Mayan medicine and herbalism

[Guest guest]

Several weeks ago there was a post on here about the similarities between

TCM (Traditional ) and traditional Mayan medicine.

 

Here's an interesting book on traditional Mayan medicine for those

interested in the subject: Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer by

Rosita Arvigo with Nadine Epstein, ISBN 0-06-250259-x.

 

The book doesn't mention TCM, but those of you with TCM backgrounds will

spot the common ground - the use of the pulse in diagnosis and some of the

pulse descriptions (though the Maya healer uses only one point on each

wrist), the concern with eating cold foods or going barefooted on cold

surfaces worsening some conditions, the concern with wind being the cause of

so many diseases, etc.

 

Victoria

 

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[Guest guest]

It is such a shame that all of the hard records of the Mayan system of

healing were destroyed when the Spanish conquered the Mayans.

 

Rosita Arvigo's book " Sastun " details her experience studying and learning

in Belize with Don Elijio Panti, one of the last healers of his kind.

All of the methods were passed on as word of mouth. Don Elijio hoped

to teach his children his knowledge, but they were more interested in

cars and modern society than learning the knowledge of their ancestors.

 

So after she prodded him for long enough, Don Elijio agreed to let Rosita

be his apprentice on the condition that she would stay in Belize and

help his people learn the medicine of the earth and help preserve the

plants and the environment.

 

Don Elijio passed away in 1997, or maybe it was 1996. A large obituary

was printed in the New York Times. An amazing man, and maybe the last

of the true Mayan healers.

 

I've done some research on the mayan healing system, in particular on

Don Elijio's knowledge and some other information recorded by ethnobotanists

and medical anthropologists in Chiapas, Mexico. There is little hard

information to learn from, most of what is recorded was written only

in the last 20 years or so. If anyone is interested in a copy of my research

project, email me and I will see about faxing or mailing one to you.

 

Sastun is well worth reading. I have attended an Herb conference with

Rosita and I highly recommend trying a similar seminar if any of you

have the chance.

 

thanks everyone.

 

--

Ruby Mae

rubymae - email

(510) 239-2239 x4777 - voicemail/fax

 

 

 

---- " Judy Fitzgerald " <victoria_dragon wrote:

> Several weeks ago there was a post on here about the similarities between

>

> TCM (Traditional ) and traditional Mayan medicine.

>

> Here's an interesting book on traditional Mayan medicine for those

>

> interested in the subject: Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer

> by

> Rosita Arvigo with Nadine Epstein, ISBN 0-06-250259-x.

>

> The book doesn't mention TCM, but those of you with TCM backgrounds

> will

> spot the common ground - the use of the pulse in diagnosis and some

> of the

> pulse descriptions (though the Maya healer uses only one point on each

>

> wrist), the concern with eating cold foods or going barefooted on cold

>

> surfaces worsening some conditions, the concern with wind being the

> cause of

> so many diseases, etc.

>

> Victoria

>

> _______________

> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

>

>

>

>

> Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine

> Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner

>

> Shortcut URL to this page:

> /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine

>

>

[Guest guest]

>Rosita Arvigo's book " Sastun " details her experience studying and learning

>in Belize with Don Elijio Panti, one of the last healers of his kind.

>All of the methods were passed on as word of mouth. Don Elijio hoped

>to teach his children his knowledge, but they were more interested in

>cars and modern society than learning the knowledge of their ancestors.

 

Thanks for the additional info.

 

I hope you will share some of the Mayan info on here from time to time,

especially the similarities between it and TCM.

 

Pockets of TCM-like knowledge are scattered around the world. The Germans

in particular held onto some of the concepts in their folk medicine.

 

One point I want to make to those new to TCM is that the reason for similar

concepts being found around the world is because this stuff works. If it

wasn't working it would have died out long ago. If it didn't work, various

cultures wouldn't have bits and pieces of the concepts. These are concepts

that can be discovered independently.

 

One thing that stands out in my mind about Sastun is the part where she had

trouble at first with the concept that the wind can trigger illnesses. For

those of us who have trouble with the wind, this was not hard for us to

accept. Realize would be a better word than accept.<G> I get an early

warning. Every time my nasal passages and sinuses congest, I know that wind

will start shortly.

 

One woman I know gets headaches when she's exposed to wind. Others get

arthritic pains. I do unless I'm taking some herbs for Expelling Wind

Dampness.

