back to back appointments.
Alternative v/s Conventional
Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) is something that has to be used in conjunction with the conventional medicine and not in isolation or as a last resort. “CAM complements any type of procedure or programme that you are taking with a regular physician so that you heal faster,” explains Lady Heller.
There is a time and place for everything. “If you are in a car accident and you need surgery, then there is no doubt that you go and get it,” says Fakhry. She goes on to use the example of a headache to show how alternative medicine tackles the problem holistically. Conventional wisdom requires that when you get a headache, you swallow a painkiller. Using alternative therapies in such cases means that the problem would be looked at holistically; the pain is only a symptom. It is important to alleviate the problem from its root and not merely the symptoms.
“As an alternative therapist, I think that sometimes the conventional medicine can be damaging to the body; but I do believe that the conventional and the alternative medicines can work together.”
Choosing a flower from the bouquet
With so many natural therapies to choose from, it can be a daunting task to decide as to which one is best suited to you.
But Fakhry makes it sound easy when she says “You are generally drawn to what is good for you. All of the therapies work with energy but the techniques are different.”
Habashi was cured of a nagging shoulder problem through the Trager therapy and she went onto do a professional course in this therapy. And then as one thing leads to another, she attended a reflexology course conducted in Cairo and is now teaching it to students in Cairo.
Zehr firmly believes that “Finding me and what I do is part of your journey, and if you are meant to find me, you will and people do.”
Legal Status and Regulation
Despite the fact that more and more people are embracing the alternative therapies in Egypt, there is no registration and legal status afforded to the practitioners of alternative therapies in Egypt.
In interviews with several practitioners of alternative therapies in Egypt, Community Times learnt that this is a serious handicap in the extensive use of these therapies. You are unlikely to walk past a signboard that reads “the Accupuncture Clinic” in Egypt. Rather, most of them operate out of their homes and rely on word of mouth publicity.
The only way that these centers can operate is either as beauty parlour or as being attached to a medical doctor.
“Why should I link myself to a doctor and pay more than half of my earnings to her when the kind of services and impact that I can provide are far superior? Is it not a very illogical way of doing things,” questions an alternative therapy practitioner, preferring to remain anonymous.
Their less than official status has also proved to be an obstacle in the use of these therapies in instances, where typically the conventional medicine would not be able to yield results- as in cases of rehabilitation.
Habashi recalls that she was invited by a hospital in Cairo to train doctors and nurses in reflexology as a means of rehabilitation. “And then the whole thing dropped because I had to tell them that I am not registered. Even, though they wanted me, they could not have me.”
She, in fact, did conduct training programs for mothers of the handicapped children in some basic aspects of reflexology, with positive results. “But it was under the umbrella of the hospital and to do any such thing requires that we must first be legal ourselves.” says Habashi. Though her reflexology workshops are very popular it again raises the question as to what kind of certification can Habashi offer is she is not legal herself?
In fact, a number of people who are involved with alternative therapies would like to be able use their skills for the good of the society.
Dagmar Bock, who has been in Cairo for less than a year offers workshops in Facial harmony. As the name suggests, the therapy works on the meridians on the face and the neck. With a feather light touch, the lines of energy and the energy channels are activated and there is a perceptible difference in the facial muscles. Dagmar would love to be able to use her expertise to help women who are victims of violence to lead better lives.
At the other end of the spectrum are trainers like Zehr who are not particularly affected by the lack of regulation. She is wary of the fact that with legalization and consequent greater visibility, the alternative therapies might go the way they have gone in the west-with an increased commercial focus.
What is to be Done?
Legalizing the alternative therapy in Egypt is important as it is necessary to set standards for the discipline. Without regulation, there is no uniformity in the fees and the services offered by the various therapists and the foray into alternative remedies is largely confined to the elite.
The city of Cairo attracts people from all over the world and at any given point of time is host to a huge transient population. This floating population brings with it ideas, knowledge and skills relating to alternative remedies that are readily available and can be exploited.
Legalization and regulation will ensure that this knowledge can be acquired and the wider use of these therapies.
Habashi’s vision of holding an open clinic with many alternative healers offering services to the community for free might then become a reality.
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