The force of nature

Shashi Bajaj, who runs a magnetotherapy clinic in Bandra, says, "The curative powers of magnets are amazing. Healing by magnets is simple, unconventional, not expensive and free from side effects."

How do these pieces of stone work?

A magnet is a lodestone and it’s power depends upon it’s shape, size and volume. When a magnet is placed on the body, it passes it’s current through the tissues of the body and induces heat which reduces pain and swelling.

"It helps to rejuvenate tissues, cells and promotes cell growth. It is like an electric current passing through the body and rejuvenating it," says Bajaj.The earth is a natural magnet and transmits magnetic energy to all living organisms humans, animals and plants. The human body, too is considered to have magnetic sides. Vertically, the head and upper part of the body are said to represent the North Pole. And the feet and lower part of the body the South Pole. Horizontally, the right side of the body is considered to be the North Pole and the left side, the South Pole. According to magnetotherapy there is magnetism in the body. When there is an imbalance in this magnetism that is when one pole has become stronger than the other, there is suffering and disease. Magnetism of whichever pole is deficient, is `given’ to the patient and the imbalance is corrected.

In allopathic terms, the North Pole works as an antibiotic. And the South Pole gives energy and is compared to Vitamin B complex by magnetotherapy practitioners. "For most diseases treatment by the North Pole is given for infections, allergies, colds, aches and pains. The South Pole, on the other hand magnet, is used on a patient who is quite healthy but deficient in energy," says Bajaj.

This alternative form of medicine also claims to be able to treat disorders that allopathy has no cure for. For instance, they claim it is good for increasing the height of a patient, or improving eyesight. Common problems like sinusitis, constipation and blood pressure can be effectively treated by the application of magnets.

Magnetotherapists also claim that magnet treatment cleanses the body of undesirable accumulations and balances the working of the body machinery. "Magnets have both curative and preventive powers. Magnet treatment also dispenses the accumulation of foreign elements like calcium and cholesterol and releases the tension in the nerves," says Bajaj.

Most of the time the treatment is non-invasive. But when internal organs have to be treated the patient is given magnet water. "Water has the characteristic of assimilating the properties of other things. The properties of magnets are absorbed by water through continuous contact between the North and South poles. If this water is drunk a few times a day it is hugely beneficial," says Bajaj. Magnetic water can be made at home. Place a bottle of water with the South Pole of a magnet and North Pole, on either side of it.

Magetised water is been used for various therapeutic purposes. The skin, blood vessels and feet are influenced by magnetic water as they are conductors of electricity and magnetism. Magnetised water gets absorbed in the blood stream which in turn carries it to the tissue cells and helps the removal of waste material through the urine. It also dissolves the deposit of cholesterol in the arteries. "Magnetic water helps in assimilation of various nutrients, in the secretion of enzymes and increases the immunological status of the body and balances the body by eliminating the morbid matter and the toxins from the body," claims Bajaj.

And sometimes, it works wonders. "I started applying the North Pole of a magnet to the neck of a lady suffering from thyroid goitre. I wanted to keep a record of how long it would be before the swelling went down. But even before I could start monitoring her, it had subsided completely," says Bajaj. But with any form of alternative therapy the success rate varies from person to person. And there is no surefire cure for all ills.