I was born in Cuba, exposed to domestic/folk medicine, from spiritual rituals to hands-on healing at the hands of my grandmothers.
Since 1821 to this day, a common digestive ailment called Empacho has been recognized in all Latin American countries, sometimes with other names, plausibly known all over the world. It is treated with massage accompanied with prayers. Used widely by the expression “passing the hand”, the main areas treated being the stomach, lower legs, feet and lumbar.
An “aha” moment came to me 13 years ago during the reflexology program I was taking. On this particular day, our teacher was guiding us to massage the leg calves as it pertained to the “intestines, stomach area”. For a moment I stopped in great fascination, as my memory took me back in time when I was only a toddler. Then, I could barely wait to call my grandma on the phone: “Mami! What you do is called Reflexology!” -To what she replied: “...........(silence)........what is that?”
Too fancy a word for her, and too many traditions to count with endless names for healing today. Yet, at the core of every culture and every medical tradition before ours, regardless of the name given to the therapy, healing was accomplished by moving energy through love and compassion.
