Kerala   

The healing prowess of kalari

Mohamed Nazeer

WORKING MIRACLE: Heather Cunningham at work.

KANNUR: For Heather Cunningham from the U.S., the healing part of `Kalaripayat' is nothing short of a miracle. It has helped her recuperate from serious injuries she suffered in the past during skiing competitions. The 38-year-old freestyle snow skier from Colorado says she visited the Kerala Kalaripayat Academy here after she heard about the martial arts and its healing tradition from a German. Having undergone various treatments, including physical therapy, she now feels that practising Kalari is encouraging. Ms. Cunnigham is now looking forward to participating in skiing competitions, which she has not been doing for the last six years.

"When I came to India, I was not aware of the `kalari' tradition of Kerala. Now I am here with the dream of healing my injuries," says Ms. Cunningham who has been practising kalari and undergoing kalari healing process for the last six weeks. She says she will be at the academy for two more weeks practising kalari under C.M. Sherif. Though her main priority is to have her injuries healed, she is planning to come back soon to learn kalaripayattu. Skiing was Ms. Cunningham's passion. She travelled around the world to participate in skiing competitions, including the skiing World Cup competition. "If you have never skied, it is difficult to explain what I did as a skier. It takes lot of quickness and power and is a wild sport," she says adding that her score as a skier is more an expression of herself and her personality. She met with a couple of bad accidents that left her knee and neck injured.

Ms. Cunningham has also worked as an action sports model for commercials and magazine covers. He job as part of her career as a model included rock climbing, mountain biking, running and, of course, skiing. She says that though her passion, focus and drive as a skier are still there, she now feels more grounded. "Kalari training give you a sense of inner power." What draws her to kalari is its integration of martial arts and the healing process, she says.

Ms. Cunningham feels she can now appreciate the moment. One has to live in the moment when one is practising kalari, she says.

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