In addition to being a psychic surgeon, hypnotherapist, physical medium, clairvoyant medium and practitioner of Angelic Reiki, Gary is also a partner in Samskara (www.garymannion.com), a health and beauty salon in Harrow. Let's take a look at what's on offer in the "Holistic Massage and Healing" department.
By Julia
Of course, these treatments aren't unique to Samskara - they are available at salons and New Age centres all over the country. Anywhere, in fact, where there are people with more money than sense. But before we get going, what does samskara mean? There are a bewildering number of definitions, so perhaps you should follow standard New Age practice and choose the one that best fits in with your existing beliefs:
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Refinement of soul. The samskaras are considered stepping stones in shaping a perfect individual in Hindu society. ...
www.kamat.com/glossary/whois.php
Subtle impressions stored in the sushumna that lead us to manifest certain patterns and tendencies in our lives.
www.shoshoni.org/Glossary_Yoga_Terms.htm
literally means "impression". The name of the initiatory rites of the Brahmans from birth through life, for they, being all priests by birth, have various initiatory ceremonies. ...
blavatskyblogger.freeukisp.co.uk/quickblast%20W%20Q%20Judge%20Theosophical%20Glossary.htm
Vedic reformatory rituals marking major rites of passage, beginning with conception until death wiht the purpose of purifying a human being. There are ten major samskaras.
deityworship.com/glossary/glossary.htm
Stored impression, accumulated by experience and made of the forces of karma.
www.hardlight.org/articles/glossary.html
("activator"): the subconscious impression left behind by each act of volition, which, in turn, leads to renewed psychomental activity; the countless samskaras hidden in the depth of the mind are ultimately eliminated only in asamprajnata-samadhi (see samadhi)
www.detroit-yoga.com/yogaterms.html
Sanskrit - a latent impression of a past reaction to an input that entered the being through one of the 6 senses.
www.pranazone.com/defin.htm
In Hinduism samskaras or sanskaras (Sanskrit: impression; under the impulse of previous impressions) are tendencies inherited from previous births which form a person's propensities in this life.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samskara
In Hinduism, Samskaras or Sanskaras are ritualistic practices a Hindu is expected to follow at various stages of his or her life.Gautama Dharmasutras specify 40-48 samskaras, though the later Smritis brought down this number to 16 (Shodasha Samskaras). ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samskara (rites)
But I digress. Back to the "Holistic Massage and Healing" menu:
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LA STONE THERAPY
The original hot stone massage. Using hot basalt and cold marble to create vascular gymnastics and encourage the body to heal itself. Deeply relaxing and cleansing. 54 stones used in one treatment. One stroke of a hot stone is like ten of the hand.
60 mins - £45
"Vascular gymnastics"? Call me morbid, but that phrase conjures up a ghastly image of someone using a skipping rope made of veins. And 54 stones used in one treatment, eh? Just be careful not to leave out the "s" at the end of "stones" or it sounds alarmingly like a form of torture. And I don't know who worked out that "one stroke of a hot stone is like ten of the hand" but it sounds utterly convincing.
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SHIATSU MASSAGE
Shiatsu massage is a traditional Japaniese healing art.The philosophy underlying shiatsu is that vital energy ( QI in Chinise, KI in Japanese) flows through the body in a series of channels called meridians. Shiatsu can be beneficial for a wide range of conditions from specific injuries to more general symptoms of poor health.
60 mins - £45
Where would New Agers be without the word "energy" to debase? It doesn't matter whether you spell it "qi" or "ki", this particular form of energy is as non-existent as the "meridians" through which it flows.
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AYURVEDIC MASSAGE
Using herbal oils the body is massaged using invigorating techniques. Working on the marma points to release the flow of energies. Balance your Doshas (vata, pita and kapha).
60 mins - £45
From
http://www.buzzle.com/boards.asp?board=235&message=150019 (my bolding):
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Marmas are certain points in a persons body that relate to energy centres. The word "Marma" means hidden or secret. The various definitions of a Marma point are as follows:
Marma points are energy centres of the body.
Marma points are points of connections between physical body and the subtle energetic bodies.
Marmas are points on the body that can give life or death.
Marmas are anatomical places on the body that are mostly composed of flesh and bones.
Marmas are similar to pressure points of reflexology and acupressure.
They can be seen as points where Vata, Pitta and Kapha Doshas come together.
It is at these points where massage can most effectively restructure and rebalance the system to function most healthily.
Marmas are specific anatomical junctions where various tissues are unified. These points are more sensitive to any injury than any other part of the body because the vital life force is supposed to reside in these points. Any injury to these points may prove dangerous as these points hold the Prana.
Marma points are also divided based on a dominant tissue. Eg: Nerves, Muscles, Blood vessels, Ligaments, Tendons, Bones.
The use of the phrase "vital life force" here is interesting, and should set alarm bells ringing for anyone with even the most basic understanding of the scientific method. The pre-scientific concept of a life force which flowed through the body and animated its sensory, motor and physiological mechanisms was abandoned when an increased understanding of the brain made it obsolete. Marma, dosha, vata, pita, kapha - file under "I" for "imaginary". Imaginary but lucrative.
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THAI MASSAGE
Thai massage is yoga based massage on the floor. In the massage therapist do more stretches based on yoga postures and stimulate the energy points as well. This massage gives good energy flow and stretch to our body.
60 mins - £45
Holy chakras, the energy must be flowing like water at
Samskara! It's a wonder that patrons' mobile phones work on the premises...
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PRANIC HEALING
Pranic healing is a highly developed and tested system of energy based healing to balance, hormonize and transform the body energy process. It helps to balance your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual imbalances.
60 mins - £45
"Tested" by whom? And how do you "balance" forms of energy that can't be detected in the first place?
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PRANIC PSYCHOTHERAPY
Pranic healing is pranic healing applied in healing and alleviating emotional and psychological aliments. Phobias, compulsions and addictions can be alleviated in a very short time. It is not uncommon that in just the first session a phobia is 70 90 % healed.
60 mins - £45
Why does that first sentence remind me of Gertrude Stein? Ah, yes - "A rose is a rose is a rose..." I'm not sure if we're meant to be impressed by the fact that your phobia can be "70-90%" healed in your first session, particularly if you have to shell out another £45 to have the remaining 10-30% fixed. In fact, I'm not sure how they came up with that figure in the first place. A pranic phobia-meter, perhaps, or did someone suggest that percentages give the impression that a treatment has been scientifically tested? Funny how anti-scientific New Agers are happy to use scientific terms when it suits them...
To conclude:
Samskara is flogging pure, unadulterated claptrap to people whose ignorance of real science probably equals Gary Mannion's. I don't doubt for a moment that customers
do feel better after their treatments, but this is due to the wholly unmystical relaxing effect of massage and the pleasant atmosphere in which it takes place. If it sounds good, feels good, smells good and comes from the Mystic East it MUST be worth £45 per hour...mustn't it?
Some useful links:Ayurvedic medicine:
http://www.skepdic.com/ayurvedic.htmlNew Age misuse of the term
energy:
http://www.skepdic.com/energy.htmlhttp://www.skepdic.com/essays/energyhealing.htmhttp://www.csicop.org/sb/9806/reality-check.html"The Woo-Woo Credo":
http://www.watchingyou.com/woowoo.html
