Cynthia (Cyndi) Singh, LMBT

Growing up in the Western culture has always been fascinating but yet very complicated for me.  It wasn’t until I was dealing with my own family’s health issues that I realized there was more to healing than what conventional Western medicine had to offer and had taught me over the years.  I became humbled after I lost my Mother to the hands of Western M.D.’s, then dealing with my daughter’s ongoing asthma conditions and basically trying to take care of my family so that we could have optimal health.  I refused to accept that chemicals and drugs were the answer to our problems because they never worked.  In fact, it kept me in a state of panic and conflict with everything I tried to accomplish in keeping my family healthy. It was at that point where I literally broke down and desperately sought out an alternative healing method.  I was very lucky at the time because it was nearly impossible to find anyone who understood the human body concepts that I could relate to and who could relate to me.  It was then that I stumbled upon an Oriental Medicine Doctor in my hometown, Atlanta, Georgia.

When I spoke to her about my life and my family, she immediately understood and communicated with me in a way that I knew was the answer to my health and my family's health.  In fact, I was amazed that there was a person in this world that could even speak my language, when all my life prior to this point, I was totally frustrated and misunderstood.  All my answers came together and it was then that I embarked upon the Oriental Medicine approach to healing the human body.  At that time I was only interested in learning and studying everything I could possibly learn.  I drove my friends and family nuts with my newfound philosophy and training that I was receiving in the arts of Oriental Medicine.  What is interesting today, is that over half of the population in the United States are on some type of rebound when it comes to seeking alternative health, whether it be Oriental Medicine or natural Holistic Medicine.

I studied and learned the simple basic foundations of Oriental Medicine, which included Tai Chi Qi Gong, Tui Na, Needleless Acupuncture, Cupping, applied herbal formula combinations, and meditation.  Later, in 2000, I met His Holiness Penam Rinpoche.  He has been identified and honored since childhood by many high lamas and tulkus as a highly enlightened being and the upholder of the Jonang doctrine and the Kalachakra Tantra.HH Penam Rinpoche was also the  leading authority and master of an almost lost art of Tibetan Medicine from his region in Amdo, Tibet.  I had a unique rare opportunity of spending several months with him during his brief stay here in the United States.  Throughout the years, I received both private instruction and classes that were held in the Atlanta area and New York City from him and various other teachers also within the Jonang lineage and other Tibetan Buddhist lineages respectfully.  In 2004, I connected Swami Jyotirmayananda.  Through his Yoga Research Foundation, I was able to study the Hindu culture and path to healing through Yoga Philosophy and Vedantic teachings. As a stay at home Mother this enabled me to study and focus on these ancient Traditional Methods of self-cultivation and practice.  Traditionally, there is an old saying, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear”.  The practice of Oral Transmission is the way knowledge was transmitted to the practitioner and student.  These kinds of practices are dated back over 2,000 years ago and have been referred in terms such as “YangXing” (to nurture one’s Nature), “Yangsheng” (to nurture one’s life), “Daoyin” (to guide and lead (the qi), and “Xiushen” (to cultivate oneself).  In Tibetan and Hindu culture, this goes further into the “Inner Guru” concept of Life is your teacher.  There is a saying, “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards “.  This is how my journey began.  The teachers started appearing, and the learning process began, not just intellectually, but experientially in my daily life.  Recently I have been studying, training and applying the Vedic Thai Yoga Massage techniques that I learned from Mukti Michael Buck.  This is yet another wonderful aspect of Massage, and is especially beneficial for Yoga practitioners.

Through the practice of study and self-inquiry, as I was homeschooling my daughter, my time consisted of my studies of Oriental Medicine. There is no way in this life time that I could ever master all the concepts, however, I will always be a student and am constantly learning this ancient form of the healing arts.  After my daughter completed home school, I decided to put my skills to the test and attended Massage School at North Georgia Technical College.  This was an incredible experience for me because I was able to merge my knowledge of the human body system from an Eastern philosophy with the Western concepts of Massage and Bodywork.  This is very important in today’s world because of the technological advances we have learned here in the West, and what we have merged with the natural holistic and oriental medicine theories and practices.  This is also extremely important for human survival, existence in our society, environment and fast paced lifestyles we live today. 

I believe in living a simple balanced life.  Balance is the key to good health and is the “art of feeling good”.  It can be very challenging to manage when the external and internal body is in overload and out of balance.  My daily practice in life consists of Yoga, Meditation and a constant Assessment and Maintenance of Daily activities to keep this balance in check. This includes many factors, just to name a few; diet, environment, exercise, MASSAGE and rest.  These things are so important in maintaining the health of the human body system.  

A little history dating back over 2,500 years ago:

The emergence of disease follows the emergence of life. From the beginnings of humankind there have been invasions by disease, thus from those earliest times humans have been groping for ways to overcome illness. It is important to remember that our medical activities began long before civilizations existed, before there were any written languages or records. China was one of the earliest civilized countries in the world, and archeological material proves that the roots of China's written language extend back 7,000 years. Historians believe that Shen Nong and Fu XI were early tribal leaders. Later on, approximately 5,000 years ago, the leader of one clan defeated the others and became known as the Yellow Emperor, occupying central China. They then began weaving silk into clothing and established a formal written language. It is said that at that time, the Yellow Emperor, a doctor named Qi Bo, and his trusted advisors held far reaching discussions and research into medicine and acupuncture. 2,500 years later, in the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, these early records and the oral transmissions from the time of the Yellow Emperor were edited into the earliest surviving text written by medical specialists, The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which brought together the medical experience from earliest known times.  This has always been amazing to me that such recordings have existed for all this time, and is an extremely effective medicine that is widely used all over the world, not just in China. In fact, most medical systems have adopted these philosophies and most have naturally discovered similar techniques through their own cultures and way of life. Because of this knowledge, Tui Na, which is the Chinese name for massage, has been incorporated and studied in modern schools of massage and bodywork therapy and practice.  There have since been so many various stems of practices such as Shiatsu, Thai Yoga Massage, and various others that have been developed throughout the years.  All of these practices are similar in form and very profound.

In Oriental Medicine theory, it's not so much the muscles and physical body that are manipulated as the invisible channels and "energy body", also known as the "body". By applying pressure to vital points along these channels, the client's internal energy boosts, and the actual healing is performed by the energy itself. The concept of "healing and energy" is foreign to Western medical tradition, but it lies at the very heart of Chinese, Indian, Tibetan, Thai and other Oriental medical therapies. Energy is released, nourishing organs and glands while driving toxins from body tissue.  

Some of the methods I use in my practice are; Deep Tissue, Tui Na, Vedic Thai Yoga Massage, Chinese Cupping, Needleless Acupuncture, Trigger Point Therapy, Acupressure and Swedish massage.  I look forward to helping you achieve balance in your life and achieve your goals for optimal health.