Arura Healing Centre

Welcome

Welcome to Arura Tibetan Medicine Centre.

Karen Stone has been practising holistic healing in the Macedon Ranges for over ten years. She offers all aspects of Traditional Tibetan Medicine including: external therapies such as Yuk Cho stick therapy, Ku Nye massage, cupping, and moxibustion, diet and lifestyle consultations, herbal medicines and mantra healing.

She is  also a Reiki Master in the Usui Tibetan lineage, works extensively with crystal healing, is a Bach Flower Practitioner and teaches meditation.

The centre is located in Woodend, in the beautiful Macedon Ranges, only an hours drive from Melbourne.

Contact: phone 0400 688 599 or email: karenstone3@gmail.com

Yuthok Nyingthik

Here is a short video of my wonderful teacher Dr Nida Chenagtsang explaining about the spiritual aspect of Tibetan Medicine, in particular a practice that comes to us from Yuthok, the father of Tibetan Medicine.

Of course you don't have to follow buddhism to benefit from Tibetan medicine, Yuthok himself said it was for everyone. The Yuthok nyingthik is helping the medicine practitioner develop and expand their awareness, their compassion and to purify them so they are better able to help their patients.

While the practice can be done everyday there is also a special seven day retreat which I have been lucky enough to complete twice, once here in Australia with Dr Nida, and once in Tibet at the beautiful Gonlakha monastery near Rebkong.

Still time to get a gift voucher for someone's Christmas stocking

Sounds a bit like first world angst I know, but it does seem to get harder every year when shopping for gifts. We really don't need more stuff do we.

A gift of time, of relaxation, of healing can be something very special however.

Vouchers are available in any denomination and for any of the treatments on offer at Arura Tibetan Medicine Centre. Thursday 22nd will be the last day I can get one in the mail to you with confidence that you will have it on hand for Christmas Day.

(Now if I can only work out how to give myself a voucher for a 2 hour Ku Nye massage ...)

My best wishes to everyone for a safe, happy and blessed festive season, and a truly wonderful 2012. Find joy in every day, cherish your loved ones, and even more importantly, cherish yourself!

Chorten in Amdo, just outside Rebkong.

Opening hours for the Christmas and New Year season

The clinic will close for just a few days over the festive season:

Friday 23rd to Monday 26th December

And due to a teaching commitment there will be no appointments available for the week of 9th to 13th January 2012. Other than that it's all as usual.

A different kind of decoration - torma offerings from the Yuthok retreat in Mahlo. They look very festive!

Bach Flower Remedies

"Healing with the clean, pure, beautiful agents of nature is surely the one method of all which appeals to most of us"

- Dr Edward Bach, 1936

 

There are so many different plant and flower essences and remedies available now it is easy to forget that Dr Bach was a pioneer in this area of healing, and his remedies are still among the best you can choose for your healing.

Dr Bach believed that our mental and emotional states were reflected in our phsycial state, and when they are in balance so is our body. His 38 flower essences provide a complete system to address these emotional and mental states.

I always find myself giving out bottles of the famous Rescue Remedy on a much more frequent basis in December, no surprises there. Christmas and all that comes with it can be a very stressful time! But Rescue Remedy is just one aspect of the Bach Flower repertoire. There are many blends to use, even a single essence taken for a few weeks can be powerful aid to healing. Blends can be tailored to your needs.

The flower essences are not harmful, non-addictive, will not interfere with anything else you are taking and are perfectly safe for children, the aged and the very ill. Animals respond really well to Bach Flowers as well, I have had great success with dogs and horses in particular.

Stress and anxiety, sleep problems, fear, lack of self confidence, hanging on to the past and not learning from mistakes, over concern for the welfare of others, being too hard on yourself, mood swings; these are just some of the issues that using Bach Flower Remedies can help you with.

While the mother stock contains some brandy, blends can be made without any additional alcohol for those who prefer. Brandy is usually added to the treatment bottle as a preservative.

If you think that this type of healing appeals to you, why not book an appointment to discuss your concerns. Blends are also available by mail order.

You can learn more about Dr Bach and his life and work here, it's an amazing story!

Tarot is back

After a bit of a break, mostly to due to intense study commitments, I am again offering Tarot readings at my healing space in Woodend.

Tarot is not about helping you find Mr Tall Dark And Handsome, or Will I Win Tattslotto? (Wouldn't it be nice!) It is a powerful tool for understanding the influences around you and how they are impacting on your life and your choices in that life.

