Mariéva Gruffat

Mariéva Gruffat

Passionate about osteopathy

Marieva Gruffat grew up in an environment centered on the respect of the human being and his interaction with nature. She learns very early to look and listen with her mother, a horticulture teacher. With her father, director of a cooperative of organic products, she developed her sense of vital energies.

As she grew up, “helping people” became more and more obvious to Mariéva. She therefore chose to complete a bachelor’s degree in the social sector, which she complemented with training in psychology. She understood the influence of emotions on behavior, posture, and sometimes even pain. She then looked for a model of care that would link the body and the mind.

Holistic medicines seem to her the most appropriate because they respect the integrity of the patient by using natural methods. She therefore chose osteopathy, a therapy that allows her to use her hands, which were already full of vital energy. When she was little, her mother told her that she had the fingers of a fairy.

Training at the Andrew Taylor Still Academy in Lyon

It is in Lyon (France) that Marius Gruffat studies in a school of osteopathy, the Andrew Taylor Still Academy, where the accent is put on the humanistic aspect of osteopathy and an individual follow-up of the students. A great adventure began for her! She learns from the first year to develop the sensitivity of her hands by listening and touching. Little by little, she became familiar with the different theories of the human being and the cosmos.

She perfected her techniques and embarked on various clinical experiences inside and outside the school. For example, she participated in sports events with physiotherapists; she also attended a class at the Lyon Conservatory of Music for several months, as part of a team of several osteopaths.

Her passion for her profession took her to Senegal for a humanitarian mission where she met other osteopaths who introduced her to other techniques that broadened her field of action.

Team work

Today, at 26 years old, she chooses to pursue her career in Cambodia. “The practice of osteopathy in Cambodia is for me a way to combine my passion and the discovery of other cultures” explains Mariéva who likes to combine travel and work.

“As an osteopathy student, I had a project to work in a team”, explains Mariéva who sees today this project coming true with the collaboration within Essence de santé. There are many similarities between Chinese medicine and osteopathy. Both are holistic therapies aimed at restoring balance and restoring the body’s capacity for self-healing and full health.

The integration of Marieva allows Essence of health to complete its holistic care offer in Phnom Penh by adding osteopathy. Certain types of pathologies can now be treated in coordination for the greater benefit of the patient.

What is osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a therapeutic approach that helps the body regain its ability to adapt and its full mobility by acting on tissues (muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments, arteries…) whose balance has been disturbed by accidents, physical or psychological trauma.

The field of action of osteopathy is very broad. It can treat both lumbar, cervical and sciatic pain. But also digestive disorders such as chronic constipation, sleep disorders, anxiety, migraines or sinusitis. And many others….

For athletes, musicians or singers, regular follow-up helps prevent injuries and relieve certain pains. Osteopathy is particularly interesting for the treatment of women during pregnancy, after childbirth, and for their infants.

Different techniques can be used according to the different needs of each patient. “I always favour a treatment that listens to the patient and uses tissue techniques or more commonly called soft techniques without cracking” explains Mariéva Gruffat.

Thu Tran Hoang

Thu Tran Hoang

A model of willpower

 

Thu Tran Hoang was Essence of health’s assistant for 5 years in Vietnam, and then for 3 years in Cambodia.

Thu was born in Hoi An, central Vietnam. Her family had to face many painful experiences related to the war: exile, dispossession of their property. These events will leave deep traces in her family and will have repercussions on the psyche of the young child who is born just after the war.

Before she was 3 years old, Thu’s family moved to the south of Saigon where she would spend her entire childhood in the countryside, in a very simple life where rice was grown, and where one shared with one’s neighbors what there was to eat. For there was no money then.

When we meet her, she is working in a French resort in Hoi An, the Victoria, where she has managed to reach a position of chef de partie, in the kitchen. A cheerful and dynamic young woman, she has acquired good cooking skills. She has learned Western cuisine from her successive Chefs. And unlike many colleagues, who don’t even want to taste what they are cooking, Thu’s curious nature leads her to taste and enjoy the cuisine.

Along with her profession, she has also worked hard to study English.

And it is as a translator that we meet her, because her husband’s grandfather is a traditional healer. At nearly 80 years old, he harvests his own plants and grinds them every day in a huge mortar with an energy that many would envy him. Dominique having recourse to his care, and the old man not speaking English, he summons his granddaughter to be able to communicate with us.

The current passes, Thu invites us to share a lunch with her family on the occasion of Têt festivities. We will then lose sight of her for a while. And when we find her again, we offer her to assist us with our installation in Hoi An, as it is very difficult to get by without speaking Vietnamese. This was the beginning of a friendship and an eight-year collaboration.

Because of her family background, and the simple life she leads, Thu has always been interested in natural medicine and the healing power of plants. In addition, she has an innate ability for spiritual activities such as meditation, yoga, etc. In this framework, she receives instruction in hatha yoga, meditation, taiji chuan, qi gong, reiki. She becomes a Reiki master.

In Phnom Penh, she rediscovers a hobby she practiced as a child, making paper flowers. She is gifted with her hands and we encourage her to develop this talent. She perfects and develops her flowers, using other materials like fabric. She created her own creative activity: “Eternal flowers”, in Phnom Penh.

Thu Tran Hoang will return to live in Vietnam permanently in 2017.

“Eternel flowers”