Amma Therapy®
Amma Therapy® is an ancient energy work rooted in the philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The practitioner massages the meridians of the body with their hands and fingers to enhance the flow of Qi, blood and fluids in those channels. By stimulating certain points on the channels, the practitioner can open blockages in the energetic system or strengthen channels that are open. This therapy does not just consist of body work but also includes nutritional counseling as well as stress management in the form of breath work, Tai Chi and Chi gong.
Amma Therapy® encourages you to be an active participant in your wellness.
How does AMMA Therapy® work?
AMMA Therapy® is rooted in Oriental Medical Principles. It is fundamentally concerned with the balance and movement of “life energy” (Qi) in the human body. The application of hand techniques is used to balance the flow of energy in the channels. Whereas the acupuncturist will insert needles into these energy pathways to stimulate and move the energy, the herbalist will use appropriate herbal remedies to do the same, the AMMA Therapist relies primarily on the sensitivity and strength of the hands to manipulate the life energy. AMMA techsniques include both deep tissue massage that is used in other forms of therapeutic massage, and the stimulation of energy movement that is the basis of Chinese Medicine.
AMMA Therapy® addresses problems from a multi-system, multi-directional point of view. The process of assessment uses both Western and Eastern knowledge and techniques – combining traditional Oriental medical principles for assessing energy imbalances, with a Western approach to organ dysfunction. A diagnosis is based on the assessment of every facet of the mind/body complex – including observation of the tongue (considered a road map of the body), the taking of various pulses, evaluation of diet, complexion, bowel movements, posture, emotions, vitality, personal likes and dislikes, smells, tastes and sounds. Every sign and symptom reflects the state of internal organs – and can be used in assessment. Small areas of the body are often a microcosm of the whole, revealing much about the entire organism. For a comprehensive assessment, the AMMA Therapist also uses information from available medical tests (blood, X-ray, MRI, EKG, etc.) and any medications being taken. Once energy imbalances and organ dysfunctions are diagnosed, the AMMA Therapist’s hands and fingers can appropriately palpate and treat the body – removing the blockages, freeing the flow of energy and bringing healing energy to problem areas.
History of AMMA Therapy®:
AMMA Therapy® was founded and developed by Tina Sohn, co-founder of The Wholistic Health Center. Tina Sohn was born into one of the “800 Families” which constitute the traditional ruling classes of Korea. The women of her family were masters of the ancient healing arts, while the males were superior masters of the martial arts. Within the family, training in energy development and control began during childhood. Along with the legacy of physical and spiritual training, Tina Sohn inherited a responsibility to the people she served. She began her training at the age of four, studying hatha yoga-like exercises and esoteric energy development exercises. She was trained to become a champion long distance ocean endurance swimmer and by adolescence had attained this status. Her final training, in the mountains of Korea, was completed with her grandmother, an acupuncturist, herbalist and a practitioner of AMMA.
Through a crippling accident when she spent 30 days in a coma and was given up for dead by Western doctors in her native Korea, Tina Sohn evolved a heightened sensitivity to the physical condition of others and developed into a true Diagnostic Sensitive – a woman of unmatched inner strength and power, who knew herself to be more than a material body.
Years later, under guidance of her husband and teacher, Robert Sohn, Tina Sohn pursued her destiny as a diagnostic sensitive and healer. She integrated her knowledge of Oriental Medicine and Western Medicine with her heightened sensitivity – and created a bodywork therapy that is like no other. It is through her efforts that AMMA Therapy® was brought to this country and, in conjunction with Robert Sohn, that this healing art was introduced into the American health care delivery system in the early 1970s.
In 1976 Dr. and Mrs. Sohn co-founded The Wholistic Health Center – to bring to Long Island a fully integrated out-patient facility using natural and preventive approaches to provide quality Wholistic health care services. Under the guidance of Tina Sohn, a group of students studied and trained in AMMA Therapy® and Oriental Medicine. The Wholistic Health Center is known today as the New York College for Wholistic Health, education and research in Syosset, New York.
What is a Typical Session in AMMA Therapy®:
An AMMA Therapy® session usually lasts from 45 minutes to one hour. During this massage-type treatment, you can wear a gown or loose clothing and are treated on a massage table.
Before treatment, your Therapist will ask about your medical history, current complaints, symptoms, diet and exercise patterns. All this information is confidential.
After your history is reviewed, the Therapist will escort you to the treatment table, feel your pulse and examine your tongue. She then proceeds to do the massage which includes the manipulation of specific points. An important part of the AMMA process is patient education, regarding appropriate principles of diet and therapeutic exercises directed toward optimum health. AMMA Therapy®also stresses patient responsibility and cooperation in following through with the recommendations of the AMMA Therapist. This is an essential component of a successful therapy.