The pressure that heals
February 2010
By Sharukh Vazifdar
A relatively new and unknown branch of the acupressure and acupuncture family, Sujok is a quietly effective therapy which balances the energies inside the body and restores health
When news of the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blasts exploded on TV, Sujok therapists Amarjit Singh and Shilpa Khedekar were in their respective homes, unwinding from a demanding day with a cup of tea. On reading about the severe cases in the newspapers the duo could no longer stay idle. In particular, they targeted their attention on Parag Sawant, a twenty-five year old youth, in a coma. “Doctors could not say when he would regain consciousness or if,” recalls Amarjit. They instructed a relative on how to treat Parag, causing him to heal and come out of it. Later they learnt of another victim, similarly aged, stuck in coma. The two healers instructed his caretakers of how the treatment should be given and he is on his way to a complete recovery.
What would happen if you could trigger the body’s energies so that healing occurs speedily and completely? That is what sujok practitioner and teacher, Amarjit Singh Narula, has been doing since the past 10 years. Suffering from ulcerative colitis for 16 years and unable to find relief through conventional medicine, Amarjit turned to pranic healing and sujok for a cure.
He found it so effective that he learnt the healing technique, and now practises, and teaches it. Developed by professor Park Jae Woo, a Korean scientist and philosopher, more than three decades ago, sujok has spread far and wide. “The results speak for themselves,” says Amarjit, “From paralysis to cancer to organ failure, sujok has successfully treated almost all ailments.”
Pranay Garg, a retired Air Force officer from Hyderabad, practices sujok non-commercially. He learnt different forms of energy healing before learning sujok from PN Jha, a sujok healer from Bangalore. Through this ‘non-invasive self-help technique’, as he calls it, he healed himself of a severe back pain, and helped his wife recover faster from surgery. Since then he has been reaching out to others in need. Involving the patient in their treatment, and handing it over to them, for simple cases, is what Pranay appreciates the most about sujok.
Dr Chhaya Mankad from Ahmedabad is an allopathic chest consultant turned alternative healer. On conducting some trials and research on asthma and tuberculosis patients, she found the results much better than the allopathic counterpart. She is also well versed in ayurveda and naturopathy, and uses a combination to treat her patients. She now considers allopathy as the alternative treatment and sujok as the primary one.
Often confused with Chinese acupressure, which treats through pressure points located all over the body, sujok has points only on the hands and feet. It is quite simple for a layman to treat himself. On the left fist, the thumb is the head and neck, the index and little finger are the left and right arms respectively and the middle and ring finger are the left and right legs respectively. The three divisions of the finger represent the upper arm, lower arm and palm, or thigh, calf and foot. The thumb, which represents the head and neck, correspondingly has only two divisions. The lifeline, on the mound of the palm, represents the diaphragm, to the left of which lies the heart and lungs. The palm of the hand is the torso, while the back of the hand corresponds to the back. Referring to the diagram, memorising the locations of organs is not difficult. On the right hand, the locations are reversed, so the index finger is the right arm and the middle finger is the right leg, and so on. Similarly, the feet contain all the body organs and body parts as well. One can simply press the point on the hand, which corresponds to the organ which is unwell.
Achieving balance
Sujok works on the principle of achieving balance and harmony of energies in the body and mind. The eight energies present in the human body are wind, heat, humidity, dryness, coldness, darkness and brightness, each of which relates to a colour. Along with basic stimulation of the point with pressure, sujok employs other means such as colours, heat, seeds, magnets and stones. In certain cases, a certain area of the hand is to be coloured to stimulate the energy. Seeds, grains or stones of particular colour and shape are fastened in place with surgical tape – this again stimulates the energy. Sometimes heat in the form of moxa sticks is used to increase the heat or hot energy. Various shapes and types of magnets are also stuck in place with tape to facilitate healing. A vibro-stimulator is used to stimulate a point hundreds of times a minute, speeding the healing process, particularly in chronic and life-threatening cases. “Even medical doctors can’t deny the fact that this ‘mumbo-jumbo’ works,” chirps Amarjit.
Healings
Pranay found that sujok works very well in cases of mental problems, addictions and rehabilitation, and depression. One very memorable case he recalls was about a two- year old girl who kept walking on her toes, as if tip-toeing. Doctors suggested a nerve-block surgery which her parents did not want. Pranay marked out the ‘points of correspondence’, as he calls them, on her hands and feet and instructed her parents to put pressure and massage them with compassion. Within two months her condition improved and she now walks normally.
Shilpa cited a case of a diabetes patient, who overdid the treatment despite being warned against it. His blood glucose level dropped from 248 to 60 within six hours. Immediately his medication was stopped until his glucose levels rose to a safe level. “In such metabolic disorders results are attained slowly and steadily,” says Shilpa.
A young girl suffering from schizophrenia from Delhi, under Amarjit’s treatment, has found tremendous improvement within just two months. Her mother recalls that despite psychiatry and psychotherapy, the situation had only worsened over two years. Her mother said that she had so much faith in the treatment that she stopped her dosage, which had been going on for years, in just a month, causing a relapse. Says Amarjit, “Every therapy has its limitations, and we often suggest the patient continues his prescribed medication, possibly reducing the potency.” In cases such as this, Amarjit also uses aromatherapy, Bach flower remedies, acupuncture or biochemical pills as a catalyst.
Mrs Shanti (name changed), 68-year-old housewife from Mumbai, who suffered from Gullain-Barres Syndrome, a disorder where the immune system attacks itself and the nervous system leading to paralysis, has also had remarkable results with sujok. After conventional medicine failed to make any noticeable change, sujok had her moving her legs in just six days. Today, she can stand up. A positive side-effect of the treatment is that it actually helped improve her vision. She doesn’t need her spectacles to see television anymore. While sleeping, her legs used to point to the north, which signifies cold. She has now been advised by Amarjit to sleep with legs pointing south, which signifies heat.
Since I had some pain in the liver region when I went to meet Amarjit and Shilpa, they advised me to press and colour the liver area of the left palm (bottom right mound), green. On pressing these points, I immediately felt a sensation in the area where my liver is, and after a month of homeopathy and sujok, the problem has disappeared. Amarjit recalls an interesting case that came his way when he was visiting a friend in Nairobi. The friend’s dogs, usually unfriendly, accepted Amarjit as part of the family. On spotting a quiet and lonesome dog among the pack, he picked him up and pressed the bottom of his paws. The dog instantly jumped up, visibly more jovial and energetic than before. Now you know how to treat your pet if he/she is feeling low!
Contact: Amarjit Singh – 9869036813,
Shilpa Khedekar – 9820685280,
www.sujokacupressure.net, amarsujok@yahoo.co.in