"A lot of the women and men I meet in my clinic who are in physical pain are also going through emotional pain; they don't connect the two though."
Sanay na sanay ss sakit ang healing arts practitioner na si Lorelie Luna. Marami na siyang sakit na pinagdaanan sa kanyang buhay.
May dahilan ang sakit
Ang sakit ay ang paraan ng ating katawan na ipaalam sa atin na may hindi mabuting nangyayari dito.
Mula noong limang taong gulang si Lorelie, nakakaramdam na siya ng migraines. Habang tumatanda siya, lumalala ang sakit ng ulo niya.
"I would feel very lethargic. I couldn't focus. I was prescribed medications. They would numb the pain and help me to at least function properly throughout the day," aniya.
As she grew older, the sporadic pain worsened, further weakening her immune system. Source: Lorelie Luna
At habang gumagamit siya ng gamot para maging manhid, nagkukunwari din siyang masaya siya sa kanyang relasyon sa kanyang asawa noon.
Ayon kay Lorelie, maraming pasakit ang nangyari sa kanyang buhay noon at dagdag niya, "My life then revolved around our Filipino store, our child and our home. I gave all of me to take care of our family, but I never got the care back. I was hurt in every way a person could be hurt; but of all the pain I suffered, the emotional pain was the hardest to turn around."
Kinailangan niyang talikuran ang buhay niya noon upang makabangon muli.
Lorelie with her daughter in their old home in the suburbs Source: Lorelie Luna
Tama na!
"I said 'no' to spending one more day with the person I was with. I didn't need whatever material things we shared. I had enough. So I left our home in the suburbs. I moved near the water. We sold the house and the business," saad niya.
Ayon kay Lorelie, financial insolvency ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit niya binenta ang Filipino store; ngunit, kahit ganon pa man ang nangyari, maswerte pa rin daw siya at nakahanap siya ng trabaho bilang housekeeper at cleaner.
"So I left our home in the suburbs. I moved near the water." Source: Bea Brabante
Kahit maswerte siya't nakakuha agad ng trabaho, saad ni Lorelie na napakalungkot niya noon. At dahil sa kanyang kalungkutan, mas lumalala ang kanyang mga migraines.
"I knew [my migraines] were my body’s way of signalling that I needed healing. I realised I allowed this - [I allowed myself] to feel lonely, to feel confused, and helpless and hopeless. I needed healing so I sought out hilot (Filipino massage) healers to mentor me," she says.
Paghahanap ng lunas sa hilot
Ang unang naging mentors ni Lorelie sa hilot healing arts ay ang mga nakakatandang kamag-anak niya.
"In the Philippines, the art of hilot healing has been passed down from an elder to the generation after them. My grandmother whom I called 'nanay'; her brother, Papa Isko; and their mother, Lola Dora - they were known in Bicol for practising hilot. They travelled from the mountain province and brought their practice to Bicol."
Lorelie's grandparents Source: Lorelie Luna
Naalala ni Lorelie na gumagawa noon ng mga paste mula sa halaman at oil ang kanyang lola kapag masama ang pakiramdam niya.
"She would spread a paste made of ginger, garlic and other herbs on my back and on my chest and, I would feel better."
Saad ni Lorelie, na may Diploma in Remedial and Sports Massage na ngayon, na kailangan pa rin ang payo ng doktor kapag may sakit ang isang tao; ngunit, malaking tulong ang hilot sa pagkabuti niya.
Pastes made from herbs, plants and oils are vital in the practice of hilot. Source: Lorelie Luna
'Hilot uses the modality of massage with energy healing in order to manipulate one's muscular-skeletal anatomy. But more than just deep tissue and compression techniques, hilot seeks to address the source of pain. Is it stress? Was it a fall? Why did you fall? Do you have an imbalance?"
Ibinahagi niya na mahalaging alamin ang sanhi ng sakit upang bumuti ang isang tao.
"More than just deep tissue and compression techniques, hilot seeks to address the source of pain." Source: Lorelie Luna
"It's transformational. It was freeing that I learned how to heal myself," she says, adding, "Finding hilot again and tapping into the healing arts - I realised I can transition my life. I just had to stop and make the decision that I've had enough - I needed to heal."
