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Choosing wellness

Believers turn to traditional folk medicine to heal what ails them.

Disenchantment with mainstream medicine has prompted some patients to turn to alternative or integrated methods of treatment, partaking in techniques rooted in cultural, spiritual and folk traditions

Maria is such a person. She has hearing problems that come and go. She freely shares her thoughts about mainstream doctors, who she claims haven’t been able to properly diagnose her health issue.

"I don’t like going to the doctor. They look you over, find something wrong with you, give you pills and you feel worse afterwards," says Maria, a quiet woman of Mexican and Yaqui descent.

Frustrated by the system, she finds relief in holistic healing. She’s not alone in her search for a more integrated approach.

Matt Jurcin, an Anglo, agrees with Maria’s opinion on modern medicine. The 27-year-old tradesman has turned to traditional healing methods.

"It’s more thorough than Western medicine," he claims.

Jurcin lost faith in typical medical care after his disappointment in being prescribed manmade pills. He no longer takes prescription pills, but prefers to see an acupuncturist and herbalist in the east Valley.

"(Regular doctors) don’t get to the root of the problem. They concentrate on putting a Band-aid on a problem… by prescribing medication."

There are side effects to those drugs, Jurcin believes, including potential chemical dependency. He also dislikes some doctors’ impersonal approach to patients.

"Western medicine isn’t working on a large scale," he says.

INCREASING IN POPULARITY

Judging by the enrollment figures at a local healing arts school and popular acceptance, the movement toward traditional treatments is growing.

Touted as one of the most recognized massage schools in Arizona and the country, literature from the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SIHA), espouses faith "in the body-mind-spirit connection" and acknowledges "a higher power, a divine plan and the spiritual nature of health and healing."

According to Beth Ebbing, spokesperson for Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, the school’s number of students increases every year. Open since 1992, SIHA currently has 400 students enrolled and about 2,000 in continual education.

Some medical professionals also agree there are traditional remedies that can be used to heal maladies when used in conjunction with modern medicine.

"My medical practice is half science-based, half faith-based," says Dr. John Molina, who serves as the president of the board at Las Fuentes Health Clinic in Guadalupe. He believes doctors now are more open to what patients want and says medical schools also are changing ways of teaching, including researching how prayer affects illness.

In fact, holistic health experts such as the University of Arizona’s Dr. Andrew Weil have helped to build credibility in this field. Weil, a practitioner of integrated medicine for three decades, combines natural and preventative health care, while being cognizant of the connection between body, mind and spirit.

Still, the methodology is slow to be accepted by medical professionals, Molina admits.

"About 80 percent of the doctors at conferences roll their eyes when I speak of healing through the power of spirituality," he says.

This discordance with mainstream care motivates patients to seek alternative cultural holistic-style medicine treatments, such as sweat lodges, prayer or meditation, and massage.

"Our ancestors could not have been wrong. These are ceremonies that have gone on for centuries," Molina says.

UNLOCKING POSSIBILITIES

Ivan Henry has also sought holistic healing to help him with hearing problems, the result of injuries suffered during the Vietnam War. Henry, of Cherokee descent, is considered an elder at the lodge behind Las Fuentes.

He says that the dark, womblike atmosphere in the sweat lodge alleviates the ringing sensation he sometimes experiences, but adds the treatment is "not about a religion. (The sweat) is important for the culture, for who we are."

According to people who regularly sweat, sweating and other ancient therapies have many benefits. They say traditional ways should not be forgotten, even in a world of technological advances and "miracle" medicines.

Other traditional therapies include being treated by today’s equivalent of a curandera or healer.

Rita Bojorquez describes discovering her healing gift as a young girl in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

"It’s not conscious. It’s been in my lineage," she says simply. Although she never met the woman, Bojorquez, says her grandmother also was a curandera.

Bojorquez employs a holistic approach and specializes in therapeutic healing, particularly of families, at her Scottsdale shop. She says family members grow closer because they are better connected after barriers come down and lines of communication open.

"It’s my honor to serve," she says. "I have enriched my life by what I share with my community."

She also says patients must choose to be well.

"God has given us the power to heal ourselves. When we experience the connectedness with ourselves, it makes our hearts sing."

Bojorquez redirects chi (energy) by way of massage, performing chakra alignments and reiki treatment among other therapies. "When we place judgment on something, we block possibility," she adds.

Manuel Castro would know something about blocking possibilities.

"I didn’t realize I was Yaqui," he says, momentarily looking away from the fire he has stoked to heat lava rocks. "I would say I was Chicano, without really knowing what it meant."

Originally from Guadalupe, Castro has been the sweatmaster at the lodge for more than 10 years. He says he embraced his native culture after his aunt revealed he had Yaqui roots.

"(Sweating) brings a sense of identity and lifestyle," he says. "Sweating draws out your spirituality."

Although sweating is sacred, Castro claims it’s not about religion.

"We’re not a sect. Our beliefs are not to be forced upon," he says.

The lodge embraces people of all backgrounds and religions. Anglos, Latinos, Native Americans and Jews gather at the lodge for physical and spiritual cleansing.

"It’s a way of bringing us back to sanity," Castro says. "It’s a tool that brings healing. Lots of people don’t see that. They think it’s just a ceremony. Sweating exfoliates and cleanses you and strengthens your spirit."