Here at Biomedicanna, we believe that the most remarkable journeys start with taking the smallest steps. Therefore, success in life begins with us and our relationship with our surroundings. We dedicated an entire month of February to encourage everyone to love ourselves and others so that each of us will be able to thrive, feel the best and succeed in every task we do. This month we will invite you to be more attentive to your own needs and build healthy relationships with your own body and the people you care about the most. Stay safe and authentic to yourself!
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Let’s start the last month of the winter season from our chat with Dominyka. Dominyka Mikstaite is successfully steering her brand artumè, which combines healing methods and practices from both Tibetan and Western Medicine to help people prevent the occurrence of diseases and preserve and nurture longevity and inner happiness. Thanks to Dominyka’s therapy sessions and body procedures, many people have already discovered the harmony of their thoughts and body.
-Dominyka, tell us a bit about yourself and your way of life.
-Several years ago, I started my life project, which is called artumè. I provide direct help to people daily, helping them balance their lives as I have once been taught by Tibetan medicine and its elder practitioners. Guided by Buddhism’s wisdom, I listen to what people themselves and their bodies say to me, I take care of them and provide a complex therapy and self-care session. I talk with them about nutritional and psychical procedures, external and emotional practices, which apply to specific personality types and fit their needs. Regardless of each case, I adopt a holistic approach and seek the balance of body, mind, and spirit, but the harmony can only be reached when the person itself wants to improve its wellbeing.
However, Tibetan medicine is only one side of the coin as in my everyday life I combine such a way of thinking with Western medicine practices. Not long ago, I joined the Lithuanian Association of Massage Therapists. Also, I am about to finish learning how to do medical massages to help rehabilitation patients and those who have not yet heard any medical diagnoses and want to improve their life quality and find their inner peace as the current situation in our country could be majorly improved. I believe that we all are connected and influence each other’s decisions and both traditions help me share those clean and intelligent thoughts, that knowledge that runs through me and help people reach their harmony.
-It’s incredible to hear you talk this passionately but, correct me if I am wrong, all this knowledge and passion did not come in the blink of an eye, or it did?
-Oh, definitely! During my childhood years, I was that type of kid who enjoys spending time in nature, feeling the grass and seeing, hearing all the animals. I still call my younger self a gooseberries’ kid – it now seems that I spent all those years wandering in the forests and through meadows. Sadly, once I reached my teen years, the desire to be in the city with other people defeated nature, and I quickly forgot who I was at that time. I was not myself; I did not know who I wanted to be; I was not able to distinguish myself from the others, nor I was able to truly listen to what my body and mind have to say and even if I heard them, I was ignoring all those alert messages – those were dark times for me. At this challenging time, I discovered books about the human subconscious, I was amazed by what I read, but I held all those impulses and thoughts for myself not daring to share with anyone else especially my friends.
‘What could be better than to live surrounded by nature, wake up in the morning from the chirping of birds, after a sweet sleep drink a glass of warm water and humbly go for a swim in the lake or river, all at 5 o’clock in the morning?’
After finishing high school, I moved to the capital city to study, – difficulties hit me once again; only this time, they were more powerful and affected me more deeply. I soon developed specific symptoms that led to me being diagnosed with mental disorders. Of course, I tried to help myself by turning to Western medicine practices, but they were not much of a help and only made me feel better for a short time. Pills and medicine helped me, but I felt like I was missing something – I missed out conversations and could not freely talk about what I am going through at that time. Those mental issues are even harder to overcome for young persons who still have not yet figured themselves out if they have no one to talk to freely. Therefore, I started asking myself what was wrong, why those symptoms left that much of a footprint on my personality and wellbeing. I started digging deeper and found out about Buddhism, Tibetan medicine, and holistic approach towards a human being which made me realize that Western medicine is beneficial, yet it is not enough.
-Were those experiences the main reason you now have a different relationship with yourself and happier every day?
– Well, yes. Buddhism and Tibetan medicine encourage everyone to find their law of causes and consequences – it means finding reasons why you experience something and improving the situation by removing those triggers from the equation. It involves being close to, listening to and loving yourself. I think that loving yourself has many different components but only two phases or expressions, one which resonates with mom loving her kids. Another one is something equal to dad teaching his kids necessary life skills. The ‘mommy love’ means altruistically accepting your true self no matter what – just like the mother accepts the children, and unconditionally loves them. The ‘daddy love’ means being able to look for self-favourable solutions, ability to adapt and live life to the fullest.