 

These are all Exterior symptoms - the nasal and sinus congestion, the

headaches, the arthritic and rheumatic pain. Exterior conditions affect the

head, neck, arms, legs, skin, muscles, and bones. (Interior conditions also

can be at the Root of headaches, but when you see a clustering of Exterior

symptoms and you can look out the window and see the wind blowing, you know

to treat the Exterior.)

 

Wind, like any pernicious Evil can move to the Interior and trigger interior

things. I live in an area which sometimes gets some strong winds for

several days at a time. I remember December of '99 in this area. It was

unsually windy for several days. I felt a lot worse than I had in a long

time, our dog got very sick and almost died (we were having to carry her she

was so sick), and our next door neighbor died unexpectedly. (When you start

to study Wind in detail you'll see that Internal Wind can be linked to some

very serious conditions like stroke.)

 

Wind also can be responsible for allergic-like reactions as well as

worsening true allergies. During periods of unusual wind around here,

visits to doctors for allergies rise greatly. I remember the spring of '89

in particular. It was unusually hot, unusually dry, and unusually windy.

There was a record number of people seeing doctors for allergies and

allergy-like symptoms. People were having trouble with allergies who never

in their lives before had had these problems.

 

Wind does several things in regard to allergies. For those who have true

allergies, the wind is blowing the allergens around. It's a good idea to

stay inside with the windows shut and air ionizers on on days when it's

windy. But the wind is doing more than this. It's also triggering changes

the body in ways that cause allergic-like reactions. This is why some

people who have severe allergic symptoms at times don't always have the

typical blood work results of someone with allergies and why people with

allergic-like symptoms don't always register as allergic or that allergic to

certain things when they're tested for allergies. For example, a person

with just a very few, very mild allergies can be exposed to these things on

some days, and s/he doesn't react or doesn't seem to react to them. But on

days when it's windy, s/he reacts to the same amount of exposure with a lot

of sneezing, stuffiness, runny nose, red eyes, breathing problems, etc. The

wind is making the difference.

 

The concept of Wind also includes changes in barometric pressure. One thing

that low barometric pressure can trigger in some people - especially when

the pressure drops suddenly - is that tissues in the body will swell

slightly. In some people this can produce headaches and arthritic and

rheumatic pains. And certain meridians like the Bladder and the Small

Intestine can be especially sensitive to this.

 

Changes in barometric pressure - espeically when there's also rising

humidity along with falling pressure - can make hypoglycemia worse in some

people. We're talking frequent starvation munchies here. Also, if you have

pets, you'll notice that very often their appetites will change as the

weather changes.

 

My husband has more trouble with tinnitus (ringing in the ears) when the

weather is damp. Weather conditions can impact on people and animals in a

lot of ways. And some people are more weather sensitive than others.

 

BTW, I noted in the book that castor oil packs are used in the Mayan system.

I can't remember what they were used for in the book, but I use them to

treat bursitis and arthritic pains in myself. I pour some castor oil on

some flannel cloth, put the flannel over the area that hurts, put a towel

over the flannel, and put a heating pad over that. I leave it in place at

least an hour. Sometimes I sleep with it in place.

 

On some cases of bursitis and arthritic pain this can work far better than

any prescription medication I've tried. And without the side effects of

some of the prescription drugs. Some of the possible side effects of the

drugs used to treat bursitis can include breathing problems and some really

bad nightmares as well as digestive system problems. In some cases the

castor oil packs can clear up problems for many months.

 

We've had some strong winds here for the past several days. It's also

raining and colder than it has been. (We don't get much rain around here.)

My left wrist was hurting a lot. I put a castor oil pack on it the other

night, and the pain is completely gone even though the wind is still strong

and it's still damp and cooler than it was. No aspirin, just the pack. The

pain probably will stay gone for several months. That's how these packs

have worked in the past for me after applying them two days in a row.

 

Castor oil packs reduce inflammation and they fight infection. They also

improve circulation of lymph. I was taught that the packs are

contraindication during menstruation.

 

They won't work in all cases of arthritic pain, but whatever I have, they

definitely work on it. Which is very good because I was facing cortisone

shots into joints after the reaction to the drugs, and the shots hurt and

may or may not work " depending on the skill of the person giving the shot. "

 

Victoria

 

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