London’s Maya medicine man

Tucked half way down King’s Road, next to Sir Terence Conran’s much loved Bluebird Café, the brand new Triyoga centre in Chelsea offers the same signature yoga and Pilates classes as the Soho and Primrose Hill centres (loved by Gwyneth Paltrow and pals), alongside some more unusual treatments.

Haute Living tried traditional maya medicine – a comprehensive system of natural medicine that has flourished in Maya culture for around four thousand years and is used to deal with chronic disorders such as depression and ME, trauma, emotional/physiological imbalances, tension, menstrual disorders/fertility, back pain – basically any ailment or injury!

“Maya medicine heals by revitalising and grounding the life force energy inherent in all beings” explains Roland Torikian, aka Triyoga’s maya medicine man, who trained and practised in Mexico, before returning to the UK.

Roland (who, rest assured, is wonderfully relaxed and down to earth) started the session by giving me an egg to hold. After 10 minutes, the egg was broken into a glass of water and the result, Roland revealed, spelt out the state of my health. Peering at the egg in the glass, Roland deduced that my left (male) channel dominated over my right (female) channel. Translation? My nurturing side and personal life have been neglected, as I strive to achieve my career goals. Roland’s reading was spot on – I have spent more time and energy on my professional life to the detriment, perhaps, of  my personal life – and left me feeling somewhat spooked: who knew an egg could be so enlightening?!

After discussing the diagnosis, a cleansing was administered to release negativity and increase the flow of energy in my female channel (in Mayan culture, there are three energy channels – a female, male and neutral one – running through the body and all need to be in balance for optimum health). This was followed by deep tissue work, to loosen the niggling knots I had mentioned in my neck. I felt the tension in my upper body (the result, Roland believed, of endless hours spent hunched over my laptop) magically melt away and left feeling wide awake and invigorated – ready to take on the world. I’ll be back for more.

Roland offers traditional Mayan medicine sessions (£70 for 45 minutes) at Triyoga Chelsea on Tuesdays, between 12.45-4.45pm and 6-9pm. To book an appointment, call the centre on 020 7483 3344. To find out more about Maya medicine, visit www.mayamedicine.co.uk

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