What is Tibetan Medicine?

A Healing System Guided by Nature

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Sowa Rigpa arose from close observation of the natural world, how animals heal themselves, how plants grow and respond to the seasons, and how the cycles of nature mirror those within the human body. Early Bon practitioners meditated on these patterns and developed sophisticated ways of working with the elements, energies, and subtle bodies long before modern science explored such ideas.

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The Tibetan view of health is based on the balance of three vital energies, or nyepa:

• Lung (Wind) – governs movement, breath, circulation, and the nervous system

• Tripa (Fire/Bile) – responsible for digestion, metabolism, clarity, and internal heat

• Badken (Earth/Water/Phlegm) – provides structure, stability, moisture, and rest

When these energies fall out of balance, through poor diet, seasonal shifts, emotional stress, spiritual disconnection, or karmic influences, dis-ease arises. Healing in Sowa Rigpa focuses on restoring harmony between these energies, and supporting the deeper causes of health.

 

The Five Pillars of Tibetan Healing

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In practice, Sowa Rigpa offers a full-spectrum, personalised approach to healing, using five main treatment modalities:

 1. Diet

Food is considered foundational medicine. Clients are guided toward nourishment that supports their constitution, health goals, seasonal needs, and energetic imbalances.

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2. Lifestyle

Daily rhythms, sleep, movement, rest, relationships, and seasonal attunement are gently adjusted to bring harmony to body, mind, and spirit.

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3. Herbal Medicine

Formulas crafted from Himalayan herbs, minerals, and precious substances are tailored to each individual. These are carefully balanced to clear excess, support deficiencies, and regulate the vital energies.

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4. External Therapies

Treatments such as Ku Nye massage, moxibustion, hot and cold compresses, oil therapies, bloodletting, and cupping are used to regulate the flow of wind, settle the nervous system, and support healing from trauma or stagnation.

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5. Spiritual Healing

This essential dimension may include mantra practice, ritual, energy work, and bLa retrieval, a form of soul retrieval used when a person's life-force is scattered or depleted. This is especially helpful in cases of shock, grief, chronic fatigue, or spiritual disconnection.

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Each of these methods is chosen and refined based on diagnostic tools such as pulse reading, urine analysis, facial and tongue observation, and a thorough intake that includes mental and emotional states.

 

The Wisdom of the Four Medical Tantras

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The foundational text of Sowa Rigpa is the Gyüshi (The Four Tantras), compiled in the 8th century by Yuthok Yönten Gönpo the Elder and expanded by his descendent in the 12th century. These volumes offer an intricate and compassionate understanding of:

• Anatomy and subtle energy systems

• Embryology and karmic influence

• Pathogenesis and psychology

• Pulse and urine diagnosis

• Seasonal and elemental therapies

• The spiritual causes of illness and healing

 

Healing as a Path, Not a Procedure

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Tibetan healing is not about suppression of symptoms, it is about deep restoration and seeking the root cause of the issue.
It treats not only the body but also the mind, emotions, karmic patterns, and spiritual energy of each person. Practitioners of Sowa Rigpa act not as fixers, but as guides, helping you return to your own natural state of balance, vitality, and wholeness.

Healing, in this tradition, is a return to harmony with oneself and the natural world, a process that unfolds with compassion, clarity, and time.

 

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