All I thought it was impossible to do it. In my mind I doubt of making it Happen to compress the following lessons in just 8 Hours from 9:00 am to 5:00 PM. And the lessons we took up are the following:
Definition, Origins and Hilot Treatment Methodologies; Basic Hilot Diagnostic that focus on Pulse Reading, Kapa and Salat; Discussion of Hilot Cleansing Rituals that focus on Suob; Dagdagay/Kulis Traditional Stick Foot Massage; Performing Tandok/Bentusa Fire Cupping; Pagsasala and Basic Hilot Touch Manipulation Techniques.
Selected Lessons on Hilot ng Aghamang Binabaylan Copyrighted 2016
Due to limited time of our Friend from London, She was able to spend 8 hours with us learning the some of the concepts of Hilot Binabaylan, and I wrote it down in her handout the work expectation of what a Hilot Binabaylan do.
As Hilot Binabaylan, one must be proficient in the following areas:
Diagnostic -performing Tawas Spiritual Diagnosis for the illness caused by the Spirits which affects the Mind and Emotion; Pulse Reading and Hilot Physical Assessment and Evaluation through Pagsasala/Panghihila, Pakapa and Pasalat.
Psycho/Emotional Counseling or Hilot Orasyon through Tawas Divination, Kilubansa Elemental Name Energetic Balance Analysis, and Siadtala Baybayin Mystic Oracle.
Physical Treatment through employment of different Hilot Treatment modalities such as Hilot Cleansing Rituals of Pagbababad, Pagpupunas, Paghihilod, Pagbabalot, Pagsusuob, Pagbabanlaw and Pagpapalina; Traditional Filipino Foot Stick Massage (Dagdagay/Kulis); Tandok/ Bentusa Fire Cupping; Pagpapahid (Wellness Massage).
Supplementation of Herbal Medicine such as in herbal tea, tablets, syrups, baths and so on.
And in between classes, we have a lot of chat that it seems we are redeeming each moment that we have together that we also forgot to have a toilet break. But at least we didn’t forget to have lunch. I am confident enough that she could pass all the knowledge I share as she establish Hilot Hands Academy in London. But this one day course is just an Introductory lessons as she will come back again to sharpen up her skills and not just theory as we have talked for 8 hours. Here are some of the activities that we had yesterday.
By the way, you could also ask for this one day training which is an Introductory Course on becoming a Hilot Binabaylan which we provide a Comprehensive overview of what is expected from you if you take the intensive course on Hilot ng Aghamang Binabaylan for 8 days or the Masidhi Hilot Training for 3 days.
We will be holding 2 sessions of the 8 days training the first one will happen on April 6 to 13 then next batch will be on April 16-23, 2023. We are going to conduct this on our new Training Center at Taguig City.
Most of the Training Program that we have created are designed for our Kababayan who lives in Diaspora that provides Room Accommodation and Food for 8 days aside from the Learning Activities we have set for them. Due to limited time of the students stay in the Philippines, the trainings were conducted on a consecutive straight days in order to fulfill the training requirements that been enrolled.
Now by May 2023, we are going to start offering Stay Out Classes that can be taken on a weekly basis. Depending upon availability of schedules of the student. These courses are ideal for people that are employed during monday’s through Friday’s and could only attend classes every Saturday or Sundays. Most of our newly designed Training Program are Short Classes either you can take it on 2 sessions and Maximum of 4 sessions. This means you can either take the course during Saturday and Sundays or once a week either on every saturdays or sundays, depending on the class you enroll.
Of course we highly recommend our Hilot Master Class such as the Hilot ng Aghamang Binabaylan which is an 8 consecutive days of intensive training but for those who have a tight Budget may take our Special Hilot Class. Just make plan of where you will stay if you are going to take the Training Program.
Our New Course offerings can be found by clicking the button below:
What I like with our New Offering is the Family Care Hilot on which we encourage that every Filipino Home may have One Manghihilot in the Family. As we have the conception that It is the mothers role to be in charge of Health Care for the Family. But if mother is sick, it is good if the Father knows also how to take care of the Families Health so as the Eldest Child in the Family.
Indeed having power over our Health is the responsibility of everyone of us. So it is good if everyone has the knowledge, Skills and Abilities to do Hilot.
