Bringing Joy to Pain (Ubud Community)
As Tukang Pijat healer Nyoman Sudana presses a small blunt piece of Javanese Santani wood deeply into a tender point on my foot, a loud scream spontaneously erupts.
Nyoman joyfully laughs in response.
“Give thanks to the pain!” Nyoman advises me.
I sink into my breath and focus my attention on inhaling praise for the pain. In this way I begin to embrace the pain as not an intruder, rather a welcome friend who is showing me where my energy is severely blocked. Breathing deeply in this manner my mind releases its fear, the space around the pain expands and the core divine energy (chi) that is the Great Medicine Doctor begins to flow through me, unleashing the energy trapped in my gall bladder.
Nyoman Sudana is a Tukang Pijat, an intuitive Balinese healer who discovers blocks within the blood, organs, nervous system, sinews, bones, mind and chi of the body through points on the feet and hands. Akin to a reflexologist, Nyoman’s intuitive healing magic is performed through reading the body through kneading, holding, piercing with the wooden stake, tapping, and ‘snapping’ corresponding points in the feet, hands and along the back of the leg. Nyoman is a master with Tukang Pijat and in a relatively short amount of time discovers the root of a client’s pain.
As a young child Nyoman demonstrated a natural attraction to healing the pains of the body, mind and spirit. When I ask him who his teachers were he responds: ‘My clients teach me”. He watched Chinese reflexologists as a child, yet received no formal teaching. Rather his natural, intuitive and empathic gifts allowed him to be drawn into the consciousness of the methods. Much like a piano prodigy learns to play the piano through listening and watching another master play. Nyoman says that ‘my ancestors and God shows me the way.”
Nyoman’s gifts are not limited to healing. He loves to draw detailed ink drawings called pelican that portray the interaction of the Gods with Balinese in daily life. A high school teacher in Denpasar of this art form, the first thing he wants me to know when we speak of his teaching is that he is 53 and will retire when he is 60. Nyoman teaches in the morning and returns to his compound in the afternoon, ready to receive whoever shows up at his bale for Tukang Pijat treatments.
A treatment begins with the client lying on his treatment table in a comforting space surrounded by lush greenery. Nyoman will ask questions while feeling the feet to make his assessment. He might prescribe herbs that he takes directly from his garden. The garden grows traditional Balinese herbs as well as several Japanese and Chinese herbs. A Balinese MD gave him an infrared lamp that he applied above my stomach, to aid in circulation. One to three treatments generally generate generous results. Upon the completion of each treatment one experiences an overall sense of clarity, openness and supreme relaxation-the ingredients that reveal our innate happiness.
The most common ailment for Balinese and Westerners is digestive problems. Nyoman treats all manifestations of chronic and acute physical conditions from back and shoulder pain, fluid in the lungs, and strokes. One client from the United Kingdom could not place his foot on the floor. No doctors could discover the reason for the pain. After a few sessions of Tukang Pijat, the client could walk again. A man who went into Nyoman’s office with stuttering and inability to maintain concentration long enough to hold a dialog, emerged relaxed, his mind clear and stuttering disappeared. Another client had just had a stroke. Nyoman returned the flow of energy to the client’s arm and shoulder and now he can move the limb.
“I also laugh when people scream in pain because this is the teaching: “Pain and difficulty bring Joy. When the pain goes away…we are happy!” In the past 15 years people from all over the world have discovered Nyoman in his compound at Jalan Sugriwa, No.21 to learn how the body’s pain births joy.
Nyoman Sudana: 0816578460 or 0361 971 138 No appointments necessary. Just show up.
Contact the writer at: tarakhadro@yahoo.com
