REPORTING DIARIES: THE PAIDA LAJIN WORKSHOP IN CHENNAI

When you do a report concerning new self-healing techniques, there is a lot of skepticism that surrounds it. But my story was a bit different. I attended the valedictory function of a Paida Lajin workshop and heard participants of the workshop give very positive reviews. I wondered if they were exaggerating or not. So I decided to do a report on it as part of my reporting modules in my college.

The workshop was held at the TAG Centre of the Voluntary Health Service Diabetic Research Centre in Chennai, India. So I decided to talk to the doctor to find out what exactly made him bring this technique, which essentially involved slapping oneself or stretching oneself to heal one’s ailments, to Chennai. Initially, I knew it would be very difficult since medical establishments usually do not permit students to talk to doctors, especially when you are students of Journalism. It is a profession that everyone tends to run away from. A profession where we are made to seem like villains.

Surprisingly, the doctors were not only willing to talk to me but they were willing to give me a step-by-step explanation on what convinced them into trying out this Chinese self-healing method. Starting from the very beginning, Dr. C. V. Krishnaswami, the Chairman of TAG VHS, who brought the workshop to Chennai spoke to me at length about the extensive body of research the TAG Centre is doing in areas of Energy Medicine and its applications to cure diabetes.

He went on to explain how he came in contact with Master Hongchi Xiao, the founder and promoter of the Paida Lajin technique. As he cited examples of positive results in his own patients, he said that this wasn’t mere exaggeration. He added that more research was needed to prove this technique’s effectiveness. This, I reckoned, was what made him a credible source.

In the Health elective that I took up in my college, I realised that for any research to be termed successful or effective, it requires randomised, double blind, controlled trials. When a doctor claims that the research has shown good results but it requires more substantial evidence before being advocated, it seemed like he was being honest.

I decided to talk to the nurses who were involved in the workshop to see what they have to say. Sometimes, nurses could leak out something which was negative in the study. Again, they took me by surprise. Instead of giving me tit-bits on possible side-effects and downsides of the workshop, they gave me their personal experiences where they had seen positive changes in their health conditions. I prodded and prodded, looking for something irregular, but it wasn’t there.

Finally, I decided to talk to one of the patients who the doctors had claimed had gone off medication after the workshop. After speaking to him for about 45 minutes, he confirmed everything. It was all true! From the fall in blood sugar levels, to the increase in energy levels and he was completely off medication! It was too much for me to believe. So I asked him for his blood sugar levels and tried matching them with what the nurses had told me. They were alike.

I was happy that the method had worked well for him. He told me a very important point. He said that the technique would be useful only if it was practiced regularly. Since he has been following the regime with the prescribed diet, he has seen positive results – something that even medicines could not do for so many years.

Overall, while I initially viewed it with a skeptic mind, I realised that positive feedback cannot be bought when it concerns health. If participants claim that they are feeling better and medical readings prove it, then there must be some truth in the healing abilities of Paida Lajin. I went back as a more convinced person. The nurses, doctors and participants were extremely helpful and I guess that has what lowered my skepticism! Oh but don’t worry. I still await the results of RCTs to convince me fully.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself as the nurses made me try the Lajin technique. It was a bit painful, but not something unbearable. It was great fun learning how slapping and stretching could ACTUALLY heal a person!

I will be posting my report soon. So watch out for it, right here!