Time run so fast and we are already on the 6th of March 2023! Even though the time changes, it seems that my mind is stuck on the last activities that I made. Well in order for me to move forward, I will just leave the memories of yesterday here so that I may presently prepare for the future.
But do you experience the same? Sometimes your memories are stuck on the past event that had happened to you? Or you are having difficulty to move on in your life specially when it comes to break up in a relationship or death of a love one?
So this kind of situation is considered a mental/emotional illness that Hilot could help you with! So what do you think the kind of Hilot Treatment needed in order to relieve a person from this kind of illness? Which part of the Body that a manghihilot should focus on in treating this kind of situation? Well you are free to answer by making comment below specially if you are a graduate of the Academy, you may have an Idea how to treat this situation. But before I give my answer, let me post first our Day 2 Activities with Argo, Nawa and Lakay.
We may think that it is our memory is the issue on this situation that having hard time to move on and let go of the situation. That might be correct, but in traditional indigenous medicine of Hilot, we see it that it is the Small and Large Intestine has the problem here and most likely those who suffer from these issues might also be suffering from constipation. So in treating this problem let me post first our Day 3 activities on Masidhi Hilot Training.
Do not think that the work of Manghihilot is just limited on treating the Physical Illness of a person and that is the common perception of the public that the work of manghihilot is no different from a Massage Therapist. But in reality, we are more than that! Our Training program that we offer here at Hilot Academy on becoming a Certified Hilot Binabaylan goes beyond the limitation of Physical Illness, but through the treatment methods and techniques we provide could help an individual to deal also with their emotional and mental Dis Ease.
You will be surprised to know that each of our emotions has its corresponding body organs that we could stimulate with. Such as on this problem of difficulty to move on and let go, we can treat the intestine through a water treatment. So in using water in healing there are many ways but the water must come in first in order to flush out what have stocked inside us. Enema might be invasive but our ancestors have used it as well and we might benefit from using it. But aside from enema, can make a blend of smoothie made of carrots, ginger and coconut milk to drink and do suob. After 10 to 15 minutes we can do pagpapahid manipulation on the stomach area.
If you want to learn more on how Hilot could help you treat different situations like this aside from physical illness, I recommend you to enroll on our Hilot Binabaylan training program. So plan ahead make a schedule of your visit in the Philippines that we may have our Learning Journey together in preserving our Philippine Traditional and Indigenous Healing Arts here at Hilot Academy of Binabaylan.
In the book of William Henry Scott titled: BARANGAY SIXTEENTH-CENTURY PHILIPPINE CUTURE AND SOCIETY
Massage was applied for injured or dislocated muscles, or pressure put on nerve centers
page 118
and the person who perform this was known as Hilot which is an expert on Physical Medicine. But as time goes by, this identity of Hilot has been diminished into just a Mamarokpok on which William Henry Scott have described as a Massuer who simply pummeled the back and spine and was usually a Datu’s husky slave.
And a Spanish Friar that was called Father Sanchez have described the work of Hilot in massaging women’s abdomen to cause miscarriage or abortion; as at that time, abortion were a common form of Family Planning.
Comparing the work of a Manghihilot and Mamarokpok, we can see that Hilot is medically inclined as it works deeper than what the Mamarokpok is doing. such as in comparing the Touch Manipulation of Massage and Hilot that both may manipulate either deep or superficial layer of the persons body. But the difference of Hilot to a Massage is that people may get pampering from a Massage, but those who have Injuries see a Manghihilot for a Serious Treatment. As the Goal of Hilot is to correct, restore the things that have been wronged with that person.
And naturally every touch of a Manghihilot towards the body of a patient, it will be painful. In massage therapy, the masseur has been taught to adjust their pressure by using body weight. This can be also applied in performing Hilot Massage, but Pressure weight does not matter if the Manghihilot can locate the point of origin of the pain, whether you only exerting light pressure the patient’s body, it will still be painful as the nature of pain is radiating.
For me as Manghihilot, my students may see me having pleasure to see them suffering pain when I demonstrate Hilot Massage to them, but what I am teaching you is that when you feel pain at the first time you received Hilot Massage, it means your body is responding to the treatment saying: “Yes! Do it because there is something wrong within me. Fix Me!”
