Introduction	Tibetan Incense

Introduction

This range is made in the Dolkar clinic in Delhi under the direction of Dr.Tsewang Dolkar. Her mother, Dr. Lobsang Dolma Khangkar, was the official practitioner of Tibetan medicine to the Dalai Lama and who along with many fellow Tibetans followed the exiled Dalain Lama to India. Dr.Khangkar is often referred to as the mother of Tibetan medicine. The present clinic in Delhi employs some 30 people and treats many hundreds of people each week charging prices according to salaries. Dr. Dolkar is now able to put together some 150 different kinds of herbal medicine.

Tibetan medicine is based around the use of herbs which are mainly picked in remote regions of the Himalayas at heights of over 2,000 metres where there is no pollution. Each type of incense in this range is made up of at least 30 different natural herbs. These are the same herbs that are used for medicinal healing purposes. To make the incense they are mixed into a paste with water and rolled out into sticks. Otherwise they are typically used for massage by reducing to powder form and mixing with a small quantity of apricot or nut oil. The Tibetan approach is over 2,500 years old and similar to the Indian Ayurvedic system in that it believes in the presence of the Vata, Pitta and Kapha. It has 5 basic elements: Sa (earth), Chu (water), Me (fire), Rung (air), and Nam-mkha (space). Disease and health problems occur due to imbalances of these elements. Diagnosis is done through pulse reading, touch and detailed questioning about the symptoms to build up a case history. Basic training takes about 10 years and from 14 to 15 years for a full course to be a practitioner.