Loving yourself means that the two inseparable – creative and logical – potentials teach you how to listen to your body, feelings, subsequent thoughts, and emotions. When one of them is lost or too powerful, we lose the balance, harmony, and it seems like everything we have created till now is falling apart. Likewise, we do not need to hold them too tightly in our clenched fists – we need to ask ourselves what those potentials are trying to tell us. Usually, they reveal unpleasant emotions and help us understand that acknowledging them is the first step towards solving them; therefore, they are paving our way towards a pleasant, joyful and healthy life for us.
-How loving yourself is different from loving others, creating and maintaining a healthy relationship with them?
-Loving others is mostly influenced by loving yourself. When we listen to ourselves, improve on various value, self-love, and harmony levels, we naturally grow those love fruits and can share them with others, with people who need them. In any case, we strongly influence each other; however, the most important thing is to purify those aspects yourself first. Loving others is far less intimate than loving yourself, but the trick here is to leave enough room for the other person and ourselves to grow and make personal decisions.
-Do the same words apply and describe your relationship with the people you help?
-Yes, if they would not, I probably would not even be here. artumè means being close to others and ourselves first; therefore, my lifestyle is intertwined with my professional path. Even though helping others means being responsible, I love to live a vibrant life and experience some positive changes from time to time. I love not having to count my life ‘Monday-to-Friday’. I am happy I once seek complicated answers as they allowed me to connect with others. All people that one moment or another was in my path have created me as I am today.
When I help others create themselves, I give my all and leave egoistic emotions behind. There is a person in front of me who is lost – with my hands, I help them find the right places for different pieces of their soul, mind, and body. I help them feel safe; I thank them for trusting me to lead them into an intimate journey called self-acceptance, love, health, happiness. I once experienced the same emotions, and tried to answer the same questions they are dealing with today – as I have a right to choose, I choose to give others pleasure, leading to deep self-knowledge. I am not planning to stop my mission or suppress my passion; I hear my clients saying those body procedures have a calming effect on them, lead them to harmonious life, and create a safe space to fall back to themselves. It would be unwise to stop, so the only way is to go forward.
-Tell us, what methods did you once use to help yourself which you use now to help others?
-I can only help the other person if he or she is willing to experience some changes. At first, I ask the person I will consult to make sure they have at least several hours of free time and do not rush anywhere as those factors can put an entire process at risk of failure. Once we met in person or online, we drink herbal tea – from natural dried herbs I picked myself – and talk about their feelings, emotions, and the signals their body is sending them. After that, we begin more serious work with a person’s body and massage muscles. One like to call it massage, for others, it is a body procedure, but for me, that is a general re-alignment of the whole organism.
After the therapy, me and a person I just helped stay to discuss new, emerging emotions and feelings. I also give them some herbal teas, hydrolats and phytol to use at home – when smells and tastes person experienced during the therapy, visits him or her at home. It allows them to rewind the time and go back to that exact moment even if I am not beside them.
–What are the most important tips you give to the people you help? Can you share them with our readers?
-I am one of those people who must try everything themselves before recommending it to others. Even though my dynamic personality does not allow me to stick to the same practices for long periods, some wellbeing rules must never be changed by anyone. Nature, sun and water are those three things that helped people improve their energy levels and general wellbeing for ages. However, one of the most constant nature’s principles is that nature cannot be called constant. Both Western and Tibetan medicine traditions say that seasons are critical for us to ensure health. We must be aware of seasonal changes and change our everyday practices accordingly.
As we live in a colder climate, we need to consume fatter and warmer foods, which would generate more energy and not let us get cold. Our all meals must be followed by a glass of warm water, to which we may add some honey or ginger – this mix allows us to maintain a healthier and more balanced metabolite system, stomach especially. Various beverages also help to increase our memory and brain functions.
Besides, during the winter season, we lack sunshine; thus, we lack vitamin D, we get tired more quickly and experience some severe mood swings. Sauna and massages with warm oil work together perfectly to relax and calm the central nervous system, improve the immune system and ensure that all other organs and bodily systems work continuously and up to speed. Of course, do not forget to dress for the weather and wear your scarf, hat, mittens, and warm socks during winter.
Nature is one of the most significant additions – even the shortest walk in a park improves health as it improves cardiovascular and lymphatic systems. Being in nature allows us to breathe more freely and supplies the brain with more oxygen; therefore, after spending our time in the fresh air, we feel relaxed and have plenty of great ideas.
We must also not forget to sleep! Getting around ten hours of sleep is useless if we sleep at the wrong time; each night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. is the best time to sleep as it is when the hormones responsible for our growth regenerate. Try meeting your sleeping schedule by getting around eight hours of sleep – you will instantly feel better, stronger, less stressed, and have more energy to take care of ourselves and the others.
-Thank you, we are more than glad that you agreed to share your experiences and knowledge with our readers.