Visions of Healing in India

Yay! At long last, our documentary Visions of Healing in India is now online, have a look (after clicking on the link, place your cursor over the media window and then click play)!

Many thanks to all of you who have been waiting patiently for this moment, we all worked really hard on the filming and compilation of this work, here we are in the editing studio in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerela, India. This photo was taken after two days straight in the editing studio! We are all in a daze!

Thiruvanthapuram is also known locally as “the spice capital of the world" and "gods own country” for its rich history, culture and natural beauty. The area has rich healing traditions with oral lineage components of greater than thousands of years. For millennia people would flock to the region for its culinary and medicinal plants, natural splendor and biodiversity, and its deep healing traditions. Traditional healers of the area focus location and practice in several main traditional regions: the Western Ghats “spice mountains”, Kanyakumari “where the three oceans meet”, and the Back Waters “Venice of Asia”. The main healing traditions in practice in the region are: Ayurveda which is still taught in its original poetic Sanskrit form and via oral lineage; Naturopathic healing which focuses the power of the sun, moon, stars and elements of nature—earth and mud, water etc.; Herbalists who use natures pharmacopoeia to heal in harmony with the earth; Siddha; and a ritual healing practice involving sound, harmony, and rhythmic oscillations therapeutically and in a fashion unique to south Indians.

The documentary work gives a glimpse of healing traditions in each of these areas, but focuses on tribal healing traditions in three distinct ecological regions in the Western Ghats,  India. We explore the higher elevation montane evergreen forests, the lower elevation moist deciduous forests and the lowland backwaters and coastal areas, in particular. 

We learn about healing systems; adaptations of the respective populations to their environments; afflictions, modes of treatment, and community roles of healers. We also assess the need for and feasibility of programming focused on the conservation of biodiversity and culture via traditional healing. 

Our findings demonstrate intact traditional healing practices with unifying themes to include the premise that in sustaining health there must be healthful surroundings. And that “true healing is all around”. We also uncover strong willingness and need for the development of such initiatives in support of local and global health as well as in support of regional conservation programming.

Check it out, as most certainly there is much that we as a global people could learn from these traditions in our quest for true healing and sustainability for both people and planet!

Comments

[Healing Sounds]

Nice! :)

Healing sounds are definitely an interesting option to check out, I personally used sound therapy to treat my migraines, and it worked quite well.

Thanks for sharing the info with us :)