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Taking the alternative route

Prague's full of different ways to relax your body

By Kimberly Ashton
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 2nd, 2007 issue

KURT VINION/THE PRAGUE POST
Your body is full of pressure points. Acupressure is an alternative method used to stimulate energy pathways.
Acupuncture and other alternative therapies have been popular in the West for years. Only recently, however, have they begun to make a splash on the Czech scene. But, if you search, you can find a budding array of alternative treatments in Prague to melt your stress, get your chakras in order and realign your tired body.
Acupressure, for instance, has become extremely popular. The treatment is similar to acupuncture in that both work on pressure points along the body’s meridians, or energy pathways. These points are stimulated to help the flow of Qi (pronounced “Chee”), or vital energy, that courses just underneath the surface of the skin. The theory is that bodily, and even mental, ailments are the result of a blockage of Qi.
KURT VINION/THE PRAGUE POST
Acupuncture is also a popular method used to release stress and help you relax.
Acupressure can be practiced by someone who isn’t a doctor. But, unlike in Western Europe and the United States, here, in the Czech Republic, only medical doctors can legally practice acupuncture using needles — which involves inserting hair-thin needles a couple of millimeters into the skin, along these pressure points, to release energy.
While this regulation may seem to raise the quality of care, it actually often decreases it, according to Ludmila Bendová, an acupuncturist and medical doctor who works at The Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine. “According to me it’s a stupid law,” she says.
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In Germany, the United Kingdom and France, acupuncturists are required to be licensed, which means they are extensively trained in the practice. Bendová says she thinks the Czech Republic should have a similar licensing system since it takes years to properly learn the practice, and doctors are only required to take a six-week course. Oftentimes, there is no telling what you’re going to get, or how well-trained the practitioner is, Bendová says.
“You know, it’s a pity, because I have had lots of patients who have tried acupuncture and it hasn’t helped,” Bendová says.
There is a cultural gap, too, when it comes to alternative therapies. Many Czechs unquestionably believe that the doctor knows best and are skeptical about nonstandard medicine, alternative-medicine advocates agree.
In the United States and Western Europe, consumers are more likely to take charge of their own health care, seeking out alternative therapy and questioning doctors as to the best course of action to treat a problem. Furthermore, Western medical doctors also seem more aware of the benefits of acupuncture and more accepting of it as a legitimate therapy, experts say.
A typical acupuncture session will cost about 600 Kč ($30) and last from 30 minutes to one hour. It is usually not covered by health insurance unless it is administered as part of other medical care. You should see some benefits within five sessions or you are probably headed down the wrong course of treatment, experts say.
If acupuncture really isn’t your style, you might want to try having a Thai massage.
One of the most well-known therapies here, a tourist in Prague can’t look up from under his visor without seeing a massage ad.
Traditional Thai massage is a dry massage — without oil — and based on the practice of acupressure. In Prague, however, while masseurs stick to the principles of acupressure, they toss in a little oil, too, because people here like it, according to the manager of the Sabai Thai Massage Center on Na Příkope 22.
Unlike traditional Western massages, such as Swedish massage, Thai massage is not a passive message. Although the client lies down, relaxing, the masseur stretches the body, “like yoga with an assistant,” says the manager, who identified herself only as Nicole.
A full-body session, which takes an hour, costs 990 Kč at Sabai, which has five salons in the Czech Republic. A half-hour session, which just focuses on the head, neck and shoulders, is 590 Kč.
Although massage and acupuncture tend to dominate the alternative-therapy field, many other forms of therapy are available in Prague, including Reiki, which focuses on positive energy, Alexander Technique, which focuses on posture and movement, herbal therapy and other healing methods.
Alexander Technique, long practiced in the West, is just beginning to make its way into the Czech Republic. Šarka Provazniková, who practices in Holešovice, says she is the only Czech practitioner in Prague. She studied the technique for three years during college.
Sagarpriya Jarka Halašová is a practitioner of re-balancing, or bodywork, which raises body awareness.
“Rebalancing is based on knowing yourself, feeling yourself and your body, to be more aware about how you feel and how everything is connected,” she says.
It treats problems that range from back pain to a lack of motivation. It came to the country around 1999 to 2000, according to Halašová. One session, which last for an hour and a half, costs 500 Kč.

Kimberly Ashton can be reached at kashton@praguepost.com


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