Losing weight the pressure points way
There are no large photographs of before and after – only passport size ones on the pages of a fat folder.
Each page dedicated to an individual says it all – the usual details of name, age and contact details along with another vital piece of information: The weight.
Dr. Rasika Yamasinghe
Right below is a box, with comments, scrawled in the handwriting of those who have undergone the programme.
“This treatment method worked. I can get into clothes that I couldn’t get into,” says a 37-year-old university lecturer, while another explains that it has helped her to control her high blood pressure.
A family of three — father, mother and daughter from England — who were in Sri Lanka for just a month, is appreciative of the fact that their daughter who was having a “constant” headache and popping painkillers had got relief. Seeing the effects of the programme, both the father and the mother had also undergone it.
So, what is this programme being conducted on the 5th Floor of the Asiri Central Hospital, all about?
‘Slim & Healthy’ is a weight loss programme carried out by using between 10-25 pressure points in the body, says the Head of the Slim and Healthy Unit of the Asiri Hospital, Dr. Rasika Yamasinghe. He conducts the programme with the help of two nurses.
This is the only such programme in a private hospital, he says, pointing out that it is specially-designed to bring about weight reduction by stimulating the pressure points in the human body.
These pressure points relate to weight reduction and fat burn, according to this medical doctor who has also studied alternative medicine. He has been conducting this programme at Asiri Central for more than 10 years.
Pointing out that the programme is customised from person to person, he says that it starts with a three-times-a-week schedule and depending on the person’s weight loss, is shaped accordingly thereafter.
“It is slimming in a healthy way. There is no dieting, medicine, exercise or side-effects,” he assures, adding that it also helps to deal with conditions such as lethargy, knee and other joint pains, high blood sugar, stress and anxiety which result from obesity. “An added boon is that you will also have confidence in the way you look.”
Taking the example of the family from England, he says that the 17-year-old daughter lost 6kg, while the father (45) dropped down 6kg and the mother (45) 4kg.
A well-known public servant, meanwhile, has stated that she had tried everything, but nothing worked. After following this programme, this 56-year-old “can now fit into some of my clothes which I couldn’t wear for 15 years”. When she joined the programme in April a few years ago she was 69kg, four weeks later she was 64kg and by June she was 59kg.
“Each person’s system works differently. The absorption of food and fat-burning varies from person to person. One person may eat only about 250gms but put on weight, while another who eats about 1kg may not pile on any fat,” says Dr. Yamasinghe.
“This is due to individualistic musculature fat-burning systems,” he points out, citing the case of a 36-year-old Sri Lankan living in Dubai who, under this ‘Slim & Healthy’ programme lost 4kg in 10 days and 7kg in three weeks.
Then there was a 54-year-old principal who came with double chins and a very plump face who lost all that fat within a short period, while a doctor who was a breast cancer victim had been told to keep her BMI (body-mass index) at 63kg or below. “She had tried everything, dieting and exercise, but couldn’t lose weight. Within two months of joining our programme she lost 5kg,” says Dr. Yamasinghe.
Stimulating the pressure points in different parts of the body, to cut the fat (above and below). Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Around 65% of those who come for the programme are women and the balance men.
We are put in touch on the phone with a 49-year-old housewife from Moratuwa who says that she tried everything to lose weight, but failed. “Noka hitiya, godak deval kara,” she says, adding that she would even starve herself sometimes to lose weight.
However, nothing happened. Then she joined this programme about 2½ years ago. She was 70kg at that time. Within 2½ months she had lost 7kg. “The water-therapy which goes hand-in-hand with the pressure point programme stops the craving for food,” she laughs, adding that now she is very happy with herself.