The images and archetypes of the Tarot connect us to our past, our dreams, our messages and patterns and our connection to the collective consciousness of our shared humanity. The stories told by the cards are manifold, they are there to shine some light, give some guidance and understanding, sometimes reassurance, sometimes a wake up call, but ultimately it is up to us how we work with the information that comes forward.

I have been reading the Tarot for over twenty years now and it never ceases to amaze me how time and time again, the cards connect with what's truly in the mind and heart of the seeker.

Readings are by appointment, $80 for an hour.

The Star is one of my favourites, inspiration, creativity all headed your way, now is the time to ask you for what you want, the universe is waiting to hand it to you. The flow of water from one place to another also serves to remind that we get back what we give. The universe is infinitely abundant but we must learn to come from that place of abundance too, and understand we can always give more because there is always more to give!

 

MindBodySpiritFestival 2011

What a time we had!

Our stand looked great (I might be biased there) and we had people milling about for the whole three days; asking questions, buying lovely things from Himalaya Arts, looking at my photos from Tibet, trying a Yuk Cho treatment. Fantastic!

We gave out so many flyers, hundreds of bookmarks I had made with with Yuthoks picture, I talked about Tibetan Medicine, Tibet, my clinic, all the different therapies, Dr Nida and IATTM, travel, study, Medicine Buddha, yaks, Tibetan food! You name it, they wanted to know about it.

I gave 20 minute Yuk Cho sessions and everyone loved it. Of course being such a unique treatment there was a lot of curiosity, always a wide-eyed audience.

So a great event and experience. I am very glad we took the opportunity to share this wonderful healing art. (Now that its all over? Happy but tired!)

I can't speak highly enough of the MBS festival organisers, they were efficient, professional and very helpful always, as well as being very very nice to a first time exhibitor! They won my heart with the chocolate hand out on the first morning, my kind of people.

And a big shout out of thanks to Philip for his support, my beautiful son Alexander for his smiling face and help on the stand; and of course to Tobchen for agreeing to join me on this mad adventure! It was a lovely synergy having his beautiful things there for people to buy, another way for them to make a connection with Tibet and her amazing people and culture.

A few more pictures here

bLa Massage

bLa energy is our life force, our chi, our vital "juice", what keeps us balanced and functioning. A pure and protective energy with the five elements of which we and the universe we live in, consist of.

It moves around the body on a 30 day lunar cycle, being found in a different place on every day of that cycle. The study of bLa energy and its functions are a direct result of the strong relationship between the two sciences of Tibetan Medicine and Tibetan Astrology.

bLa energy can be lost due to stress, trauma, too vigorous massage, operations or strong treatments done on the wrong day. (Therapies like moxibustion and bloodletting should never be done on the place where the bLa energy is on any particular day. A Tibetan doctor will always check the dates before giving this sort of treatment.)

Signs that your bLa energy is depleted may include: tiredness, sadness, clouded thought and confusion, interrupted sleep, a grey or dull complexion.

The good news is that this energy can be restored, called back through a bLa massage treatment. bla points appropriate to the day can be incorporated into a ku nye massage. On the days of the full moon and the dark moon we can perform a whole body bLa massage, working on all the points to call this vital energy back and restore and rejuvenate our energetic and physical body.

Quite a different experience to other kinds of massage, a mixture of ghee and selected essential oils is used with a firm circular stroke. At the same time as the physical massage the practitioner will chant or sing the Tibetan vowel for each point as they are working on it. They are also visualising each Tibetan letter as they work.

Relaxing and magical, many people feel deeply relaxed and restored after their bLa massage, and continue to feel the benefits for many days. Sleep is improved, as are circulation and energy levels.

The calendar to the right shows the dates for full bLa massage each month.

(and just for the record, the "b" is silent so it should not sound like the noise your baby makes when you give them their first taste of a green vegetable!)

 

Half price tickets for MindBodySpirit Festival

You can download a printable voucher for half price entry to the Melbourne MindBodySpirit Festival here:

Download Half Price Ticket - Melb Nov

How good is that.

And a reminder that the dates are 18th, 19th, 20th November, 10am to 7pm daily.

We will be at stand D13, see you there!

Open day at Atisha Centre

I am having a stand at the open day for the Atisha Centre in Bendigo tomorrow if you are in that neck of the woods. They always have a great day with a varied program of events, stalls, bookshop, terrific food, all in a beautiful bush setting.

I will be demonstrating Yuk Cho, come and try out stick therapy - you will love it!

How to get there

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Geshe Konchok Tsering

 

Menpa Machig

My favourite photo from this last trip to Amdo.

You can't see it, but the room, as always, is full of people; some just watching, patients waiting their turn, other doctors waiting to ask Menpa Machig a question. But his focus is completely on the patient and taking his pulse.