A BROKEN leg while skiing and an appetite for reading led Beaconsfield local Karina Thullesen to a career and life change.
“Reading 38 books over six weeks, I suddenly thought if I can read that much I should be studying.”
Growing up in Denmark (the Hamlet one) Thullesen was interested in naturopathy from an early age but there was nowhere to study so she drifted into a career as a photographer (including for the Herald).
Later enrolling at the Australian Institute of Holistic Medicine in Jandakot, she found naturopathy wasn’t in-depth enough for her so she switched to Ayurveda: “I felt connected to this ancient energy. It felt so familiar to me.”
Following a three-year course, Thullesen completed a two-month internship at a public hospital in India, where Ayurveda is routine treatment for a number of ailments including rheumatoid arthritis (the hospital also uses leeches).
“People would come in with swollen knees and could barely walk,” Thullesen recalls. “The doctor would put leeches on for 20–30 minutes and they could walk out.”
It’s not something Thullesen practises, but she has embraced the Indian version of acupuncture, marmapuncture, “which is more gentle and has a spiritual side”.
• Ayurvedic therapist Karina Thullesen. Photo by Matthew Dwyer
It’s designed to unblock the body’s energy channels or nadis, which supply every cell and tissue with vital force, prana.
“At times nadis get blocked which can cause imbalances that can lead to disease,” Thullesen says.
“By needling, or applying heat or pressure to certain points…energy blockages are removed.”
Ayurveda has been around for 5000 years and treatments can be as simple as the correct use of food and spices found in most kitchens, “and a common-sense lifestyle to stay in a balanced state of health,” Thullesen says. “It’s for those committed to doing something for their own health.
“There’s no magic bullet…it’s about taking responsibility.”
All of which is helped along by a variety of Ayurvedic massages designed to nurture the body and open energy flow, while treating aches and pains.
For more information go to Chandana Ayurveda Health and Healing or call Karina Thullesen on 0411 553 485.
by JENNY D’ANGER