In my experience in providing Hilot, Pain has been my friend and assistant. It helped me to know which area of the persons body I should work with fixing. It is also a good indicator to me that whenever I touched a person’s body and they responded to my touch as painful; this means that I have restored their senses that they feel pain and blood will flow again. As I continue to do the appropriate touch manipulation in helping the blood to circulate within the body, the more that I know that the patient that I am handling will get well.
So in my personal life, I am grateful to experience pain even it hurts because it reminds me that I am still human and alive that I could still feel pain rather than being numb and paralyzed to the worst which is i could not feel anymore because life force have left already in my Physical Body.
3 days is already over and we started it out with a Great Meal and on our table we only not share food but also the stories of our life. I am very happy that these people enjoys great food such as I am as we love to make our lessons like a festival as how many food has been placed on our Table so as the lessons they will learn from us here at Hilot Academy. Though we are just renting for our Training Venue but I pray that soon enough, we will be able to own a Place where you can stay and learn from us. Our first official lesson started with nature walk to introduce them to the Spirit of the place and also to greet this Big Tree that stands firm inside the compound of International Institute of Rural Reconstruction which is at Brgy. Biga 2, Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
Then I asked them to pick any herbs that seems they are attracted to and have called them.
Through this I showed them how our ancestors determine which plants to use in healing as the plants can talk to us. Indeed, it is amazing that our ancestors have these special abilities to communicate to almost everything aside from human beings that has the ability of speech. But if we attune ourselves that all the creations in this world are all equal and we learn how to respect them, the boundaries that separate us from them will be lifted and we will be able to know what they are saying unto us.
During this class, I have emphasized that Hilot is about Communication and us as Manghihilot are opening up ourselves to receive and understand the messages that is being communicated unto us either by nature or by our inner selves.
Tawas is a Hilot Technique that enable us to become a mediator of the person between their present life to their past life. It is an important tool in a form of Ritual so that we can ease up the situation of our patient in unloading all the burden they might be carrying all along. We have seen it through our Masidhing Manghihilot, all they thought that they are being afflicted by Mangkukulam, but when we release them from Tawas, they learned that it was just an emotional baggage that they are carrying for a long time.
I am very proud that after 3 days, we have able to create a New Manghihilot that will serve the people in Australia. One in Queensland and the other in Tazmania. Congratulations and Welcome to the Path of our Race!
Since many of you are requesting and interested to learn about becoming an Albularyo, so Hilot Academy of Binabaylan is going to offer you a 12 months Mentoring program on Self Discovery Journey to the realms of the Plant Medicine Spirits. This is not a traditional classroom setting which I will stand as your teacher that will spoon feed all the information you need to know about plants. If you are looking for that, this course is not for you. But if you want to develop an intimate relationship with the Plant Medicine Spirits then this course will help you.
Self Discovery Journey to the realms of the Plant Medicine Spirits will initiate you on becoming an Authentic Albularyo or rather as Mananambal on its precolonial Sense. Albularyo is the term used by our colonizers pertaining to the Mananambal who is our local healer that employs Plant Medicine Spirits to treat illness of the people. Albularyo means Herbalist or a person who studies the Bio chemical components of a plant to be used in affecting cure to any illness. And the knowledge on this field can be learned in modern schools that uses science.
There were no schools way back during the precolonial times. The education of our ancestors rely only to the wisdom of their elders and community elders. And most of their knowledge are gained through experience and through that they pass it to their children and grand children and up to us now in the present Generation.
This 12 months Mentoring Course will consist of Self Learning Activities and requires you to have a personal journal or note book in writing your own experience. Once a Month during the time of Full Moon at Saturday nearest to its peak, you will have an online video conference with your mentor together with other postulant on becoming a Mananambal/Albularyo. There your Mentor will give you Assignments that you are going to work out within a Month.
Being an Albularyo/Mananambal is not about having an exact plant that is prescribed such as what it does in modern herbalism. It is not about having knowledge on the BioChemical Properties and having Scientific Knowledge of the Plant but it is about your relationship with the land and all the inhabitants hereof.
