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SPIRITUAL
PURSUITS AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES |
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Nepal is a great place to go to challenge your Western assumptions,
study other systems of thought and open yourself to other ways of
experiencing life. The tolerant atmosphere encourages experimentation
and provides several traditional disciplines to delve into.
Moreover, Nepal is turning into quite a spiritual supermarket. The past
few years have seen an explosion of outfits teaching yoga and meditation
in the Kathmandu Valley, and centres are starting to pop up in the other
tourist watering holes. The allied health fields of ayurvedic and
Tibetan medicine are also attracting a growing interest among travellers
in Nepal. Many programmes are designed for those who are just starting
out and don't require a lengthy commitment, although some do. Note that
it's advisable to book any residential courses well in advance - fax
numbers or email addresses are given where possible.
In these pages, we've provided a quick introduction to a few major
practices
Yoga
Contrary to what's often put about in Western manuals, yoga does not
just comprise exercises - it's a system of spiritual, mental and
physical self-discipline, designed to bring about mastery of the self
and true awareness of the self's oneness with the universe. There are
several classical schools of yoga, but the ones that fit most easily
into Western lifestyles come under the category of raja yoga and share
eight "limbs" or steps ( astanga), which represent an ascending path to
self-control. The first two are the moral limbs, divided into dos and
don'ts; after that come the three external limbs, asana (correct posture),
pranayama (correct breathing) and pratyahana (control of the senses);
followed finally by the three internal limbs, dharana (concentration),
dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (super-consciousness).
Yoga's reputation for headstands and the like comes from hatha yoga ,
which places special emphasis on the three external methods to purify
the body as an aid to developing the self. The term comes from the
syllables ha and tha, representing inhalation and exhalation, since
breath-control techniques, along with various postures, form an
important part of this practice. Another popular variant, kundalini yoga
, stresses meditation. The individual visualizes the process of
enlightenment as a serpent, coiled near the base of the spine, rising
through six psychic centres ( chakra) in an ascending progression of
consciousness, finally reaching the seventh, highest level.
Several yoga centres are located in and around Kathmandu.
Buddhist meditation and study
Meditation is closely related to yoga, and the two often overlap: much
of yoga ( kundalini, for example) involves meditation, and Buddhist
meditation draws on many Hindu yogic practices. However, meditation
centres in Nepal generally follow the Buddhist - particularly Tibetan
Buddhist - tradition.
Buddhist meditation is a science of mind. To Buddhists, mind is the
cause of confusion and ego, and the aim of meditation is to transcend
these. Vipassana ("insight") is the kernel of all forms of Buddhist
meditation; related to hatha yoga, it emphasizes the minute observation
of physical sensations and mental processes to achieve a cool, clear
understanding of mind. Another basic practice common to most schools of
Buddhism, shamatha ("calm abiding" - co-opted by New Agers as "be here
now") attunes and sharpens the mind by means of coming back again and
again to a meditative discipline (breathing, visualization, etc).
Theravada Buddhists consider vipassana to be sufficient for the
attaining of enlightenment. At least two centres in the Kathmandu Valley
run rigorous residential courses in this practice.
Tibetan Buddhist centres start students out with vipassana and shamatha,
which form the foundation for a large armoury of meditation practices.
An adept will cultivate Buddha-like qualities through visualization
techniques - meditating on the deity that manifests a particular quality,
while chanting the mantra and performing the mudra (hand gesture)
associated with that deity. The Tibetan Buddhist path also involves
numerous rituals, such as prayer, offerings, circumambulation and other
meritorious acts, and committed followers will also take vows. Kathmandu
has several centres offering introductory courses.
A big part of Tibetan Buddhism is the teacher-disciple relationship.
More advanced students of the dharma will want to study under one of the
lamas at Boudha, some of whom give discourses in English.
Ayurved
Ayurved (often spelled ayurveda) is the world's oldest form of medicine
still being practised. Dating back five thousand years, the "knowledge
of life" is a holistic medical system that assumes the fundamental
sameness of self and nature. Unlike the allopathic medicine of the West,
which is all about finding out what's ailing you and then killing it,
ayurved looks at the whole patient: disease is regarded as a symptom of
imbalance, so it's the imbalance that's treated, not the disease.
Ayurvedic theory holds that the body is controlled by three forces (
tridosha), which are a reflection of the forces within the self: pitta,
the force of the sun, which is hot and rules the digestive processes and
metabolism; kapha, likened to the moon, the creator of tides and
rhythms, which has a cooling effect and governs the body's organs,
fluids and lubricants; and vata, wind, which relates to movement and the
nervous system. The healthy body is one that has the three forces in
balance. To diagnose an imbalance, the ayurvedic doctor goes not only by
the physical complaint but also family background, daily habits and
emotional traits.
Treatment of an imbalance is typically with herbal remedies designed to
alter whichever of the three forces is out of whack. Made according to
traditional formulas using indigenous plants, ayurvedic medicines are
cheaper than imports, which is why the Nepali government encourages
their production. In addition, the doctor may prescribe various forms of
yogic cleansing to rid the body of waste substances. To the uninitiated,
these techniques will sound rather offputting - for instance, swallowing
a long strip of cloth, a short section at a time, and then pulling it
back up again to remove mucus from the stomach.
You'll find ayurvedic doctors and clinics throughout the Hindu parts of
Nepal, but those who are able to deal with foreigners are confined
mainly to Kathmandu.
Tibetan medicine
Medicine is one of the traditional branches of study for Tibetan
Buddhist monks, and Tibetan medicine is based on the same philosophical
and magical principles as Tibetan Buddhism.
Like ayurved, from which it derives, Tibetan medicine promotes health by
maintaining the correct balance of three humours : beken, inert matter
or phlegm, which when out of balance is responsible for disorders of the
upper body; tiba, heat or bile, which is associated with intestinal
diseases; and lung, meaning wind, which may produce nervousness or
depression.
Tibetan medicine is as much a spiritual discipline as a physical one.
Part of a Tibetan doctor's regular practice is to meditate on the
"medicine Buddha", a manifestation of the Buddha's compassion, wisdom
and healing power. The physician diagnoses the patient's imbalance by
examining the tongue, pulse and urine, and by determining the patient's
psychological state through questioning. He'll then prescribe a
treatment to counteract the imbalance, which initially may only be a
change of diet or behaviour (for instance, "cold" disorders - those to
do with wind - are treated with "hot" foods and activities). For quicker
relief, he'll prescribe one of a range of herbal-mineral tablets, which
have been empowered by special rites.
Recommended clinics specializing in Tibetan medicine are listed in the
Kathmandu and Boudha pages.
Massage and other therapies
Nepal, like many Asian countries, has its own indigenous form of massage
. So-called Nepali "hard" massage is a deep, therapeutic treatment that
works mainly on the joints and insertions (the places where muscles meet
bones). It's not all that relaxing, but it can be just the job for sore
shoulders after a trek. Nepalis themselves rarely receive massages after
the age of about three, and would find it hard to conceive of paying for
one, but numerous masseurs ply their services to foreigners in Kathmandu
and Pokhara. A few practitioners also offer yogic, shiatsu and Swedish
or Thai massage.
Dubious-looking signs in the tourist areas frequently advertise "Yoga &
Massage", which has become a sort of shorthand for a long menu of
un-Nepali services: steam baths (usually a makeshift box with a hole in
the top for your head to stick out), reflexology, herbal treatments and
the like. Some of these serve as fronts for prostitution. Caveat emptor
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