Massage in a bottle

AS HONG KONG braces for the seasonal onslaught of colds and flu, and hopes that Sars will not return, one man is on a mission to help us help ourselves to grow healthier and more resistant to germs.

Will Nicholls, director of Atlas 21st Century Health, advocates the use of Ayurvedic oils and the art of self-massage to help boost the immune system. 'Just spend two minutes massaging oils into your body before you go to sleep,' he advises. 'It's a little investment which will make a big difference.'

It may sound like the latest short-lived fad to hit the shops, but Nicholls sees himself as living proof that it works. After leaving his personal training job a few years ago due to lower back and knee injuries and a dispute over his health insurance, Nicholls saw himself as walking wounded, both physically and financially.

Looking around for affordable alternative treatment, he discovered Ayurvedic oils. 'Oil treatments on my legs made a huge difference,' he says. 'I hadn't realised how significant trans-dermal applications were. They softened up my knees significantly.'

He was so impressed that he decided to go to the source, and took the better part of two years to carry out his own research into Ayurvedic oils, herbs and treatments in Sri Lanka.

Ayurveda, India's 'science of living', dates back to 7000 BC and is the oldest school of medicine practiced today. It is increasingly being accepted by the west as a bona fide alternative to the pill-popping, symptom-relieving way the west treats illness.

'Ayurvedic medicine promotes a holistic way of looking at health, concentrating on the individual as a whole rather than just the disease,' says Nicholls. 'It is proactive rather than reactive, not waiting for symptoms, but preventing illness by balancing the mind, body and spirit using techniques such as yoga and meditation, yearly cleansings and oil massage.'