You can take this course by sessions and the energy exchange for each session is USD 50.00 only. If you are interested to take this class, just let me know by emailing me at apuadman@hilotacademy.com
Yesterday-January 21, 2023 was our 6th day of Hilot Training at International Institute of Rural Reconstruction as a Venue and we did a Question and Answer Session regarding some health issues and discuss the possible Hilot Treatment procedures.
In starting the session, I gave each individual a 4a piece of paper and cut it into 8 pcs. So each participants will write 8 specific questions containing possible health issues that they may encounter in their practice of Hilot. As we finish writing our questions on the paper we fold it and place it inside a box. And will pick one and read it aloud to discuss the possible Hilot Treatment Plan we are going to employ,
We only have limited time as we do this from 9:00 am to 10:00 am so that we can perform other things. These activity trains the student to handle clients with different health issues by activating their critical thinking ability to analyze the situations and determining appropriate Hilot Treatment procedures that could help their client to have cure.
The application of Hilot Treatment may vary as Traditional Filipino Illness may manifest into the Physical, Emotional, Mental, Social and even Spiritual aspect of the person. So the Hilot Treatment procedures are not only limited in giving Massage but may also require the applications of other Hilot Treatment Techniques such as Pagtatawas as Diagnostic, Pagpag/ Pauli Ritual, Pagbababad/ Banyos, Paghihilod, Pagbabalot, Pagtatapal, Pagsusuob,Paligo-Banlaw, Palina, Dagdagay, Pagsasala, Bentusa/ Tandok, Pagpupunas, Pahid, Haplos, Himas, Pindot, Hagod, Pisil, Piga and other Hilot Touch Manipulations technique such as kamot, kurot, yugyog, tulak, hila, dagan and kayod.
We also have talked about dissecting each Hilot Treatment methodologies and their origins. And as we look at each treatment methodologies employed in Hilot Treatment, we could say that all of it maybe an adoption of our ancestors from foreigners who come into our land out of the trade relations of the Philippines towards other countries that came to us such as the application of Bentusa which may come from the Greeks or Persia; Dagdagay as it employs reflexology; the Pagpapahid as it looks similar to Abyangha, and so on.
There was a point in time that I remember that Filipino were known before as imitators as whatever saw from the west that is trending, we mimic it and imitate. But this was not the case, as Human needs are the same specially in terms of maintain health and wellness. As I embrace harder the Art and Science of Hilot, what I learned is that the Healing Principles of Hilot does not comes from the Technique that we use, but through the Behavior that we observe in performing these modality.
Hilot is about the Quality of Care that we provide and not about the technique we employ; it is also through the emotions we share and not about being patriotic but it is about our connection to the land and it’s nature.
Being a Manhihilot in Diaspora does not mean that you have to grow all the plants that is endemic in the Philippines. That you as Manghihilot living in the United States or wherever country you are in the world needs to import all the Healing Herbs that you can find in the Philippines; but being a Manghihilot in Diaspora is about connecting with the plant medicine that grows in your own yard, in your neighborhood, in the country where you live right now.
It is a good idea that you being a person living in diaspora could support our local manghihilot by importing our products that will give us revenue. And that is only good for us, but it maybe harmful to our land as we tend to over harvest because of the international demands. And over harvesting is not Hilot, it is already about commerce and capitalism. Our Hilot is not about earning a lot of money, though we also need to earn, as we ourselves are in this world that is governed by money. We still have our bills that we need to pay, and this is what the energy exhange is for. You are paying us for the service you get from us to be a better person, and the money you give make us to be able to pay for the responsibilities we have on the technical services we obtain from electric company, water company, internet providers and so on.
For me, I dont have Children to send to schools. But we have charities to help in sending people to school. So this is the reason also that we exert effort in doing this work. As hilot is not only in making people feel better about their physical body but also in their lives.
I am contemplating on the behavior of some allopathic doctors that they discourage their patients not to engage with Traditional and Alternative Medicine, the probable reason because some of Alternative Healing Modalities that they claim cure on certain illness. For me there is nothing wrong if a Healer becomes proud of Healing someone and their methods become effecting in helping people to have cure from their illness.
Bet let us be reminded that as Manghihilot, we have a principle we follow.
This principle have been taught to me by my Professor and Mentor in the Alternative Medicine School which I still carry to my practice and pass it over to You. And that principle states that:
All Human Being has the ability to heal themselves and our work as a Healer is only to assist our Patient in achieving their optimum Health and Wellness.
