As part of our research into the pioneers of manual therapy for a new series of books that mwipublishing is publishing I am amazed at how much of today's fashinable natural health regimens were being advocated by some remarkable men back at the beginning of the 1900s.
Men like Dewanchand Varma, a colourful character who was working in Paris in the 1920s and having near miraculous results with patients that were getting nowhere with more conventional treatment. Varma practised what he called Pranotherapy, the techniques of which, were adopted and adapted into what has become neuro-muscular technique. He was also loosely linked with Randolph Stone so it is entirely possible that some of his thinking also found its way into Polarity therapy; certainly the philosophical background to both systems is the same.
Another, equally remarkable pioneer was Andrea Rabagliati who, surprisingly, was a Scotsman. He was a doctor and surgeon who came in for a lot of stick from his medical collegues for suggesting that diet, and particularly overeating was the root cause of most aliments that previously people would have had to go under the knife for. His big thing was congestion of the connective tissues due to excess dietary waste and his treatment involved dietary change and self exercise. Stone would have loved him and I must saw I have grown fond of him myself as I get to know him through his writings.
If you are interested in the roots and the history of today's manual therpies and cleansing and detoxing practices then I recommend the books. We are producing Pranotherapy in hard back in the next couple of months and Rabagliati's work will be an e-book soon. Fascinating stuff.