http://www.amwellness.org/
Wellness center uses
natural therapy to heal
By Cris Evert
Lato
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 13:19:00 04/27/2009
Filed Under: Lifestyle & Leisure, Therapy
Repeat clients do not spell success to this wellness center in barangay
Pagsabungan, Mandaue City.
“We target them (student-clients) come
once only, get healed and go home and continue to become better. To us,
that is the perfect system of promoting the center and bringing more
people,” said Dada Dharma, founder of Ananda Marga Wellness Center (AM
Wellness).
Ananda Marga, which literally means path to blissful
being, practices a holistic approach to health and well being through
various natural therapies, yoga practice, meditation and vegetarian
diet.
While non-profit organization, AM Yoga started the center,
Dada said Filipinos, mostly coming from Davao and Cebu, run the center
with each one serving as its stakeholder.
AM also has a center in
Metro Manila and another yoga center in barangay Capitol Site, Cebu
City.
Not for profit
Dada said the center has been visited
by several individuals, including government officials, who suffered from
diabetes, severe acne, headaches and back problems among
others.
But he said that the center's goal is not just to make
money.
“Our purpose is not to make money. This center is run like a
cooperative. All staff have a direct stake with the center since 100
percent of the money that comes in the center is circulated among them. As
a result, th people give their best in running the center.”
Dada
however admitted that the center had its own set of financial
challenges.
“For the first two years, I have been facing the
financial headaches in running this but upon closer look,
The
unique dome-shaped structure makes the center conspicuous to those who
happen to go inside Green View village, barangay Pagsabungan.
But
Dada said the structure and its other facilities were built out of the
donations of 1,000 outpatients worldwide. Donations reached P6 million and
they were able to start construction in 2003.
No loans were
obtained from the bank.
“We have to keep our minds free. When you
take a loan, you're not free because you keep on thinking about the money
you have to pay,” he said.
Since it opened in 2005, AM Wellness has
been accepting clients, whom they call students, who prefer to have their
natural healing therapy in the center.
Fifty percent of its
students are foreigners while another 50 percent are Filipinos. About 15
to 20 percent of its Filipino students come from Cebu.
Most of
these students know about the center through the Internet or the center's
website, www.amwellness.org. He said their landline and mobile numbers:
236 4797 and 0927 504 9061 have been helpful in communicating with both
local and international students.
Dada said the center's location
creates a conducive place for healing and meditation.
The center
has six rooms where students can read, do yoga and meditation and other
exercices. Each student room can accommodate two students.
“The
mind of our students is tremendously important to us. We want them to be
very happy. We keep them busy with therapeutic games, theoretical classes,
sports and beach outings.”
Treatment
Dada, who studied
naturopathy in Calcutta, India, said he envisioned the center to be the
global model for natural healing centers where people can find alternative
way of curing their illnesses and diseases.
He said a natural
health clinic provides natural cleansing process which enable the body and
mind to fully eliminate the cause of the disease.
Dada said
treatments takes between 12 days to four weeks depending on the nature of
the illness but the center has short classes ranging from two to seven
days for people who choose to take short courses on meditation and
healing.
“The usual system of natural healing detoxification. The
simplest and slowest way to detoxify is to eat only fruits and
vegetables,” he said.
This is why the center also offers short
cooking classes, which make eating raw food appetizing. It also emphasizes
the importance of drinking water.
He said AM Wellness serves 60
percent raw food and 40 percent cooked food, which is a practical way of
getting students used to healthy eating.
“Healing should be
comfortable and painless. If it's painful, then it's not correct,” said
Dada. |