Dr. Ruben M. Galang Jr.- Founder of the School of Alternative Medicine, St. Francis Divine College, Novaliches, Quezon City, Philippines
So Beware of those who claim that they could heal Medical Illnesses and Disease, they will just Milk Cash from you and not treat you as you expect. Now-a-days there are many people who will take advantage of our weakness and in the end we will still be left unattended to our needs.
If Hilot cannot cure any disease, so what can Hilot do for you?
Hilot does not treat any diseases. It is different from the allopathic medicine. Hilot follows Traditional Medicine so the Illness that it treats is also Traditional. We refer to medical professional all the medical illness that a person may have. But we study it first and analyze if the Modern Illness will fall under the Category of Traditional Illness.
As Manghihilot we see illness may come in 2 forms. The first one is the Physical Illness and the other one is the Spiritual Illness. Both of these illness are known by a Manghihilot as Pilay. And Pilay has 5 types and they are:
Pilay Bali
Pilay Ipit
Pilay Hangin
Pilay Lamig
and Pilay Usog
The Manghihilot must carefully observe the condition of the patient before falling into a certain treatment methodology. This is done through Tawas. People might think that Tawas Diagnostic is done only for Spiritual Illness but Manghihilot has its Tawas Method in determining Physical Illness. This is the reason why as a Patient you must choose a legitimate Manghihilot does not only do Massage but also well versed in either Physical Diagnosis or Spiritual Diagnosis, because most of the time, the Physical symptoms are caused by Spiritual Illness such as having Frozen Shoulders and Back aches.
If you are interested to learn Authentic Filipino Hilot, just talk to me by messaging me at apuadman@hilotacademy.com
It is already 25 years when the Philippine Traditional Alternative Medicine Act of 1997 has been passed into law, and with that Law- the Philippine Institute of Traditional Alternative Health Care has been created and Established with the following goals or objectives as its Mandate.
In Republic Act 8423 or An act creating the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) to accelerate the development of Traditional and Alternative Healthcare in the Philippines, providing for a Traditional and Alternative Healthcare Development Plan and for other Purpose. In this law which was enacted by the 10th congress on December 9, 1997 stated clearly their objectives in Article 1 section 3 that they are:
1.To encourage scientific research on and develop traditional and alternative health care systems that have direct impact on public health care;
2. To promote and advocate the use of traditional, alternative, preventive and curative health care modalities that have been proven safe, effective, cost effective and consistent with government standards on medical practice;
3.To develop and coordinate skills training courses for various forms of traditional and alternative health care modalities;
4.To formulate standards, guidelines and codes of ethical practice appropriate for the practice of traditional and alternative health care as well as in the manufacture, quality control and marketing of different traditional and alternative health care materials, natural and organic products, for approval and adoption by the appropriate government agencies;
5.To formulate policies for the protection of indigenous and natural health resources and technology from unwarranted exploitation, for approval and adoption by the appropriate government agencies;
6. To formulate policies to strengthen the role of traditional and alternative health care delivery system; and
7.To promote traditional and alternative health care in international and national conventions, seminars and meetings in coordination with the Department of Tourism, Duty Free Philippines, Incorporated, Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation and other tourism-related agencies as well as non-government organizations and local government units.
To plan and carry out research and development activities in the areas of traditional and alternative health care and its ultimate integration into the national health care delivery system;
To verify, package and transfer economically viable technologies in the field of traditional and alternative health care, giving emphasis on the social engineering aspects necessary for group endeavor;
To provide the database for policy formulation that will stimulate and sustain production, marketing and consumption of traditional and alternative health care products;
To organize and develop continuing training programs for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, and other professional health workers and students, as well as scientists, research managers and extension workers in the field of traditional and alternative health care;
To formulate policies that would creat public awareness through educational activities, conventions, seminars, conferences, and the like by focusing on the promotion of healthy living for preventing disease, thereby uplifting the health care industry;
To acquire or obtain from any governmental authority whether national or local, foreign or domestic , or from any person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity, such charters, franchises, licenses, rights, privileges, assistance, financial or otherwise, and concessions as are conducive to and necessary or proper for the attainment of its purpose and objectives;
To receive and acquire from any person and/or government and private entities, whether foreign or domestic, grants, donations and contributions consisting of such properties, real or personal, including funds and valuable effects or things, as may useful, necessary or proper to carry out its purposes and objectives and administer the same in accordance with the terms of such grants, donations and contributions, consistent with its purposes and objectives;
To serve as the coordinating center of a national network of traditional and alternative health care stations located in the different regions of the country;
To formulate a code of ethics and standards for the practice of traditional and alternative health care modalities for approval and adoption by the appropriate professional and government agencies;
To formulate standards and guidelines for the manufacture, marketing and quality control of different traditional and alternative health care materials and products for approval and adoption by the Bureau of Food and Drugs;
To coordinate with other institutions and agencies involved in the research on herbal medicine;
To adopt and use a corporate seal;
To sue and bu sued in its corporate name;
To succeed by its corporate name;
To adopt its by laws and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper to implement this ACT, and to amend or repel the same from time to time;
To enter, into, make and execute contracts and agreements of any kind or nature;
To borrow, raise or obtain funds, or to enter into any financial or credit arrangement in order to support or carry out in research programs, finance its capital and operating expenses, subject to pertinent laws governing public debts and expenditures;
Well, its power and function is stated as well in the Republic Act 8423 which we can find at Article 3 Section 6 of the said act.
Last December 4, 2022- i have presented a webinar on Redefining Hilot in modern time as our participation to the 25th year of mandating the Philippine Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act of 1997. And we have presented this webinar on 3 different time zones.
On the East Coast of United States of America, our webinar has been participated by Jamee Pineda and Daphne Domingo; then on the Pacific Coast, we have Camille Cruz and Dezire Smith; and in London, we Have Jutheanne Cruz, Heather Bajade and Junkim Nieva. Though not much people participated, but what important is that we were able to reach them out and delivered our message to them.
As we prepare in delivering this webinar, i conducted prior studies first and check first the Status of Hilot in World Health Organization and I found this Free Download which is the World Health Report 2019
In page 176 of the World Health Report 2019, we can read that the focus on regulation is in the manufacturing or herbal medicine so as regulating training centers and clinics, but unfortunately it has not shown any certified hilot in the report so as hilot training centers and clinic. I have shown this same status on the webinar and have shared my personal knowledge based on my studies what Hilot is. In the webinar, I have also mentioned the uprising problem in Colonizing Hilot such as there are Hilot Organization that been established incorporating Veganism as a mandatory practice for Manghihilot and claiming that this practice has been blessed by a certain Indigenous Tribe in the Country.
You may watch the video or listen to its audio form below.
It is very common now-a-days to have a massage at the Comfort of our Homes. I think that is okay if your Massage provider is a Family Member such as you husband, wife, son or Daughter. But hiring a Massage Therapist to indulge you in your home or hotel room is Illegal.
The practice of Massage in the Philippines has been established through the Presidential Decree 856 or known as The Sanitation Code of the Philippines.
According to this law:
NO Masseurs shall be allowed to practice their profession without first securing a Certificate of Registration issued by the Committee of Examiners of Massage Therapy.
Sec 4.1.1 Chapter 13 Sanitation Code of the Philippines
Aside from Certificate of Registration of Masseurs, the law also prescribed the workplace where a Registered Masseur should render their Services. In Section 3 of Chapter 13 in 3.1 it is said that:
No Massage Clinic or Sauna Bath establishment shall open and operate for public patronage without a Sanitary Permit issued by a local health officer. It even state that in 3.2. that Any extension or additional construction or alteration in an establishment shall require a new sanitary permit before it could be operated.
This mean the clients room unless it is part of your massage clinic must be inspected first and applied for a sanitary permit before you can render massage.
In Section 5 of the law, it states the Structural Requirement in establishing a Massage Clinic that includes:
Standard Flooring
Walls
Ceiling
Lighting
Ventilation
Change Rooms
Reception Rooms
Treatment (Massage) Rooms
Home Service Massage Workers do not comply on this government requirements in providing their Massage Services thus in accordance to the law: Any person who shall violate, disobey, omit or neglect to comply with any of the provision of this rules and regulation shall be guilty of misdemeanor that is punishable of 6 months imprisonment.
Hilot Academy of Binabaylan 
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